Have you ever experienced a "Shit! Damn it!" moment? It's a time when something really bad happens unexpectedly and there's nothing you can do to change it and so you feel like killing something. That happened to me just a couple of days ago. It was Sunday. I was busy studying for my exam which I had to sit for the following morning. Then all of a sudden, there was a power failure. The whole house shut-ed down. I realised this when I open the door to my fridge to get a glass of water and the light in it that usually comes on did not.. well, come.
I thought my fridge was broken due to the hot weather and/or my constant opening and closing and reopening but when I checked the other lights in the rooms, they didn't come on as well! I was like "Shit!" And for the next 10 minutes, I tried to check for any circuit breaker trips. I even risked the re-colonisation of summer flies and opened the back door to check the main power supply to the whole neighbourhood. But unsurprisingly, I had no idea how to interpret the overwhelming information I got from the big box and quickly walked away when I heard something which faintly resembled the ticking of a bomb.
With hope still in mind, I turned on my computer and used what was left in the laptop's battery to google " what do you do when you experience a power failure". Yes, I know. Don't say it. I was directed to a site which states that one should check with his/her electricity supplier when faced in that situation. Having less than half of my handphone battery, I took the risk of forever losing the contact with the outside world and dialled the number of my electricity company. What I got in return was a sarcastic joyous reply from the answering machine which happily related something along the lines of customer service officers do not work on Sundays.
"Arghhhhh! You must be kidding me!"
So reluctantly, I called a friend, who was also having a paper the next day, and related my misfortune. He was kind enough to offer his living room to me for a night to study in, an offer to which I politely rejected. I hate to bother people, especially when I know they are busy. But I thought I should at least let someone know the reason if I happen to be found dead in my house the next day. And there are a lot of ways the lack of electricity flow could kill you. The thought of having no electricity for one night is enough to consume my life.
It was, however, comforting to know that at least my toilet flush still works. At least not everything is malfunctioning. Yes, I know. Don't say it.
So I resigned to my fate and tried to finish cram-ing as much viral and bacterial information as I can before sun down. (The paper I was preparing for was microbiology) It was one heck of a crazy moment. I tried to finish 3 lectures worth of slides in less than an hour!
And then something innate came over me. I went over to the kitchen stove and tried the gas. And I was delighted to see that fire came out from it. But my happiness soon diminished when I remembered that the fire from the stove is the blue kind. Not the one that gives off light. What a let down. But hang on, I've got candles. HaHa. Worst comes to worst, I can be like those ancient scholars and study with a candle at night. That is probably the closest association I can ever get to with them - the common usage of candles for the gaining of wisdom (erm, for the passing of an exam in my case).
So I went to retrieve the candle from the drawer and just as I was about to light it, I heard something coming from my fridge. Its the sound of an engine working. OMG! I quickly reached out and flick on the light switch in the kitchen. It worked! And then I went crazy and checked all the lights in my house. I even checked the microwave. They all worked! It was as if the whole episode didn't occur. Only, it did.
All that drama for nothing.
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