This was something I typed out a few days back but never got around completing or posting.. before it is too late and before Ike becomes old news here were go,

I have been out of home since 6.30am and I have no idea if we have power back at home. If CenterPoint’s plan of action is to be taken seriously, we will not have power till later next week (beyond Monday, Sept 22). Definitely not a welcoming prospect. We have spent so far 6 nights without power, the saving grace is we have running water.

As positively as I would like to take this experience, at the prospect of spending atleast another 4-5 days without power is tough. We also have electric cooking range and other appliances so there is no cooking being done at home also. The laundry is piled mountain high. There are friends who have power restored and might be we need to take refuge at one of their places. But somehow, I feel so uncomfortable with the idea. Nothing against friends bu I just want to be at home, might be safeguard the home from being blown away? I do not know where I got this feeling from. It is new. I always feel happy and proud of my home but never felt that I cannot stay away from it. But that is my feeling right now.

I am not sure if the crews who were around last night are still there. The crews did mention there was substantial damage but said it could be fixed in a day or two. But after seeing the map of action, I am losing faith. I am not even sure when and if we’ll get power.

One of my friends on Twitter, asked me what are the advantages and disadvantages of being without power. I thought about it. The timing was wrong. If he had asked me on Saturday (the first day) the balance would have been different. But here we go,

Advantages of not having power

• Early nights (not much can be done in candle light)
• Late mornings (again not much can be done till the sun rises
• No cooking
• No worrying about chores – laundry, ironing, vacuuming and the list is endless
• The easiest excuse for not replying back to emails, phone calls – cannot charge phone
• Time to talk and dream – me and R have been having long conversations about every topic under the sun without our attention being robbed by the laptop/internet
• No I-am-bored-let-us-hit-the-stores kind of trips
• Other Observation skills
• More cyclists on the road
• More people taking a leisurely walk (us included)
• Lesser traffic
• Everyday is a candlelight dinner day

Disadvantages of not having power

• Life without internet (I had 500+ unread posts on my reader in just 2 days)
• Uncharged cellphones and laptops – a terrifying thought without being connected to the world
• Not much chance to read
• No cooking – yes there are times I start missing the routine chore and hot food. That also means no caffeine boost in the mornings to jolt awake
• Mad rush at any store open
• Scarcity of open gas stations to fuel up
• The scalding hot water that I take for granted
• The crumpled shirts and unwashed clothes the pile up
• The absolutely empty fridge – it feels odd to have an empty fridge. High time I stocked it up
• Chaotic traffic with traffic signals not functioning