Today is a day I'll never forget. To say that it will live in infamy is an understatement. My generation, on a national scale, now has a day that they'll never forget. I know I'll never forget when I found out about the tragedy.

This morning I woke up late, around 9:40 AM. I quickly showerd and dressed, and didn't touch my computer at all. I managed to get out of my room around 10:10, the plan being to stop at Couch Express for some coffee. As I left my room and entered the elevator lobby, I ran into a resident from 10e. He asked me if I'd heard about the World Trade Center collapsing. I looked at him incredulously. It was a story I couldn't even make up in my wildest dreams, and as we rode down the elevator, I kept wondering how much crack he was smoking. When the doors opened on the first floor, I immediately noticed how loud the TV in the lounge seemed but initially paid little attention to it. I made my way to Couch Express and got my cup of coffee. As I headed back to the north doors of Couch on my way to my 10:30 class, I noticed that not only was the TV loud but there was a crowd of people gathered in the lounge. My curiosity got the best of me and I got closer to the TV so I could watch too. Much to my amazement, I saw on the television what I thought I'd never see - a 110-story building collapsing. My mind filled with thoughts, my stomach became uneasy, and I found it difficult to tear myself away from the news coverage. After five minutes of standing there with my mouth hanging open, I decided that I should get to class.

The walk to Gittinger was eerily quiet - no one was talking or even making eye contact. It seemed as if everyone was grieving for our fellow countrymen in New York and Washington. There were so few people walking to class that I briefly thought that classes had been cancelled but I then realized that I was already five minutes late and attributed the lack of people to that. I entered Gittinger 338 and saw a room full of somber faces. My professor was there, so I assumed that class was still on, but then figured out that he had no intentions to continue with class. We were dismissed and I made my way to the Union because I'd heard that they had the news on in Meacham Auditorium. I ended up sitting in Meacham from 10:45 until 11:40. At that time I made my way to my noon class at Sarkey's. That class was not cancelled, but my 1:30 English class (back in Gittinger) was. At that point I made my way back to Couch to watch more news and catch up on what I'd missed. My 4:30 class was cancelled as well.

At 4:45 I called home...everyone was ok. We talked for a while. Dinner with Steve (and the Chad) happened around 5:15. Chad and Steve followed me to my room after dinner and we watched more news. After they left I moved to my bed, got comfortable, and watched NBC news. Somehow I managed to fall asleep around 7; Anna Wong woke me up around 9:30.

My emergency floor meeting at 10:30 went well with most of my residence in attendance. Now I'm continuing to watch the news, but I do have some homework to do. Maybe I'll get to work.

Attack on America: A Day We'll Never Forget