The initial blackout:
For days my roommates and I waited and prepared for Hurricane Hermine to strike (not really). Frantic phone calls from mom saying “MAKE SURE YOU HAVE NON-PERISHABLES!” and “GET FLASHLIGHTS!” and “Amanda Stephanie Pustelniac, you better be taking this hurricane seriously” sparked a momentary thought that maybe I should actually take it seriously. So we went grocery shopping, somehow ended up buying only perishable items, and had a fridge full of food in preparation for the hurricane. With Netflix, blankets, and a comfy couch, we were ready. In between Netflix episodes, we would turn our attention to the window, which revealed neither rain nor wind. “Don’t get too close to the window, the hurricane is really picking up out there!” Still nothing. After about five episodes, we got some rain. Excited about this long-awaited hurricane, we did what any college kid would do. We went for a walk around the neighborhood. This hurricane was the epitome of shits and giggles until the power went out mid-Netflix episode. “Uhh… I guess it’s time for bed then”.
Days 1-3:
“LOL the power is still out… blackout party, anyone?” So what if it’s a little hotter in our apartment and we haven’t opened our fridge in a few days… the lack of power can’t get us down. Shout out to Starbucks, Dunkin’ Donuts, and all the other places we escaped to that kept us from starving and gave us free wifi (which we initially used solely for Facebook, Instagram, etc.). This was around the time we realized that it may not have been the smartest idea to fill our fridge with food that is probably spoiling as we’re realizing it. But as long as we kept it closed, the denial that our food wasn’t perfectly fine in there allowed us to continue enjoying our days off from class.
Days 4-6:
“We should probably open the fridge now…” Our hopes were shattered at the sight of moldy strawberries, the first indication that we are idiots who should have just bought non-perishables like my mom advised. After the tragedy of throwing away our newly purchased food, we were officially defeated. The hurricane that we strolled through and mocked from the comfort of our Netflix and Chill showed us who’s boss. We had e-mails flooding our inbox informing us that “97% of Tallahassee has had its power restored” leaving us hopeful enough to try the light switch. “Maybe it came back and we didn’t know,” we thought. But alas, each time our hope was shattered and our fridge remained empty. Our lives became the stuffy, non-conditioned air that plagued our apartment, the cold showers that we’d rather remain dirty than endure, and the inescapable darkness that nighttime brought. Being the only non-powered, unfortunate souls out of all of our friends, we sought cool air, light, and sanity with them.
We were lost, this is how we were found:
“Twas the morning of our 7th day of no power. I awoke in my sunlit room to the non-conditioned air I was growing accustomed to, with no desire to get up from bed. Until… a noise that had grown foreign to my ears sparked my interest. “That sounds like… AIR CONDITIONING!” As I ran to the light switch, I prepared myself for a let-down. “It’s been a week. You could be imagining things so don’t get too excited. It probably won’t work.” I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. As I pulled the switch, my face was struck with a foreign, fluorescent thing. A tear trickled from my eye as I ran to alert my roommates. We could finally take warm showers; we could finally stop dreading nightfall; we could finally refill our fridge. We were the happiest girls in all of Tallahassee.
