Slight changes

I made a slight change to my post that ran a few weeks ago. In the entry was titled “Leah is wearing my pajamas” the word pajamas was originally spelled “pyjamas” which is the correct Canadian spelling and the way it was published. But since so many people e-mailed me asking if it was a typo, I changed it on-line.

By the way, the Pepsi van dropped off my first case of Pepsi Vanilla and I gotta tell ya… it tastes really good!

Summer’s almost done

Well, as we head into the long weekend, it looks like yet another summer is coming to an end. Not a bad one, if I do say so… I still have yet to make it down to Jersey to see my family this year, but I’m sure sooner or later I will.

Restocking

I’ve been keeping busy, restocking the freezer after the Blackout and of course writing. I can feel a long week coming on, but as I always say, if I get most things done on Monday, then the rest of the week just goes right by… let’s hope I wake up early tomorrow.

Leah’s wearing my pajamas

I am a little disappointed that “Toronto Fashion” magazine didn’t pick me to be one of the local “celebs” showing off what they wear to bed in a feature called “What Do You Wear to Bed?” (Great title, don’t you think??) I was actually in the running at first, seeing as some feel I am a fresh young up and coming writer.

What’s even more puzzling (if you can call it that) is that Leah McLaren – who by the way, is a great young columnist for The Globe and Mail – is wearing the exact same outfit that I would have had on! (Black satin pajamas. And they are her won too. Not like some prop or wardrobe outfit given to simply for the shoot.)

She’s a year younger than me, published in the Globe And Mail, got my space in the magazine and is wearing satin pj’s! Lucky she’s really cool or else it would SO be on right now!

Blackout… part 5

The Blackout is over… mostly. Rolling brownouts or blackouts or whatever they are called are still hitting parts of the city, but I can’t begin to tell you how thrilled I am that when I flip a switch, the light comes on.(Interesting enough, even with the power out, I would still turn the light switch “on” when I went into the bathroom.)

The movie theaters didn’t want to miss a beat last night, so as soon as they got power back, the films were up and running. (So yes, I finally saw Freddy vs. Jason. And it was good.)  But again, like most people, they were taking it easy by not using extra lights when they weren’t needed. It actually reminds me a bit of the Ice Storm back in 1998 when Montreal was hit with a brutal storm and power was knocked out for days.  When it finally came back on, people were told to use as little as possible.

I was actually caught in the middle of that, even though I was living in Toronto at the time. I had taken the Greyhound bus, coming back from my Christmas holidays in Jersey and decided to stop in Montreal to see a friend. Next thing I knew, the city was covered in snow and ice for a week and nobody could come or go except by car, which as you can imagine, wasn’t encouraged.

Blackout… part 4

It’s true what they say; everything is better in the morning.  After a surprisingly restless morning, I’m up and ready to see what’s working today. Already I can tell you that most of Toronto is still shut down. Some things are back up and running, but there is such a strain on the power-grid that we can expect rolling blackouts for the next couple of days.

I talked with my mother back home in Jersey and she told me that most of the state was also in darkness, as well as Pennsylvania and New York. So yeah, we would have been screwed had we decided to take our road trip this weekend. (Maybe things happen for a reason.)

Tammy is hanging tough in midtown Toronto and other friends I talked to are making the most of the situation. The best thing to do is just relax and wait for the lights to come back on.

Blackout… part 3

It’s a ghost town out there right now. I drove as far west as Mississauga and actually found a gas station with power. Naturally they were trying to jack up the prices of everything in order to capitalize on what’s happening right now.

The downtown core of Toronto is almost empty, with the exception of a few people walking around looking for hotels and businesses that are running on generators. Streetcars are left dark on the streets, there is no sounds coming from the subway stations. Local radio has been keeping people up to date on what’s going on, and from the sounds of things, the problem started in Ohio.

It’s shortly after one in the morning on Friday. It’s very dark right now, which is an interesting feeling. Somewhat comforting, yet somewhat scary in a way. And when I say it’s very dark… I mean VERY dark.  I just hope people who were trapped in elevators were rescued by now.

Going to bed when the power is off is a very strange sensation. Normally I like my room dark. I have blackout curtains and I don’t leave any lights on.  But tonight it’s different. Knowing there isn’t a light to turn on, even if I wanted to, is a scary thought.

