Friday, August 21, 2009

Thursday, August 20th, 2009- Scariest day of my life

Yesterday was the most horrifying day of my life, essentially because tornadoes were tearing up Southern Ontario, and most importantly, Toronto. The area of Vaughan and Durham were hit the hardest, and because of God's grace (may I say I have no doubt now), our area was not hit. Sure, we had the raging wind, the thunder, the lightning, the torrential rain, but we were sans the tornadoes and right now that is all that matters. We were under watches and warning all night, and for a while I felt as if I was going to die. I decided to go on Twitter to see if the buzz made the Trending Topic list, and sure enough, it did. #Toronto and #Tornado both made the list and people were tweeting like crazy posting pictures and stories, and prayers. Jessica, Dev, and Caulin were also on and we ended up talking to each other (mainly them trying to calm me down, because I had completely lost it). In the end, we were okay, and the warnings ended and I owe it all to God. Seriously, having faith nearly saved me from an aneurysm. So, if the message were not clear, we are okay.


Though, that is not the end of my stress. Meteorologists claim Saturday (tomorrow) will bring in similar weather due to the cold front passing through Southern Ontario, and though it probably will not be as fierce as yesterday, anything is possible. For certain there will be another thunderstorm. Hopefully we stay safe through that one again, and we never get weather like that again.

I would have the say the scariest part would be the fact that many (and by many I mean most) residents of Toronto never believed such a thing could happen to us. I mean sure, we have all seen it in movies and such, but we never thought it would actually happen, and for it to happen all of a sudden like it did yesterday was utter terror and sheer pandemonium. Even the other tweeps on Twitter agreed that this was ineffably unexpected. One person even said,

"When I first saw #Toronto and #Tornado together, I thought 'Toronto doesn't have any team called the Tornadoes...' Then I realized, this was a completely different matter."

Yesterday's events have proved to me that life is very fragile. Everything we humans have taken centuries to create could be destroyed in a matter of seconds by a force of nature. Something we have no control over. After all, scientists claim earth being able to sustain life was a mistake. An accidental mix of chemicals and atoms. Elements gone askew. If not for that, earth would have been like every other planet, unhospitable, and unnamed.

42 comments:

Jessica said...

o.0
I still think you're a little bit out of it.
But anyhow...apparently the mayor of Vaughan doesn't know the kid died. I mean, I know it was in Durham, but she could have at least mentioned it instead of saying "there were no casualties, yaay."
And there was this other lady who was like "the clouds were weird so my husband went upstairs and he said there was a tornado so I ran upstairs."

Seriously, is there anything stupider she could have done?

Ghazal said...

I still feel out of it. Like I have yet to wake up from some nightmare. As for the mayor of Vaughan, I heard. It sounded like she was in denial- or acting very arrogant.

She ran upstairs? Yeah, that was really stupid. At least she didn't die. What do you think they do in Florida? They don't have basements...

Jessica said...

There's not a single house in Florida with a basement? Don't they have, like, cellars or something?

Ghazal said...

No, because they are at sea level. It would be more of an underground pool.

Jessica said...

Good point.
But an Underground Pool would be kinda cool.
I just google it. They hide in closets and stuff. o.0

Kanishkan said...

I saw this coming five years when I learned part of Ontario was in Tornado valley. It was scary because our neighbour saw the tornado as he was coming down highway 7. My mom's friends sister's house was hit by the tornado. The whole second floor ended up in a nearby park.

I want an underground pool under the basement it would be so cool.

Kanishkan said...

http://www.cbc.ca/marketplace/2007/10/03/geeks/
watch the video its really interesting.

TeamMudkipAwesome said...

thers been a tornado north of here but then disappered before it hit like two three years ago :S

Yoritomo Yukiharu said...

Scary...
and Ghazal, glad to know you've found security in faith (although those of you who are Athiests are cool too :D)
and...
O.O who the heck goes upstairs? In Illinois my family went into the basement....

Ghazal said...

Exactly, there is no point in going upstairs. Thanks Matt, I finally have something to count on in life. As for the underground pool thing, it seems a little odd to me.

Bre said...

/me cuddles Ghazal. At least we're better, eh? Until Hurricane Bill comes over. :)

And to be fair, I've gone off the Atheist thing. Agnostic nao.

Ghazal said...

