Boy! Oh Boy!

Earthquake. Hurricane. Tornado watch. Tropical Storm. Floods.

And all in the past one week.

'Irene' is no stranger to you, I guess. It's on TV everywhere. Now that it has passed, people are complaining that the whole thing was too much hype about nothing. I say, better safe than sorry. What if it was the other way round - what if everybody took it easy and it turned out to be your worst nightmare? Over-prepared is better than caught unawares. And give the govt. a break people. Those who mock now would just as easily lash out at the govt if it had turned out any different.

Amidst all this, it was amusing to note that my one concern was power outage. I wondered how we had sailed through all those many cyclones and thunderstorms in India, where the power cut was your uninvited guest. And then I realised what was so different. Internet and equipment.

Telephone was the good old dependable thing that didn't need charge to work. Of course, poles would snap and one would be dragged into a shouting match. The telephone was surely not to be blamed for that. 

No iPods, iPhones or Laptops. My idea of entertainment was either 'Anthyakshari' with my sibs or playing cards with my parents. The next best thing was listening to my grandfather lecture about the good old times. And now look at who is talking!

My mom would always finish her cooking before the power cuts. The only piece of kitchen equipment that was tied to the power cut was the mixer-grinder. Now, in my kitchen everything is lifeless without electricity - fridge, stove, oven, mixie, blender, toaster, gridle, deep fryer and what not.

We have a well in our home in India. So it was not scary to think of surviving a power cut that lasted two/three days. That is so not the case here. No power = No pump to push the water up to our first floor apartment. Think of those skyscrapers in NY City.

Of course, like I said, it wasn't as awful in our place, as was predicted. Millions of people along the east coast who had it much worse are still without power, their streets flooded and transportation halted. Some are trapped on Islands.

It was my first earthquake, hurricane and tornado watch. Earthquake was many miles away, we only felt it mildly. The sofa did a short dance, and my roof gave it company. Hurricane was gentle on us, so I won't complain. And the tornado watch only gave me nightmares. So there. I hope Mother Nature will rest for the rest of 2011. Just give us a lovely autumn and an easy winter please??


Ciao!!