Quick! Where's my flashlight!? Oh that's right. I don't have one.

So this is what my apartment looked like as I came home tonight at 10:13. Past curfew I know.

As I was driving down the road I pulled up to an intersection where there were some police cars, and man halfway in, halfway out of a manhole, big trucks with buckets and whatnot. Hmm...curious. Then I noticed that the red, yellow, and green lights were - black. Ah - treat it like a 4-way. Didn't think much of it. As I drove further down the road I kept thinking to myself - man, it sure is dark out - another police car - more big trucks, another intersection down. It sure is dark out.

So, we all really need to evaluate our emergency preparedness! I was certainly not equipped to handle a power outage in the middle of winter, not to mention on the coldest night of the year!?! I decided to make the best of it - and after running the battery down on my laptop watching a west wing, second season episode, I crawled into my bed. A cold bed that just kept getting colder.

12:49AM, and now I am at my parents house (my version of being prepared in an emergency) looking at generators online - researching if you will (as I was encouraged to do recently...research that is) You can buy a generator as low as 799.00 or as expensive as 13,499.00, but that is just at Lowe's. I guess I'll have to settle for a box of hand warmers for now. $.

I think of all the cold people in my town tonight. Especially the little ones! I hope they fell asleep before the lights went out quite permanently and that they sleep soundly through the night. So cold.