Going on four days since the power went out. The power company information services still won’t commit to an estimated service restore date. Damn it all. I understand the concept of traige and such, and know that my neighborhood isn’t on the same piece of grid as anything important like a school, hospital, or major shopping center. I just wish we got better public statments from the power company; I wish they’d offer more comment than “uh, we’re fixing it…trust us!” Explain the methodology a bit, how essential services have to be addressed first for the common good. Even if it’s inconvenient to them personally, most people will respond to that: humanity is a social animal; in this sort of situation, our tendency, even for the most Galtian and bootstrappy among us, is to fall back on our herd/pack instincts – at least I hope so. As far as I can tell, no one’s killed anyone over the last bag of ice at Kroger yet.

I’m on the road again this week, in a part of the state that’s mostly got itself sorted out by now (and I feel guilty when I take a hot shower in the morning). The spouse and offspring, unfortunately, are still getting by in the dark with a couple of battery operated lanterns, some candles, and a propane camping stove. That sucks. They’re holding together, but it sucks that they have to.

Luckily, our neighbor has access to a BIG generator, which is keeping a few of our neighborhood fridges running so our food won’t spoil. It’s only costing us a couple of gas cans. I am amazingly grateful for our little neighborhood, and the way we manage to pull together and keep each other afloat in a crisis.

I’m also kind of annoyed with the fact that we’ve had so many opportunities to practice our coping skills over the years.

I’m going home tomorrow. Here’s to hoping that things will look a little less like a Mad Max film by the time I get there. As I said, I understand the priorities inovlved in restoring services after a major weather event. However, from a purely personal perspective, I could honestly use a break after all that’s gone down the last couple of weeks.