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Timing

The Mild Wife and I live in California, which means that we had to contend with the recent power outage. For those of you who are unaware, the local utility company preemptively shut off power in select areas to avoid any raging wildfires. The rationale was deceptively simple: the last major fire in the state started because winds and a power line combined to create a spark, so if there are going to be high winds, they wanted to remove the power in "power line." I actually took/take issue with this (it shirks some of the responsibility around doing proper maintenance), but it did lead to some unintentional hilarity.

Since the company announced that there would be waves of shut-offs, they announced start times for when those waves would start. However, because the ultimate impetus for this was the weather, the timing was also highly dependent on mother nature. More specifically, whether the power was shut off or not depended on whether our weather reports had accurately predicted what the weather would be. Now, in general, that is reliable within broad strokes. If the weather report says there is a 70% chance of rain, I bring an umbrella with me when I leave the house. However, the report never says that the rain will start exactly at 2:43PM, because we can't possibly know that. That's why that report says "chance of rain," after all.

So, the shut offs got moved around a bit, and it left folks fairly uncertain about what was happening when. Sure, many folks tried to prep in advance (get flashlights, have cash on hand, fill up your gas tank, etc.), but since the start time itself was moved at least a couple of times, there was this general sense of unease.

Personally, this led to a decision around something that I normally take for granted: whether there would be power long enough for me to shave my head. I had actually been somewhat bad about it, and had let my hair grow a little shaggy. In fact, it was starting to bug me a little bit. It's hard to describe, but at a certain point, it starts to feel wrong, as if my hair is unwieldy somehow. Still, I knew that there was potentially a power outage coming, and I had a decision to make.

On the one hand, the start time was supposedly about 90 minutes away, and it shouldn't take me nearly that long to shave my head. I also wanted to get rid of some of that hair somewhat badly, which is why I was even considering this plan in the first place (as opposed to just waiting three or four days). On the other hand, I wasn't sure I could trust the announced timeline since it had been moved around a bit; most notably, that timeline had been moved earlier in at least one case, so there was at least one plausible scenario where the power would cut out mid-head-shaving. Also, having half a shaved head looks more than a little ridiculous. I don't think I've ever taken a picture of it, but it just looks ... wrong.

So, there I was, trying to weigh the odds and figure out what to do. Ultimately, I decided to take my chances with the power, and I decided to go for it. I went as fast as I could, but let me tell you: those first few minutes were a little nerve-wracking. In fact, I prioritized shaving certain parts of my head in order to minimize the damage in case the power went out. I did most of the top and sides first, since that's what people would see if I saw them head on. I figured that I didn't care as much in case people were looking at me from behind, because they most likely wouldn't be interacting with me at that point.

It wasn't until I'd gotten through most of the "seen from the front" hair that I started to relax. Sure, I would still look ridiculous if I had a big old tuft of hair on the back of my head, but at least it wouldn't be immediately visible for most people dealing with me. I did also have vague notions of a quasi-mullet if the power went out, and since I wasn't as worried by that point, I had a good laugh about that.

Fortunately, all that mental consternation was for naught, as the electricity held out long enough to get through the whole thing. By the time I was done, it looked much more to my liking, and I didn't have any big old tufts of hair anywhere. I may not have physically done it, but I definitely felt like breathing a big old sigh of relief.

You want to know the best part? I think something like three different people complimented me on my hair cut the next day. These were folks who see me on the daily, and they just so happened to comment that the shaved head looked good on me. I chuckled quite a bit when I heard the commentary. If only they knew the mental struggle that had led to said hair cut.

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