A few days ago, we received a personal phone call from our electric company indicating the electricity would be out between 7 a.m. and 1 p.m. today. This affects our entire neighborhood.
No electricity means no lights, no heat and no coffee. Our automatic garage door and on-demand hot water heater will be useless.
While the list of “things that won’t work” is long – the most problematic is the Wi-Fi. As a remote worker, Wi-Fi is a necessity and the lifeline to productivity. BC (before COVID) no Wi-Fi would have been a non-issue because I would have been working in the office.
I need to find alternative work arrangements… and coffee. Starbucks it is.
Not long after I get settled, a woman nearby decides to air her dirty (business) laundry for all to hear. It’s distracting. People are turning their heads and giving her the stink eye. We’ve been using cell phones for almost 20 years – have we not learned cell phone etiquette?
I remember there is a private room at our local library branch. Every time I’m there, it’s empty.
When I arrive, I see one person in the private room. 😒 It’s a no-go.
I knew the downtown library had private rooms used for small meetings. There’s a limit of two hours, so I reserve two different rooms. I get an email that my second request has been denied.
I drive downtown.
I was able to conduct a couple of zoom meetings and tackle a few things on my to-do list. #LibraryWin! After two hours, I realize I’m starving. I pack up (again) and head to the coffee shop across the street.
It is nearly empty. I choose a spot in a corner booth. I order and pop open my laptop to wrap up the last few things for today. Soon, a woman decides to sit at the table right next to mine. A few minutes later, someone sits down across from me. What the heck? Why are they sitting right next to me when there are so many other places to sit?
By now, it’s 4:45. I see from our neighborhood Facebook group that electricity is still out. I decide to head home anyway.
Since the garage door won’t open, I had to find the hidden key and enter through the back door. The house was dark and cold. The electricity has now been out for about nine hours. The boys arrive home just a few minutes later after a day disc golfing. We decide to go out to eat. They can’t even take showers before we head out.
At the end of the day, I was exhausted. I’m not sure why. Because I’m too old to be going around town finding appropriate places to work? Because it got me out of my routine? Because it takes brain power to think of everything that is affected when the power is out? I’m not sure… but having no power and then complaining about it is definitely a #FirstWorldProblem.
One Kansas Girl 