Monday, February 21, 2005

All this time

Yesterday, around 5:15, I went to get a drink of water from my bathroom sink. Backing out into the narrow hallway that leads on either side to my bedroom or the guest bedroom, my chair came to a sudden stop. I looked down at the controls: the power light was out. I toggled the switch but nothing happened. The chair was dead. That didn't stop me from trying the switch several more times, though. Almost immediately, I knew what I was looking at, besides the wall: five and a half hours until Steve would show up. And five and a half hours it was.

Let me suggest to you that this is less than a fun way to spend one's evening. The floor is hardwood; I now know where all the whorls, the knots, the rings that look like faces, both human and vaguely monster, are. I'm quite familiar with the imperfections in the paint job. And I'm a little sore from attempts at half-napping.

But, that said, it's no big deal, really. I survived, sanity intact. In my situation, these kinds of things happen. It's just part of the deal.

So, I trust everyone had a better Sunday evening?

15 comments:

Anonymous said...

Even a not so great Sunday evening would beat yours. Surely, dear Paul, you must remember to stock your chair with a couple of good books. Just don't think! When I can't sleep and begin writing in my head, I hate myself because I know I will never actually write it as well again.
Take care - I like your attitude. mik

C. Dale said...

Paul, That sucks. It reminded me of when, as a kid, I got stuck in an elevator for an hour. I knew every small detail of that elevator.

shanna said...

i got trapped in the lobby by an over-zelous security guard (who refused to call upstairs for me) this morning for 30 minutes (i forgot my ID and new york can be very strict about its office buildings), so i thought that was bad...until the thought of you on the floor. ugh.

Paul said...

Well, I wasn't in the floor, Shanna. I didn't fall. It was just some weirdo electrical problem with my chair that stopped me cold.

Jennifer said...

Well, I suppose it could have happened in worse places, but still...what a bore. Yes, my Sunday evening was better, though not scintillating; sorry yours sucked.

Peter said...

Paul: What a bummer! if only you had one of those little push button necklaces my elderly patients wear, so they can alert 911 if they've fallen, or etc (you probably have already heard about this, and aren't asking for my advice, sorry). Maybe you'll get a poem out of it??
--Peter

Paul said...

Thanks, Peter. What I need to do is just get a cell phone. I have friends just across town, family five minutes away. Had I had one, problem solved in no time.

Anonymous said...

Oh! You don't have a cell phone? May I ask why not? I literally only use mine for emergencies, but I was pretty resistant to getting one and I'm in my early thirties, so it's not a technology thing. But it's gotten me out of a jam a few times.

You do have the best attitude of anyone I've ever seen, really. I learn a lot from you.

Paul said...

Why no cell phone? Just resisted being tied to it, paying for it, etc. I'm still only half committed to getting one. :)

Unknown said...

Sorry to hear it, that sux. You can buy cell phones that are similar to pre-paid phone cards--you buy a chunk of minutes and there's no monthly charge. I have this kind of phone, I bought mine at Radio Shack. The phones are pretty cheap--mine was like 60 bucks. I don't like the whole commitment thing either, this way I can have it for emergency situations, but I never use it otherwise. I bought 100 minutes last summer and still have 60 left.

Take care!

jenni

Jennifer said...

I'm with Jenni. It goes against the grain to pay for a zillion minutes I'll never use, but there's a lot more options now, like the one she mentioned. I go through Verizon pre-paid, and it keeps the charges down to $15 a month, no commitment. Plus you can carry your minutes over from charge period to charge period, so you can use it instead of long-distance on your land line, if the person you're calling is in their service area. Might not be a bad idea...when you really need a phone, they come in mighty handy.

Suzanne said...

You handled it a helluvalot better than I would have. I would have freaked out, probably ending in some crazy breakdown. I, too have resisted the cell phone phenom, but that Radio Shack deal doesn't sound bad.

My Sunday was spent looking at all the ramshackle 3+ bedroom houses that are in our price range...very depressing. XO

shanna said...

well, i'm glad i misread then!

Anonymous said...

Ha. I love that you don't have a cellphone! I thought I was one of the few left who refuse to commit to that little rude, great-for-emergencies tool. Talk about a paradox.

If not for living in a college town and seeing students with it glued to their hands or ears all day, in class, in restaurants, in bathrooms, maybe I would be more likely to carry one.

I'm awfully afraid of becoming one of those obliviously rude "oh so important" people (not to say all cell-phone users are this way, of course).

Melissa

Ana Božičević said...

a cellphone is the solution. it's useful while you're waiting for the metaphysical fire department to arrive, too: I've pleasantly surprised many a neglected friend with a call while stuck for hours waiting in my building's lobby, key lost.