the numbers keep climbing

120,000

That's how many are now confirmed dead from the earthquake and tsunami. 20,000 more believed to be dead in the province of Aceh, Indonesia, the hardest hit area. Thousands more unaccounted for and believed dead in other parts of Indonesia, Thailand, India, Sri Lanka, and other hard-hit areas.

How high will the final number be? It's impossible to comprehend that many lives lost so quickly. The number is now so large, it's just a number, it's too large to have a human connection anymore.

I didn't loose a friend or loved one in the tsunami, nor do I know anyone who did. It's so distant, so remote, so surreal. I'm sure those who are living it feel in part the same way. Surreal. Having an oddly dreamlike quality. That's what this seems like, a dream. One that we will never wake up from.

120,000 lives extinguished in a few short hours.