We often take things for granted! You know, you snap on your homebrew rig or appliance box, and it comes alive. Or that if you want a fresh salad, there is lettuce. (BTW the thing I missed the most second behind 44DD YL's when I was at Chu Lai, was fresh salads).
Then there was yesterday when our power supplier (SCE) pre-emptively turned off the power because of high winds. They did this at 3 AM yesterday and then back on at 3AM today. It was awful as there are just so many things linked to the power grid. Something I was able to do was tether the laptop to the cell phone so you could get into the Internet -- but that was not for watching Netflix but for only must have needs.
A bit of preparations would have made an extended outage a bit more bearable. Always keep your cell phone charged and likewise your laptop. I have a USB portable power pack where I can charge my cell phones but beyond that not much good. Flashlights and a stock of batteries are important items and having a flashlight in the bathroom reduces the likelihood of wet sneakers. I also have a spare propane tank so I could use my gas barbecue to cook food. But power is so integral to how we live.
I have avoided a generator but maybe a small solar + wind system maybe in the plans. This pre-emptive power shut off is now the norm.
About 54000 residents of Ventura County were affected by the SCE action and 25% of those who had the switch pulled were in Newbury Park, my QTH.
When the tariffs hit, the deportations begin and the DOGE whizz kids put you out of a job, you then will see taking things for granted has consequences.