Bookish Blackout!

 

 

On Tuesday night, I was pounding out a blog entry when my mom told me to go to bed because there was a storm brewing (typhoon Basyang). I was actually packing up my stuff already; the chilly wind was blowing into the living room and I was getting goosebumps. Of course, because I’m now paranoid, I had to check that I had no books at flood level before heading upstairs.

I’d no sooner climbed into bed when the power went out, and the wind started howling something awful, rattling the window panes and galvanized iron roofs from nearby. Our dog Macky started whimpering from the stairs so I grabbed my flashlight to take him up to the room. Our cat Missy was already burrowing into my mom’s blankets for warmth (she hates being cold).

I fell into a fitful sleep, worrying about falling trees and flying rooftops, and woke up to the sound of my brother telling my mom the upstairs bathroom was a mess — the window was open and the ceiling was detached, hanging by the wiring of the lamp in the center. I got out of bed and there was sludge all over the toiletries!

Still no power by then so I marched off to the bathroom downstairs to get ready for work. There were a few inches of floodwater in the street so I had to tiptoe across the sidewalk!

Anyway, we had an event at the SMX Convention Center that day and it was running on generators, so only about half the aircons were on in the huge event hall and wi-fi was iffy.

We ran into CNN Hero of the Year 2009 Efren Peñaflorida, one of the speakers at the event, so I had my photo taken with him.

 

 

Later, after he’d given his talk, we asked him what his favorite book is. His reply: The Purpose Driven Life (apt but cliche. I think he needs to get some new reading material).

After the event I had some emails to send out and my sister wanted me to wait for her (she works nearby) so I walked to the mall in the hopes of mooching off the free wifi, but the mall had no power as well, so no wifi for me. I called my sister to see if I could send some emails from her office, and she said okay, so I started walking there, but then I saw my favorite bargain bookstore, shrouded in darkness, but the door was open, and I could see a candle burning by the counter.

(Sorry, by then my camera had died and I couldn’t charge my batteries)

I couldn’t resist the challenge of book hunting in the dark. Fifteen minutes of squinting later (only two candles in the book store — and I cringe at the thought of one accidentally tumbling over) I gave up because it was stuffy at the far end of the store with no airconditioning, but not before I headed to the counter with two books: a first edition hardcover copy of Michael Chabon’s The Yiddish Policemen’s Union (P35) and the delightful Peanuts Christmas Ornament Book (P15)! I had to wait a bit as the cashier had to decipher the price tags and write out my receipt.

 

 

I trudged to my sister’s office (I was already in my havaianas but I had to put my heels back on so they’d let me in) so I can mooch off her internet, which was the right move, as there was still no power back home. It was 9 pm (hours before my bedtime) and with nothing to do, I ended up reading with my booklight until I fell asleep.

 

 

Oh, and by the way, that book light I bought a few months back is totally flimsy. I’ve been using it almost every night for the past couple months and I don’t think it will last the year. Definitely not for heavy-duty reading. Boo!