Power was restored in our area on Monday evening, and we returned home yesterday (Tuesday.)
I am in a constant state of annoyance and feeling snappy and stressed out. My first task was to throw out lots of expensive food that had gotten too warm in the fridge and freezers. And for the second time in several months. Remember Sandy???? Then I had the pleasure of putting out tons of trash, and storing all our power outage stuff.
We have a wire almost down on our front lawn, – about five feet off the ground – and the electric company says it is a telephone wire. This morning, I had the ridiculous experience of listening to the automated Verizon Fios woman over and over, trying to get me to set up a PIN number for “my security” when all I wanted was to report the downed wire. I said some rude things to the automated Fios woman. Very rude indeed.
After hitting “0” repeatedly, I finally got a human, who took my information and informed me that the next available appointment was Feb. 17! This is a damaged wire, people, one my husband has to bend down to get under. The agent explained to me, speaking as if to a toddler, that “there were others ahead of me.” Oh okay, Verizon, you just take your sweet time then, while we do the “phone wire limbo” to get to our front door.
But I will end on a positive note: my orchids. Every one of them came through its ordeal unscathed. Not only did they survive being taken in uncovered cardboard boxes to the car in very cold weather, they sat all cramped in those boxes on the floor in my in laws’ stuffy, overheated living room without nearly enough light. Then, I brought them home and transported them, once again exposed to the cold air, from my car to the house.
My orchids are badass. Verizon – not so much.
Digging RI 
Glad you and the orchids made it through! I thought of you often during the outage. Our power blinked off at 6:45 PM Friday and was restored at 6 PM Monday. I’m sure the neighbors all wondered why we had lights while their houses were cold and dark. To tell the truth, we’re going to be in the market for a whole house generator in the spring…one that clicks on automatically when the power is out. They also run on huge propane tanks underground that only need to be filled perodically instead of the gas can hassle. It’s not an option for those who rent, but as I see it, it’s a real investment given the outages we’ve had lately.
According to National Grid, there are still outages as of this morning. They want you to call or email them if you don’t have power. HUH?
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Yes, folks back home in Quebec have those generators. Very pricey but they work.
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Hahaha…yes, your orchids certainly are badass. I hope the frustration with Verizon comes to an end soon. And all that food…what a shame 😦 But, at least you’re all okay.
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Thanks, Martha. Yes it’s frustrating, especially the “feeling helpless” part.
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I agree, but between the plants and the exotic pets, including two cockatoos, we need a stable heated environment. There are so few places that will allow pets; plus we’re getting too old for all this schlepping of stuff! 🙂
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