Thursday night I was lying awake in bed (about 11pm) having a hard time falling asleep. I had been reading (Safe Haven by Nicholas Sparks....highly recommend!) but we had received an e-mail earlier in the evening which stated:
"UPDATE, We have been informed that the power should not go down until 11 PM, however because the card swipe systems will go down with the power all students should be back in their dorm before 10:45 PM. We will be locking all buildings starting at 10:30 PM. Thanks Campus Safety"
So naturally, I decided to to turn the light off before the power went off so I would not be woken up by the lights turning back on in an hour. Eleven o'clock came and went. I knew the power was still on because the sidewalk lights were still streaming in (despite great attempts of blinds and curtains) and my clock was still lit up. Don't worry- I planned ahead...the clock had batteries to back it up in case of a power outage (because it has been becoming a frequency in the past couple of weeks). At about 11:15pm, the lights went off. I didn't know this because lights were no longer streaming in my window, or my clock still illuminating the room, but because from the dorm I hear screaming....at 11:15pm. I guess even if they know ahead of time the power goes out, it still catches them by surprise...really?! So, lying in bed, wide awake, my blog was created in my mind- if not for anyone but my husband and I to read later and be able to laugh and reflect of our time living in a dorm with 124 male college students.
Flashback with my 2.5 years ago. School had just started, and my husband was new to his position as an RD. It was actually a very sunny Sunday afternoon. But then...Hurricane Ike blew into town. Yes, a hurricane. Not so much the rain, but the wind. It snapped tree branches, and with that took our power....for over 30 hours. Please note, it is September (so it is still warm), the dorms are typically air conditioned, and it is far too dangerous to be outside because of the shingles flying off the roof of the buildings and tree branches not far behind. Needless to say, the dorm smelled like boy...I will leave that up to your imaginations:-)
The line for Chuck's (the cafeteria) was as you can imagine, out of control. No town within a 20 mile radius (and possibly more) had power, so going out was not an option. When arriving at the student center to pick up our rationed meals (ok, that might be a little exaggerated) the line was out the door, on the sidewalk and into the street. Needless to say, we went back to our apartment and scraped together the few non-perishables that did not need heat to be consumed.
After the winds had died down later that night, Joe and another RD friend decided to walk the campus to make sure everyone was behaving. For some reason, when the power goes out, the stupid switch is turned on in the minds of young college men...they just can't handle it. Joe announced that he was going...and I told him I was coming with me....I was not going to stay in our dark apartment with 124 guys to take car...besides breaking up couples who were taking advantage of the dark sounded much more exciting.
So, all this to say that the power outage on Thursday night was what inspired my new blog. Joe and I do not have any kids yet (just really cute niece and nephews) so we don't have kids to show off and write a blog about (yet!). But we do have interesting things that go on because of our occupations...and couldn't enjoy it more. Joe mentioned this blog to a couple of his Resident Assistants (RA's) from previous years. They confirmed that if I had been blogging then, they would do things to make sure I would have something to blog about. Trust me guys, I already do!
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