picked a handful of violets in my name

Internet went out some time Wednesday afternoon. After many calls to Verizon tech support, we got a couple of technicians out here today (one of whom knows the landlady, lololololol). It is so damn good to be online again.

I am caught up on email, twitter, and journals I read via Dreamwidth. I'm still not caught up on comms/feeds read via DW or anything through LJ. I am hoping to make a post about what I have actually been doing with my time, but that will have to wait until tomorrow, because... solarcat and I will be going to see Cobra Starship tonight.

I have some Google Wave invites, should anyone out there want one. Or leave me your username so I can add you to my contacts. I am sofiaviolet, because I am most predictablest. Comments are screened.

$winterholiday card requests are still open! And if you have posted a wishlist somewhere, please link me to it. :D?

This free course on urban issues looks awesome. Too bad it conflicts with NuBiLaGA meetings. >:(

I think I must be a real grown-up, you guys. I haven't lost my keys since freshman year (and I only misplaced it in my dorm room), I haven't lost my cell phone ever, and I still have my school id issued in 2006. :D?

I am only online right now through the grace of UPS.

The power went out at my apartment. zachens has confirmed that the neighbors one house up the street are also without electricity.

NStar has been called. They didn't know what was wrong but they did give me an automated callback. My power should return by 10:30.

The weird thing it, the power isn't 100% totally and completely dead.
* zachens dragged out the voltmeter and the outlets are all putting out ~9 volts.
* The GFCI near the kitchen sink was buzzing for long enough that we called Dad. It stopped, though, while I was on the phone with him.
* The motion-detector and light in the front hall of this building work.
* The light in our front room works, but the outlets don't power anything.
* The light in zachens's room works, but the outlets don't power anything.
* The ceiling light and fan in the bathroom works, but not the GFCI or the lights over the mirror.
* The refrigerator is running. Light comes on and everything. Pantry light is out, though.
* Some basement lights work, but others don't. The dryer works.

Current theories include: electricity is one fucked up force of energy; we have a poltergeist; the house is possessed. Two of those would require judicious application of Winchesters. Other theories are, of course, welcomed.

Yes, zachens has already twiddled with the circuit breakers. Twice.

EDIT: All lights in apartment (so, front room and zachens's room, then) have gone out. Afraid to check elsewhere. Also heard a high-pitched beep. IDEK.

EDIT 2: zachens is listening to "Danger! High Voltage" during the power outage.

EDIT 3: \o/ The electricity! It returns!

\o/

Up early enough to shower, dress nicely, pack bento (2, since one is full of salad and that is Not Lunch), and make extensive use of the internet! And I still have 10+ minutes to kill before I need to leave the house.

Who else is doing NaNoWriMo? I am sofiaviolet! Go be my writing buddy.

I'm going to use NaNo to procrastinate on my epic history paper, and my paper to procrastinate on NaNo! Good plan y/n?

May 6th - MCR in Philadelphia
May 7th - MCR in Philadelphia
May 8th - PATD in New York
May 9th - MCR in New York (with Hugh)
May 11th - PATD in Boston

I have somewhere to stay in New York (and obviously in Boston, I live here), but does anyone who will be in Philadelphia for either/both of those shows have spare crashspace? I am tiny, quiet, and definitely willing to pay my share.

ETA: Accommodations found. But friendly person with a car would be helpful, too. I may not be able to leave my stuff at the hotel before that first show.

Originally published at The Love Letter Sessions. You can comment here or there.

Do you guys want the whole saga of how NStar fails?

I came home from class to find the power out. I fumbled around my room for a minute, but it's so dark in there that there was no way I could put my hands on an old bill. And no electricity means no internet, so that's out.

I called Mom, but she didn't answer her phone, so I called Dad and made him look up the phone number. Called, reported my power out, signed up to get a call whenever they had more info. Poked at the circuit breakers.

Got two calls back almost immediately. One from the automated system saying that repairs in my area should be done by 7, and one from an actual person saying that it was just my apartment, call the landlord.

Went down to the basement to see if there was anything else I could poke. Found an orange tag on the doorknob saying they had disconnected one meter because they had no record of anyone using it, or something like that.

Found nothing to poke at, so I called the landlord. Confused the shit out of him because he actually knows me as Sofia, not [legalname]. He said NStar had disconnected a random meter that only served two lights or something, but he'd call them in the morning.

Went back inside, called Dad again. He talked me through the circuit panel, to no avail. Then he sent me to look at the meters, but they're inside and behind a door I don't have a key to.

Went back inside, left my bedroom light "on," and took a nap. At a quarter past 7, no power and no new updates. I have a paper due tomorrow; my laptop's battery lasts about two and a half hours; my paper has already taken two and a half hours tonight and it's not quite done (I could turn it in as is, but I want to add more facts and bring it back within the page limit).

So I decided to haul myself back to campus, where I am right now. I left the apartment and couldn't help seeing the apartment next to me.

And their goddamn lights on.

NStar disconnected the wrong fucking meter.

And of course there's no one in the office after five. So I'm going to wake up tomorrow and start calling until I get someone real. It's gonna be really fun trying to take a shower in a room with no windows.


All I wanna know is whose bill I've been paying. Because I have been paying one.

Originally published at The Love Letter Sessions. You can comment here or there.

• I need to reschedule my appointment with the very nice lady who prescribes my anti-crazy pills, because an unexpected conflict has arisen. ( tl;dr about my twitchy mental state ) ETA: November 5th @ 9:30. Not bad.

• Looking over the assignment for Gender & Society a little more carefully: it says the preliminary bibliography and proposal are due the 26th in bold at the bottom of the page, but it says the 19th within the requirements for the research paper. Therefore I will shoot for the 19th because it's on the safe side and I can use the good academic karma. I have the books for my bibliography picked out; I just need two articles and to write my proposal and I can probably email it to her before class tomorrow. \o/

• Just for reference: voice posts can be 5 minutes long, and Paid and Permanent accounts can make 20 per calendar month (Plus accounts can make 5).

• It's been five weeks and six days since I got my ears pierced. I can has cute earrings!

• My mother sent me a check last week, which I thought was for the utility bill. But she called me this morning and said she was sending another one, specifically for that. So, I am confused. Mom, when you see this, can you comment/call me and remind me what the first check was for? (Add that to the Series of Unfortunate Side Effects: my memory has always been bad and now it's worse.)