X-treme Energy Saving

My parents have adopted a new, aggressive policy on saving electricity. No, it's not those compact fluorescent light bulbs or purchasing energy-efficient appliances. Those are far too sensible! Every time my parents leave a room, they turn off every single appliance inside of it.

...even if I am still in the room.

Allow me to paint you a mental picture, my beloved blog reader. I was sitting downstairs watching the Steelers game with my mother recently. The game was almost over, and it was pretty apparent that the Steelers were going to be handed yet another loss. So my mother got up, turned off the television and every light in the room, and waved goodnight over her shoulder as she walked out... leaving me alone in the pitch black and missing the last three minutes of the game.

You need another example?! Fine. Let's say I was in the kitchen one evening, typing on my laptop. My father walked into the room, grabbed himself a fresh beer (Milwaukee's Best Light, of course), and then turned out all the lights in the room as he leaves.

"Hey, I'm actually still in this room!" I called out.
"You don't want all that glare on your computer screen!" was the gruff reply.

So now it's gotten to the point where there is a bitter struggle in the household about who can keep the most lights at any one time. I'll walk from room to room, engaging in short activities and then leaving all the lights on, and my parents will follow in my footsteps five minutes later turning everything off. During phase two, I'm going to run the washer and dryer every second of the day (totally empty), and leave hot irons on in random hiding places. That will teach them!