Anker Power Pack

With the snow storm last week we lost power not only once, but twice. Our building has a generator, but only for the building - like hallways, elevators and parking garage. The units are left high and dry. It was one of the first questions I asked before we considered moving here. Well, it didn’t work out like we thought. It seems with every rainstorm last summer we lost power too. My little pen sized power pack barely gets us through one phone charge. So I decided it was time to get a larger power pack so we could feel comfortable the next time we lose power. So I got an Anker Power Pack and charged it up to the full amount. It’s supposed to be able to charge a phone at least five times. I’m hoping I never have to try it out. But watching a movie on the phone can be a good diversion when Wi-Fi and everything else is lost. I know we could always get in the car and charge up the phone, but that is rather inconvenient. We are expecting another storm this weekend. People in Virginia love their trees, but I draw a line when it comes to power lines and trees having experienced that disaster first hand in the Midwest. The first power outage was related to a circuit but the second one was because a frozen and snowy tree broke the line. The one nice thing about living on Capitol Hill was that our electrical was underground. It’s hard to believe they actually did something right. 

Power Out AGAIN

For the second time in two weeks, we lost power. It’s the third time in a year and the incidents always last about the same amount of time - which makes me wonder if there is a consistent problem with a particular circuit or zone. When we moved to northern Virginia from Capitol Hill over two years ago the first thing I asked when we were looking for our new condo was if the power ever went out. The answer was there was a generator back up. What they didn’t say was that the generator only works for the building and not for the specific units. So the hallways, etc are covered, but the inside of a unit remains out of luck. So I go to the dominion energy app and fill in the information. The status is supposed to be updated every fifteen minutes, but it never is. So the outage lasted from 4-8:30 PM. Luckily we had gotten sandwiches at the grocery store yesterday and had that for dinner. Thank goodness we didn’t put the oven on to cook a casserole. In the end it wasn’t a big deal but more of an inconvenience. I recharged my phone using my power back up, but also know we can get in the car if we need to. So we watched live tv on my phone for a bit, played video games on my iPad, and sat outside for a while - listening to the loud generator in the building next door that had lights on. At least the entire evening wasn’t ruined. There are storms expected over the next few days again and we won’t be surprised if it happens again. I just need to make sure our equipment is charged and try not to get annoyed. Once it becomes a habit you begin to know what to do, but it’s just happening too often. 

Storm Clouds

They said the winds reached 80 MPH! All afternoon there were storm watches and warnings. Several areas were hit a lot worse than others with multiple trees down and electricity out. That’s one of the few things I liked about living on Capitol Hill. The power lines were underground so the only time power went off was man made. We usually sit outside on the balcony in the early evening but this time only for a few minutes. Having a western exposure in our northern Virginia condo allows a view of what is to come. And it looked really eerie and creepy. There was a plane flying overhead. I can only imagine how nauseating that would feel. I have never liked thunder storms or rain or hurricanes. I used to hide under the sheets from fear. So my husband and I watched the clouds progress to what would become an almost hellish rain storm. We lasted outside until the drops came and they came in a torrent after a huge wind gust. I don’t remember seeing such an angry sky since we moved here two years ago. I suppose it’s good to have rain once in a while, but this was more like a hurricane. And that’s why I don’t like living in Florida. This was a great reminder.