Some interesting experiences:

1. First of all, I am writing this from my office, which luckily happens to fall in an area where power has been restored.
   
2. Yesterday I stopped at one of the water and ice distribution centers set up by the Army Reserve and had the distinct pleasure of having an Army "jawan" load up 9 gallon-jugs of water and 4 bags of ice in my car. It felt good to see the US Army doing something nice for us poor American citizens rather than blowing up Iraqi women and children in the name of democracy.
   
3. At home we are filling the toilet tanks from an ample supply of water we have right behind the house. It is our swimming pool. In that way we are luckier than people who don't have pools.
   
4. My wife still insists on cooking rather than opening cans. I don't stop her. We have always had an Indian style propane tank and stove set up on our back porch for frying samosas and pakoras by the swimming pool when we have parties. Now it is our kitchen stove and our sole means of survival.
   
5. For the first time in my life I have seen gas (petrol) become as precious as gold. Not that there is a shortage of gasoline, but there is no power. So 90% of the gas stations cannot dispense the gas they have in their tanks. The few that do are so crowded that one has to wait 2 hours in a queue before one can get to the pump. I have paid my dues and have just enough gas to drive for basic needs but not for pleasure.
   
6. Our days end at 7PM when it gets dark. We are in bed by 8 because there is nothing to do. However, one of our neighbors - an Indian family from Trinidad - and us have partied together 3 nights in a row. We have shared our food, and our scotch which has been duly chilled by the ice supplied by the U.S. Army. We have skipped the last two nights because we probably need a break from each other.
   
7. A hot shower is a luxury that seems like a mirage right now. We are barely managing to keep ourselves clean.
   
8. At night we have to sleep with the windows open because there is no air conditioning. Some of the neighbors have generators that run all night and disturb our sleep. We never bought a generator and right now there is none available in stores. The other day I saw two guys selling generators from the back of a pick-up truck. Price - $2,500. The regular price is $700.
   
9. In our 6th day of post-hurricane disaster, about 40% of the population has power back, but we seem to belong to the unfortunate 60%. The minute we get power back, I will take a hot shower and turn on the TV. And oh, maybe take a long drive just to buy an ice cream cone.