I’ve lived in several developing countries, and have experienced less electricity failures than here in Seattle. Am stunned that such a thing can happen in this day and age, and in this country.
Not surprising though come to think of all the power lines above ground, and all the trees that make the city so lush. For a country so ‘young’ (yes, compared to Europe and China for instance!) you’d think they would have done it right the first time. Because I’ve also never lived in a house so dependent on electricity: electric heating, electric water heating (although I noticed I can get a good 3 showers out before it goes completely cold during a power outage), and for instance the garage. As we have no indoor entry way to the garage, and both doors are opened electronically, I basically can’t take out my car if there’s no electricity.
Lighting your house with candles is quite scary too with an all-wooden house. The whole set-up is like an accident waiting to happen.
As a couple, we got through last year’s 4 days December power outage fairly easily by spending a lot of time downtown where the electricity was on; in the office and out for dinner, movies, etc. Every time we drove back it was full of anxiety after the last hill whether our neighborhood had gotten their power back on or not. Ironically, the most expensive areas such as Bellevue and Mercer Island spent up to 10 days without electricity!
Sleeping in the cold is doable, although it feels more like camping. I really didn’t understand the baby boom 9 months later of so-called ‘storm babies’. Don’t feel very much up to it with socks and layers of clothes on. But then again, I really hate the cold. Ah, did I mention we don’t have a fireplace? (ok – now I can imagine it a bit more, there’s romance and opportunity in sleeping in front of a fireplace 
This year, with a 3–month old, we rather not ‘rough it’. We were fortunate that very good friends, who live a little further out of town, could accommodate us. It was a cozy affair, and almost a shame it doesn’t happen more often. But the circumstances are still unacceptable in my opinion, in 2007, in the United States of America.
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