Power Struggle...

I've been without power for 5 hrs today; that really puts a damper on productivity.

On top of that, Breaking Dawn won't be here until Saturday at earliest. So no one is allowed to speak of it (to me) until after this weekend. I'm sure there are spoilers all over the internet, but I'm avoiding them. I realize that everyone has probably already read it - but you're not allowed to spoil it for me! Please...

Bah!

I don't think anyone likes to hear people complain, but, unfortunately, it's just been one of those months so I think I've earned a venting post. Maybe, to lighten things up, I'll follow every negative with a positive.

Here's the month we've had.

1. Bought a car for better gas mileage. A cherry red Toyota Echo. I like Toyotas, but I won't comment on the color & model. However, with gas prices at over $5/gallon, I was willing to make the switch. Sadly, the small, round, bald man who sold us the car failed to mention 1 tiny detail: the car needed a new TRANSMISSION.

So we thought we were getting this great deal - about $1000 later - we're not so sure. $300+ of that was loan interest/fees, on a loan that we paid off in less than a month! Grrr.

Ok, on a more positive note, we did sell our Pathfinder.

2. These power outages are making us crazy! 2-4 hours a day.

On the bright side, at least the outages lower our obnoxious utility bills.

3. Power Outages = Eric's laptop getting repeatedly fried.

But at least I've learned from his loss, and I've been more diligent in my backups.

4. Still no camera (hence, the disappointing blog posts)

On the bright side, I am experiencing no buyer's remorse.

5. Eric would like me to insert a recent loss in his life. The court, like everyone else on this strange island, is cutting costs everywhere they can which means no more internet or generator at the office after 5 PM. Eric is actually really productive after 5'clock (when the court is empty) so this was bad, bad news.

Overall, July has let us down.

At least Dark Knight was good.

Oh Dear

This post is for those of you back in the states who are concerned about the economic situation - I'm here to tell you it could be worse!

We just found out that Saipan has less than a week's supply of fuel left. The utilities corp. couldn't pay $2 MILLION (of the $3.5 million) to Mobil. So, apparently we have 11,000 barrels to last us the month v. the normal 25,000, and the ship has left the island!

Power outages are a pretty normal occurrence here - sometimes once a week, sometimes even once a day (during the rolling blackouts), but this fuel crisis could mean close to two weeks straight without power. 2 weeks in 85 degree weather without a shower?! That's not going to be pretty.

I had a mini freak out today when the power was out for over 2 hours. I thought our days of glorious light and air conditioning were already up, and I wasn't ready. Eric and I had just gotten back from a sweaty hike and both were in desperate need of a shower, the kitchen sink was filled with dirty dishes, we're down to our last 5 gallons of water, and I really needed to use the bathroom. Poor Eric had to throw on his suit and go to priesthood session without a shower. Thankfully, the power did come back on ... for now.

I'm not sure how we're going to manage if/when "darkness falls", but I'm sure we'll survive. Who knows, we may even like it and decide to join an Amish community.

Click here & here to read more about the fuel shortage...