8:08AM
I skip breakfast knowing that I could survive the 40-minute trek from my apartment in Brooklyn to the help desk at Viacom on 44th street without consequences. The cafeteria has an awesome breakfast burrito that I can attribute to a slight weight gain and lingering garlic-tinged breath. I plan on hitting it before I clock in and start taking calls.

(I had narrowed down the commute to an Express Bus route that would drop me near the Trade Center and then I would take the freebie transfer to the IRT 7th Avenue line. It was faster than taking the F train to the A train and then walking a bit.)

8:20AM (Approximately)
I get onto the bus that would normally drop me just south of the WTC plaza. I loved to walk around the area if I was early enough and even go through the mezzanine shops or the local Farmer's Market. Sometimes I would find a great piece of cheddar and have that and a baguette for lunch.

I sit about 3/4 of the way into the bus as there is an empty seat. We turn onto the Prospect Expressway from Church Avenue and enter the reverse flow lane that allows us to really make some speed into the city. We get to the Brooklyn Battery Tunnell and the bus enters the tube that is now reverse flow on one lane into Manhattan. Some genius in traffic planning had figured out that three lanes into Manhattan in the morning with one reserved for commuter buses really decreases the commute time.

8:47AM
The bus comes to a complete stop. Traffic is still flowing in the other direction back towards Brooklyn. I am now going to be late for work. I wait a few more minutes before calling my supervisor as I notice there is no more traffic coming in the opposite direction. Suddenly there are many emergency vehicles traveling to Manhattan using the lane that is for Brooklyn-bound traffic. Some of the vehicles are volunteer ambulance services-I notice the one's from Bay Ridge (BRAVO), Flatbush (FLATVAC) and more NYC emergency service vehicles. I feel a pit growing in the center of my stomach. I am not sure if it is hunger or the start of some serious anxiety.