I have no power. I have only time.

This is not a metaphor. 

This is not political. 

This is the story of last weekend's journey to get electricity at my apartment.

Here is Nablus, you don't have to worry about not being able to pay for a giant electricity bill that you ran up unknowingly.  That is because here, electricity works like a pre-paid phone.  You put money on a card, you put the card into a box at your house, and you are credited the corresponding amount of electrical power. 

Unlike a pre-paid phone, however, you cannot credit your account by purchasing credit at any number of local "convenience store"-esque shops.  You have to go to the office of the electricity provider and give them your money directly.

"But what if you run out of electricity late at night, or on a weekend when the office is closed?"  (Certainly you asked yourself this, despite the fact that those who designed this system clearly did not.)

Well, my friend, that's what this story is about.

I started drawing the pictures below as I was writing in my journal.  Growing tired of the abundance of words on the page, I started to draw the story.

This is what happens when you have no power, but all the time in the world.



Translation: 
"Hi.  Are yall open today?" 
"Yeah.  Come in between 2 and 5." 
"Where?" 
"In the city center.  In the main building."



Translation:
"Where do I go for electricity?"
"Over there, but it's closed."

*There has been speculation as to the contents of the cup drawn to my left.  It is an icecream-fruit drink that I went and bought while waiting.  It happens to be called a cocktail, but I assure you there is no alcohol in it. 
That would've been nice, but, alas...



Here you see the two electricty boxes used to insert your card. 
One of them will debit our account.  One will debit the account of our upstairs neighbors.



This box sits just above our breaker box.  A red and green light indicate power.



After many, many hours, we got our electricity.  It would be days before we had working internet (an unrelated problem)


I hope that you have all enjoyed my tale of powerlessness.  If nothing else, it reminded me that I spend too much time plugged into things and not enough time creating and finding inspiration from the creations of others. 

And with that, I'm turning off my computer and reading a book.  Love to you all.