It's 20 years since September 11. How has your life changed?

Forums › Off topic › It's 20 years since September 11. How has your life changed?

quickymart

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#289539 12-Sep-2021 07:24

I reflect back on September 11, 2001 (the 12th here) and look at how much my life has changed:

- got married (I was single at the time)

- had kids (didn't have any then)

- still work in the same industry but have an extra one (and make more money!)

- live in Auckland now

How is your life different from September 11 (or 12), 2001? The world became a very different place in the aftermath, but how did your world change?

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Awrrr
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#2776664 12-Sep-2021 08:35

I have grown older and of course that has meant change, but nothing having directly to do with September 11. My life carried on pretty much as it would have anyway. In that sense September 11 is just an arbitrary date marking off a 20-year block of time.

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SirHumphreyAppleby

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#2776674 12-Sep-2021 08:46

I joined Geekzone. That's pretty much the highlight.

invisibleman18

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#2776700 12-Sep-2021 09:30

I was 14 at the time so obviously grown up, been through university, got married etc.
I remember at the time being woken up by the phone ringing in the early hours and my Dad answered it and it was my Aunt in Los Angeles saying "there's bombs going off all over America but don't worry we're ok."

This time 2 years ago my wife and I had a 6 week holiday around USA and we went to the WTC site on September 11 which was surreal. Didn't make any sense to think there used to be those 2 buildings there and all those people died.

Batman

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#2776702 12-Sep-2021 09:32

i was walking to Uni

the world was never the same.

wlgspotter

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#2776724 12-Sep-2021 10:09

Still remember waking up that morning are preparing to go to work, and for some reason I just happened to turn on the telly (I don’t usually turn on the telly in the morning before heading to work) and news everywhere was reporting the planes crashing into WTC. It was surreal…

The Mrs was in Melbourne at the time attending a training, and was due to home sometime later in the week, but as she worked for an American company at the time she had to be “grounded”. It also didn’t help that Ansett Australia collapsed at around the same time, dragging Air NZ with it, and it made her return even more tricky. We were anxious at the time as we were due to fly back to Singapore exactly a week later on 18th Sept 2001, and didn’t know if she could make it back in time. She did manage to get a flight back on that weekend and we did manage to make it back to Singapore. We actually manage to make a side trip to visit China (Beijing and surrounding) in Oct that year - our first or several trips visiting different parts and cities in China).

And in terms of noticing the impact, the aviation (security) sector has definitely tightened. I remember when we first moved to New Zealand back in 1999, I remarked that there is lack of aviation security in the Domestic terminals - we literally could walk right up to the aerobridge at the Domestic Terminal in Wellington. After Sept Sept 11, that changed and security screening was put in place for Domestic jet services.

Other than that, we’ve obviously aged by 20 years, and now living in the 3rd house that we’ve bought in New Zealand, had (and sadly, lost) a child, travelled to several other countries - China (as mentioned), Hong Kong, Taiwan, Japan, South Korea and of course Australia.

Would love to be able to visit WTC/Ground Zero one day tho, but I guess that perhaps won’t happen now for a little while.

lNomNoml

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#2776725 12-Sep-2021 10:09

Moved to NZ

Got engaged

Got a job, a car, 2 cats

Started renting

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SaltyNZ

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#2776727 12-Sep-2021 10:26

I don't sleep in hotel rooms a lot anymore. After 5 years of literal daily international travel I got sick of it, moved to NZ and worked for Vodafone. That particular day I had been working the night before so I was soundly asleep in my room at the CityLife when the one of the Vodafone guys I worked with rang me up. Never a good sign after night work, but it wasn't what I expected.

'Turn on the TV!'

'...What?'

'Turn on the TV!'

'Ugh, what channel?'

'ANY CHANNEL!'

That woke me up. Saw the replay of the first one hitting and instinctively thought oh what a terrible acci- and then they cut to the second one. Went into France St about an hour later. Weird day. Everyone just sort of stood around in the kitchen watching the TV instead of working.

