Thinking requires electricity, especially in South Africa
It has been 15 hours without electricity for me. Last night all the electricity in my area went out and hasn't came back on yet. I feel like pulling out my hair out of frustration.
I haven't lived in South Africa for 5 years and although I know that electricity is a big problem around here, I have been lucky enough for it not to happen to me...until now.
Panic is what hit me last night! It was 21:00 when it went off. The kids were asleep and I was busy writing (or rather typing) the next chapter of my story when suddenly everything went black. My laptop wasn't fully charged and my phone's battery was on 45%. There I was, sitting in the dark with only the battery operated lights of the Christmas tree to provide some light.
South Africa, as you may or may not know, is not the safest place on earth. I turned the alarm, which has a battery life of up to 8 hours, on and lay awake in bed, waiting for the electricity to come back on.
This morning when I woke up, my phone's battery was on 22%, my laptop's battery ran out and the electricity was still off.
I went Christmas shopping this morning and then drove around our little town for about an hour in attempt to charge my phone. The car charger wasn't much help but at least it got to 35%.
At home, I boiled some water in a pot on a gas burner for some coffee and then my children started to complain about their IPad's not charging. I could not do the washing and my hair looks like shit today.
So I got into my car and drove to the next town a few minutes ago to "visit" my parents.
Everything is charging and I am drinking a nice cup of coffee made with love.
Hopefully by the time I get home, there will be lights!!! In order for me to carry on with my story, I need electricity!
Writing requires thinking, thinking takes time and time requires electricity.
But with everything said and done, I still love South Africa. There is no place like home, and even though South Africa is no longer really "home" to me, there isn't any other place like it.
Am I proudly South African?
Of course I am!
Am I going to let a little electricity problem get to me?
Of course not! I bought my candles today and I'm ready for the night...as long as I have fully charged equipment, I'm good!
Eish!
how about getting a tesla powerwall installation to fix the electricity problem? That should do the trick!
Oh, cool. I haven't heard of that. How expensive is that though? The Tesla powerwall installation that is. I suppose I need to check if it's available locally (South Africa) though as well :D
Well, in the US they are going for around 10k. Coupled with Solar Panels, you'll can essentially live off the grid. I would say the Powerwall and solar panels should put you back around 20k. However, if you can afford the initial investment, you shouldn't have any worries about stable electricity supply. The setup pays itself back by year 10 of ownership. If you live in South Africa and have plenty of sunshine, you should totally consider getting a Powerwall and solar panels.
Cool, thanks for the reply. I'll definitely have a closer look however, for now, it's a little out of my reach. Essentially living off the grid, man, that'll be great :)
I'm pretty sure that as development continues and with mass market adoption, the cost of Powerwall and solar panels will come down significantly. Just keep an eye out for the best deals!
happy day,,, happy dream
upvoted...
@syahruddin
Thank you very much for your submission to @teamsouthafrica's first competition. Your post qualifies. Best of luck!
Awesome post @bdmomuae, we don't let anything get us down here in SA :) My laptop became a bargain buy when robbers broke into our home last week, the saddest part was that I lost the post I was working on but hey, we're all ok. I must say they were very considerate, did not make a mess...:):)... or perhaps did not have time to make a mess.
Wishing you an awesome 2018!
Yes a way of life, we tend to take it in our stride now we have experienced it for a couple of years, not ideal but we adjust.