The Blackout Diaries

Typhoon Basyang, even though old and just likes to tell stories in her spare time, has managed to rip off trees, cut off electricity, mobile communication, internet, cable TV and light rail transits' operation in just a few hours of heavy blowing. Okay, that doesn't sound right.

This is my story.

July 14, 2010

12:01 mn: Heard the wind whistling a ferocious tune outside. Lights went off. Knew it was going to be a long day.

8:14 am: Listened to AM radio. Heard Ted Failon flirt with Pinky Webb on DZMM. Funny.

8:16 am: Okay, this is getting a bit weird. Creepy, more like.

9:00 am: Boasted to 'Smart' relatives that Globe still has 2 bars of signal.

10:02 am: Thanked the heavens that cellphone and iPod is fully charged.

10:15 am: Pondered the irony that even though own cellphone battery is full, friends' mobile's are probably dead and on their gadget graves by now.

Slept.

2:46 pm: Cellphone cannot receive a single electron of reception. So much for Globe Pride. Phone with its almost full battery: useless.

3:20 pm: Played the recorder even if no proper pieces were available and haven't practiced for months. Used high pitched sound to irritate the neighbors.

4:15 pm: Played the guitar even though skill non-existent and said instrument was missing one string. Yet it still sounded better than the recorder.

5:00 pm: Houses two streets away in all directions from ours have electricity. What the fudge, Meralco?

6:30 pm: Watched TV Patrol from aunt's Chinaphone. Yay for smuggled gadgets from China!

8:03 pm: Realized how great the iPod Touch is as an ebook reader. Was able to read Hugh Laurie's The Gun Seller during blackout without the risk of burning book from the candle flame.

9:40 pm: Wondered why God did not create man with ability to fan oneself while sleeping.

10:00 pm-ish: Mosquito attack #2. Got up to get Electrical Badminton Racket of Mosquito Doom. Started swinging it around while half asleep. No satisfying mosquito pop-and-sizzle. Electrical  badminton out of charge. Crap.

July 15, 2010

1:00 am-ish: Woke up yet again. Suffocation related to lack of electric fan secondary to Meralco failure.

1:10 am-ish: Wanted to open the windows really badly but evil snake of Satan might slither in and kill me or demented mad man might shoot at me with equally evil gun and kill me. Or so my mom said.

4:30 am: Opened the windows. At least let me die comfortably.

8:00 am: Work. Office has electricity. Yes!

5:00 pm: Electricity is back! I wanted to give it a Welcome Back Hug but doing so is fatal. Internet, I've missed you.