The day I appreciated power

Power—it means strength, stability, the ability to control. Upon attaining this, we gain popularity. We inherit success. We are invincible.

Although this 'power' I want to talk about is not really the 'power' we gain through success and hard work, this is something we use everyday. It is so common that we tend to neglect it as it has existed even when we weren't born yet. Modern technology is in great dependence of it. And this energy surrounds the whole world. It's what we call electricity.

Electricity has been a mainstream that we tend to forget its importance. We wake up, eat our meals, work, meet our friends, do our hobbies and recreation, and it has been with us all the time. But has it been faithful?

Well, I thought it was, until a typhoon hit the bustling city of Manila on the 17^th of July this year. It was a rainy evening when my friend, Jaun came to our house to spend the night and have an intimate 'girl-talk'. We were enjoying each others' company, and as we pulled up our blankets to warm ourselves from the cool and moist weather, we predicted tomorrow was going to be another ordinary day.

But we were both wrong.

As the morning light filled my brother's room where we slept, I looked through the window to take a peak at the backyard. As expected, leaves and branches and some litter were scattered everywhere, all blown by the tremendous storm. But upon turning on the switch to see a better view of the room, I was disappointed to see no light appeared from the ceiling. I clicked and clicked, but there was nothing.

“Blackout!!!” I yelled in my mind.

It was no ordinary blackout. The afternoon approached the dead hours so Jaun and I took a ride and hit the mall. We were quite stunned to see a different view—there were flickering lights on some corners, no background music, and most people wore house clothes. Some boutiques remained closed, and groups of youngsters sat down on corners, charging their mobile phones. Some panicked in the supermarket, while others crowded the hardware. Flashlights and batteries were sold out. And lo and behold, powerbanks suddenly boomed on sale.

I assumed the electricity would return late in the afternoon, so Jaun and I took our early dinner at a Japanese fast food restaurant and treated ourselves for a tiramisu and tea at a coffee shop. While we were at the peak of chatting, suddenly the lights were shut. Blackout part two. Everyone screamed and panicked. We looked at each other, pretending to calm down and continued talking. After a few minutes, the lights came back. People around us cheered.

But another couple of minutes passed and lights turned off again. And on. And off. It was like a horror disco house. Shoppers around us began to panic more. When the lights came back a little longer, the two of us thought it was time to head home.

We hurriedly went outside the mall and noticed people walking on the same path. Stores began to close. Post lights were off; some of them were broken on the ground, blown by the gale. Electric cables scattered the streets. It was like an apocalypse without zombies. Citizens around us were a little terrified, impatient to return home.

We finally arrived at my house where everything was pitch black. It was dead silent. We ate dinner with my family who provided candles on the dining table and in the kitchen. I remembered how the 90s was so popular with blackouts. The feeling was exactly the same. There was no wind, and if there was, it came from the terrifying storm that pushed the curtains upwards, appearing like floating ghosts by the window. We kept the candles from coming off because those were our only sources of light , if not our gas lamps and flashlights. Whenever I needed to go to the bathroom, I had to place a candle on a ledge to provide light. But it was a creepy feeling, especially if it stood by the mirror.

I took this photo from Google, and our blackout dinner looked similar to this.

There was nothing to do except to fan myself. Jaun and I stayed again at my brother's room to kill time and had more girl-talk. It was only 9 pm, and we didn't feel like sleeping, because at this time we were expected to be busy! But it was different now, and we needed to be creative to keep every minute useful.

The next day came and Jaun had to go home. There was nothing to eat because our refrigerator was off and our food inside it spoiled out. I was the guinea pig who volunteered to go back to the mall to charge my phone. The situation was still the same, and the number of people multiplied on each corner, charging their own gadgets. The third day came and there was still no electricity. People were becoming desperate. It was funny though, because most people still had the opportunity to post a Facebook status and yell all their complaints about power shortage. Some even had time to take a selfie. 

Aftermath of the typhoon Glenda (taken from Google search) 

 

The night returned and we had to spend it once again at the darkest spot of the village. Our candles were running out and obviously, I was again the pathetic guinea pig to buy more candles and some canned goods for the following day. The fourth day came and I found myself nagging. I was becoming exhausted about the unusual new routine that left me begging for the internet, listening to wild music, and playing Style Starlet on my mobile. I miss electricity.

Another photo from Google search that resembled our kitchen during a blackout

Finally on the fifth day, I decided to play hero again and crashed into one of my best friend's turf to charge my phones, phone banks, and laptop. I thought it was the craziest and rudest thing to do, but it left me no choice. But because God was merciful, electricity returned later that day, as I received a text message from big sister that read, “May ilaw na! Wohoooo!” (“Electricity's back! Wohooo!”)

And did I go home right away? Almost. My girl friends were at the same place where I stayed, and there was another option to celebrate: shopping!!!

But woe to the shopping spree, there was really nothing to buy. All the good stuff were taken by the desperadoes who needed more clothes than we did. So I went home, not disappointed, but in fact, happy. Happy to realize that one of the most important things in my life was back. I can eat cereals again with a pack of refrigerated milk. I can charge my phones whenever I want. I can pump up the volume of the radio, and even enjoy the nonsense channels I see on cable TV. Everything was pretty normal again, indeed.

At this point, I realized how electricity could be like a treasure in every person's life. Every single move involves a big amount of electricity. Everything.

...And what could we actually do in this modern world without it?