Dry north winds killed off power to 120,00 people. I was one of them.
The first sign of trouble started early. Winds had blew all the clouds away leaving a clear blue sky. But by noon, the trees outside my house were shaking and leaves were flying all over. It's startling when tall thin palms begin shaking like a piano tuner out of control, as if they would bend over and snap. I reconsidered my decision to go to the mall. Windy as it was, the day still looked sunny. So I stuck to my plan. Minutes before stepping out of the house, the power went out. It briefly returned but left again. At the same time, my phone started running low on batt. Not good.
The winds were making dust tornados and I had to put my shades on when I was out. Though I got lost, I eventually made it and even caught "Blades of Glory". A mindless way to while away a good afternoon. After that, I didn't linger for long so I could make it home before sundown. I haven't learnt to recognise my stop yet.
Hopeful the power would be back, I was dismayed to find otherwise. By now, my phone was on its dying beep. I immediately called Kelly to tell him about the outage and ran back to the bus-stop. Damn, the bus went by before I could reach. I paced about for 20mins but no bus came. Just then, a guy that I had seen with his daughter earlier came over to ask where I was heading. I told him and he offered to drive me. I always thought Californians were self-centred and this immensely kind gesture took me by surprise. The man drove me to Starbucks AND offered to pick me up when my phone was charged! You can't believe how grateful I was then! I just couldn't deal with no electricty and no phone!
I planned on taking the bus home after my phone was charged. But the nice guy kept to his word and showed up an hour later! I was just so so so touched! He dropped me off at the bottom of the slope (you can see a picture of it in my earlier post) and I climbed as fast as I could in the dark. The whole neighbourhood was drenched in complete darkness and I was so freaked. Kelly accompanied me on the phone all the way home till I settled in bed. When I found out his flashlight would only last 10-30mins, the poor guy who had had a bad day at work, had to deal with my frustration too. (Thanks Kelly!) After hanging up, I just laid in darkness waiting for sleep. And just then, the lights came back on! Yay! I immediately turned on the TV and went online. News said that the winds had knocked out power and some palms to crash causing roads to be closed. A fire had started and burnt down one house too. I guess I went through little compared to them. The things we take for granted.
P.S: I had an 8hr outage. News said that till today (Sat Apr14), some places had yet to regain electricity. I hope things work for them soon.
The first sign of trouble started early. Winds had blew all the clouds away leaving a clear blue sky. But by noon, the trees outside my house were shaking and leaves were flying all over. It's startling when tall thin palms begin shaking like a piano tuner out of control, as if they would bend over and snap. I reconsidered my decision to go to the mall. Windy as it was, the day still looked sunny. So I stuck to my plan. Minutes before stepping out of the house, the power went out. It briefly returned but left again. At the same time, my phone started running low on batt. Not good.
The winds were making dust tornados and I had to put my shades on when I was out. Though I got lost, I eventually made it and even caught "Blades of Glory". A mindless way to while away a good afternoon. After that, I didn't linger for long so I could make it home before sundown. I haven't learnt to recognise my stop yet.
Hopeful the power would be back, I was dismayed to find otherwise. By now, my phone was on its dying beep. I immediately called Kelly to tell him about the outage and ran back to the bus-stop. Damn, the bus went by before I could reach. I paced about for 20mins but no bus came. Just then, a guy that I had seen with his daughter earlier came over to ask where I was heading. I told him and he offered to drive me. I always thought Californians were self-centred and this immensely kind gesture took me by surprise. The man drove me to Starbucks AND offered to pick me up when my phone was charged! You can't believe how grateful I was then! I just couldn't deal with no electricty and no phone!
I planned on taking the bus home after my phone was charged. But the nice guy kept to his word and showed up an hour later! I was just so so so touched! He dropped me off at the bottom of the slope (you can see a picture of it in my earlier post) and I climbed as fast as I could in the dark. The whole neighbourhood was drenched in complete darkness and I was so freaked. Kelly accompanied me on the phone all the way home till I settled in bed. When I found out his flashlight would only last 10-30mins, the poor guy who had had a bad day at work, had to deal with my frustration too. (Thanks Kelly!) After hanging up, I just laid in darkness waiting for sleep. And just then, the lights came back on! Yay! I immediately turned on the TV and went online. News said that the winds had knocked out power and some palms to crash causing roads to be closed. A fire had started and burnt down one house too. I guess I went through little compared to them. The things we take for granted.
P.S: I had an 8hr outage. News said that till today (Sat Apr14), some places had yet to regain electricity. I hope things work for them soon.
wow, your first adventure in california...glad everything went ok.
must treat that nice chap to some sweet & sour pork or chop suey!
dailou
Dailou, he actually likes sweet and sour chicken a LOT!