Our One Week Without Power
Posted: December 30, 2013 Filed under: Event | Tags: #icestorm2013, christmas ice storm, ice storm 2013, ice storm in toronto, ice storm story, toronto hydro 9 CommentsThe power of the recent ice storm left most of the GTA in the dark. And, Cy and I even laughed about freezing rain in the forecast – ha, it’s nothing! We are from Vancouver, no problem.
But the city was encased in ice and there were a lot of problems: No lights, no heat, no Internet (!), no more Christmas party and one fallen tree in our backyard.
It was seriously destructive and beautiful at the same time. For one week, we didn’t have power and it became unbearable to live in the house. We tried for 2 nights, but it felt like we were camping…indoors.
How can I describe it the whole thing? Now, I look back and I think about all of my favourite moments:
- Multiple meals of bacon cheeseburgers, McChickens and poutine (it’s so so) at the local McDonalds – and taking full advantage of their free wifi and outlets to charge up our nearly dead phones
- Better meals than McDonalds at places that deserve repeat visits: Yang’s Dim Sum, Pho Mi Asia and Hakka No. 1
- Chats with old ladies and men over lattes about the big ol’ storm in ’98 while trying to get work done remotely at a coffee shop
- New introductions to friendly neighbours that we catch glimpses of before but now can say we know each other better now
- The honour of the introduction to John who gave up his Christmas and demonstrated that the true power behind the generator was his heart – he was even featured on CBC here
- One-sided ping pong matches with Cy dominating but I slowly got better and now, I understand the sound of a good forehand serve
- True gifts of Christmas spirit and generosity from friends and family who have offered their help, homes and hearts to us – and special thank yous to Deena, Ray & doggie Poppy; Heather, Richard & bebe Tiffany; and Uncle Andrew, Auntie Ann-May, Marcus & Rhyan for lending us warm places to stay
In between all these moments, we kept checking on our house to see if power came back. On day 7, the green trucks came by. INSERT: celebratory music.
Despite working long shifts, the crew were good guys with real pride in what they did for the city. In no time, they were able to correct the blown fuse.
We had power! We had lights, heat (warming up), Internet(!) and experiences that has left us with a greater appreciation for the power of our friends, family, strangers and free wifi.
Our Toronto Life 
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was checking out amex on linkedin and happened to stumble over here. what a great blog! my gf and i moved to toronto 2 years ago from vancouver as well, so it’s great to see what you and your husband do for fun in this city
thanks, jonathan! i hope you survived the ice storm too – we definitely get that kind of weather back home in van. how are you and our gf enjoying the city so far? did you end up applying for role at amex? :D
So glad to hear you’ve got power back now! It must have been one crazy week!
Glad you guys finally got your power back! 7 days ack!!! I also underestimated the damage the ice storm would do. We lost power til Christmas eve morning but luckily my in laws didn’t lose power at all and we hid out there during the day. Thanks for the CBC link – what a great story!
elaine – oh so glad you had a warm/powered up place to stay with your in laws. i felt so bad for the people who didn’t have anywhere to go – and not enough blankets to keep warm. :(
maybe this means the worst is over, and winter will soon fade away! wishful thinking. happy ny, elaine! to an amazing 2014.