I was at work, hurrying to get things done because I had a class to get to. The radio was on, and one of the deejays came on and said that something awful had happened in NY, that it was not a joke (this station was known for pulling lots of pranks, you could never take what they said seriously.) Then a reporter who was in NYC came on and started telling us about the first plane crashing into the tower. While she was talking, I suddenly heard a lot of screaming, possibly a crash- the second plane had hit. So I knew it was no accident.
I ran across the room to call my bf at his job a few blocks away from me. I told him someone had just declared war on us, but I didn't know who yet. Went to my first class of the day (what else was there to do?) and when the other classes got cancelled, I spent the day at my mom's, watching the news. Went home and hugged my landlord and his boyfriend, we said a prayer together for those poor people. I turned off the President's speech halfway through, as I was just too sad to want to listen to anymore, but others have since told me he handled himself pretty well.
NYC is just down the road from me. I've driven through it, strolled through Central Park, bought cheesy souvenirs from street vendors. It's a city I know and love. So it didn't feel as "unreal" as someplace like Los Angeles or London or Sydney (places I've never been) getting attacked. Such a sad day.