The system is down

Did anyone utter mayhem?

I was sitting in my office at USC around 1 pm today when the lights went out. I thought maybe they would come right back on, but they didn't. The strange generator sound next to my office which is always going was winding down. And I heard people get out of their offices.

Interestingly, the internet still worked. And since I was working on my battery-powered laptop, my computer work was uninterrupted. The computer screen gave me at least some light to see by. There were no emergency lights on, just an annoying alarm.

After a couple of minutes, I realized the lights weren't going to come on again soon. I figured maybe a "breaker" for the building was responsible. I wandered out to the hallway and downstairs, only to walk around campus and realize that every building was without power. I called Jessica and let her know what was up. Nothing was on the news yet. So maybe it was just USC.

I was hungry, so I went to the nearest Taco Bell. They were without power too! All the traffic lights as far as I could see on Vermont Avenue weren't working. The Taco Bell had no drinks. Not even water, they said. The place even stopped serving food right before I was to give my order. "The food is cold and we don't want to serve it. We're very very sorry." So I wandered about some more and figured I should just think about getting home.

As I passed by students and staff, I heard conspiracy theories and things like "I hear the whole mid-city area is without power." Nobody was panicked though. There was just more than the usual loafing about. I asked one guy I work with if this had happened before. "In my 13 years at USC, the power's never gone out." Hmmm. I tried to recall what that SoCal Al Qaeda guy had said on his threat tape...

But nature called and I really had to pee. So I went back into my building, and felt my way in the dark through the bathroom. The plumbing worked at least. I got my backpack and computer, and left to go get the truck and drive home. The ride was pretty smooth. I only passed through one dicey intersection, where people were forgetting to treat it like a four-way stop. But since I left early (around 2pm), the traffic was fairly light.

I later heard that power was restored at USC at about the time I left. Oh well, I got home a little early. That's okay.

That was my adventure during the LA blackout.