Fun Stuff You Can Do While the Electric is Out

Have you ever had to deal with a power outage that lasted more than a few hours? Well, my friend, then you can understand my pain. I knew in advance the electric would be off at my apartment building for a few hours for maintenance. That is no big deal. However, after 8 hours with no electricity and no immediate end in sight, one starts to lose her mind. That is where I am in life right now. That is also why my butt went to my office, so I could enjoy the comforts of exciting things like lights and the internet. Ohhhh... ahhhh!

Before I completely lost my mind and opted to come to work rather than sit around and watch the candles flicker, I was forced to come up with some clever ideas to get through the day. After all, it is a Saturday... a Saturday should be full of joy and amusements. Here are some fun things you can do if you find out you are going to be without power for a while.

• You can take the time to rediscover all those forgotten half-used candles you keep under your sink just for emergencies.
• Your family can break out all the board games that are usually ignored while people play video games. Try playing Monopoly for real money this time just to make things more exciting.
• Take some time to appreciate how difficult life must have been for the early settlers when electricity did not exist. Take some time to remember Amish people still live that way. Gasp!
• See if you can warm up a bagel using several Yankee Candles.
• Sit around and contemplate why you did not bother to charge your portable DVD player more before the power outage occured.
• Reach into a dark closet and see what fun stuff you can pull out. I'll bet you can find items you forgot existed. Just look out for spiders!
• Stare at your refrigerator longingly and periodically say phrases like, "I hope all my food doesn't go bad."
• Take a trip to Target and hope the electricity is on when you return. When it isn't, burst into loud sobs and eat the lame Lunchable you bought in case you couldn't warm up a real lunch.
• Start thinking about soup a lot. For some reason, soup just seems like a way better idea when there is no possible way to prepare it.
• Read a book!
• Reorganize your entire livingroom... just don't bother vacuuming yet.
• While writing a hub and making a snide comment about not vacuuming, remember you have a rechargeable hand vacuum plugged in somewhere in your apartment and get really excited about the prospect of having clean floors after all. OK... that one is highly personal and probably applies to no one else but me.
• Play a fun game called, "Let's try to remember what is in the kitchen cabinet that is still edible and doesn't need to be hot to eat." Chances are, the answer is granola bars!
• I have just two words for you: shadow puppets!
• Start creating a beautiful work of art or write a great new novel using a typewriter... until it is 7 o'clock or later. Then you will either need a candle or a wild imagination.
• Go fly a kite!
• Take lots and lots of naps. You can pretend you are a small child without a care in world.
• Break out your iPod or Kindle Fire or anything else along those lines. Start dancing around your home while listening to music until the battery dies. Leave the curtains wide open and give the neighbors something to talk about. If they don't have power either, you are generously providing them with much needed entertainment.
• If your neighbors do have power, you should try to make friends with them. Offer them some tasty treats from your fridge that are about to go bad anyway.
• Discover just how many batteries it takes to keep all your flashlights working for hours.
• Give up and go to work. You may as well achieve something.