i'm fine

thank you for your calls and concerns this evening. grand central is 1/2 a block from my office. I was on the phone with my mom when the fire alarms went off, notifying us of a smoke on the 3rd floor ( i work on the 5th ). You could tell by the tone of the man's voice something was wrong. I looked around and took in the situation. who was moving? who was dismissing the alarm and still working? I looked down the row of cubes to take the cue from my boss who is a workaholic like myself. furrowed brow means something was up, and the plume of smoke seen outside our window confirmed it.

our building was evacuated, down the stairs and out to the street where we met thousands of other new yorkers heads tilted toward the sky. we hung around a bit outside the office, calling coworkers who got recently got on the subway, texted family, etc. 9 times out of 10 got a 'network busy.' so. we walked.

and walked.
and walked.

west then south. without cell service, or a newscast, what else is one to think? you see smoke and plume out of one of the largest landmarks and public commuting spaces in NYC at rush hour and your mind jumps. i've overheard '9/11' more times today then then the 10 months i've been here. I was one of them. people were running, screaming, crying.

i walked with coworkers , slowly they'd leave to go home. I ended up at at bar in the 30's on the west side with my boss, when we finally figured out what had happened. a man hole exploded, because a 24" pipe, build in 1924 finally gave way. the sad thing is, most of the country knew before I did what was going on 1/2 a block away from me. bit scary.

luckily. i felt safe. not quite sure why. i was with people i trusted and knew, so I was and am okay.

this city is crazy at times. part of the reason why so man are drawn to it.
i know i was.
i get it from my brother, just can't sit still.