Specifically?
TOILET PAPER!
Feeling very smug as I sat on my throne aka my bidet, I still had at least a years worth of toilet paper from my "pre bidet" life.
Why, you might wonder, would an American buy a bidet?
The answer is that when a friend & I went to Hawai'i in 2018, we were very nice to the desk clerk when we checked in at The Moana Surf Rider Hotel in Waikiki.
The computers were down, checking in & making room keys wasn't possible. The desk clerk was doing his best with cranky, tired travelers who were quite mean to him. He was calm, polite, I saw the fear in his eyes when my friend & I stepped up for him to write our names as being checked in.
My heart went out to the clerk. I decided to be as sweet as a summer Georgia peach to him. Maybe, compensate a little for the abuse he had suffered from the other people.
I could almost hear his sigh of relief when I smiled at him, said,
"Don't worry! I'm a nice haole."
He smiled.
Haole is the term for a Caucasian or white person. I had lived in Hawai'i for a total of 7 years. Many Caucasian people, tourists in particular, could be quite rude to the locals. Many would believe the locals were stupid simply because they spoke a dialect of English, that is unique to Hawai'i. It's called "Pidgin English". I spoke it, too!
The desk clerk was so nice to me & my friend right back with vouchers & gift cards for food, drinks, Uber, merchandise.
The best part?
He upgraded our room. We were just 1 floor below the penthouse.
The best part about the room?
A very nice, new, bidet!
It had been a long time since I had used a bidet. The last time I had used one was a long minute ago.
Whilst being based at Ramstein AB, Kaiserslautern, Germany. The last time using a bidet, prior to Hawai'i, I had taken my 2 eldest daughters to Paris, France, for a long weekend. It was on this trip that I got my nickname:
Madame WOW
I had told my 2 girls that the rules for the trip was that there were no rules! They had chosen the candy & snacks for the long 5 hour tour bus ride.
By the time we got to our hotel, they were so excited, sugared up, giggly, totally adorable!
I let them figure the bidet out on their own.
The bidet was a built in type. Possibly, the one in Hawai'i was, as well. Whatever it was, it was nice, stimulating, even.
It caused me to decide that when I got home to Texas, I was going to buy a bidet.
So, I did!
Soon after I had bought the bidet, the toilet paper crises hit my town.
Since the stores were getting cleaned out, it seemed like a good time to rotate my food storage. I started mostly preparing food that I had stored away. A years worth of whatever I might need plus, a little extra to share if someone else needed it. That's who I am.
I work from home, mostly. A fast, strong internet connection is crucial for me to get my work done. 14 - 20 hours straight, is common.
I had a few days of a break in the workload. On February 13, I decided to super-clean my fridge. My workload has been steadily very heavy for a little over 1 year. My fridge had suffered.
I took nearly everything out of it, tossed everything except 1 dozen raw eggs. I figured, I'd go to the grocers on Monday, to re-stock.
My supervisor called me, asked me if I could just do *ONE* job that was crucial to their project. It was going to pay well, so I accepted it.
The document I had agreed to translate/interpret was bigger than I had anticipated, with a deadline of Feb 15, 0500. Usually, I talk with my youngest daughter on Sundays. She is a busy Engineer, so, I appreciate it that she makes the time so we can stay connected.
After our conversation, I took a nap, then woke up, set up food, water, whatever I would need while I worked.
When I start a document I don't stop until it's done. No bathroom breaks, no getting up, just keep going until it's done. Sitting on a balance ball chair helps. This effort could be 14 - 20 hours or more, depending upon how many pages it is.
It could be in the French language, German, Italian & rarely Spanish. My favorite is French, with Italian being the most taxing on me.
Still, I do it.
Baby likes her shoes. Ha ha!
The translation went smoothly, the supervisor sent a reply back, which also went smoothly.
I was feeling VERY pleased with myself when it was all done & dusted by Monday @ 0200. Three hours ahead of the deadline!!!!!
