Nine and a Half Days with No Electricity
June 26, Friday 2020 — Thomas Lekhanya
I’m sitting in my plastic chair with a pair of shorts on a t shirt, hoodie and jacket.
Clad with a pair of shorts, a t-shirt, hoodie and jacket, I’ve decided not to turn on the heater that’s an arm length away even though this morning is 4°C /39°F.
Why?
Because I recently emerged from the power cut induced nine and half day dark age.
(That’s why I haven’t posted in a while).
And I want to avoid adapting to heated mornings to only have the electricity ghost again. The contrast won’t advantageous.
I tell you, winter is the worst time to experience having no electricity. The worst.
I stayed in a metal shack with no electricity for a couple months as a kid when my mother was facing tough times.
That shit sucks.
But hey, such is life.
There were moments where I reflected on the possibility of experiencing the black out for two months like a friend experienced in another area he lives in.
Two months…imagine.
What could be worse?
Double that. Yes there’s another section area in another city here in South Africa where people had zero power for four fucking months!
Jesus Christ, that’s 33% of a year.
Imagine that, huh?
The Corona virus, power cut, winter trifecta.
Anyway, before the power cuts, I woke up at 3 a.m. to start my daily routine.
The early coldness got me procrastinating from waking up that early.
( I don’t have a gas heater in my room yet).
I fell off my habits.
How did I keep writing?
The old school way using pen and paper but I was inconsistent.
It was frustrating facing the slower pace and also not being able to easily edit the way you do on computer.
(I have a journal from one of these dark days that I might transcribe and post).
The plus sides though such as being able to see the stars at night with a little more clarity due to less light pollution.
But I’ll take the light pollution any day instead of darkness.
Anyway, there was something I realized after eight days.
It was my responsiveness to the situation.
I started thinking up ways I keep my routine regardless of the changes because reality doesn’t care about my goals and whatever obstacles appear in their way.
We were already charging our phones and battery powered lights at my mother’s friend’s house which was a fifteen minute walk away. This was good.
But what about my writing goals? Exercising? Reading? Using my laptop that has a 90 minute lifetime (remember, restaurants are closed due to covid so no charging at Starbucks like I used to)?
What will I do to keep waking up early?
I brainstormed a bunch of ideas and was surprised by some of them.
Even if they were “impractical” jotting them down was important.
I was being proactive.
Before, when the power cut off it would return around two hours later.
After seeing that not happen by day two I should’ve been proactive.
That’s my main takeaway from what happened (and, who knows, possibly could happen again).
To be quicker to proactively think up ways move forward when sudden obstacles appear in the way of my goals and important activities.
Until next time.
Thomas Lekhanya
P.S. I might eventually succumb to the heater. Maybe I’ll switch it on only at night.
