The Black Out

I woke up this morning in a bizarre mood. I felt blue as soon as I opened my eyes. Bored. I wandered listlessly around the house as Papa Bear, my darling fiance, got ready for work. I packed his lunch as he made his protein shake. Not having to work with my Mom today I asked what he thought I should do.

"Paint the living room?"

"No," I whined. "I can't reach the ceiling so whats the point?" I know he doesn't have the time to finish my painting job anytime soon. Sometimes it really works in my favor to only be 5 feet tall.

"How about you sand the staircase banister so you can stain it?"

"No. If I stain one thing then I have to do the kitchen cabinets and all the bathrooms too and I don't feel like it."

He rolled his eyes as he left for work. I ask for advice then don't want to follow it. Typical lazy Panda.

I had to admit my mood was restless. I felt unsatisfied. I had feelings, thoughts to get out somehow but I didn't exactly feel like painting or sanding (manually working) them out. I thought about a Facebook friend I have who has a beauty blog where she discusses the perfect foundation, handbags and her love of Penelope Cruz. That's the kind of girl she is. I realized I hadn't written anything significant in what felt like ages. So I decided to create a blog of my own, something that expresses the kind of girl I am.

I signed up for the blog, set all the features, uploaded some photos, queued up the new Sade album and was ready to go. All this took more than an hour since I am a typewriter kind of gal. I sat staring at the screen and typed "I", when all of a sudden **blink** the computer shut off. Really, it wasn't a blink at all but more of a huge whir as if the entire world had stopped and I realized that the electricity in the whole house had shut off.




Now, I know very well that blackouts happen. I also know that fuses short out and all you have to do is switch the breakers off and on. But this had never happened in the nine months we have been living in our new home and I sullenly realized: I have no idea where the stupid breaker box even is! I instantly grabbed the phone and asked Papa Bear what to do.

"Look for the breaker box," he intoned simply. That's his style.

So I grabbed a flashlight and looked in every room, every closet and in the garage. No dice. I began to puff and roar as only a Panda can. Papa Bear, who is renowned for his patience, calmly explained that it is located outside the house (which is not somewhere I would think to look and is therefore "stupid"). Flick, flick, flick. Off, on, off, on... to no avail. Juuust great.

So just as I was ready to spill my guts to the blogosphere, the power goes out and now I can't do anything. It took a good 15 minutes for me to think of something to do. I guess I could clean the house, or read, or play the flute. Perhaps I could play with the cats; they're always up for a good game of tag or catch-the-catnip-bubbles. It was really too dark inside to paint. Suddenly the only foods I wanted to eat needed to be microwaved. The only cleaning I could think of was washing clothes or vacuuming. I needed to blow dry my hair and use my electric toothbrush. I thought of all the delicious foods that must be on the brink of decomposition in the fridge. I felt like I couldn't use my cell phone (even thought it had a full charge) because I knew it would go dead at some vital moment. I was sinking into a pit of despair. I knew today was going to be crap as soon as I woke up, I bitterly thought.

Then, before I could get even more wound up, the power came back on. I was so thankful! I thought of all the awesome things I could do now: play a computer game, watch Netflix in the living room, turn on the heat, microwave that macaroni and cheese from yesterday, switch on a light! I decided to restart my blog. I realized that maybe the power had cut out just in time to save me from the endless bitching I was sure to do if I had begun to write when I had originally intended. Something as small as a brown-out made me realize how good I have it. There's a blizzard on the East Coast where many of my friends are. My ceiling could be leaking, like my sister's. I could be broke, homeless or hungry, like so many thousands. But everything is great in my little bear cave and I am full of gratitude. And that's the best start to a blog I could ever imagine.