Well, as you know if
you are a regular readers of our blog, we got back to Delhi last week. After
days of temperature between 60 – 70 degrees, we came back to 120 degrees. The
difference in temperature was just the beginning. As Paul Harvey used to say, “this
is the rest of the story.”
It has been so hot
that there have been rolling power outages, particularly in the poorer/older
parts of town. That has stressed electrical systems all over the city in
general and at our campus in particular. Monday it was another scorcher; about
10:00am the main electrical line into the campus burned out. We have two
generators and they both kicked in. And caught fire. So we were out of electricity,
had it again for about two minutes, and then nothing. No lights, no computers,
no air conditioning. It was pretty sweet. Finally about 2:00pm we determined
that it wasn’t going to be fixed until later in the evening. So, I cancelled
classes and sent everyone home. I stayed as long as I could stand it and then
went home where I had both AC and Internet. Finally about 10:00pm I got word
the main line was replaced and power was restored. Whew! It was a hot day but
at least now things were going to be back to normal.
Not. Next morning, things
started okay until there was a power surge. First generator kicked in. No
worries. Second generator kicked in and lasted about two minutes when it threw
a piston and ceased up. This caused the first generator to overload, catch
fire, and shut down again. Once again we were dead in the water and it was a
million degrees. Again I cancelled class and sent everyone home. This time, we
enlisted the help of the facilities department at our parent company. Turns out
we have to rebuild both generators. Between melted pistons and totally burned
wiring things are bleak. The only good thing that came of it was we were able
to find and bring in a large portable generator (think small trailer) while the
repairs are being done. It is supposed to be fixed by tomorrow; we’ll see. I am
not holding my breath.
I know that power
shortages and power outages are the norm in the majority of the world. I really
don’t understand how you are supposed to conduct business, at least not modern
business based on computers and telecommunications, in these conditions. I was
beyond frustrated. But, Wednesday I pulled my boots on and went to work.
Amazingly, power stayed on. We had computers. We had phones. We had air
conditioning. Ah the simple pleasures!
Well, that was the
essence of my week. Here’s Rae to tell you about her first week back.
My week has been a
mixture of jet lag and power outages. Don’t
think I’ll spend any time elaborating on jet lag other than to say I’m still
trying to figure out the best way to make that transition. I don’t seem to make the adjustment as fast
as Phil does. Maybe I’m just a bigger
whiner.
The heat has caused problems
all over the city and that includes our house.
My day is continually interrupted by power outages. Luckily the power never stays off too long
because we have a generator that kicks in.
Luckily no fires here. Still a
bit annoying to have continual interruptions in what I’m doing. Sadly for a lot of people there have been long
periods of no power and no AC. There
have been some heat related deaths. Phil
didn’t mention that we were fortunate enough to be here when one of the days they
broke a 62 year record for heat. Should
be excited about being able to witness a record being broken, but somehow I didn’t
feel very excited. Found it a bit
deflating.
Heat is the topic of
the day and my goal is to avoid it as much as possible. I can have groceries delivered, work on some
projects that have been waiting for my attention and spend some time trying my hand
at art again. That’s my plan for surviving these next few months. I know, I sound like a whimp. I am.
Namaste.
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