Grey hair is in season

Ugh.....one of the more stressful days of my life.  

You really don't realize how much you appreciate modern conveniences, until they are ripped from your cold, air-conditioned hands.  

Now, responsibility has never been one of my best qualities.  Granted, I have a house.  But with this housing market, that's not saying a whole lot.  I mean, it's not like I actually live within the limits of a semi-bustling city.  I live in the sleazy 2nd cousin suburbs of said semi-bustling city.  Not to go into too much detail regarding the house purchase, but it was a necessary decision at the time, plus in two years and seven months, it will hopefully turn out to have been a ridiculously smart investment.  

Anyway, today was going along as usual...my parents had stopped by to coerce me into helping with some yardwork, housework, we had some food, I retired to my bedroom after they left to catch up on some much needed lounging.  All of a sudden my room was silent--no white noise, no a/c seeping through my vents, the overhead fan was slowing to a stop.  My first thought was actually a decent one, I assumed there had been an accident in the local area and the power outage was temporarily.  That only lasted about three seconds though.  Then, in an instant, my heart stopped as I remembered that my power bill was still sitting on my counter, waiting to be paid...  

I've never been the best with utility bills.  In order of importance, my bills are: mortgage, credit card, student loan, cell phone, and then the variety of utilities.  Anyway, I panicked and immediately called Idaho Power to make an emergency payment over the phone.  After completing the transaction, I felt a small sense of relief, and listened carefully to hear the beautiful hum of the air conditioning kick back on.  But no such luck...  In all of my panic, my friend SarDau was staying updated via text message on the basics of the situation, and she informed me that the power won't immediately come back on...that someone has to physically come out and turn it back on.  Eff...  I decided to try one last time with Idaho Power and attempt to reach a live person at the "Emergencies" option. 

Well.  Wouldn't you know it...there was now a message available talking in detail about the power outage that was in effect for my area.  Criminilly!  This could have been helpful about three panic attacks earlier.  

After already having sent frantic text messages to my friend SarDau, and now feeling quite embarrassed by these messages, I humbly sat in my bed, waiting for the wonderful sound of the a/c to kick back on.  Oh what a day...  

Oh well, at least now I'm caught up on my power bill for a month in advance.  I wish more people were as responsible as me.