So we have both electricity and cable now, and it's as if I've re-entered the 21st century. For a while, I wasn't sure what to do with myself. The answer arrived soon, of course: watch hours and hours of a) crime procedurals and b) trashy reality TV.

Between that and obsessive Facebooking, I almost feel back to normal.

Here's what I've discovered from my time away from the internet and electric appliances: I would make a lousy pioneer. Also, candlelight is awesome and romantic only if you can turn on electric lights any time you want. Have you ever tried to floss your teeth by candlelight? Find your cat? I don't recommend it. I guess the pioneers did this shit during the daylight hours, but whatever. I'm just glad the lights are back on.

If we ever have some worldwide catastrophe and descend into a pre-industrial state, I am so fucked.

So, I survived Ike, although we haven't had power since about midnight the night the storm started. We lost power before a drop of rain fell. Then our street and front lawn turned into a lake.

The lake drained, but still no air conditioning, internet, cable tv, refrigeration, or laundry. H-town is under some weird curfew for no apparent reason, so even getting errands done after work (like finding an open laundromat) is a huge challenge.

I had no idea how inconvenient going through a hurricane would be. So far? Very.

We got a bunch of supplies for Hurricane Ike, so naturally I am now eating the granola bars 24 hours ahead of the hurricane's actual landfall. For dinner!

48 hours from now, it may be like the movie Doomsday in our apartment.