I woke at 6am on Saturday morning with a need to do… my duty. After, I sat in bed iPhoning the news and such when suddenly the fan at the foot of the bed revved up to Impossible Speed then turned itself off. Suddenly the VCR and clock blinked. Then the fan turned itself back on and seconds later, just died.

Along with everything else within earshot.

Blackout.

Moeesha the Plant finally blooms!

It’s amazing how interesting and boring your apartment becomes when you have no power. Like noticing a plant that finally blooms again after 3 years of no flowers. Also going through the process of remembering over and over again that some things need power: like having your iPhone die, and thinking “I’ll just plug it in…” to remember the computer is off, then thinking “Oh well I’ll just use the wall adapter!” and then slapping your forehead in even more stupid realization.

Thankfully I had my new Chinese Cheap Watch to keep time:

The ultra bright LEDs do something to the video… but it’s just a mass of lights you have to really count and think about when you tell time. A geek’s watch.

To fend off ennui, we decided to go for a walk to the Market and investigate the cause of the blackout.

Later we learned that one two four all the transformers at the foot of Parliament Street and Queen exploded in a PCB-showering ball of death. At Sherbourne and Carlton, the force of the overload knocked down powerlines all across the road.

"Can you read?!"

We stood around looking at the yellow tape and the Hydro workers earning time and a half when we were suddenly witness to the extent of Police Patience at 8am. A guy wearing an iPod rode his bike under the yellow tape towards the downed wires which prompted the police and firemen to yell at him with ahem… strong language. I don’t blame the cops, but the berating he got after he was stopped (“Can you read?” he shouts for all the crowd to hear as he takes him back to his cruiser, waving the yellow tape in his face) was a bit harsh.

We took refuge at the AMC theatre and watched the early showing of The Boys. If you’re a Disney (super)fan then you need to see this documentary of Richard and Bob Sherman, Disney’s favorite songwriters (think Mary Poppins, most of all the songs from the 50s, and more). It was much more interesting than I expected and I admit I did sniffle a couple of times at the heavy sentimentality of their long careers…

Later, we ventured out into the street to see our neighbourhood in the dark. We came across a small South Asian festival parade of sorts, the only beacon of light in our dark neighbourhood. I really liked the music – it nearly converted me:

As we stood at the corner of Parliament and Carlton, one of Cabbagetown’s more colourful character came up to us and engaged us with some jokes:

“What is red and has 7 dents in it? Snow White’s cherry! It’s funny because she was fucked by the seven dwarves!”

This morning, nearly 24 hours after it went off, the entire apartment clicked on at 6am with a cacophony of alarms, beeps and whirrrs. We’re back!