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6:00PM - Sunday October 5, 2003 I slept through it. I know, I know, gusting winds up to 180 kilometres an hour, torrential downpour, nature's best fireworks show, and I slept right through it. I woke up next morning to a devastated city in a state of emergency, no power, and a sense of just how small I am in the scheme of things. We lost so many beautiful trees, trees that had survived the Halifax Explosion were torn up by their roots and deposited on cars, fences, houses, electrical wires... it was crazy. The kids up the street were using a piece of uprooted sidewalk for a bike ramp. The scars on other trees are so white and new, they're heart-breaking. All this week while I travelled different bus routes I saw new disaster and mayhem. My power was out for nearly five days. The novelty of camping out in my apartment wore off on day three, I think. I kept Butch fed on pierogis and tea, and we filled our evenings playing dominoes by candlelight and drinking beer and smoking pot. Butch had to go back to work on Wednesday, and I had to go back to school. Mine was the only university to be holding classes at all that week. I was peeved--I had a mid-term on Friday, I had no power and no hot water, and I had to go to school. Ugh. I never want to have a shower that cold ever again. Thursday I caved in and had a hot shower and meal at Durga's--it was one of the most wonderful things I have ever experienced. I will never take hot running water for granted again, I swear. I know I'm being pretty flip about the whole thing, but really, what else can I do? I know I was lucky. I know people are still without power, all the local parks are closed because of the damage caused by the storm, and people lost all their frozen food stores. So what do I do? I go to another play party, that's what I do.
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