I can not believe the massive power outage that occurred that was not caused by a similarly massive act of nature! I was at the pool with my friend Jessica and we were actually leaving as we heard people saying power was out in Poway and other neighboring communities. As we made our way to Taco Bell to see if they might be open, some traffic lights were out, though not all. We had hope that we would be able to satisfy our cheap Mexican food-wannabe cravings. Alas, we were notified by a couple of employees in the parking lot that the power was out and we could not be served. We were bummed, but Jessica has hope that she wouldn’t have to go to class. The person who answered for the administration at the college she goes to relayed that she just received confirmation that the power outage was widespread and there would indeed not be any classes.
We ended up spending our time at her house, had a couple of grilled black bean burgers and when one of her roommates came home, we received word that the Albertson’s nearby was still open and taking card payments. We went ahead and bought water, ice, soda, and beef jerky and followed up with a visit to the Home Depot which was across the parking lot. They were open and taking cards as well, so I went ahead and picked up a mini Mag lite flashlight since we didn’t have any in the apartment. How? I don’t know. We have plenty of candles though…
The Maglite came in handy, though! Shortly after getting back to her house, I borrowed her bicycle and rode to my apartment which is a couple of miles away. I needed to check on Gunny and make sure she had food and enough water, as well as turn off the A/C units and open windows for ventilation. I also changed into shorts and put some stuff in a backpack. My purse was just not going to cut it, especially since it was getting in my way as I biked.
The sun had just set and that’s why the Maglite came into play. The hallways in my apartment building were already pitch black and there was also too little light to navigate my apartment. Once I left, all sunlight was pretty much gone and I held it one hand as a headlight while I navigated the streets. Back at Jessica’s, I met a couple of her friends and we sat around her little grill, burning pieces of wood from an old wooden chair to give us a centerpiece and light while playing “I’ve Never”. We had some drinks, tons of random stories and it was definitely fun.
Eventually it was just her two roommates, a couple of their friends and I left as Jessica’s friends went to someone else’s house and she went to sleep. I eventually made my way back to my apartment via walking, again with my Maglite guiding the way. Cop cars were patrolling the streets, which was comforting and nerve wracking at the same time. I felt like they might question my walking so late at night during such a precarious event. I just want to get home! Thankfully, I was left alone and there were very few cars and no other pedestrians. I did notice some street lights were on in the distance and as I got closer to the apartment building, the shopping center lights and some music was back on. Unfortunately it didn’t extend to where we lived and it was pretty dark during the last block or so of my trek. I came across some bunnies, though!
My cell phone had died during the evening so as I was charging it on my laptop, just a couple of minutes later the bedroom light comes on and HALLELUJAH there’s power! I posted it all over Facebook, Twitter, commented on the San Diego subreddit… I’m so grateful that the power’s back on for a variety of reasons, but especially that it’s not going to mess with my time with my LA friends once they arrive come tomorrow afternoon! Unfortunately I did lose Thursday afternoon cleaning/organizing time… Bah.
I really hope any one else who happens to live in the affected areas is safe, sound and if you don’t already have power restored, that it will come on soon!
