9/11 is the new memorial day. while actual memorial day is more about the unofficial start of summer and weekend sales, 9/11 has more solemnity. i can't imagine it'll ever degenerate into a crass holiday marketing wanton consumerism. 9/11 is a time to reflect and think about the tragedy that happened on that day 10 years ago. americans might make jokes of other special days (thanksgiving, christmas, 4th july), but 9/11 seems sacred.
i watched a bit of the live coverage at the world trade center site in new york city before switching over to the history channel to catch 102 minutes (simulcasted on a bunch of other cable networks), a special documenting in real time the events of 9/11 from the moment the first plane hit the tower to when both towers collapsed, using nothing but personal videos people have shot themselves. the sense of panic and fear and confusion is riveting. plus the tremendous sense of tragedy watching firefighters going into the towers to rescue people and attempt to put out the fire.
i noticed it yesterday but my parents got a new toilet seat cover. they swear by these electronic toilet seats with the warm water bidet attachment. the one they had before finally broken down and they bought a new one from costco ($200). it uses 1 watt of power on idle, but 680 watts when heating up the warm water reserve. i tried it today and did not like the feeling at all, like being tickled in the butt with a steady stream of water. i finally i figured out the off button on the remote (yeah, it's got a remote).
since i didn't get a lot of sleep last night, i felt really tired. my allergies were also starting to act up again and i forgot to take my nasal spray. even the claritin tablet i took later (plus my sister's nasal spray) wasn't working as i couldn't stop blowing my nose and i had trouble hearing because my sinuses were stuffed. i went to rest on my parents' bed around 2:00 and quickly fell asleep after watching a few minutes of football. i figured it'd just be a quick 2-hour nap, but i ended up sleeping until 6:00, waking up almost time for dinner.
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after dinner we watched another documentary, 9/11: ten years later on CBS narrated by robert deniro. i stuck around and watched about an hour before leaving. back at home, i brought down the hanging rugs. the guest bedroom rugs are dry for the most part, but the bathroom rug is still a little damp. i'll hang them from the back of chairs for another day to give them more drying time. i ended the evening with another breaking bad episode. walter and jesse on the outs!
i had my blog 10 years ago. here's what i wrote on that fateful day, 9/11.