And all was dark...

Last night around 10:30 pm, I was at the office, working on some project or other and *snap* *poof* - all the lights went out. Not just the lights in my office either...I mean
all the lights.

It was a strange sensation. I am so used to the ambient noise of computer fans, air conditioning, the low buzz of monitors and all of a sudden -- nothing. After a few seconds I could hear some "woo-hoo!" sounds from outside as others in the Yaletown area registered their delight in the darkened city.

Back in the office, I was frightened for a few moments, trying to figure out what was going on.

A blackout in a city this size? Not possible. I thought.

I stumbled around in the pitch blackness of my office trying to find the exit. As I've only worked here for about 7 days, I haven't memorized the layout yet. Once I made it out into the hallway, the emergency lights were on, adding to the errie effect.

The elevator wasn't working, so I went down the stairs to the front of the building and walked out into a totally darkened street. My office is very close to Concorde Pacific, a large-scale development of mostly residential towers. They were all black, save for some candles illuminating windows randomly throughout the collection of windows.

Looking toward downtown, I saw the same thing: darkness, save for a few candle-lit windows.

I felt like I was in war-time London during a blackout.

How odd.