The Cat Dish
  • Musings
  • Food
  • #CatTravels
  • #BabyFox
  • #40trails
  • Videos
  • About Me
  • Contact

Barely surviving power outages

By Catherine Toth Fox • May 3, 2011 • Musings, The Daily Dish

It’s amazing how much we rely on electricity.

An hour ago the power went off in East Honolulu — where I live — and we thought, “We’re public school grads. We can handle this.”

Except we couldn’t open the fridge to grab leftovers that we couldn’t warm up. Pizza Hut couldn’t deliver to us — no power, too — and I discovered reading by candlelight — who cares that the pioneers once did it — isn’t very comfortable, much less romantic.

The only saving grace is that my phone opiates on the 3G network. Which means I can check email, post tweets and, yes, even blog. But that’s about it.

I remember being a kid and loving power outages. We’d dine by candlelight, play Scrabble and build fortresses out of pillows and blankets in the living room. Didn’t have to finish homework or clean the room or, even better, take a shower. Life was good.

Fast forward to today and I feel stranded. I can’t finish grading assignments — they’re all online — or bake butter mochi. I can’t vacuum or recharge my camera battery or balance my checkbook.

So I’m stuck with tomato soup, canned pork and beans, beer and Nutella.

Got any ideas on what I can do to bide my time?

electricityHawaiileisurePower outageToth
Tweet
25
Welcome to The Cat Dish
Lights out — now what?

About the Author

Catherine Toth Fox

You Might Also Like

  • Anyone Else Feeling Like You’re Failing at This?

  • It’s Hard To Say Goodbye—So I Won’t

  • Was 2020 Really That Bad?

  • Here’s What Happened To My Dog Indy

25 Comments

  • Reply J May 3, 2011 at 4:54 am

    Birthrates supposedly go up nine months after extended blackouts, snowstorms, etc…

    But for real kine, bust out the ukulele and guitar, talk story, enjoy the quiet. Meanwhile my dad has busted out the propane tanks, hooked up the burner and lantern to them and started cooking dinner. The lantern is so bright, get dimmer on it.

    You can open the fridge real quick. Just don’t keep opening in hopes that the food gets better. Heat up food with your candle or some stuff taste good cold. Can get water to boil over a candle if you’re patient.

  • Reply Catherine Toth May 3, 2011 at 6:13 am

    I think I’ll eat Vienna sausage and watch the pyrotechnics!

  • Reply MaxMaxMax May 3, 2011 at 6:43 am

    Did you see the tornados/waterspouts over the ocean? Magnificent show! Two of them towering about 2000-3000 feet tall; dancing and twisting around each other!

    Glad the power was only out for a couple of hours!

    • Reply Catherine Toth May 3, 2011 at 7:27 am

      No, since I wasn’t home and, well, no electricity. But I saw pics on Twitter. What in the world would we do without Twitter and the 3G network!

      • Reply Dote May 3, 2011 at 8:49 am

        For the kids on nights like tonight I’d bring out the old school hibachi and make some smores! Or sit outside and watch the light show with them. When we were kids I loved lightning and thunder and anytime the power went out it was an adventure. Same as you, no bath, yay! Can’t do homework, yay! I’d pretend I was on an adventure with my flashlight =)

    • Reply Catherine Toth May 3, 2011 at 7:28 pm

      Nope. I wasn’t near the ocean… But I saw pics and videos. Incredible! I don’t think I’ve ever seen water spouts — ever.

  • Reply Ron May 3, 2011 at 9:09 am

    Yup, the waterspouts were awesome. Called it into the National Weather Service, and informed them real-time when the second waterspout dissipated, so that they could cancel the special alert.

    Cat, you have to be prepared for the next outage. I keep drinking water in stainless steel bottles (so I don’t have to throw out the expired water), plus three gallons of water in a storage container so that I can flush the toilet at least once should there be a prolonged water outage.

    I listen to the broadcast radio, plus a radio scanner (to cover what else that’s going on in this town).

    Plus, LED lights (not candles, which are a fire hazard).

    Also got the battery powered DVD and CD players (two separate devices), to watch/listen to whatever I feel like.

    For nominal food, I have granola bars and dark chocolate. They’re always ready and do not need preparation. Also got MRE’s in case the event goes long. Plus the other non-perishable foods.

    Hurricane season is right around the corner. We might see action in mid-September, so stock up a bit at a time now.

    • Reply Catherine Toth May 3, 2011 at 7:29 pm

      Boy, you are prepared! Must’ve been a Boy Scout!

