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Getting to work - an epic tale
Jan. 16th, 2009 09:57 amSo, last night there was a blackout, caused by a flooded power station. We lost power at around 10 p.m. (apologies to those in chat the roomie and I were talking to at the time!) which meant no lights and more importantly, no heat. Luckily our apartment is a small toaster oven of a place, so we kept the windows closed, lit some candles and I went to bed early.
Power came on again around 6:30 a.m. - I was woken up by the exhaust fan from Pizza Pizza downstairs turning back on. The roomie came and woke me around 7:40-ish with the news that the subway was down still, and shuttle buses were being used, which meant traffic was going to be hell and it'd take longer to get to work than usual. No problems, I got up and left the house by about 8:15 and took myself to the bus stop.
Now, something to remember is Toronto has had double-digit negative temperatures for most of the week. Outside it was clear and sunny, which meant that the air temperature was lower than it has been for those previous days, and the forecast had been for -16 C. Waiting at the bus stop, it became very clear that I wasn't about to be getting on a bus any time soon - four went past and didn't stop, too full to even think about it. I was freezing my legs off (the rest of me was toasty) and it was a nice morning, so I decided to walk a few stops down the line and see how long it took.
It's 3.4 km from Runnymede to Dufferin. That's how long it took for a bus to arrive that wasn't full to the gills. I wound up walking alongside a nice bloke called Martin, who originally came from Ottawa, and we chatted along the way which made things go faster, but I was glad for the bus since my legs were getting a bit too cold. It took maybe a half hour to get to St. George, and I set off again, since the bus wasn't going any further, walking to Bay St. and then down to Wellesley, where I work. That one was harder - it's windier downtown, so it was colder, and my lack of breakfast (I've discovered I can't eat first thing in the morning, the meds make me too nauseous) was starting to impact. I finally rocked into work at 9:40 a.m., an hour and almost a half after I'd left the house. I'm about to go down and get coffee and something to eat, and my legs are slowly regaining sensation. The rest of me is fine and toasty. :)
Hopefully the subway's back up and running by this afternoon!
Power came on again around 6:30 a.m. - I was woken up by the exhaust fan from Pizza Pizza downstairs turning back on. The roomie came and woke me around 7:40-ish with the news that the subway was down still, and shuttle buses were being used, which meant traffic was going to be hell and it'd take longer to get to work than usual. No problems, I got up and left the house by about 8:15 and took myself to the bus stop.
Now, something to remember is Toronto has had double-digit negative temperatures for most of the week. Outside it was clear and sunny, which meant that the air temperature was lower than it has been for those previous days, and the forecast had been for -16 C. Waiting at the bus stop, it became very clear that I wasn't about to be getting on a bus any time soon - four went past and didn't stop, too full to even think about it. I was freezing my legs off (the rest of me was toasty) and it was a nice morning, so I decided to walk a few stops down the line and see how long it took.
It's 3.4 km from Runnymede to Dufferin. That's how long it took for a bus to arrive that wasn't full to the gills. I wound up walking alongside a nice bloke called Martin, who originally came from Ottawa, and we chatted along the way which made things go faster, but I was glad for the bus since my legs were getting a bit too cold. It took maybe a half hour to get to St. George, and I set off again, since the bus wasn't going any further, walking to Bay St. and then down to Wellesley, where I work. That one was harder - it's windier downtown, so it was colder, and my lack of breakfast (I've discovered I can't eat first thing in the morning, the meds make me too nauseous) was starting to impact. I finally rocked into work at 9:40 a.m., an hour and almost a half after I'd left the house. I'm about to go down and get coffee and something to eat, and my legs are slowly regaining sensation. The rest of me is fine and toasty. :)
Hopefully the subway's back up and running by this afternoon!