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alasta

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#2776739 12-Sep-2021 10:43

At the time I was in my second year at university and still living with my parents. Obviously I've since graduated and moved into my own place but otherwise not much has really happened in my life.

Linux

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#2776748 12-Sep-2021 10:59

I'm fatter and have less hair!

Mum and Dad were about to board a flight in Germany to LAX when this all happened I remember that well

Stu

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#2776797 12-Sep-2021 11:35

SaltyNZ:

I don't sleep in hotel rooms a lot anymore. After 5 years of literal daily international travel I got sick of it, moved to NZ and worked for Vodafone. That particular day I had been working the night before so I was soundly asleep in my room at the CityLife when the one of the Vodafone guys I worked with rang me up. Never a good sign after night work, but it wasn't what I expected.

'Turn on the TV!'

'...What?'

'Turn on the TV!'

'Ugh, what channel?'

'ANY CHANNEL!'

That woke me up. Saw the replay of the first one hitting and instinctively thought oh what a terrible acci- and then they cut to the second one. Went into France St about an hour later. Weird day. Everyone just sort of stood around in the kitchen watching the TV instead of working.

I had a pretty much identical phone call from a mate in an emergency service, who was at work. Sure woke me up fast.

People often mistake me for an adult because of my age.

Keep calm, and carry on posting.

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#2777082 12-Sep-2021 17:30

20 Years today. Absolutely one of the most jarring, terrible and tragic days I can recall in my life. I am not interested in discussing the politics of it, but I recall very vividly the day.

Back then I used to go to sleep with the TV on. The news started reporting it pretty early in the morning, but I was drifting in and out of sleep, disturbed but not yet conscious of the reason fully.

I recall driving to work, having the radio on, and having to pull over. I recall seeing cars stopped on the side of the road randomly, people with their head in their hands, people consoling each other.

So much tragedy, bravery and so many consequences no one might have expected, many still occurring today.

My grandmother once said to me she wished she had died prior to seeing those events.

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antoniosk

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#2777150 12-Sep-2021 21:12

At a conference opposite Hyde Park in London. 75 people crowding around a small tv around lunchtime to catch on what was happening. I left to go home - via the underground! - which was the busiest i have ever experienced. You could absolutely feel the fear amongst the mob as people just wanted to go home. Took me 4hrs to complete a 45min journey.

Mobile networks - such as they were then - just got crushed under the sheer weight of traffic. GPRS hadnt made it out the door, and it was only GSM CSD and WAP to learn anything.

so what changed?

- Removing shoes and belts at security even now, 20yrs later

- The brutality of the UK/US retreating employment market and the callous treatment of people immediately after these events (The UK went into a horrible recession, which I had to live every day for 6 months)

- Realpolitik playing out in real time and real life. 20 years of just horribleness. The 2005 tube bombings. The attacks over the last 5 years in Europe.

One could be left thinking the world is a pretty dismal right now.

________

Antoniosk

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#2777156 12-Sep-2021 21:45

I was working in my first job out of Uni. My whole life is different now.

Married, kids, different country, different industry, different income level, different interests, different life really.

In almost every way my life is better now than it was then. My wife has a lot to do with that.

MileHighKiwi

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#2777184 13-Sep-2021 07:57

I wonder what the world would be like if the attacks never happened? No Afghanistan or Iraq wars. No ISIS? something else awful would have happened I'm sure.

I watched the news all day in my underwear, couldn't move off the couch.

Friends had just left for their OE and we were about 6 months behind them and so uncertain and nervous about flying.

I'll never forget the sight of people jumping.

SaltyNZ

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#2777185 13-Sep-2021 08:00

antoniosk:

- Removing shoes and belts at security even now, 20yrs later

Yeah, 20 years later we still remove our shoes because some idiot had a dumb idea about shoe bombs that didn't work, but try to get people to wear a face mask at the supermarket and their human rights are being torn to shreds.

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