In case you’re wondering, I obviously missed seeing Freddy vs. Jason last night.

Blackout… part 2

OK.. I can now tell you that blackout (already being called Blackout 2003) is probably one of the largest blackouts in history. Something like 60 million people are being effected by this. With my trusty laptop and back-up batteries, I’m able to get on line, but the signal is weak so I don’t think I can do much of this.

I got to my friend’s apartment building and made use of the stairs to climb fifteen floors only to learn that things weren’t much better there. Although we did meet some new friends who were in need of someone with a flashlight to help them find their way through the dark building.

Tammy who lives in midtown is also without power, but I didn’t dare make the drive down there with no traffic lights to guide the traffic. I’m told there are some “well-meaning” people who are acting as traffic cops.  Folks, if you read this, don’t be an idiot. I know you mean well, and maybe get to act out some childhood fantasy, but you’re only making things worse.  Stay off the streets and leave the traffic work to the police.

The sun is setting on the city and according to the ol’ battery powered radio the power won’t be back on any time soon. I’m thinking of venturing out later on once it’s dark (or rather, darker) outside.  Thankfully it’s been a really nice summer day here in Toronto, so people who were forced to walk home had good temperatures to do so in.

I’m just glad my friends and I weren’t stuck in New York City tonight, because from what I hear, it’s a total shit-show down there right now. Can you imagine 13 million people trying to get around that city with no power?

Blackout!

As of  roughly 4:20 this afternoon, the entire city of Toronto, most of Ontario and from what I understand, all the way down to New York City, has suddenly been hit by a massive blackout. There’s something to be said for having a backup generator, but I don’t know how long it will last.  Still, I’ll never snicker at my mom again for getting it for me.

Nobody has any power and even so-called fail-safe things like traffic lights, subways, streetcars and large buildings downtown are effected. TV is obviously not working so the only source of information comes from radio and the internet, if you have a way to run it, that is. It’s a creepy feeling seeing everyone moving about when there’s no power. The city seems a lot quieter than it did before.

I’m going to save what energy I have in this generator and go check on a few friends. On a selfish note, I can’t help but think that this is going to somehow screw with my plans to see Freddy vs. Jason tonight.

Putting on the breaks

Just 48 hours away from heading out on our summer road trip and we have pushed the dates back three weeks. This sucks because we were all looking forward to going away for a while, but I do understand that a couple friends who were feeling sick, want to feel their best before hitting the road. (Can you blame them, really? Nobody wants to be sick and stuck in a car for hours.)

The upside to all of this is that now I get to see Freddy vs. Jason on the late night screening this Thursday. Other than that, I have been working, trying to stay cool while this heat blasts Toronto and checking out a few movies at my favorite theaters, Rainbow Cinemas. Why are they my fave? Because they show the same first run movies at a fraction of the cost of the major three chains here in Toronto. Hollywood wants us to stop downloading and stealing movies so that people keep their jobs on set? Well, they should do something about keeping the price at the box office down too.

Frankly, I don’t feel sorry for actors making 20 million a movie and films that cost $150 million bucks. Theaters like Rainbow keep the costs down and let people enjoy first run movies… How has your life been?

Stuck on a blank page

One of the draw-backs to having your own website and being a journalist is that your life is played out in black and white or on the updates pages of your site. In my case, it’s both. Then again, I do bring it upon myself so I’m the only person to blame for my current situation.

Here’s my problem. I tell everyone I am writing a new book and now I am at a stand-still. I’m trying to figure out how to move everything along. It’s okay I guess seeing as I said I wasn’t setting a deadline for myself. I would hate to rush it along and have it stink.

I did however get the latest book from one of my fave authors Candace Bushnell (who wrote “Sex and the City“.) The new novel is called “Trading Up“. I’ll let you know how it goes.

Big bomb for turkey time

Well, it’s been a good news kinda day now hasn’t it? Turns out that the latest bomb from Jennifer Whorepez (the turkey known as Gigli) has been called “one of the worst movies OF ALL TIME!”

Other critics have gone on to say stuff like “I had to watch Glitter afterwards just to clean my palate.” Too many critics saying so many nasty things… not enough Web space.  As you can see, it’s not just myself that thinks ‘J-Ho’ is passed her prime and should be taken to the glue factory.

If that wasn’t enough, I’ve lose a few pounds and my trip to Montreal is going well.