about 3 seconds before the blackout, a couple of our officemates (who were sitting near the window) reported seeing a flash of bluish light near our building.
i hit the Save button fast enough to freeze the chapter i was working on in time. the building generator system came to life shortly but after 2 minutes we were told to shut down our PCs because our emergency backup system could only support a limited number of PCs running at full capacity.
so after that, short of swapping ghost stories (with the storm providing a great backdrop), we were basically left with little else to do -- except to twiddle our thumbs or fiddle with our mobile phones.
at this unexpected break, i was left to ponder on a few things that have been lurking in the back of my mind since last week -- mostly about the fact that when you're used to do your work almost exclusively on a PC, a simple matter like a power outage can sometimes leave you feeling disoriented.
now, the biggest challenge is to find something vaguely stimulating to keep your mind from rotting away while you wait for:
(a) power resumption
(b) the time till it's time to go home, or
(c) an inspired moment when an idea of such passing brilliance can lead you to write an achingly beautiful sonnet, a symphony masterpiece, or a revolutionary scientific theory that will make space travel easier.
of these three options, the probability that option (c) will occur is likely a billion-to-one proposition (like maybe, when hell freezes over?), but it sounds rather nice to include it in the list -- you know, just in case a miracle happens.
i was in the middle of more outlandish imaginings when the lights suddenly came back. almost on cue, everybody sighed in mingled relief and regret. our office jester, who's rarely at a loss, quipped: "alright slaves, show's over. back to work!"
