It was a year ago tomorrow that the lights went out across the eastern seaboard and parts of the midwest and Canada. God, what a nightmare that was! I was sitting where I am right now, at my desk at work, at about 4:00 in the afternoon when everything went off. It's amazing how quiet our lives would be without electricity. Even without the noise of television and radio, or the fans on computers and printers, there's a perpetual hum that emits from an electric device and when it's gone the silence is deafening.

The blackout wreaked havoc with my travel plans - I was supposed to flight out of Hartford early the next morning (Friday) for Vancouver, with a stop in Toronto, which was also without power. With help from friends and Travelocity, I was able to get on a flight on Saturday morning. I remember that the trip took almost twice as long because of the long delays from the backlog of flights. Boy, was I happy to see Holly (was it you, Holly? I can't recall) at the airport!

The stress continued, of course, when my wallet, with my debit card (my only means of spending), my driver's license and my birth certificate, was stolen on Tuesday. And well, as you would expect that cast a bit of a pall over the rest of the trip. But I still wouldn't trade a trip to Vancouver for anything. One of my favorite places in the world.