      I should come up with a disaster checklist. I bet I don’t have much to live off should anything major occur. I have a bunch of bottled water from the tsunami warning a year (or so) ago and cans of Vienna sausage. Isn’t that enough? 🙂

  • Reply M May 3, 2011 at 3:58 pm

    Hello Cat,
    I have 3 battery lanterns, 2 headlamps, lots of flash lights, BBQ gas grill and a portable grill stove. We cooked ramen and we were guud last night.

    • Reply M May 3, 2011 at 4:35 pm

      I meant portable gas griil stove like the one Ynaku mentioned.

      • Reply Catherine Toth May 3, 2011 at 7:30 pm

        No pics of your ramen??

  • Reply Ynaku May 3, 2011 at 4:12 pm

    Fortunately, we have gas stove and heater so can take a bath after eating.

    Might be a good investment to buy one of those portable gas stove that fits on the counter or table top. It uses a small canister gas. Check out Longs. About $20. You see this at some of those yakiniku shabu shabu places. Good stuff in case of emergency.

    • Reply Catherine Toth May 3, 2011 at 7:31 pm

      That’s a good idea. I make shabu shabu in an electric pan… Guess that wouldn’t help during a power outage!

  • Reply David Jackson May 3, 2011 at 4:27 pm

    Most couples when the lights are out heat things up with…. matches. 🙂 Congrats on stepping out on your own with blogging. Last I was in an Oahu blackout Obama was there. Whole island was pretty much out when I think about it. I keep a camper stove and propane lantern and a ton of candles in a bag under the sink for these occasions. I think a generator is overkill but if we have another winter like the last one I will change my tune on that one. When I was a kid I read under the covers with a flashlight pretty regularly so I am used to reading in dim light. We also have two flashlights with lots of batteries.

    • Reply Catherine Toth May 3, 2011 at 7:31 pm

      We spend a lot of time last night LOOKING for matches. They’re hard to find in the dark, let me tell you!

      • Reply David Jackson May 4, 2011 at 1:16 am

        I hear you. best thing to do is put them in the bag with the candles. I keep mine under the sink in the bathroom so I will know where they are. Who can’t find the bathroom in the dark? Get plenty of practice LOL.

  • Reply M May 3, 2011 at 4:36 pm

    I left everything out in case we have round two tonight.

    • Reply Catherine Toth May 3, 2011 at 7:32 pm

      I just watched Dan Cooke say lightning/thunder is likely. Oh, boy. Better head to Longs.

  • Reply Phung Tom May 3, 2011 at 7:20 pm

    I love your blog, keep up the good work!

    • Reply Catherine Toth May 3, 2011 at 7:32 pm

      Thanks for stopping by!

  • Reply matt May 3, 2011 at 7:50 pm

    When I hit the lotto, I’m moving back home and buying three adjoining lots in Kapahulu. one will be the house, one will be the garden/farm and one will be the solar farm. full PV with batteries for storage, etc. you all invited over. get chickens, pigs, lambs, veggies, fruits…everything you need.

  • Reply M May 3, 2011 at 7:53 pm

    Hey Cat, the time is in the wrong time zone.

  • Reply zzzzzz May 3, 2011 at 10:35 pm

    J seems to have the right idea…..

    Being chronically sleep deprived, I’d try to look at it as an opportunity to catch some zs.

  • Reply danohi May 4, 2011 at 2:24 am

    Cat,
    As some have already mentioned, hurricane season starts next month so putting together a disaster kit is a good idea. The Hawaii Red Cross (www.hawaiiredcross.org) has some suggestions. You can get off-the-shelf kits or build your own. Try not to get so many unique items, but things you can use camping or traveling.

  • Reply J May 4, 2011 at 8:32 am

    I have two kits. One for home and another for the car (just in case something happens and I can’t get home).

Leave a Reply Cancel Reply

About Me

About Me
Born and raised on O‘ahu, Hawaiʻi, Catherine Toth Fox has been chronicling her adventures in her blog, The Cat Dish, for more than a decade. She worked as a newspaper reporter in Hawai‘i for 10 years and continues to freelance—in between teaching journalism, hitting the surf and eating everything in sight—for national and local print and online publications. She’s currently the editor of HAWAIʻI Magazine.

Latest Posts

  • Anyone Else Feeling Like You’re Failing at This?

    March 8, 2022
  • It’s Hard To Say Goodbye—So I Won’t

    January 29, 2021
  • Was 2020 Really That Bad?

    December 31, 2020
  • Here’s What Happened To My Dog Indy

    December 10, 2020
  • I Did Noom For a Month and Here’s What Happened

    October 7, 2020

Made with in Seattle

© 2013 Solo Pine Designs, Inc. All rights reserved.