Fire on the South Side; Memorial Day weekend

It was when I was shaving this morning that I first smelled it. Something was burning, and my first thought was that joi_division had left the stove on. "Do you smell that," I asked her. She had and was moving toward the window at the front of her apartment to have a look out as the sound of fire engine sirens filtered in from the street below. The sound of sirens is not uncommon in a city like Pittsburgh, however one does take pause when the sound emanates from directly outside of one's dwelling.

It wasn't long before Joi told me that the building two doors down from the one we were in was on fire. Strangely, this didn't really make me too nervous or concerned. The fire department was already dousing the structure and the smoke coming from it, while thick, was still off-white, rather than the black one normally associates with a full-fledged conflagration. Furthermore, the walls of Joi's apartment weren't even warm. I judged it safe to finish getting dressed and then head to work.

Once outside, I turned opposite of the direction I'd usually walk, being as it would have taken me directly in front of a burning building. There were several fire trucks and police cars blocking off the street, which was a maze of hoses and gawkers. The smoke cast a haze over Joi's block, burning my eyes as I walked through it but barely noticeable once I reached the main road where the bus stop was. If one wasn't on Joi's street or block, one couldn't even tell that there was a building on fire in the area.

Half of the staff was on vacation today where I work. People like to extend their holiday weekends, so I wasn't surprised. The day went by in the usual manner, and I returned home by the afternoon where I prerecorded some vocals I wasn't satisfied with. By the evening, I was back at Joi's, watching re-runs of The Simpsons and eventually passing out on the bed for a bit. I briefly considered going out and doing something tonight, but I just feel too tired to drag my ass out of the door. No doubt I'll be heading to bed soon. Hopefully I'll feel less drained with a good night's sleep and be able to take advantage of the long weekend.