When darkness falls
“I must work the works of Him who sent me while it is yet day; the night is coming when no one can work.” [John 9:4]
It’s been said that only two things in life are certain – death and taxes. I think I can add something else to the list, as far as life in Dili is concerned. Blackouts.
Since early this month, we’ve been having power cuts regularly. So regularly in fact, that we’ve observed a pattern. Expect blackouts on alternate nights, and sometimes in the late afternoon. Power goes off around 6.30 pm, almost like clockwork. When that happens, you can hear the entire neighbourhood sigh! It only gets restored between 9-10pm.
Initially I wasn’t very bothered about the power cuts. But as they became more frequent, I found myself getting annoyed. The lights would go off as I was cooking dinner. I could barely see what I was doing by candlelight. To add to the inconvenience, we also have no piped water during blackouts, as our water comes from the ground, via an electric pump. Dirty dishes would pile up as I cook. After surviving the ordeal in the kitchen, I would sit down to a hot and sweaty dinner. And since we have no water, we can’t wash up after dinner either! So we sit in the darkness for a few hours to wait for power to come back, and for life to go on.
After a few weeks of sitting in darkness, I began to take stock of all the time I was losing as a result of the blackouts. So many productive hours were being wasted every time a blackout struck. It also meant we were getting less sleep, since our chores could only be done late at night after power was restored.
I began consciously to alter my schedule in anticipation of the blackouts. I’ve been trying to prepare the ingredients for dinner earlier, to get most of the chopping and soaking out of the way. I’ve also had to change some of my bad habits. For instance, I have a tendency to let dirty dishes pile up before I would wash them. But with the threat of a blackout always at the back of my mind, I now try to wash everything once I’m done using it – just in case the water stops flowing!
I’ve also had to force myself to be more disciplined in the afternoons. The weather is really hot nowadays – so hot that I don’t feel like moving, or doing anything once I get home. But I keep thinking, “There could be a blackout tonight, better go work on the computer, write that email, print out the lesson plans, send off that report now…” And so I heave my perspiration-wracked body off the reclining chair and get to work.
Today, the words of Jesus in John 9:4 have been echoing in my head, as I went about my chores with renewed diligence. It’s interesting how the blackouts have taught me a thing or two about time management. I suppose I would never have learnt this lesson back home, where power comes on at the flick of a switch, and water flows abundantly from the taps 24/7. Having said that, I sure hope for this season of alternate blackouts to be over soon.
But before I know it, the rainy season will come. That will mean another round of adjustment. I will have to do the laundry early in the morning for the clothes to dry before the almost daily afternoon rains come…
October 19, 2007
Friday
An update:
A week or so after I posted this entry, the power situation worsened. Blackouts happened everyday, sometimes lasting for 10 to 12 hours. At that point, no amount of forward planning helped! You simply had to be prepared for the power to go off at any moment. Daily household chores were performed as though we were commemorating the Passover - with great haste!
In the past few days, the situation has stabilised somewhat. Local sources say power will be fully restored by the end of November, as new generators arrive to replace aging ones. We shall see...!
November 17, 2007
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