What a nice day I had yesterday. First, I got awoken at 7:03, a full 17 minutes before I was supposed to, by some of the loudest thunder I have ever heard. I got soaked on the way to work and waited an hour for the train.

But that was only the beginning. Regular day at battle-stations private equity, but then I get home and I see that there was some sort of explosion in mid-town Manhattan. Didn’t pay attention, because as my mother says, everything is always about me. Everything.

I thought “mid-town, I work in mid-town.” I wonder if it was anywhere near work.

Near work? NEAR WORK? More like at work. A steam pipe burst at 43rd and Lexington Avenue. I work between 42st and 43rd and Lexington. So, the ‘splosion was pretty much in front of my building.

I didn’t see the ‘splosion, but of course I got to feel the after-effects. Our air conditioning was turned off, making the air in the office pretty much stand still. My boss said I could go home.

I went out to run what turned out to be a completely futile errand, total waste of time, but of course, as usual the consolation prize for my aching feet was the opportunity to take some photos. THESE ARE NOT ARTISTIC PHOTOS. They are just kind of a chronology of what I saw.

There were cops EVERYWHERE. They were cops for ten blocks in each direction from Grand Central. Therefore, any photos of the ‘splosion were limited to these:

And another:

Ready for more? I thought so:

New York’s Finest wearing this great masks. The whole area was still covered in dust. After 9-11, the city has really gotten strict about what these guys who run into the fire, rather than away from it breathe in. So, here’s some of the boys in blue in their gas masks:

And, the city, that is usually a zoo was completely empty. I’ve never been able to see as far on these streets that I could after this unfortunate occurrence:

Utterly empty. You can’t usually see this far on these streets. They are usually totally blocked with traffic. I’ve never seen this before.

Not to mention the scene in front of my beloved Grand Central:

Usually this place is insanely thick with traffic. Insanely. It was weird seeing it without a bunch of cabs that go off duty at 5:30, when everyone needs them.

Also, here are some left-over residue from the ‘splosion:

And because this really isn’t related to the ‘splosion, a herd of people stuck in the rain, trudging their way to Grand Central. Yes, its a mediocre photo. No doubt, but you can also see the raindrops:

Well, there you have it. Just your typical day on Lexington Avenue. Thanks steam pipe built in 1928. If the air conditioning is still off in my building tomorrow, I am finding Mayor Bloomberg and making him sit in my Ghana temperatured office. Just for kicks.