Well, it finally happened: my power got turned off!
I thought I’d be able to string them along for another month, while I finally got my rent caught up, after being 4 months behind as of about 6 months ago. I no longer have to duck behind the couch when the landlord rings the doorbell. So I was so close to being totally caught up on my rent that I just gave over my entire last paycheck to my landlord, just to feel the relief.
Then, the morning after I send that off, I get the yellow envelope taped to my front door. (Turns out they actually tape a yellow envelope to your front door!) But, of course, it was the day after I sent off my last red cent to my landlord. So all I could do was call that yellow envelope’s bluff. Turns out it wasn’t bluffing.
So now, until my next paycheck–what, ten days?–no movies: reading by flashlight. Or sleeping. A lot. And–here’s the camping part–cold showers! Yep, water heater in the apartment. And no cooking or refrigerating either. So my plan is to stop at Pike Place Market on the way to work every day and get a sack of fruit. Maybe it’ll be the beginning of a new diet, right? Or maybe it will just cost me a lot in toilet paper . . . (and batteries; my bathroom is windowless).
It’ll be an adventure, right?
Right?
It’s those cold showers I’ll have to think of as an adventure . . .
Sorry to hear about your problems. I take it your work is not a place that has a shower for people who bike to work? At least the cold showers will encourage you to conserve water as well. Alternatively, when I googled public showers in Seattle I found theLow Income Housing Institute which operates The Urban Rest Stop, located at 924 9th Avenue (between Stewart and Virginia) which is a public shower/restroom facility and all services are free of charge. Good luck.
Do you have any access to boiling water at all? Perhaps at work? - if so, you can cook hot meals in a thermos flask - chop up some vegetables (include an onion or garlic for flavour) , drop them in the flask along with a couple of handfuls of rice or pasta, lentils, beans etc (although don’t overdo the rice, as you don’t want it to swell solid), throw in some herbs and maybe a bit of a stock cube, or just some salt - don’t fill more than half full of dry ingredients.
Top it off with freshly-boiled water whenever you get the chance, tighten the lid and leave it for at least four hours, after which time it ought to look like some kind of stew.
Not gourmet cooking, but it’s a cheap hot meal of sorts.
Between market fruit and work microwave, I think I’ll be OK. It’s the sitting at home in the dark–or riding the bus like a homeless person to avoid sitting at home in the dark–that I don’t look forward too. (As you can see, I’m staying extra late at work just to avoid going home . . . )
Um…I’m not exactly flush with cash right now, but I am Seattle-side and might be able to help somehow. Small loan, use of a warm shower, something? I could buy you some TP. I have a gas stove; if I cook something I could give you the leftovers.
As far as the sitting at home goes…I don’t know how to help with that, but if you could negotiate with Seattle City Light for a reasonable amount, I might be able to loan it to you, just so you can get your shit turned back on.
K. You aren’t flush w. cash, but you are employed. Is there a Target by you & can you raise $20? You can get a dynamo-flashlight w. radio for about $20. The dynamo is a handcrank, meaning that You power the unit, not batteries. A little music can lighten the darkest mood and the light will make staying in your apartment more bearable. I know $20 can be a lot, but its what you’d pay for 4 packs of batteries which you’d go through in no time. Besides, they still broadcast news & baseballgames on AM.
I’ve lived without power, back in my younger days, for over a month. It isn’t that bad. Get a cheap headlamp, it’s much nicer for reading than a flashlight.
After having our power go off for over 24 hours due to a tree falling on the lines, I bought a battery powered lamp and radio/CD player. No home should be without them.
We were without power for a week during last winter’s ice storm, and “sitting home in the dark” can be ameliorated very nicely by only a few candles. Votive lights will work, but those 6" long Red Cross emergency candles work even better, burn longer, and put out more light. It’s possible to read by candlelight; I did it for a week. The trick is to get several all set up in a cluster on the dining room table so the light falls on the book.
And a single votive candle in the bathroom provides adequate light for night-time bathroom trips. Put it on a big fireproof plate of some kind so if it burns down in the middle of the night, you don’t set the house on fire.
Could you get a part-time job evenings and Saturdays? If you’re that strapped for cash, spending some time at Wally World would give you something to do with your time as well as put some $ in your pocket. I worked with a woman who’d gotten herself into some serious debt. She has a full-time day job and works at Wal-mart most evenings and weekends. She’s a little tired but she’s determined to dig herself out of her situation. Got to admire that kind of resolve.
I’ve been in your situation before. Ramen noodles can tide you over, Aldi food stores have cheap stuff or you can graze your way through the supermarket samples on weekends. Maybe see if you can crash at a friends house for a few days.
Thanks all, for your kind thoughts and suggestions and offers of help. I’m gonna see if I can’t somehow live through this. I’m not sure if I can make it the whole 10 days, but I’ll think of Paris and take strength from her example.
And yes, my job covers rent and utilities, though just barely; I’m at the tail end of a long stretch of catch-up, after a longer stretch of disemployment.
I went without a refridgerator for two and a half weeks. While not as bad as your present condition, it still sucked trying to keep food fresh in an icebox for that long.
That could be a useful link. Contacts with organizations contained within that link could assist you with other pertinent matters.
What’s that? Oh, right. Well, I’m operating on the assumption that at least once in your life you paid a tax on something. Doesn’t it just piss you off that you’re paying out all that money in taxes but never seem to get anything for it? Well, here’s your chance to retrieve a small portion of all that money you’ve paid out over the years. Wouldn’t you like to see where some of your money has been going all this time? Wouldn’t it be nice to get some of it back?