So, no doubt due to my rant yesterday about turning off lights, the power went out earlier. I was at the pet store with the three kids. Sophie was doing her best to wallop the store cat as he tried in vain to sleep on the counter. The woman behind the counter extended me credit for my purchases, since for some reason they didn't have a backup plan for dealing with credit card transactions sans power. We then went home. The hognose snake tried to eat me again. When is he going to learn that he can never get past the top knuckle on my finger? When Jen got home from Whole Foods we all ended up outside, as did a number of other people on the block. Mike, our next-door neighbor, commented that the only good thing about power outages is that they get people out of their houses. I guess it's hard to continue watching TV when the screen is a black square of emptiness (of course, I'm of the opinion that it is always a black square of emptiness, even when there's color and movement). Mike's girlfriend Sue brought out her violin and later her cello. Lexy raided our music basket and brought out a harmonica, drum, and a native american flute. I went in and got a recorder. We sat outside and fiddled around on the instruments. It's the first time I've ever picked up a functioning violin or cello. It was fun. I'm not going to win any awards for my skill anytime in the coming century though. Jen used the time to clean out the van and rake the front yard. Sophie and Nathan used the time to get absolutely soaked in the sprinklers. When we finally went in, we lit a bunch of candles and stressed out about what to eat. I had an apple. Jen had just finished making a bunch of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches when the power came back on. We ate them and blew out the candles.
I still don't know why the power went out. Who cares? It was a break from the routine.

I've seen the same cockroach three nights in a row this week. He stands around on the sidewalk in this apartment complex on Evelyn avenue in Sunnyvale. When I pass by, he hunkers down like he's afraid I'm going to stomp on him. It's horrible what centuries of persecution will do to an insect. I'm sure he's a quivering bundle of nerves every time somebody walks by.

cds I listened to while avoiding the roaches: Earth Trumpet "Roman" (a double cd, but one of them is blank. ???), Operator Generator "s/t", Robert Rich "Seven Veils", Death in June "Heilige!", and Yuri Yunakov Ensemble "New Colors in Bulgarian Wedding Music"

Now: Current 93 "Soft Black Stars" (speaking of weddings...)