(no subject)

[nekosensei]

Friday:

* went to the Shedd Aquarium with my sister, my dad, and my two young nieces. We were supposed to go to the zoo because I had a membership there, but we decided to go to the aquarium instead because it was ninety degrees and they were predicting storms later in the day. A lot of other people must have had the same idea because it was hot and crowded. This led to the kids getting frustrated and acting up. We saw the major attractions: the sharks, whales, otters, and penguins, and then headed home around one in the afternoon. It was just as well since it was nap time and the kiddos were melting down.

* got a message from doomsey saying that we were supposed to get severe storms with 70mph winds later in the afternoon. After getting back to my parents' house, I high tailed it for home because I figured that, if the storm was as bad as what they were claiming it was going to be, I would never get home that evening. Turns out I was right. About half an hour after I passed one intersection, a bunch of high tension wires came down right in the middle of it. It was lucky that no one got killed. Those suckers have uber-high voltage and, if one of them lands on a car, it can electrocute the people inside. One person got trapped in his car for three hours, but luckily for him, the power lines didn't land on his car, just around them. (Very happy that I beat the storm home and that that wasn't me).

* made it home not long before the storm. doomsey got home from work just as things were starting to get bad. He was pulling into the driveway when our gate smacked into his car. Thankfully, it hit the driver's side mirror, which absorbed most of the blow and didn't do any damage to the car itself.

* the power went out just before doomsey pressed the button to make the garage door go down. He had to run outside and pull it down manually.

* yelled at doomsey to stop putzing around with his car and to get his ass inside.

* grabbed the cats and headed to the basement after a sizable limb from our maple tree landed in our yard.

* went over to my in-laws' house since our power was kaputt. Our neighbors started up the generator we share with them, so we hooked up our sump pump before we left (which is kind of pointless because it never actually goes off).

* found out that another line of strong storms was headed our way. Worked frantically on some stuff I needed to get done online for work.

* the power at the in-laws' place went out while the kids were trying to watch a movie. Fortunately, I had finished everything I needed to get done on the computer. *whew*

* went home and saw that the power was still off. doomsey hooked the refrigerator up to the generator.

Saturday:

* woke up and saw that the power had not come on overnight.

* went to a Summer Solstice ritual in the early afternoon. (And what was the point in staying in a house without electricity anyway?)

* drove straight from the Summer Solstice ritual to a wedding. (This is wedding number two for the month. We have one more next weekend and then two more after that: one in mid-August and the other in early September) Fortunately, it was a causal wedding, which was good because I didn't have to dress up. The wedding itself was held at a horse farm so I got to pet animals. Petting animals = good! The wedding ceremony was delayed because the minister was late-- at least I think that's what happened. Although the invitations said that it started at four, the ceremony didn't start until six thirty. People didn't get to eat until a little after seven.

* ate lots and lots of good ribs. So much for that diet!

* roped doomsey into volunteering with me to do something on stage during the reception. Hey! They didn't say what it was they wanted us to do, only that they needed volunteers. How was I supposed to know that they were going to make us dance YMCA and the Macarena? Oh...and those of us up on stage didn't remember how to dance the Macarena so we had to call a young 'un up on stage to help us.

* While I was up on stage, I listened nervously to doomsey, who was saying something about wanting to kill me. He forgave me not long after that so all is good now. :)

* Everybody danced under the limbo stick. I made the people holding the stick move it all the way down. Then I stepped over it. I am such a snorp.

* got home and discovered that the power had come on a few hours ago. Yay! The annoying thing was that my in-laws-- who I'd like to point out lost their power after we did-- got it back long before we did. They live in the same town as we do, but they got their power back in less than three hours. Those of us living on the cheap end of the town had to wait twenty-four. Why is it that they make people living in the less affluent part of town have to wait longer for power? *growls* I'm seriously annoyed how our town tends to treat us like second class citizens. Don't get me started on the whole pawn shop debacle!

* found out that, while the power was back on, the internet was still down.

Sunday:

* went to my parents' house to celebrate Father's Day. While we were there, we used their internet connection to (cough cough) procure the new Doctor who episode.

* invited judygs, forestdruid, and Alice over to our place in the evening to watch Doctor Who. Good episode and omg what a cliff-hanger! I can't wait until next week's episode!

*finally got our internet connection back.

Yay! I finally finished updating my LJ. (does a happy dance)

Comments

[lark_ascends]

Crazy week!!! Glad you've finally got power back!

[fuzzyscribble.livejournal.com]

"About half an hour after I passed one intersection, a bunch of high tension wires came down right in the middle of it. It was lucky that no one got killed. Those suckers have uber-high voltage and, if one of them lands on a car, it can electrocute the people inside. One person got trapped in his car for three hours, but luckily for him, the power lines didn't land on his car, just around them."

Unless it was a transmission line...the freaky high voltage was the standard 14.4 kV that Com. Ed distributes at. It's considered medium voltage by industry standards. But I'm busting your myth...

People usually don't get killed when a utility line lands on their car...they get killed when they get out of the car and the current grounds through their body. (This comes from my employee safety training. I'm qualified to observe substation work at voltages up to 345kV.) If a live power line lands on your car...you and the car are now at line potential. No problem. (It's why birds can land on power lines and not get zapped. They're at line potential.) Stay put IN YOUR CAR until help arrives. The moment you contact ground...by stepping out of the car...that's when you'll turn yourself into a conductor...and...um...do the "bacon shakin'."

Com. Ed had us watch this video where a lineman put a ham with the bone in on the end of a utility hotstick...grounded it...and then touched it to a power line. At least it would be a very quick death...not too much suffering in the few seconds it would take for your nervous system to fuse itself together. Fun, fun.