Dancing in the Dark

Lacochran had this exchange with her husband a few weeks ago:

Just last night we had the following conversation:

Hubby: We have all these phone books. I thought I might get rid of a few.

Me: Get rid of them all.

We're probably the last people to do so.

I replied that "I keep our phone books too just in case the power goes out or there are computer problems. I figure as soon as I throw out the phone books, we'll lose power and the computer will die!"

Well, last night the power went out just before 7:00, and I used our phone book for the first time in years. My first call was to Dominion Virginia Power to report the power outage. They already knew and told me over 4000 customers were out and that crews were on the way. The 4000 customers included Mamma Lucia and California Tortilla in the neighboring shopping center (Dominion didn’t tell me this). Seeing that the chicken in the stove still had about 30 minutes left when the power went out, we needed food quickly in order to survive the blackout. That’s where the phone book came in again.

Chick-Fil-A: Hello.

Me: Hi. Is this Chick-Fil-A?

Chick-Fil-A: Yes it is.

Me: Great. Do you have electricity?

Chick-Fil-A: Huh?

Me: Do you have power there?

Chick-Fil-A: What?

Me: We live a few miles from you and the power is out in the entire neighborhood. I just wanted to find out if you were open before I drove there.

Chick-Fil-A: Oh, OK. Yes, we have electricity.

Thank you, phone book!

A few other notes about Blackout 2008:

- We bought flashlights at Target just this past weekend because I thought we should have some.

- It’s very difficult to get a good workout on the treadmill without power.

- Nothing is more romantic than eating Chick-Fil-A by candlelight with the cat tryinig to jump on the table.

The power returned around 8:45.

Finally, I received a comment yesterday thanking me for the eye candy picture I posted of Derrick Inglut. To be fair, I feel l like I should post a picture of my favorite LPGA golfer, Erica Blasberg.

Random Ramblings

I read the Express nearly cover-to-cover everyday during my daily commute. In yesterday’s Fit section, I spotted an advertisement for Derrick Inglut Personal Training. If you look at the picture in the Express, on the front page of his website or below, it appears that Inglut has no chest hair except from his belly button down to his underwear. I’m certainly no expert on this, but it seems like there should be a rule that you either have all of your chest hair or none. By the way, who the hell walks down the street and pulls up his shirt for the camera?



Have you noticed the significant number of football players wearing just their short-sleeve jerseys during cold-weather games? The temperature during Sunday’s Steelers-Cowboys game was in the teens or low twenties, but it seemed like only a few players wore long-sleeve Under Armor style shirts under the jersey. We already know that they’re tough. Does this make them look tougher?



More and more, I seem to type Sena instead of Sean. If you see a reference to Sena’s Ramblings soon, that may be the reason why.

While shopping for jeans and pants over the past few weeks, I’ve noticed that there is no such thing as a size 33x29 anymore. It seems like the only 29-inch length pants out there are for 36-inch waists. Why is that? 36x29 seems like an odd body type.

If you can ice skate and play defense (I’m looking at you Arjewtino), the Pittsburgh Penguins need some help. Hal Gill is out for 2-4 weeks joining the already injured Ryan Whitney, Sergei Gonchar and Phillippe Boucher. (Yes, 4 of the top 5 defensemen are all out.)

Finally, I think our cat has a foot fetish. He likes to lick your feet when you get out of the shower; he seems to carry and play with socks regularly; and he can sense when you are tying your shoes from miles away and is ready to attack said shoelaces.


The photo of Deshea Townsend, Larry Foote and Nick Eason is via AP.