Around 1 a.m. Saturday morning, the water main that serves all seven buildings in our complex burst. We were without water for about eight hours.

We were the lucky ones. The water flooded the electrical room of the building behind us and they were without power or water for all that time.

I found out that the repair crew had had another 14 breaks to deal with earlier that day, which is why it took so long to get to us. Welcome to Calgary after the first semi-cold snap of the year.

It wasn't even that cold. The temperature dropped to only -10 C or so. But it was enough to burst some older pipes around the city. And although the apartments were completely renovated in our complex, I doubt consideration was given to the ancient waterworks below the ground.

On Sunday, they burst in a completely different spot.

Went to the annual Halloween dance.

This year was a bit different, as Con-Version had decided to horn in on the action, in a transparent ploy for more fund-raising.

Not sure how much money they raised, given that they were selling 250 tickets, and about 50 people showed up. But that was about 30 more people than usual, so it was considered a success.

the lovely lisa and her pumpkin. sadly, she did't win the carving contest. and that is not my fault this year.

We didn't go overboard for costumes this year. I was going to wear the monk habit Ronja made me for one of my games, but instead I wore a Mark Anthony outfit, with Lisa as my beautiful Cleopatra. Given how much I overheat when dancing, choosing a light tunic over heavy robes was a good idea.

While we were there, my friend Paul dragged me aside and asked me to be his best man.

Paul is one of my oldest friends. We first met back in junior high school, where I was a major geek, and he was the geek all the other geeks picked on. I'm happy to say we both have aged well, and he's been engaged to this lovely Russian girl for the last couple years. She's finally here to stay, and they are getting married in a couple weeks.

A quick wedding is a small wedding, which means I don't have too much on my plate to fuss with. It sounds like most everything is planned already, and I'll mostly just need to stand there and look handsome. I can handle that.

Above me at work is a large pipe that seems to be the main drainpipe for the roof of the warehouse. John, one of the writers, says that in the spring, a veritable torrent of water runs through it. Right now, there is a constant stream running with a sound much like that found in the men's room.

Given my luck with pipes lately, I keep glancing at it in trepidation.

Mom Rating: 2 out of 5. Water shortages mean that I don't brush my teeth or shower until later in the day. Mom doesn't like that.

This Is Where We Used To Live

My day as a Dalmatian

Take me home, big fella