September 11, 2001

I really haven't posted much on this blog. I guess it's been a couple of months.

They say that you know where you were and exactly what you were doing when you first learned of the terrorist attacks on 9/11 ten years ago. I know that it is certainly true for me. I had just woken up in a Long Beach hotel. I was getting dressed, trying hard not to be late for Day 2 of a 3-day Matlab programming training class. I flipped on the television hoping to catch a glimpse of how the markets were trading before I went away for the day. Instead of the usual stock market crap on CNBC, I saw images of the Twin Towers burning.

It was unreal. I remember wondering if we were going to see more attacks or not. I did eventually make it to my class, but as expected, there was little to no discussion about Matlab. Everyone in that class sat there the entire time processing feelings and talking about what had just happened. It was a rather unfamiliar experience for me, and it felt quite strange to say the least.

The following day, I remember calling up my company's office manager to ask her to contact the rental car company. I was not going to be returning the car with the complete shutdown of all air travel. I drove that rental car with a broken left turn signal back to the Bay Area that night, after the final day of the class was over.

It was a weird time, and I remember everything was rather uneasy, at least for me, for at least a few weeks. I can only hope that this horrible event ultimately catalyzed some positive changes for the world -- though, I still feel that many of the TSA-related restrictions that were born are ineffective and do little more than annoy travelers.

I guess I'll just end this by saying to all the victims of the attack, both direct and indirect, and as cliche as it may sound: 9/11 will be a day not to be forgotten. Take care.