As it turns out, the outage wasn’t just our building. When Bella and I got outside, you can see little clusters of people out on the sidewalks, obviously office workers from the nearby buildings. I looked up and down one of the major streets and at least 4 intersections were without functioning traffic lights, at least in the north-to-south direction. We walked a little further southeast and took an east-to-west glance and the outage went another 4 blocks. Being lunchtime, the sidewalks were slowly filling up with people, more so than usual. You could hear police and firetruck sirens, impatient car honking, and even helicopters! Probably just news crews, but all the noise, you’d think people were looting or something. If it weren’t so hot and humid outside, Bella and I would’ve just hung out in the shade somewhere. But, of course, all the good spots were already taken. We came home instead. Took a deep breath and marched back up to our 4th floor condo. We even ran into two guys moving out, carrying a mattress down the stairwell. “So, it’s just had to be today, huh?” I joked to one of them. As Bella and I squeezed passed them, I added, “At least you’re going down and not up.” “Yeah, thank God.”

It’s amazing how things come to a halt when the power goes out. Without lighting or access to computers, several businesses are forced to stop, although the restaurant patios filled up quickly. Once we got back inside, I got caught wondering what to do in the meantime. No power. No internet access. No TV. Can’t surf. Can’t play World of Warcraft. Can’t watch TV. I thought about playing a game on my iPod Touch, but the games I’m into right now all require wi-fi access. I’m really surprised at how bothered I am that I can’t tweet about what’s happening.

So before I forget this little moment in time, I opted to write my thoughts out offline and upload as soon as the power’s back. Now let’s see how far I can get on this laptop’s 79% battery power.

(UPDATE: Power came back on at 1:03pm.)

This story is about Bella and the great ladies who are part of the Canadian Chihuahua Rescue & Transport (Thanks Terry, Joy and Patricia!). They made the whole process effortless and a great pleasure to experience. And since bringing her home last Thursday, Bella has been nothing but an amazingly charming and sweet addition to our home.

Today, on day 5, with an anxious heart, I decided to try leaving her home alone for the first time today, just long enough to go down the street to get some much-needed groceries. Out of uncertainty (and curiosity), I set up my MacBook Pro to take some time-lapsed video while I was away. After about an hour of pretending I wasn’t going anywhere, I finally made it out the door. Very slowly and wrought with guilt. I heard her whimpering behind the door and was only able to stay there in the hall for a few seconds, before I bit the bullet and headed to the stairwell. As I spiraled down to the street exit, I couldn’t believe how sad it made me feel to leave her. But it’s something that we’re going to have to get her used to and the sooner, the better… for all of us.

When I got home about a half-hour later, I carefully opened the door, half-expecting to see her right by the door, but there she was, all tucked away in her little cubby bed. She did just great! I watched the video and was glad to see she only waited by the door for about 3 minutes, roamed around the apartment for a little while, and finally nestled into her comfy, cozy bed a few minutes later.

It hasn’t been a full week yet, but I’m already madly in love with her. :)