Cut

When the lights suddenly went out at 4:30 p.m. today in the Department of Health, my first thought was "The electricity cut." That's what we used to say in Lesotho during the rolling blackouts that occurred to shed the load on the power stations because they couldn't generate enough electricity for the whole country.

The DOH cuts the power at 4:30 everyday here in Hawaii to save money given our budget shortfall. And while I think the frigid A/C being pumped into the building is wholly unnecessary, and people are negligent about leaving their lights on and we could all do a better job of saving power...it's hard not to make comparisons to the developing world when you're in the middle of a meeting and you have to write in the dark, squinting to see your papers.