A la derecho

I think I knew it was supposed to rain, but I didn't really pay attention. I was wrestling with my computer. It was unhappy about something, so I was killing processes and restarting, applying updates and restarting, all the while just wanting to get started on work.

And then the power went out. It actually went out before the storm hit. Then the sirens went off. The sky went black, and the rain hit the windows like a handful of gravel.

It passed through quickly, and didn't seem that bad for a summer thunderstorm. 76 hours later, I'd learned some things:

• You can use your car as a generator to charge your devices. It takes a while, and you can only charge two at a time. Thursday morning I started the car and had it sitting, running in the driveway until the power finally came back that afternoon.
• We missed our devices and the network, our refrigerator and freezer, and our air conditioning. I read a paper book and wrote in a paper journal for the first time in years. We used our cooler with ice to keep some dairy and produce cold. I spent a lot of time on either our front porch or back patio, trying to stay in the shade and catch a breeze.

• We react to a crisis in different ways. I was really thrown by the disruption to my routine. The first night we spent in a hotel, naively thinking that the power would be back the next day, and once we got there I wrapped myself in a blanket and just disappeared. By Thursday, I had gotten back into a groove, doing what I could for work, and spending the rest of the day reading and writing and taking care of the kids. My wife was the opposite: she reacted to the crisis the way she always does, taking charge, getting us a hotel room and a pizza, making sure everyone was ok and had everything they needed. By Thursday, she was climbing the walls with anxiety and seemed completely worn down.
• How much I love my porch, and my back patio. I needed to escape the heat and my family. I read books and wrote in my journal. I looked out at the trees in my neighborhood. There's an ash in the boulevard that's scheduled be removed sometime soon, and I enjoyed its silhouette while I sat in the shade on my porch.

The power came back on Thursday afternoon, and it was like a miracle. Across the neighborhood, the grumble of the generators was replaced by the hum of air conditioners. I don't take it for granted anymore. The last couple of days have been mild, so we've turned off the A/C and have the windows open. We've been eating outside because we can, not because we have to.

But I think best of all, I was able to keep up with the writing. Getting my network back meant not taking that for granted, either, and I've been thinking of new ways to use it, new content to create, new things to write about. In a way, it was like being forced to take a vacation, even if you're just roughing it in your own house. There was only so much work I could do, and the rest of the time it was matter of trying to figure out how to keep ourselves entertained. A lot of time to think.