Maybe, I was a bit too pleased with myself! Speaking out loud, I was giving myself the atta girl talk over & over!
"I'm too sexy for my work, too sexy for my work."
"Dang Brenda, you so fine, you beat the deadline"
"PCH, why yes, I will accept the $10,000,000,000."
A way I use to wind down is to do fine, detailed needlework. After I got ready for bed, a warm shower, face massage etc, I settled in my bed with a gorgeous piece I'm stitching for a guy whom I am trading my needlework with for his painting skills. It has been coming along beautifully! As I worked on the design, I felt myself relax. Soon after that, everything went dark. 0237 to be exact.
Everything.
Cell signal was even gone.
Looking outside, up & down the street, everything was pitch dark.
As one who can stay calm, I decided to go to sleep, to see if it would all be restored by the time I woke the next day.
It wasn't.
First thought?
Check on my neighbors.
It was the same with them.
I later found out that 90% of the town was the same. In addition to no electricity, internet, cell service or water?
Only those with gas heat, had heat.
The one thing I did have was gas heat. Also, I keep an emergency item that has to be wound up to power 2 detachable lights plus a radio. Also one very bright, battery operated lantern.
It was then that I realized that the only food I had, was food that had to be cooked.
One dozen raw eggs.
I picked a bad time to super clean my fridge!
Having done as much as a 6 day fast before, it seemed like a good time to fast for however long the outage lasted. The only problem was that I didn't have water.
I drove to my regular gym, which had power, bought 2 bottles of water (honor system). After finding that I had a cell signal, I checked things out online, on my phone. It was worse than I thought.
Everything was dark.
Every place was closed.
The whole town, pop. 8,612, was brought to a dark standstill.
When Walmart & McDonalds close, it's really bad.
The outages continued.
Since I had rotated my food storage, super cleaned my fridge, I had exactly 1 dozen raw eggs. That was all the food I had.
(I'm aware that this is redundant)
* Note to self ~ Begin to rebuild food storage.
By Tuesday, I had steady cell service. I posted online, on social media, to let people know that I was okay. Burdening people with worry about me is something I avoid when possible. There's enough to be worried about in the world, as long as I'm doing okay, it's better to refrain from contributing to the worry in the world.
I live alone. Single & celibate by choice. I am all that I have in the world. It's less than ideal. However, as the author of "Loving What Is" - Byron Katie, teaches, I accept it.
A dear friend whom I have known since childhood, called from Ohio, to check on me. Another lifelong friend in Maryland called to check on me. My sister in the UP Michigan called to check on me.
It was nice to know that at least 3 people in the world cared enough to call to check on me.
Other than that?
I am on my own.
Flying solo, like Ladyhawk.
I was feeling a bit hungry, had no water. I went to my neighbor who is also my landlady. She made something small to eat (she has a gas stove) gave me some bottles of water.
Now, I have a more personal understanding as to why stray animals keep going back when someone gives them food & water.
After we had finished eating, the power came back on.
I felt it was better to go to bed early. Going through my nightly self care practice, felt good. Brushing & flossing my teeth. Rinsing my face (I stopped using cleanser or soap on my face many years ago). Massaging night cream into my face/neck/chest & backs of hands.
The water was ice cold, thus, no pre bedtime shower.
I heard the power click off then on throughout the night. By Friday, Feb 20, the power was on, steady. The water barely trickled out of faucets, the pressure was very low while still steadily gaining pressure as the hours went by.
My neighbor had given me a bit of food to last until the grocers re-opened.
It's a bit funny, to think, just last Saturday, I was diligently cleaning my fridge, feeling happy at how nice it looked! Ha ha.
Today, Saturday, 2/20/2021, I was in a house cleaning mood. I started by clearing off surfaces, de-cluttering. As I opened the storage room in the back of the house, to get boxes to donate things I could get rid of, I was greeted with a spray of bitterly cold water on my face!
A pipe had burst.
If the storage room did not angle downward, away from the house, I would have had at least 3" of water leaking into my house.
Saved by an angle
