Manic Monday

Ok, so the title of this post is somewhat misleading. It was actually a pretty boring, but rather productive Monday. Went in on time, worked on my paper for a while, organized some results from another project, contemplated taking a nap before lunch, went and did some prep work in the lab out in the 300 Area (where most of the chemistry goes on...I'll explain another time), did some work in the lab in EMSL (again, explanations later), and a little more organizing. So, up until then, pretty boring. But, it gets better.
By the time I did all this, it was about 4:00, and I had only a half-hour left in my work day. I went back to the lab to finish up the work I was doing, and I was right in the middle of doing stuff I could do almost automatically when the lab suddenly became pitch black.
No lie. It was so dark I could not see my hand in front of my face. No windows means not even a small beam of ambient light. I immediately began scanning my brain for memories of the tons of training I had completed two months ago to discover what I should do in the event that the lights suddenly go out in the lab. Nothing. They spent hundreds of dollars and plenty of hours training me in things like how to create a password and how to harass people (I mean, they called it harassment training), but they neglected to tell me what to do when I'm working and suddenly my work disappears into inky blackness. The other people working in the lab gasped along with me, so I knew I hadn't spontaneously gone blind. But what to do?! I had work to complete! Should I take it out in the hallway and try to finish it quickly? Or should I remain like I was, frozen in place, heart pounding like someone had just jumped out at me?
Thankfully, I was spared that decision when the emergency lights went on. However, all was not well. First of all, there were alarms going off on several machines that were less than happy about the sudden lack of electricity, and they were irritating and LOUD. Secondly, the emergency light that had gone on was on the other side of the lab, and while I could still see, it was going to be really hard to finish my work. But, it was the end of the workday, and this project was the one thing that stood between me and home. So I got it done in record time, tossed it in the fridge and prayed it would stay cool overnight.
After leaving the lab, I discovered that the power had gone out in the entire building. That just doesn't happen. It was kind of funny to see all these scientists with safety glasses still in place poking their heads out of their labs like turtles coming out of their shells, and joining others in the hallway to muse on what had happened. When I left, the power still wasn't back on, and no one seemed to have any idea what caused it. I just hope they get it back up soon...otherwise, I'm seriously contemplating taking a couple days off. :)