Lightening Strikes

One of the reasons I love traveling back to Minnesota in the summertime is that we almost always get at least one good thunderstorm while we are there.  Thunderstorms just aren't as common here - maybe the temperature is just too consistent - without dramatic drops from high to low.  Anyway.  I'm not a meteorologist.  I don't really have any idea.

But this last month, we've had quite a few thunderstorms here.  Last week, a thunderstorm in the middle of the night lasted for hours.  Another thunderstorm delivered a lightening bolt that hit our building.  Everything shook, and all of the burglar alarms started going off.  Here, a lot of people have homes with burglar alarms.  These are not exactly silent alarms.  These alarms are attached to the exterior of the building in an obvious place, with a flood light that flashes and an obnoxious blare that screams at a high decibel when triggered.

Everyone's power was knocked out.  The next morning, it took me longer than I care to admit to find the switch in the basement to reset it.  Ok, let me rephrase.  It took me longer than I care to admit to learn that there was such a switch in the first place.  I had to hear the vacuum cleaner next door before I knew I had to start asking around about the power loss and what to do about it.  (Remember, that sometimes my strategy here is to wait to see what happens.  Sometimes, things just fix themselves.  This wasn't one of those times.)

Our neighbors had their phones and modem fried.  A few hours later after our power was back on, I realized that our brand new dishwasher was still dead.  The flashing lights indicated some sort of short. The first available appointment was a week out.  Today, that coveted appointment revealed that a part needed to be ordered and a new appointment was scheduled for next week (the next available time slot, of course).  But the repairman explained that he has been extra busy because of those storms.  Apparently, a lot of electrical appliances have shorted out.

I've decided that we got off lucky.  It was an appliance that is still under warranty, it's an appliance that our landlord maintains.  And while it's not as convenient, it's not critical.    I can use my hands to wash my dishes.  Our computers (both were plugged in at the time, updating iTunes) - now THAT would have been a critical loss.  Not to mention expensive.

I'll wash my dishes and buy myself some new fancy hand lotion for my dishpan hands.