Thursday, September 29, 2005

Northwest "Power" Living

Living in the Pacific Northwest certainly has its benefits. However, there are also idiosyncracies. When the first good autumn storm hits, many of the gorgeous trees that have been damaged over the summer are tested. And so it was today. The high winds and rain arrived after midnight last night, and nearby tree #1 fell on a power line about 3am. The power finally struggled on at 8am. I was hesitant to plug my computer in, because when a storm hits, it often expresses multiple personalities.

When the power is out, our cable is down. Because I have a cable high speed internet connection, when the cable is out, there is no internet access. I'm glad I waited. An hour or two later we heard a big crash which we assumed to be a tranformer blowing, but, after a surge or two, this time the power remained on. But I was still spooked. Good thing. An hour later the power disappeared again, this time for several hours. Another tree had taken out more nearby power lines. So, finally, at days end, I was able to get everything going again.

One last thing, however. There is a certain offbeat beauty about a dark, foreboding, wind-swept storm. Sitting at home by the wood stove as the storm rages brings an odd sort of comfort. But now that the storm has passed, it looks like it's time to pick up the beat again.

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