Thanks Dev. **Huggle** Really? What's the reason for the change?

Jessica said...

Well, one way to be agnostic is to say a)nobody can prove it or b)it doesn't matter, and then you can pick atheism or theism(whether or not you think there is one), so I think that makes me atheist agnostic.

And Mr. Pitter is wrong. You can be atheist agnostic. RAWR.

Ghazal said...

Jess, it's contradictory.

Jessica said...

So I can't say "I don't think there's a god, but there's no way to prove or disprove it and it's not like it matters anyways?"
How is that contradictory?

Ghazal said...

If you were atheist you would simply say "I don't believe in God. That is that."

Jessica said...

But that's where the agnostic part comes in.
I am atheist. Because I don't believe in God.
On the other hand I am also agnostic because I don't think it's important or that you can prove it.
They're actually separate ideas.

Ghazal said...

Define what you consider to be God.

Jessica said...

Whoever supposedly "created the universe and gave us life" and all of that.
Or, "the supernatural being conceived as the perfect and omnipotent and omniscient originator and ruler of the universe."

Anonymous Jameson said...

@post: Which God?
I know someone whose roof caught fire.
And you think deciding whether God exists isn't important? O.o

Jessica said...

No, I think if there were a God he wouldn't really care if we thought he existed.
I mean, come on, the creator of the universe MUST have better things to do.

GossipGuy said...

Wow. I am so sorry you had to witness that, but, I imagine an epiphany was required. I am just glad you're okay. Take care, Ghazal! *hugs*

Yoritomo Yukiharu said...

Oh, by the way, (avoiding the religious talk O.O)
umm...
since I like hugs...
*hugs Ghazal tightly* :P

Ghazal said...

**Hugs everyone back** Thanks guys, sometimes a hug is all you need to feel better. Even a virtual one.

@Jessica Well I believe each person has their own perception of God, as do most religions. I think of God as a pinnacle, for when you reach it you receive spiritual happiness and assurance. Having faith in something out of your hands isn't necessarily a bad thing.

*In case I am making no sense, refer to Nirvana.

Jessica said...

^^Does that make you part Buddhist?

Meh. My sister's friend believes in nature as a god(and her parents don't, which makes her awesome because how often do you meet 10-year-olds who come up with stuff like that on their own?), kind of like the Wiccans, and my sister started thinking so as well, and I think that's kind of cool.

But there is a difference between religion and spirituality, so if anything, I'm more spiritual than religious(ok that seems obvious...)

And on another note, if anyone ever asks my religion, I'm going to say I'm a secular humanist. Not only is it essentially true, but most people won't know what it means, which leads to less awkward silences/questions/statements such as "so what, you think that the universe became like this all on it's own????" and "You (beep)ing Satanist!!!!"

Jessica said...

^^oh my goodness, that was long.

Ghazal said...

Not really, I just believe each person has their own perception of God, or in some cases are blinded by the church's perception of God. To follow a religion is not to surrender your life but to be enlightened.

Jessica said...

:D
I love how you ignore the rest of my comment.
Nah, just kidding.
Anyways, it is to surrender your life, depending on the religion.
If you find the right one, that's great.
If I wake up one day and decide, "OK God exists," and I've definitely come close in the past, I'll let you know.

Ghazal said...

Sure thing. ;)

TeamMudkipAwesome said...

eeeek religious talk!!
/me runs away

Jessica said...

-pokes Caulin and Matt-
Religious debate is exactly 46.7% of the reason I'm alive.

Ghazal said...

I love religious debates.

Jessica said...

Me too :D
The other....-doesn't feel like math- whatever percentage is made up of "other debates," "music," and "my friends."

Er...actually, I think I have to change those percentages up.
:D

Ghazal said...

Wow. What about family?

Jessica said...

They get a small amount, as you find out when you realize that both sides of my family have unresolved issues.

My mom told me about this last night.

Ghazal said...

I see. What about school?

Jessica said...

School=The reason I'm alive?
I think not.

By the way, you really need to settle on a layout.

Ghazal said...

Ah, well, true... I know, I think this is "the one".

Jessica said...

Good.

Ghazal said...

Do you like it?

Jessica said...

Yep. The frog is cute =)
And the links on the other one were a really annoying shade of blue.

Ghazal said...

I know. Those are the exact same reasons as to why I switched it.