I remember waking up and getting ready for my morning classes at the local community college. I was 20 years old and a sophomore, hoping to transfer to San Diego State University in the spring of 2002. I packed my books and my dad gave me a lift to school. We turn on the radio and listen to our favorite morning radio show; nothing out of our ordinary schedule or routine. The moment we turn on the radio was when we heard the news. The one thing I remember the DJ saying was that Manhattan Island was covered in smoke and that two planes crashed into the Twin Towers in New York City.
I couldn't believe my ears. For one commercial jet to fly into a building would've been interpreted as a horrible accident either by the plane itself, the pilot, or both. For two planes to fly into both buildings was an act of war. Dad then dropped me off at school and I made my way into the school's cafeteria and student center to get breakfast. The televisions in the student center were never turned on even though they graced the area with their presence. On that fateful day, the televisions were turned on to almost every news network; CNN, Fox, MSNBC, CBS, etc. That's when I learned that there were two other planes that crashed. One plane crashed into the Pentagon and another crashed in Pennsylvania. As my eyes fixated on the blurry images of two smoking buildings, a woman standing next to me told me that her uncle worked at the Pentagon and she hoped that he would be all right. I secretly prayed for that woman's uncle in my head.
The incident certainly had an affect on the day's lessons. My physical anthropology instructor observed a moment of silence before class began. After classes, the news of this heinous attack was the talk of the community. All I wanted was to put my head in the sand and pretend that it didn't happen but I knew I couldn't do such a thing. At the time, I was struggling with my faith in God and this event didn't help anything. My heart was aching, not just for myself but for this great nation that had been hit by a sucker punch from terrorists. I remember the Sunday after the attacks. I went to church as usual to see how I could absolve my doubts and it was the very first and only time (so far) I had to sit in a plastic picnic chair in church as every seat was taken. There were no sermon programs available as they were all distributed to the throngs of church goers that attended services. I participated in the altar call and I could not recall the advice that the lady who prayed with me gave.
A few weeks later, I had strengthened and retained my faith in God and in Christ but I still felt angry for what had happened. Still, I felt that God would deal with those responsible and comfort those who have lost loved ones in the attack.
That was how I felt in a nutshell; a decade really blurred what went on but that's all that I can remember. Now I can tell you what went on during the Great Power Outage of September 8th, 2011 as San Diego County was without power for 8-15 hours during one of the hottest days of the year.
I was on the bus ride home from doing a little clothes shopping. I had bought a cute blouse on sale at JC Penney's and I had turned on my phone to check my Facebook status and sure enough, there were people posting on FB about a power outage in my area. I sighed and rolled my eyes, figuring this was the result of a screw up at San Diego Gas and Electric (or SDG&E for short). I get off at my stop and as I was about to cross the intersection near my neighborhood, I noticed that the stoplights were off. I get home and discovered that the air conditioner was no longer "whirring" and that the cable box, oven, microwave, and fridge were missing electricity to keep them running. I then decide to go to the store to pick up an issue of The San Diego Reader and all the fast food eateries and the Albertsons grocery store were all closed. I went home, did the crossword puzzle in the Reader as I am wont to do and went for a dip in the neighborhood pool (I live in a condo complex that has a rather nice pool). Well, the water was certainly warm and my neighbors gathered around, lamenting about their lack of electricity. One guy, who was playing with his kids in the pool, wondered how he would call his work the next day if there was no power. At this time, we didn't know when the power would be on. It could be either that evening or even the next evening.
I got out of the pool, showered, and sat in the living room where it was the coolest and finished reading Not Less than Gods by sci-fi writer Kage Baker (really cool Victorian steampunk stuff; check it out). In fact, I spent the ENTIRE evening finishing up the last 220 pages of that book. For dinner, we had leftover steak that was about medium rare. I had the gall to tell my parents that "this steak is kinda rare" during a power outage. They told me that this was not the time to complain about food; either I consume the meat or I don't. I decided to eat a little bit, accompanied by some potato chips.
About 9:25 in the evening, I finish my book and decided that, since there was nothing else to do, I should call it a day. I then took my alarm clock, glasses, and a bottle of water and headed downstairs to sleep on the couch in the living room where it was much cooler than the heat trap in my bedroom. I then laid down to rest, looking at the pitch darkness of the living room through my blurry, myopic eyes. I can't remember when I fell asleep but I do remember waking up and occasionally falling asleep until about 12:40 when I heard the whirring sound of the air conditioner come on simultaneously with the cable box, the oven, the microwave, and the downstairs night light in the dining room. The power finally came back on. I couldn't go back to sleep for another hour as I was just too wide awake from the "excitement" of getting electricity. This kind of stuff makes me thankful that I wasn't born two hundred years ago.
One of the causes of the blackout was a line running from Yuma, AZ got tripped as well as a line running from Northern California. Another cause was a screw up from a power technician in Yuma, AZ. As a result of the blackout, schools were closed Friday, which didn't effect me as I no longer attend school. You can google the whole thing for more info.
Today, I decided to finally watch the first four parts of the 1979 BBC miniseries Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy based on John LeCarre's spy novel of the same name after the DVDs from Blockbuster were collecting dust on my desk. I read the book and the film seems to reflect it very well. Alec Guinness shines as retired secret agent George Smiley and Michael Jayson shines as his fellow agent, Peter Guillam (he also looks quite handsome). Since my subscription plan allows me to keep two DVDs at a time, I have to turn in the first two DVDs of the series so that the third DVD (parts five and six) can be mailed to me. I am totally looking forward to the 2011 film version of Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy (featuring Gary Oldman as George Smiley and Benedict Cumberbatch as Peter Guillam) which seems to get pushed back from month to month. Now, I have to wait until December to see it. Here's a clip from the 1979 miniseries featuring Peter Guillam (Michael Jayston) and George Smiley (Alec Guinness):
And here's the trailer for the 2011 film which is NOW slated to come out in December instead of September, which makes me sigh in frustration.
As of August 31st, I am one year older. I am now the big three-oh, "dirty thirty," etc. Yes, I am 30 years old but I feel like I'm 21 (I know people twice my age who feel 21). Here are some pictures from my birthday dinner at Hooley's, an Irish themed restaurant in La Mesa, CA (there's also one in Rancho San Diego).
I'm modeling a bracelet I got from my cousin as my mom hands me a bag of stuff she got me (left).
I smile for the camera before reading a card.
Cute shirt alert! It didn't fit but I'm keeping it so I can lose weight to fit into it.
A picture of me reading my birthday card.
God bless and Godspeed. Fin.
P.S. Take a look at a cheesy fanfiction series written by me featuring the characters of Jane Eyre and monsters and stuff. Go here.
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