The power went off briefly last night, but I didn't worry about it, my alarm clock has a battery backup. Needs a new battery, I realized this AM when I woke up half an hour later than I should have. "It's all good," I thought, "I still have plenty of time to get ready and leave for work on time." Sure did, until the dog raced over to the neighbor's shed and got nailed in the face by a very annoyed skunk five minutes before I had to leave for work. Trying to keep stinky puppy outside (the apartment entry way reeks, becoause he managed to squirt past me at one point), I made it into the house and called work. No answer on the park phone, phone out of order in the manager's quarters, reduced to trying his cell phone (power is apparently out at work, too) to let him know I was going to be late and why. His wife answers, I tell her, she laughs the laugh that only a relieved pet owner can laugh (OMG! I'm so glad that wasn't my pet!) and says she'll tell my boss. Of course it's barely 7 AM and we have nothing in the house for deskunking the wretched dog. Kind neighbor gave us the dregs of his bottle of commercial shunk deodorizer, which helped a little. Meanwhile, stink-dog is shut in the bathroom, whimmpering and scratching at the door. I run to the grocery store (thank goodness it opens at 7 AM!) for the ingredients for a deskunking agent. J-boy has run across the street to the neighbors and borrowd a giant-size bottle of air deodorizer. I come back and the apartment smells like vanilla-scented skunk. I mix up the deskunker, suds up the dog, who is trying his best to escape from the shower stall. I let the deskunker do its thing, rinse him off, and lather him up again with some foofy dog shampoo I bought when he had really dry skin. I never used it, because when I got home, I discovered that it was passion-flower scented. Who the hell wants their dog to smell like passion flowers? Right now, me. It beats skunk, barely. So now the aprtment smells like a melange of vanilla, passionflower, skunk and wet dog. I give up. I'm going to work. J-boy can deal with the cleanup.