This week kind of went off the rails yesterday, so I’m going to throw some bits-and-pieces that could have turned into longer, individual posts into a single grab bag to end the week.

The biggest obstacle we faced this week came Thursday morning at approximately 3:30 am. I woke to hear the smoke alarms and cable backup box chirping and seeing strange flashes of light out the windows. After a few moments I realized the power had gone out. I waited a few more minutes until it was apparent this wasn’t just a quick flicker because a squirrel touched two power lines, and then took a flashlight into C. and L.’s room so if they woke up they wouldn’t freak out. A few minutes later there was another pop in the distance and some more flashes of light. “Great,” I thought, “transformers are blowing up.”

The weather was fine, so my hope was that this would be a quick fix. But at 7:00 the power was still off so we scrambled to get M. ready for school in the dark. When we left, a police car was blocking one way out of our neighborhood. That direction you could see one of the main power lines that is usually 40 feet in the air down on the ground and several of the utility poles had broken cross-supports. Greater still.

C.’s school was first delayed and then cancelled, so she, L. and I sat at home, them watching movies on a laptop and me reading in the light from the front window. Eventually I checked the Indy Star’s website and learned that a drunk driver had a run-in with a utility pole. Initially 6000 people lost power, but after some work, only about 300, all in our neighborhood, remained in the dark. And, according to the power company, it was going to take most of the day to fix it.

We went out for lunch, went to the library, and after getting M. went to my in-laws’ until we learned the power was back on after 5:00 pm. Good times. The girls were well-behaved and, fortunately, the temperature was in the 40s. By the time we left the house to get M. it was getting a little chilly, but it obviously could have been much worse this time of year. And yes, we have a fireplace that we’ve never used. I suppose if it was freezing we could have kicked it on, but I’d hate to be one of those people who used a fireplace for the first time in eight years and then their chimney caught on fire because there are birds nests in it or something.

And who drives drunk at 3:30 am on a Thursday?

OK, that was longer that I thought. I’ll keep the rest of this brief.

I covered a rousing comeback Tuesday night. My team, GHS, which had only won three games all season, dug out of a 13-point hole to beat a team with two Division I recruits by 11. GHS has, obviously, struggled this year but that was their third-straight win. It was great to not only see the comeback, but see a team developing confidence in the last couple weeks of the season. It’s unlikely they’ll make any kind of run in sectionals, but at least there is a glimmer of hope now.

Plans may change, but I am scheduled to attend my first Pacers game in six years this Sunday. They broke a five-game losing streak last night, but had been one of the surprises of the early NBA season before that. I wouldn’t say I’m getting back on the NBA bandwagon, but for the first time since before the Brawl, I’m at least paying a little attention to them.

Since my power outage rant went longer than planned, I’ll cut this off here. Have a great weekend.

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