Freaky-deaky blackout

After work on Thursday, I headed up to the mall to get an eye exam. When that was over, I walked out of their with two numb eyes...kind of a weird feeling. A friend of mine from Iowa City had come to Ames that day to visit friends and see Narnia in theatres. So the plan was, I'd wait for her when I got done with my eye appointment so we could go look at my beautiful wedding dress (yay!!). I did a little shopping, bought myself a new shirt and Aaron some new ties, and then decided to wait for her outside the theatres. I checked my cell phone a couple times to see how much longer until her movie was over and right about the time I thought she should be walking out, the lights flickered and went out.

I sat there, rather calmly (and if you know how much I dislike thunderstorms, calm is tough for me to accomplish) waiting for the emergency lighting to come on. And I waited...and waited a little longer...but no lights!! So I got up and walked over near the doors to see that there is a torrential downpour outside and I can't see more than 3 feet out. I start to get nervous. Then, I remember that I have a little LED flashlight on my keychain, so I get that baby out and set out to find my friend and her kids.

I find them doing much the same thing I was. Standing near a door for the small amount of light it produced and wondering what in the world was going on!! After a few minutes of conversation, I find out that her car is being fixed at Sears and is up on a lift, so she's stuck there for the count. So, instead of going to look at my beautiful dress (yay!!), I throw all the stuff in my car into the trunk, we all pile into my car, and I manuver through the dark, dangerous streets. (That's not just for dramatic effect...there were no streetlights or stoplights, so things were a little crazy!!) I was able to drop my friends off at a friend of theirs, so they could safely await the call that said their car was done. It may be a while before I go back to the mall though...