by Michael S. Kaplan, published on 2014/08/17 04:03 +00:00, original URI: http://www.siao2.com/2014/08/17/8770668856267196224.aspx
The year was 2001.
It happened at The Blue Bar inside Windows On the World, high up atop the North Tower of the World Trade Center.
Now it wasn't just before 9/11, because I was in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia for Tamil Internet 2001 at the end of August. The trip's most intriguing issue was that I spent more time in the air than on the ground because Windows XP was going to ship and no one wanted me to take a vacation then. I was a vendor at the time but I was worried of being fired off my contract for being on the wrong side of the world for a month.
In the end, it was just as well since I ended up being trapped in Los Angeles on 9/11 after a breakup that happened on the weekend before. It was weird enough having to consider a car rental from Los Angeles to Seattle; if I had been trapped in Malaysia I might really have been fired off my contract for being away that long.
Anyway, I was in New York earlier in 2001 for a consulting gig, and since my Perfectly Normal Liz happened to be there too, we decided to have an only moderately overpriced drink to get the best view in the world.
I can't remember what we were talking about, and I guess in the scheme of things it really doesn't matter. I certainly wasn't in any danger or anything, but it's hard to think about semi-casually visiting a place that isn't there anymore.
Now that I think about it, Liz isn't there either, which makes this blog depressing and sad on four levels:
• I didn't visit the building akin to the World Trade Center in Malaysia when I had the chance;
• I had just broken up with someone who I thought at the time was a pretty serious girlfriend;
• It reminds me of Liz and yet another of those times that I failed to notice her interest;
• Of course the actual reason to be unhappy, the terrible events of September 11, 2001.
There was a point to the actual blog here, but I can't remember what it was now. I think I'll post it anyway, since I do remember Liz was wearing a pretty hot dress and I teased her about having a date after. One can never get enough reminders about me being oblivious here....