This has been a New Year’s Eve with a difference. Ever since I can remember, New Year’s Eve was celebrated with a three course meal in the company of family or friends, followed by a night out on the town, theater or some special event.
When family or friends were no longer around, New Year’s Eve was still celebrated with a special meal, watching TV and following the events in New York City and the dropping of the ball.
Last year that changed too. We decided not to stay at home, but to attend a bowling party and we literally bowled ourselves from 2012 into 2013, with a brief pause at midnight.
When Kennedy Bowl announced they were organizing another New Year’s Eve bash, we were the first ones to sign on.
And then 2013 threw us one last curve ball.
On Saturday, December 21, Toronto suffered an ice storm and over half a million homes lost power, meaning no electricity, no hot water and no heat.
To cut a long story short (see previous blog posts) most homes got their power restored within days, but we had to wait longer.
For New Year’s Eve we were not too worried about the lack of lights and heat, after all, we had a bowling party to go to. But then Kennedy Bowl threw us a curve ball … due to lack of interest, the party was cancelled and the alley would close up at 8:00 p.m.
Darn, now what? Were we really going to go home and sit in the dark in a cold apartment? If that was the case, I expected to be in bed between 10:00 and 11:00 p.m. Much as I had been doing all week. Not because I was tired, but because I couldn’t handle the cold anymore. Some New Year's Eve :-(
This was totally unacceptable. This would be this first year that I was awake at midnight.
But then I had an idea … why not go out? We could go to the movies. It’s warm in the cinema, there’s entertainment, and we would most certainly not be alone.
Off we went.
From the moment we left home, things were shaping up, little things, but, one has to appreciate the little things in life.
First we didn’t have to pay for the train ride, on New Year’s Eve transit was free.
Second, the train rolled into the station the moment we got to the platform, so no waiting in the cold.
Third, the movie was half price.
The choice of movie was critical … nothing violent, nothing depressing, nothing sappy. After looking at some posters we decided on ‘Saving Mr. Banks’.
And it was a great choice, a wonderful movie with superb performances by Tom Hanks, Emma Thompson and the rest of the cast.
For a couple of hours we were warm, and while watching the movie we nibbled on popcorn and washed it down with orange juice. Champagne would have been better, but such bubbly was not available.
And the best was yet to come. On the train ride home we saw that our condo building was lit up. YEAH !!! WE HAD POWER !!! If it wasn’t for fear of slipping on ice and falling, I would have jumped so high Michael Jordon would have been envious.
We still don’t have hot water or heat, but that is sure to come tomorrow. In the meantime, we do have the use of a heater so the room is nice and warm.
2013 was not a good year and ended in a dramatic fashion, but judging from it’s beginning … 2014 is going to be a great year.
So, happy New Year everyone ... let the games begin.