I can say, without being sarcastic (much), that the Alaskan power grid is cobbled together (at the best of times) with bailing wire, duct tape, and is partially lubricated by WD- 40.
There was a wind storm that came through Sunday morning that knocked out power to my apartment. I love my little apartment (no sarcasm). I like the location and the quietness that surrounds me. I have a good neighborhood and good neighbors. But it is of the beaten path. But there is one small problem. Electricity makes the water run and the gas heater fire up. So on top of the inconvenience of the lights going out, I don't have water or heat.
Did I happen to mention that I live in Alaska and it is January?! No? Because I do and it is! Thank God that I was once gifted a very nice king size wool blanket made at the now long gone Barron Wollen Mills that was in Brigham City Utah! It was a wedding present from my parents way back in 1997 when I married Jenifer Francis. At the time I said jokingly words to the effect of, "Oh, how nice! No need for this I have a beautiful woman to keep me warm!"
Well friends, without going into too many details that will make me and everyone else cry. Jeni passed away not too long after we were married. But I still have the hand tied (thinner now) comforter from that wedding and the wool blanket. Both kept me warm over the 48 hours that I had no power or heat. And thankfully I work during the day so I had the chance to warm up (most of the time).
Unfortunately I use a CPAP to sleep so I didn't rest much in the long dark of the night. Have I mentioned that we only get 6.5 hours of daylight right now? No? Well it is getting brighter since December 21st. By summer we will be completely reversed and I will be using a mask to sleep because we will only have 6 hours of twilight darkness. Not so bad all things considered! Every silver lining has its cloud.
Moving forward I am looking to invest in a small camping battery for my CPAP and maybe a gas generator for the freezer. It partially thawed. Thankfully it is the winter. But power issues happen in summer too.
To be clear, I am not hating on Alaska. Back when I lived in Cache Valley Utah the power lines system was much the same but older. I just need to be more prepared for things I know will happen. More often than not, I have found that life comes at me sideways.
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