Electricity

I was getting worried that I wouldn't have anything interesting to write for my entry this week. School was fun but normal, I ran errands instead of getting to hang out with friends, and I worked, ate, and slept pretty much just like any other week. Oh, and I also got saved off from the side of the road by my neighbor. And I got to go to the cinema to see "Up" in French. So cool!! But I digress...

As it turns out, I did have a rather adventurous weekend. It began smoothly. I picked the kids up from school, dropped the family at the train station for their trip to Paris, and assisted with the selling and buying of furniture back at the house. Pretty busy but, like I said, running smoothly.

I cooked scrambled eggs for dinner (my specialty). They were delicious if I do say so myself. Then came the first problem, the harbinger of the trouble to come. (I just found that word in the thesaurus. I like it and I hope I'm using it properly.) I turned on the stove again to make tea and the imbecilic thing that had just made scrambled eggs ten minutes ago wouldn't heat up.

Then I tried to lock the door. Now, this is a very special door with a very special lock. It is tempermental and it hates me. It took at least seven minutes to lock the thing, with my fingers getting sore from turning the key and the dog getting sadder as she sat outside, wishfully believing that everytime the door opened instead of locking, she might get to come inside and snuggle. Not going to happen. I think I forgot to mention it was storming. Ew, wet dog!

So then I rented "50 First Dates" on iTunes (who knew you could do that? I didn't. Thanks Hannah!) and settled down for a peaceful night, even without my tea. Then it happened. The power went out.

While I'm not particularly fond of being home alone at night, I felt that I was managing quite well. I was locked in my attic room and was feeling pretty safe and calm. But, if you know me well, you know there are two things I'm completely phobic about: clowns and the dark. So, here I am, alone, in a big squeaky house, in France, in the dark. Can we say massive panic attack??

You know that sense of strange calm that comes over you when you know you have to do something or die? I mustered up some of that to sneak out into the hallway and creep to Paul's room using only my cell phone light for guidance. I'm ashamed to say, I raided his treasure box and found his two tiny flashlights. I promise I'll return them. Then I stopped off at the bathroom because I knew I wouldn't be brave enough to go back out there.

Finally back in my room, I found a tiny flashlight I had and held onto it like a life raft while I switched Sim cards in my phone back and forth trying to reach someone in some country who could tell me what to do or at least where to find a freakin' candle.

So, then my dad called me. He mostly just freaked me out worse than before. (I know you were trying to help Dad but really?) He asks, "Is the electricity off in the neighbors' houses?" I don't know. He's just checking because if it is, everything's probably ok. But, if it's just mine, he's worried that maybe one of the men who's been working on the house knew I'd be alone this weekend and shut off the electricity and is in the house. I about passed out. "Um, thanks Dad, I guess I hadn't thought about that. Goodnight."

I decided that it was a good time to be unconscious. I closed my computer, my only steady light source which was about to die anyway, and climbed into bed. Fortunately, I do love my sleep and after about three songs on my iPod, I was gone. Crisis averted.

Then I woke up. 9:00am, still storming, still no power, and still no phone call from the host family. Crap.

Downstairs, a man came to the door. I didn't have the key so I opened the window. Probably safer since I don't know this guy and who knows, he could be the one who shut off the power and has been waiting patiently to take advantage of my aloneness all night. It turns out he is renting the neighboring studio with his girlfriend for the weekend. They don't have power either.

So now as I'm writing this it is 1:00 and I have power. It took a lot of phone calls and neighborly visits but eventually the problem was resolved. Now I hope the electronic gate will open so I can go visit my friends like I was supposed to do this morning.