Today our block is without electricity as they are putting up new electrical poles (huge metal monstrosities) on the main road.

Right now I’m blogging on a dial-up connection with the remaining "juice" from the laptop’s battery.

It’s amazing the types of things that require electricity (electric stoves, electrically powered light bulbs, electric TVs and DVD players, electrically driven refrigerator machines, electrically inclined coffee-pots.)  Ouch.  We’re a bunch of primitives these days.

It’s also amazing the types of things that DO NOT require electricity (kids under the age of 5, Tibetan teachers of Chinese, taxi driver friends whom I’ve already forgotten who call me to ask me if I remember them so that they can invite me to play basketball with them tomorrow.)  You know, odd little things like that. 

Sidenote: The really embarrassing thing about my taxi driver friend calling me is that the first thing he asked me was if I remembered him.  He was using the Chinese word "ji" for remember and for some reason I thought he was asking me if I had mailed something to him–a total stranger.  (I might have been confused because the word for mail in Chinese is ALSO "ji".  Funny how that works…)  I eventually remembered him, but the sad thing now is that I’ve convinced him I’m a complete moron.  Luckily, I have basketball skills which will rectify everything.

Anyway, this is a 24 hour (maybe 48 hour?) involuntary fast from electricity.  I feel so Amish.  If it does end up taking 48 hours I’ll have the Amish beard (i.e. no hot water, not shower!) to match the lifestyle…

…but sans coffee for 24 hours I’m sure I won’t have mastered the pacifist calm of the Amish.  (Xining Electric, please turn back on our power…please!)