I should have known something was amiss at 4:45 this am when I got up to use the restroom.
First, it was unusually quiet: the large ceiling fans were off and not making their usual loud
humming sounds. And, it was dark. Did someone turn off all the lights? I didn’t think too much about it – I just wanted to get back to bed quickly, so I could get as much sleep as possible before
my 5:30am alarm went off.
I sat up after my alarm went off. It was silent. No fans, no lights. Then it finally hit me – the
power is out again. But didn’t they just fix the generator and transformer? I looked outside. Only
the emergency lights were on, on the buildings here and on campus. The stop lights and city
lights all seemed on, must be just us.
I realized there was an issue when the gates weren’t opened by 6:00am and no breakfast was
called by 6:30am. At about 7:15am the security officer announced that we would be let outside to
pick up our breakfast to eat inside, in our units. So braving the snowy, cold morning we went to
pick up our boxed breakfast of bran flakes, milk, coffee cake and a banana.
By 7:30am, power was restored. Gates leading into our unit were opened, but we weren’t allowed
outside. Phones and computers were still down, so there really was no reason to leave the unit
other than to pace the hallways. We were informed that lunch would be tuna salad, not beef
tacos which was on the schedule, which leads me to believe that lunch, too, will be served in the
units. That’s all fine with me. The Education building is normally closed today (Saturday) so I
don’t work. It’s cold and snowy outside so I’m completely content to stay in, in my sweatshirt
and sweatpants reading and writing letters.
Maybe if the lockdown ends this afternoon, I’ll go to the Recreation Center and do some cardio.
My 7:00am Yoga class was obviously canceled. If not, I’m completely happy to stay inside all
snuggled up on this cold, dreary day. I will definitely make the best of it.
