Friday, March 06, 2009

The Never Ending Night


That would be Wednesday night.

Here in Paraguay we had experienced several days with temperatures over 100*F and this seems to sap the, uh, politeness, out of everyone. We all seem to get testy and are easily annoyed and irritated and show it towards one another.

Wednesday night my husband had a deacons meeting at the church, so I decided to hit the sack early. I had started a new book, just a mindless mystery. I headed to bed with my book around 10 pm planning to read for 30 or 40 minutes or so.

Of course, I got wrapped up in the book and was still reading when my husband got home, so we chatted for a bit. I picked up the book, planning to finish the few pages left of the chapter, when...
ZAP! Out go the lights.

OK, no more reading for that night. After only a few moments, the heat built up inside the house to reach 88*F. UUGGHH! Not conducive to sleep. We spent a few hours tossing and turning, dozing a moment or two here and there.

I saw lightening and I got up to unplug all the computers and other appliances so that they would not get fried. All this in the dark with only flashes of light from the lightning!

Back to bed. While the electricity was out, it seemed the mosquitoes moved into the house and were all buzzing around my ears. The only way to stop the buzz was to complete tuck my head under the sheets! But that was too hot... Got up to swat a few of the evil doers!!!

Then it seems that the lights came back on. A rude awakening for sure! Bright lights, buzzing fans, humming AC, but a welcome wake up, I assure you.

I was just drifting off to sleep when I heard a buzzing sound in my room. It took awhile for me to realize it was my husband's cell phone on vibrate resting on the dresser. It nearly worked itself off and on to the floor. Caught it just in time.


Lets try this again!!! I finally fell into a good sleep when I hear another buzz. At this point, I no longer cared what it was! It could have been bombs bursting over head and I would not have budged! But not so my husband! After several buzzes, he decides it is my phone and heads to the closet to get it out of my purse. But I have MANY purses and men can never find anything in a lady's purse! So after several minutes of banging and mumbling...he starts throwing my purses out into the living room! That's when I realized it was my phone. And my phone was not in the closet. My phone was not even in the room. My phone was in the living room. So I got up, climbed over the pile of purses and turned it off. It was a stupid text message from the phone service at 4am.

WHAT WERE THEY THINKING????

I went back to bed, but my husband, who normally rises at 4:30 am decided to stay up and start his day. For the next half hour, I listened to him prepare for the day. When he drove off an hour later, headed to the park for his morning walk, well, I was kind of glad to see him go!!!

I tried to sleep again but...it was not meant to be... and that is my tale of a Mid Summer's Eve in Paragauy!

23 comments:

Happy Elf Mom (Christine) said...

OH, nooo... LOL You tell this story so well!

PS Have you heard any news about your missionary friend? Have browsed through the blog and either missed it or you don't know yet?? Hope all is well.

Christie said...

Sounds like our night! These hot days have kept the house in the mid-90's all night, and during the same storms you had, the loss of electricity meant NO FANS! We were roasting, and the mosquitoes were feasting. And Caroline was freaking out everytime the lightening struck. Camille was sick and fussing in her sleep a lot. I slept in three different beds that night. Well, I LAY in three different beds. Not much sleeping going on. Every day's an adventure here, huh?

Jane said...

Oh my!! I have had a few situations in Venezuela where there was no AC or it didn't work very well and it was SO hard to sleep.
You accounting of your night was very entertaining especially the part of your husband trying to find your phone in your purse!!!!

groovyoldlady said...

Swat the skeeters, swat the cell phones! You poor thing... ;-)

Dawn said...

Yuck! Sounds like a nightmare you couldn't wake up from! I would not do well in that kind of heat and humidity - God would have to give me lots and lots of extra grace. Blessings on you, dear missionary friend!

Betty said...

I absolutely HATE HATE those stupid text messages from TIGO! They either come middle of the night or at siesta time, when you´re just dosing off!
Your night sounds really familiar. With no fans or AC, it´s just unbearable!
I read Mrs. C´s question, and I have been wondering about your missionary friends too. Have they found them yet?

Z said...

JM! What a night, indeed!
And you can laugh at it in spite of a lack of sleep!
!!!

Anonymous said...

In the summer here, when we lose power, I have to limit the number of electrical devices we utilize so I don't lug down the generator. One of the items at the top of the list, though, is our main air conditioner. I know people lived up here before the advent of electricity, but I don't see how.

Findalis said...

LOL I hope you are cooler now and have gotten a bit of sleep.

Humble wife said...

Don't you have a pool? Take a quick dip and then head to bed. Works here in the desert!

Sorry you had a rough night...but how was the book?lol!!

Brenda said...

Our electricity went off in the middle of the night after I was already asleep and when I got up to check the thermometer in our room, it was 92 degrees! We moved out to a cooler room but never did get a good rest. We don't have many riots or coups here, but the heat keeps our life exciting!

Unknown said...

Very Funny for me! Not for you for sure!

Anonymous said...

I will try and swish some of the cool air we have here your way! It's very cool here, in the 80s, which is RARE! Today it never even reached 80 and people were wearing sweaters! Well, you should sleep well tonight! :) I'll pray the elec. stays on! That happens here sometimes too so I know how terrible it can be!

Liz said...

Tell me something Rita, didn't you have hot and humid weather in the jungle? what was the temp?

I'm amazed at the heat in Paraguay!

Rita Loca said...

LIZ, it was hot and humid in the jungle. But at night, we always had a breeze. There were no streets or houses tor trap heat either. The palm roof was very cool.
The heat here is intense and different. I was told that many Paraguayans were sent to Kuwait to fight the fires after Saddam torched the refineries because the Paraguayans were used to intense heat.
It will cool off soon as we are getting close to fall, then winter.

Rita Loca said...

LIZ, it was hot and humid in the jungle. But at night, we always had a breeze. There were no streets or houses tor trap heat either. The palm roof was very cool.
The heat here is intense and different. I recently learned that many Paraguayans were sent to Kuwait to fight the fires after Saddam torched the refineries because the Paraguayans were used to intense heat.
It will cool off soon as we are getting close to fall, then winter.

Rita Loca said...

LIZ, it was hot and humid in the jungle. But at night, we always had a breeze. There were no streets or houses tor trap heat either. The palm roof was very cool.
The heat here is intense and different. I recently learned that many Paraguayans were sent to Kuwait to fight the fires after Saddam torched the refineries because the Paraguayans were used to intense heat.
It will cool off soon as we are getting close to fall, then winter.

tascha said...

LOL :) I know we don't get that hot lots here, but I remember one night last summer when the electricity went out due to a storm... and it was HOT - maybe 95* and MUGGY, and I was 6 mo. pregnant!! NOT pleasant to be sure.... we dont even usually have the AC on here... but no fans was HARD!!! I slept on the floor in front of the open window in the living room LOL.... my husband likes that tail!
Glad that night is over!!!

Anonymous said...

Forgot to tell you a cute story about loss of electricity: One Monday after an island-wide black-out all day Sunday, one of my three-year-old students came running into the classroom. "Guess what? Guess what? My mom caused the black-out!" "Oh really?" "Yes, I TOLD her not to turn on the fan AND the air-conditioner!" :)

Most Rev. Gregori said...

Glad you made it through that night.
Were you ever able to make up for the lost sleep?

Thursday's Child said...

LOL

Oh, that's funny. Not for you, obviously, and if it ever happened to me I'd be madder than a wet hornet, but I can't help but laugh.

MathewK said...

And what a tale it is. Thanks JM.

MightyMom said...

are you two still speaking to each other??