Is it too much to ask that the electricity we pay for stay on for at least three days in a row?

Yes, we lost power again last night. Four hours of no heat during the coldest part of the night means that we lost all the warmth stored up in the apartment once more.

I no longer care what the reason may be – whether it’s the major NDG power transfer system finally dying due to old age, or the lousy wiring job in our apartment possibly shorting out the entire block – I just don’t care. I’m tired of resetting clocks, alarms, and volume levels. I’m tired of having to blast all our ineffective heaters just to get things to a comfortable temperature so I can function like a relatively normal human being again.

At first it was charming – we’d light candles, sit and chat quietly, watch the snow fall. Then it became slightly irritating, as the power would cut out when I needed to reach a deadline, make dinner, was expecting a call, was in the process of finishing something valuable on the computer, or some such thing. Now it’s just an instant anger-inducing inconvenience that makes me growly no matter what I’m doing, even if it’s as benign as reading on the sofa with a pile of cats.

Forty-seven days until spring. As the days count down, the temperature will rise, and people will consume less electricity, reducing the stress on the outdated power grid. Perhaps then we’ll experience fewer interruptions in our electrical supply.

I’m trying to be optimistic about it.