Storm Savages-Powerless

Hurricane Irene may not have been the storm of the century but it sure as heck gave Scituate either a summer finally or a preview of what to expect this winter. Hopefully it was a summer finale.  Was this a bad storm?  Well I think the answer to that question depends on how long Scituate residents are without power.  According to National Grid approximately 5,697 Scituate residents lost power due to the hurricane.  When will the power come back on?  Who knows…..

 In the meantime having no power is an excellent way to get a solid understanding of how your hunter-gatherer ancestors once managed to make it through life.  Perhaps you are not into history but loved the movie Blue Lagoon and always dreamed of being on an island with Christopher Atkins living the simple life as both of your hormones raged.  Perhaps your favorite summer reading book in high school was Lord of the Flies and you always dreamed of being Piggy minus the poor eyesight, obesity, and asthma, You envisioned using the conch to lead the group in a positive direction and implementing “laws and rescue” and over powering Jack’s violence.   If only my high school English teacher was aware I actually did read this book and didn’t just flip through the cliff notes as one may have assumed.  Now is your chance to live out these dreams as a 2011 barbarian.  If you are bored and don’t know where to start living the days without cable, internet, and electronics I organized a list to help make this primitive time memorable. We will start with the no no’s first and then move on to the actual list:

Things Not to Do

-Repeatedly flick the light switches up and down hoping the power will come back on. This is a waste of time.  Electrical circuits are a little bit more complex than this.  I know it is hard. I have been guilty of this in the past as well.  We probably all have.

-Repeatedly hit the power button on your remote control hoping that the TV will work.  It won’t. 

-Enjoy your electronics until the batteries run out.  Don’t do this.   You may need them for an emergency and watching that movie may not be worth it.

-Don’t leave candles unattended, touch fallen wires, bring your grill indoor, or anything else that may seem like a dumb idea-  This is  DANGEROUS!   Follow fire safety at all times.  Hopefully the Daffy Duck fire safety video you watched as a kid will have some sort of influence on your decision-making.

Things to Do

Sleep- You are always complaining you are tired.  Now is your time to catch up on the sleep you have been deprived.  After the power comes back on nobody wants to hear you complain about not getting enough sleep. Go to bed at 8pm.

Engage- Have conversations with those around you.   Yes talk can you believe it?  No texting, Facebook, Twitter, or email!   Work up the courage and have a real conversation.  It is actually fun and enjoyable to engage with others in person.

Clip your toenails or give yourself a pedicure- Labor Day weekend will probably be one of your last summer beach days.  Make those tootsies look glam!  Now is the time to file down those talons and prepare to look good on the beach in your flip-flops when Uncle Hank and Aunt Bev visit for the Labor Day family beach reunion.

Play Charades or a board game- You have the ability to have fun just like those 1996 families printed on the side of those dust collecting board game boxes stashed in the closet.  They always look like they are having fun as a family and you can too!  Uno, Scattagories, Catch Phrase (requires batteries), Cranium, Monopoly, Pictionary, Guess Who, Girl Talk, whatever it may be.  I usually opt for Cranium because I love to see my husband roll green and be a “Star Performer”. Unfortunately, he usually does not opt for this game because he does not enjoy being a “Star Performer”.  Oh well.

Exercise- Push-ups, sit ups, a little yoga.  Start getting buff without spending a dime on a gym membership or a yoga studio in the comfort of your own home.  Practice that down dog and tree pose as you look out the window at the fallen trees.  Concentrate on your breathing and enjoy “hot yoga” since you have no air conditioner.   Use canned goods as weights if you don’t have any.  Take out will taste better anyway.  Bungee cords make good resistant bands.  Go for a walk or run without your iPod and enjoy your surroundings.

Go for a walk in the rain- If you don’t have running water or don’t like a cold shower this is the closest to clean you may get for awhile.  Take advantage and get a “natural” shower.

Eat yourself silly- Eat all of the food you can out of your fridge since it is most likely going to go bad if the power doesn’t turn back on soon and the ice doesn’t get replaced.  In fact be social and invite your neighbors to participate in a fridge crawl.

Grill- Grill the goods in the freezer, invite some friends over, have conversation, and enjoy some beverages while socializing.  It will be sort of like camping except you don’t have to sleep in a tent.

Tell ghost stories

Draw some pictures and find your inner artist

Write poetry

Practice your cursive- I bet you haven’t done that in awhile.  You could even write a letter in cursive on that old stationary your godmother gave you for your 16^th birthday. 

Purge- Are you one of those people that keep talking about how many things you need to get rid of?    I know lots of those types of people and can only hope they read this.  Nobody likes clutter. Hoarder or denier whatever you are it is time to say goodbye and make some changes.  Since my Nana isn’t computer savvy I may have to print her out a copy of this.  Are you one of those people that still have those size 2 jeans in your closet and keep saying “Ill loose weight and fit into them again”. Guess what that is not going to happen!  You aren’t 18 anymore and have packed on some pounds.  That is life.  Yeah maybe you will loose some weight but not has much as you would like to in your unrealistic mind.  Maybe you have a bunch of clothes that you have not worn in the last year. Let’s be honest…..if you have not worn those clothes in the last year most likely you are not going to wear them ever again. Your prom dress or that varsity football jacket that has sentimental value; ok that’s an exception.  Everything else: GONE!  So pull out the garbage bags and prepare a special delivery for Goodwill.   There are no excuses.  You will do yourself and the others around you a big favor.  Nick knack’s paddy whacks dump all of those in Goodwill boxes!  None of your relatives want your dusty lighthouse salt and pepper shakers no matter how cute you think they are.   You don’t have a VCR or a Walkman anymore.  Therefore there is no reason to keep those tapes you “might “watch.  You won’t.  Good will doesn’t even want those.  Just throw them out.  This should keep you busy for hours.

Clean- No time for doing that spring-cleaning you put off all spring and summer.  It is not too late.  There is plenty of time now. Your house will be sparkling, smell fresh of pine sol, you will feel good about it, and you will also get some exercise while doing it.  Bust out and   sing “It’s a Hard Knock Life” while you clean if you really want to have fun with this.  No electricity means no iPod which means no Annie soundtrack.   Just saying.

Read- No kindle, no iPad.  Old school printed books and magazines!  Live like your grandparents and parents.    Catch up on the book you have been wanting to read or the latest magazine you haven’t had time to open to see what catches your eye for fall styles.  Cut out some recipes to use for a fall dinner.  Learn something new.  Reading is awesome.