On September 11th, 2001 I was newly unemployed and living in New York City. I was woken that morning by my phone's incessant ringing. I had been ignoring it, because I generally slept until well past noon. But I finally answered it, and my brother Max said, "Quick, turn on the TV." In my delirious sleep-deprived state, my first thought was, I must have gotten free cable. I couldn't think of any other conceivable reason that my brother would call me at 8 am, unless something magical like free cable had happened.

Soon after, my phone service died, and I was forced to communicate with my brother--who lived only a few blocks away from me--by instant message. The logs have been recently unearthed, and I present to you the highlight of our September 11th, 2001 conversation, completely unedited.

Max (10:40:55 AM): should we be trying to leave the city?
Lina (10:40:59 AM): nah
Lina (10:41:05 AM): they are after the pentagon now
Lina (10:41:11 AM): we should be out looting