The Blackout

Last week on Thursday, September 8, 2011, a blackout had taken place in the southwestern portion of the United States in parts of California, Arizona, and Mexico at around 3:00pm. It occurred during my volleyball practice on a day we scrimmaged against the freshman team. Honestly, it was a lot more challenging and fun playing in the dark; fortunately there were emergency lights in the gym, so we at least had some form of light, along with opened doors to let in sunlight. After practice, later at home, my dad drove over to Home Depot--which honestly sounded somewhat ridiculous since the power was out--to purchase extra candles and lights for the night. While we awaited for his arrival back home, my brother and I played a few card games including various forms of Speed and Old Maid. When our dad came home, we challenged him to play Old Maid with us, and whoever lost would have to cook dinner for us; obviously it was difficult due to no electricity and the majority of the tasty delicacies being in the refrigerator, which we weren't allowed to open. In the end, I lost. I ended up cooking on a bunsen burner grill object, lighting it up using an item similar to a lighter, although I can't remember the name to. I eventually cooked up some beef flavored Ramen in the backyard in shorts, so anyone could imagine how cold I felt, even with a jacket on. Eventually I ended the day rereading one of my favorite books, The Hunger Games, with a flashlight-like device in the dark.

The dependency on electricity refrains people of today. Nowadays, people spend more time watching television or surfing the internet than spending time with family. With just one blackout, the everyday activities of beings falter. People would stress over conserving the electricity on their cell phones or laptops, but some wouldn't stress over the matter of being around the family now that distractions such as television or internet were temporarily gone. In conclusion, the dependency on electricity distracts the average human from living conservative lives.