Mordor (Part 1)

The Middle East was slammed with a massive snow storm in December (and yes I am just now writing about it).  Cairo had snow for the first time in over 100 years.  Amman was hit really hard.  I am just going to have to give you the play by play:

I was house and dog sitting.  One day after the owners left, ONE DAY all heck broke loose!

I was laying on the couch watching a movie with Dewy the dog.  Class had been cancelled for the day so I opted for a Lord of the Rings marathon.  (I think the storm originated from Mordor.)  Not the most productive use of a snow day but come on.  So there I was, on the couch rooting for Frodo when all of a sudden all of the lights in the house turned blindingly bright.  Then they started throbbing...dim...ultra bright...dim...ultra bright.  Then: Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop!  Smoke is shooting out of the DVD player and the dog is army crawling in circles with his tail between his legs.  Another POP! and everything goes out.  Darkness.  I run around like a frantic person, tripping over the army crawling dog, trying to unplug things without getting electrocuted.  For the next 10 minutes there is more popping.  More army crawling.  More deep breathing.

I will not panic.  I will not panic.  Ha ha.  This is funny.  This is funny isn't it Deewy?  We don't have power and it is cold in here and it will only get colder.  It's okay.  Let's go up on the roof and take a look at what we are dealing with outside. This is an adventure not a disaster.


Picture of me and Dewy on the roof at the "yay, this is fun stage" (it was short lived once my nose and toes went and then stayed numb for the next 24 hours).

After enjoying the snow I of course had to pop LOTR 2 into my laptop.  But then it died and so did a piece of my heart when I realized that we probably wouldn't have power until the next day.  (If I only knew.)

So I piled five blankets on my bed (does Dewy count as six?).  I woke up and could see my breath in the living room.  Still no power.  A friend from next door came to check on the lack of electricity issue.  So nice but so not something he could fix.  Half the city had lost power.  As the day wore on I was starting to get colder.  And my phone was dying.  And I didn't have a way to charge it.  And I didn't have internet.  And I was cold (did I already say that?) I took a hot shower (yes, the hot water was working).  As I was finally thawing out I thought...maybe taking a shower while experiencing electrical problems is dumb.  The house agreed because at that moment the light overhead (that was not on) POPPED.  I huddled into a naked little ball.  Thoughts running through my head:  "I am standing in a puddle of water.  I am going to get electrocuted and die.  Whoever finds me (in January when the owners get back?) will find me naked and frozen.  How humiliating.  I shut off the blessedly boiling hot water and got my sudsy naked self the heck out of there.  I laid in bed for three hours.  With Dewy and five blankets for warmth.  I was miserable.  Oh so miserable. 

Then a phone call.  THE phone call.  "Lindsey, we heard your power is out.  Are you okay?"  In my head I was Screaming.  No!!!  I am not okay.  I am cold. And I can't eat anything because I can't open the fridge because I don't want to let the cold air out.  I don't want to be in the dark again.  I don't want to have my feet keep cramping because they are so cold.  I don't want to have to keep my hands in my own armpits to keep them warm because really, that just makes all of me cold.  NO! I AM NOT OKAY.  But what I said was, "yeah.  I'm okay.  It isn't super cold.  I'm alright." 

Alright?  You just drank water that has been sitting on the counter all day and it was glacial.  You just stepped in dog barf but wiped if off and kept your socks on since you are out of socks. You are living in a foreign country with no power, no internet and your phone is dying.  This is alright?   

WHY?!?   Why is it so stinkin' hard for us to say, actually, I am doing horrible and am kind of freaking out.  Thank you so much for asking!

So then angel says, "are you sure?  Do you need anything?  Do you want to come and stay with us?"  In my head I was screaming: YES!! YES!! Please, come rescue me.  I don't want to be here anymore.  But what I said was: "You know what, I think I will be okay.  Can I think about it and call you back?" 

After hanging up it only took about .2 seconds to realize how stupid? prideful? guarded? I had just been so of course I waited about 10 minutes before calling them back and saying: "will you think that I am a complete wuss if I have you come pick me up?"  He and his daughter were at my doorstep in 15 minutes.  And I could have cried.  I was wearing 4 pairs of pants, 2 shirts, 2 jackets, 1 coat, and a beanie.  I started sweating as soon as I sat down on their heated seats and I enjoyed every single drop of it.