Yesterday was one of those days when I just could not get started. I thought about staying up after I got a boy on a bus, and I thought about getting up more than once after that, but even after I got to my room I found myself dabbing at this and playing with that, just not turning my attention to anything that really mattered.

Part of it was that I knew I had overbooked the day–in addition to taking my mother-in-law grocery shopping, I was planning to do some grocery shopping myself (she shops at a relatively expensive store, I at a surprisingly cheap one), and stop at the bank, and stop at another store to look for a specialty lightbulb, on top of doing the work here. Yet I was not turning my attention to any of these tasks.

Finally I left, later than I’d intended, to deal with my mother-in-law’s shopping trip. It was already nearly evening, and I had already left instructions for supper and then delayed my departure yet again. However, I went there and did that, and returned home.

It was by this point ten thirty at night, and now that I was moving I was wondering how I was going to finish what I had not yet started. I was stopped at a traffic light perhaps two miles from home, listening to the local radio station whose transmitter I had just passed, trying to sort the work in my mind.

Quite abruptly, the traffic light and the radio station both shut down–along with every light within view but for those connected to vehicles.

By the time I called the electric company, they knew that all of several towns were blacked out, and were predicting half past midnight as the restoration time. Several of our emergency lights were missing, but we have blackouts frequently enough that several were still available, and there was enough light for our purposes. I realized I was not going to be able to do much even if the estimate was accurate. I pulled out the Romans editing and worked at that by electric lantern light, then got dressed for bed.

The lights were restored mere minutes before one in the morning; I took the opportunity to send my daily post to the Corinthians list, and went to bed.

This morning I got my laundry going that absolutely had to be done last night, so I’m a step behind even now. Also, while I was getting students started for school, I finished the last of the Collision repertoire recordings. At that point I figured I might as well just stay up and see what I could accomplish, which has not been as much as I might have liked, but I’ve finished the e-mail (including a letter from someone asking my input on General Relativity, which is not really my area). I still have to do that grocery shopping trip, and stop at the bank, and there’s another appointment this evening, but at least I’m moving.

–M. J. Young