Jason Pearce

At 4 pm yesterday, Norwalk lost power. After calling a few clients to let them know we were closing for the day, I headed out to SoNo (South Norwalk) to meet my roommates for a few drinks. We settled down at Amber Jacks to wait for power to be restored. It never did. Darkness came, the bar closed, and we headed home.

Eventually, around 10:30 pm, power came back online. Too bad, for we were all hoping for a day off on Friday.

I’m heading into NYC for the weekend, if I can. Rail travel has been suspended, so I might not be able to take the train in. But I’ll be meeting up with some current Peace Corps volunteers who happen to be in the US for a few weeks. Haven’t seen them in a year, so it will be nice to catch up with them.

Here’s a quick summary of the power failure:

CNN.com - ‘Lake Erie Loop’ focus of blackout probe - Aug. 15, 2003:

“In addition to New York, outages were reported in Cleveland, Ohio; Detroit, Michigan; Erie, Pennsylvania; Toronto and Ottawa, Canada; Niagara Falls, New York; Niagara Falls, Ontario; and other cities in Connecticut and New Jersey.

The power was cut in just three minutes, as 21 power plants stopped operating, according to Genscape, a company that monitors the output of power plants. The plants, including 10 nuclear plants, shut down between 4:10 p.m. and 4:13 p.m., Genscape said. “

Last weekend was spent in Las Vegas with the family. Mom was there for a flute convention. Dad, Cameron, and I just flew in for the weekend.

I left Friday after work and arrived around midnight. Had a late dinner with the folks before heading out with my brother for a night on the town. We went to The Palms, where we drank and gambled the night away. Good times. We didn’t get to bed until 5 a.m.

Saturday, the three guys enjoyed a buffet for lunch and then went to the Star Trek “ride” at The Hilton. It was fun way to pass part of the afternoon, but wasn’t anything worth talking about.

Afterward, Cameron and I went to Circus Circus to ride their indoor roller coaster. With one loop and two corkscrews, this coaster packs a lot into a short and sweet ride. It was time to head back to the Riviera to meet up with everyone for dinner.

We loaded up in a cab and headed off to the Bellagio. We found a nice Asian restaurant that had no line (the buffet line was too long). We then headed to theater to see “O,” possibly the best show out there. This is the second time I saw it and it was just as good as the first.

After the show, we headed out to the streets to watch a few fountain shows in front of the Bellagio. Getting late, we split up. My brother and I headed out to New York New York for a night of gambling and my folks went up the Eiffel Tower.

Sunday morning, dad, Cameron, and I just explored the strip all day. Cameron and I rode the NY/NY roller coaster, which was fun. Eventually, we went back to the Riviera to get mom and head out for dinner and a show.

We ate at the Luxor buffet and then saw “Blue Man Group.” It was my second time seeing this show as well, and just as fun. After the show, I headed to the airport for a red-eye flight home. I was at work the next morning, a little sleepier and a little poorer.