The Ups and Downs of Condo Living

The storm from last week did a number on my building. It seems that a number of lockers on the lowest parking level were flooded. Most notably, two of the four elevators are no longer operational. That makes getting up to and down from my unit a bit of a challenge. That challenge was compounded when I found out first hand that the two operational elevators are now possessed.

Waiting for the elevators on the ground floor is the most advantageous because you can see where they are and if they're going to arrive soon. If you're on any other floor, you'd have to guess by the noises. I was standing there with a neighbour, anticipating that an elevator would pass the ground floor on its way up from P3. When it completely skipped us, we were both rather confused. Instead, the elevator that was way up at 26 came down and picked us up, along with a few other people who had joined us. There was a little shudder as we passed the fifth floor, and when we reached the tenth floor, nothing happened. The door didn't open, and we didn't continue upwards. We all looked at each other and feared the worst. One of the passengers pressed a button and then the elevator continued up, completely skipping the requested floor. At the next stop, the same thing happened. The passenger tried another button, and thankfully the door opened. On her way out, she said, "You have to press the 'door open' button." All of the passengers groaned slightly, as it appeared that the elevator was now manual. At the third stop, the person tried the button and it worked again. By the time, we reached my floor, I gave it the benefit of the doubt, and it did open on its own. The rejected passenger pressed "10" again as I exited. I hope she made it back to her floor. As I heard from other neighbours later, it seems that the day before, people had been trapped on the elevator for a while. However, they weren't at a standstill...the elevator just kept going up and down without stopping or opening the doors. The thought of it just boggles my mind.

"First train home, I've got to get on it"

We're Not In Kansas

A few hours ago, I was sitting on my couch, listening to my iPod, watching my candles burning, waiting for the power to come back. I was thinking about how ironic it was that the power in my unit had gone out the day after tornadoes touched down in Southern Ontario.

The weather on Thursday seemed just as crazy as it has been on several occasions this summer. What I didn't realize was just how severe it really was. I watched as water blanketed the city outside my window and the wind whipped the rain against the neighbouring buildings. The power flickered on and off as I was preparing dinner, but it never reset any of my electronic devices. The footage that was shown on the news later on was unbelievable. Roofs and second storeys torn off, trees uprooted, cars tossed about, horses flying through the air...it reminded me more of the Midwestern US than it did of the GTA.

Today, the weather was great, which was fortunate for those affected the most. It didn't rain a drop. When my power went off this evening, I thought, "Crap, what now??" What unnerved me even more was that as my condo went black, I could hear the very distinct sound of a power drill. My next thought was, "If someone has just severed my electricity with a drill, I'm going to be extremely pissed." My fears were compounded when I saw that the lights in the hallway were still on and there were sounds coming from the elevators, indicating they were still operational. I was ready to call the property manager when an announcement was made over the security PA, saying that the power was out (really?) and to standby for further announcements. Fair enough. I sat around for a while, listening to my iPod and talking to a friend on my cell phone, when another announcement was made, saying that someone from the electric company was coming and the problem would be fixed shortly. Yeah right. I broke out the matches and hoped that I didn't need to use the bathroom for a while.

It was 3 hours later when I was jostled from my nap by the sound of my refrigerator starting up. I breathed a sigh of relief. Looks like I'll be able to take a shower tonight after all.

"I woke up with the power out, nothing something to shout about"