Well that was fun. I was jarred out of a difficult evening's slothing by my building's fire bell. Everyone wandered the hallways confused, looking for the cause, and not really willing to go out into the freezing cold outside. When the downstairs hall filled with smoke, I picked up my valuables and stepped outside. It turned out to be nothing much -- just a minor fire in the kitchen downstairs.

I suppose if nobody had been home, or if they'd been asleep, it could have been worse. All of the building's tenants could have been out on the street in the winter time with no more possessions than we could carry with us.

What's really interesting is what I chose to take with me: just my wallet and my laptop. Some people might have grabbed, say, a change of clothes. Or photos of their loved ones. I grabbed my computer... because I don't want to be homeless and unable to play computer games.