Blackout, what do I do know?

[Kuroneko_rg]

This might sound like something silly, but I really don't know what to do.
The electricity went out, all the battery based stuff is dead except for this very laptop I'm using right now. Even the only
flashlight I have is with less that half it's power. So, as soon as the laptop battery dies, I'll be stuck with a half dead flashlight.
Bad part? My eyesight is bad, so I can't read nor write nor draw with little light.
Worst part? The electricity company said it might be a problem of 3 or 4 days... yeah, I'm planning their dead right now...

Jokes aside, what do you do during blackouts when you have nothing but a flashlight and/or candle?

[Sapphi]

Worst part? The electricity company said it might be a problem of 3 or 4 days... yeah, I'm planning their dead right now...

O_O Make sure you have enough dry foods to eat since whatever is in your freezer/fridge is probably not going to last that long.

[papillon]

it used to be that's why everyone had battery-powered radios around, for access to information in case of power outage (and entertainment, if the outage was long enough)

But I grew up in an area where it was pretty common for the power to go out for an hour or so in big storms, so it was normal to us to have these preparations about.

Often the phone lines would NOT go out, so once the storm was over, we could chat with people on the landline... these were proper wall phones of course, none of this modern mobile stuff

And of course if you have friends around, lights out is the time for spooky stories and such....

[Victoria Jennings]

Hang out with friends, of course! :D

[9:19]

what do you do during blackouts when you have nothing

I channel my inner-Toph in order to find the bookroom and read Dream of the Red Chamber by moonlight for the nth time and still not understand anything. Help.

[Kuroneko_rg]

Update:
Remaining battery power, 1 hour, 50 minutes.

@Sapphi:
Checked the fridge, it was leaking water already, which tells me the light went out by much time I had expected. De-frozen it. Got hungry. Opened a can of beans. From the moment I opened, I realized it was a bad idea to eat it. I trow away the can. Trow away the other cans just in case. Not hungry anymore. I'll wait some more time before trying the tuna cans...

@papillon:
Remembered there was a radio around somewhere. Looked for it the closet. Somethings moves inside... almost die from the shock.
Turned out it was the cat. Find the radio. Figures, the batteries are dead(T_T).

@Victoria Jennings:
If that were an option I wouldn't be writing this.

@9:19:
I have a blackout in my inner room as well.

[teacup]

When it's a blackout my best hope is that my PSP or DS are charged... yeah, I get seriously bored without anything electronic (bad, I know). I also have horrible eyesight and can't do much in just candle/flashlight. So when all else fails, I go to sleep until daylight, and then get the heck out of the house!
Such a boring answer, it's a good thing our power usually never goes out here >_<;

[Destiny]

Depending on the time I go to sleep early or go outside do something.
I once slept at a good friends house. But back then weren't the electricity dead, but...the water.
Believe me, dead electricity is bad. No water for toilet, shower or even cooking is worse xD

If you have a close friend or the possibilitys at work/school/university, then charge your laptop (and whatever can be charged too) there and except from that stay out of the house.
Go watch a movie, visit the zoo, meet friends or just enjoy a nice day on a park bench (where you could write ).
There isn't much else you can do about it, except you have lots of money and are willing to buy a emergency generator :'D

[Kuroneko_rg]

Update:

Remaining battery power, 54 minutes.

@teacup:
Going to sleep is starting to seem like a good idea.

@Destiny:
How bad does "No power, no water" sounds? The water in my building is distributed by some engine which work with electricity. It delivers water to the upper floors including where I am. So, even though in the first floor there is water, soon I won't have. The gas is still
working by now and I hope it remains like that.
I'll see what I can do to leech some electricity tomorrow.

I think I'm going to start believing in Friday 13th from now on XD.

[Destiny]

@Destiny:
How bad does "No power, no water" sounds?
[...]I think I'm going to start believing in Friday 13th from now on XD.

Ok, you have my full sympathy, that sucks :'D
Stay at a friends place for one or two days?

[LateWhiteRabbit]

I usually go to sleep during a blackout - even if it's during the day. I use a desktop workstation, but it has a battery backup to prevent power interruptions. Of course, eventually that battery will drain and go dead. I live in the country, so like Papillon, we are usually prepared for this sort of thing, since power outages aren't uncommon. Hand cranked flashlights and radio, candles and matches. Some lucky bastards have generators, but I don't. We get our water from a spring, so no danger of that going out. We have a fire pit to burn wood or cook food on outside.

Number 1 rule during a power outage - don't open the fridge. Stuff will keep for quite a while even without power as long as you don't let the cold out by breaking the seal. If you don't have a radio, you can always sit in your car and use its radio for updates or listening to music. If you have a car charger for your electronics you can even recharge those that way - just be sure not to pull down your car battery. You'll want to drive it some so the alternator can keep the battery charged.

People in the city don't seem to be as prepared for blackouts - probably because they are so rare. I know when I lived in Atlanta people seemed to freak out whenever the power went out. Back here in the country side where I grew up and live now, people shrug and ask, "Is it Thursday again already?"

But - number 1 answer? Sleep. Dreams don't require electricity, sleep slows down your metabolism so you don't get hungry, and it makes the time pass quickly until power is restored.

[nyaatrap]

Do meditation if sun was set. (hey, I think I said the similar thing on an other topic)

[Kuroneko_rg]

Okay, light is back again. Hurray!

Thankfully it didn't last four days as I was told XD!
Anyway, thanks everyone for the replies and I hope none of you get in the middle of an evil blackout.

[Samu-kun]

I was kind of curious, but how did you have internet during a blackout?

[Kuroneko_rg]

@Samu-kun

The electric problem was in my block only. There is a local public wifi connection I use sometimes (Which doesn't
work right most of the time)so I was just lucky in that matter.