Boxing by candle light.

We just gased up. Prior to that, a big grocery shop. The fridge was freshly packed with fresh meats and cheese, fruits and juice. Cupboards were filled to attend to any craving. It was a special weekend.

Red (my first car, passed down to me by my mother upon her adoption of her new (now 5 years old) blue car) was safely taking us to Square One. My sister had never been there before.

Highway driving in the summer. Those moments that make you want to run away to the west coast and lead a different kind of life. Makes you wonder why people stay in a world they just want to run away from.

It was strange getting off the highway. A few blocks north of the QEW, the lights on hurontario were out. Surprisingly, despite the fact that we're talking about four lanes of traffic in each direction (4 northbound, 4 southbound and 4 both east & west bound) - traffic flowed smoothly exercising the four way stop rule. Trust me, I've never seen intersections flow that smoothly since. There was no one there to control the traffic - just common courtesy.

Everyone was leaving. Walking out of the mall. But it was early afternoon. Nothing could explain the flood of people we were moving against. The first store closed its doors to us. Luckily they offered an explanation. The power was out - they were obligated to shut down as they couldn't run their cash registers.

I guess we've all lost track of the ways of the calculator. Everything is so easy to us now.

Leaving, was not as easy. Police had set up in all the major intersections and traffic was now inching away. It was much nicer without the police assistance, but no one would know any better. They weren't there 15mins ago. Gas stations were jammed with long lines of cars. Something was up.

Red's radio wasn't the most reliable thing in the world. Usually died after rainfall. I packed a portable radio in the trunk. We grabbed that and two car heated drinks from my 'emergency' tupperware bin. It was a hot day. Drinking our scorched waters made me feel that we were better off dehydrated.

Very little information was offered over the radio waves at the beginning. But the power outage had spread. At first it seemed like just your regular section of traffic lights blown, but it was bigger than this. The QEW going home was a disaster. All the off ramps proved more challenging, which lead to extended times on the highway. It was rush hour for the westbound cars, yet eastbound was moving slower.

Terrorism was a thought. What happened here?

I don't recall how long it took us to park the car. I lived in the Queen & Spadina area at the time. It must have been a long time. We met up with my brother and walked around the city. It was incredible. Everything came to a stop. Street kids were controlling intersections, harnessing respect from motorists who became dependent on their traffic flow directives. They were mesmerizing to watch. I can't explain it.

As sun set that night, the city came to life. We had a corded phone in the house - so we were blessed with outside contact. Cell phones were dead. Cordless phones fell victims as well. We were able to talk to our parents in northern ontario - living the same moment in a different way. They had their power back that night I think.

I took out my camera - the ancient Hi-8 beast - and we walked Michael to work that night. He did night shifts for the TTC during his summers as a student. The subways were shut down, but they opened up the gated doors for him. (TTC sent a train through their system to pick up all their workers. All employees spent the night waiting for the power to return. It never did.) I set my camcorder to night mode. It was incredible. Armed with a flashlight or two and this camcorder, we found our way to Queen street. It must have been after 10.30pm. The night vision brought a new look on the world around us. I'm going to give a shout out to this greenish glowing vision - but it's incredible how great this setting works in the dark.

The world was dark all around us. Without any help, you would be bumping into people everywhere you stepped. On the main streets, we followed these two people walking with an IKEA lantern and a candle inside. I was enjoying what I was seeing in people that night. A real sense of community was emerging, even at Queen and Spadina.

At City TV, people gathered to find out what was happening. The weather for tomorrow was grim. Another hot and muggy day was upon us. I hoped for rain, especially knowing that there would be no where to escape the heat tomorrow. I videotaped the news broadcast to show my roomates.

A spontaneous party errupted on Spadina. My sister didn't want to go, so we went home instead.

We woke up to darkness. The living room at the apartment had no windows. Two roomates were away (Sarah we thought was missing, cause we never found her until after the blackout ended - and Carly left to go to a cottage to avoid the city). Dana, Jen and myself went to the pub for food. I don't know why - we had so much in the fridge that we were trying to eat.

We didn't know when the power would come back on.

Half price fare...not a bad deal. Pubs were in a hurry to get rid of their beer. I guess once its on tap, it can go bad. All refridgerated food was on sale as well. A precaution. I never did cross paths with an ice cream shop giving away free ice cream. Damn.

There wasn't much to do to entertain an out of town visitor. Casa Loma gardens. High Park. Outdoor activities were a thought - but not if there aren't any participants outside yourself.

Our area didn't see power until I believe sometime around 5pm the day after. It didn't last long. We were on rolling brown outs until the next day. Especially being downtown Toronto, there is a higher demand for a smaller area. Hospitals and emergency crews were priorities in receiving power. Makes sense.

I didn't have to work at the hospital that weekend. I was a SARS screener. It made for a memorable summer. Toronto was going through a lot.

Now i'm remembering SARS Stock.

I was called for a film job that day - to drive to/from New York City to pick up something for a commercial company. It didn't work out - I was too young (needed to be 23 to drive the rental). I wasted my Saturday night waiting for confirmation. It never came.

A quiet weekend. I think we ended it by watching 'Finding Nemo' at the movie theatre that Sunday. That night I was in contact with more of my friends - hearing all about what they did when the city went black.

There was no promise that the power would remain in our area at the beginning, but I don't remember it ever going out again that summer.

The CN tower didn't really light up the night sky after that blackout, until the LED lights were introduced almost a year ago. I remember missing the skyline for the longest time.


Earth Hour. Tonight from 8-9pm. All around the world, a global movement to bring awareness to global warming. An event started by Australia last year - has turned into a wolrd wide call to action.

I spent my night at home. By candlelight, I spent some time boxing with my bag (purchased on air miles points).

I miss my kick boxing years. It was nice to punch the bag and do leg training again.

I spent the time thinking about everything going on in my life. For one hour in the candle light. My mind finally had rest.

I think too much.

By the end of the hour, I was already reading about China...the last leg of our trip.

We will be in Wolong during the rainy season. A season they do not suggest you visit during. Leeches take over the park apparently.

This is what I learned in the dark.

Yuck.