My Sunday of leisure (watching Premier League football, reading the Times) was interrupted with a jolt this afternoon. At about 1:45 I heard a very loud crash coming from the upstair floors. I didn't think much of it, to be honest, and went about my day. That is until the fire alarms started going off...

Jostled from my lounging by a police officer, I joined my neighbors outside in the frigid air. What I thought was nothing was actually a pretty big deal. The exterior brick on an outside wall had literally collapsed. We soon congregated in the lobby and stayed there for about three hours to receive occassional updates. Four apartments have very serious damage and we were told we'd probably be spending the night in the Holiday Inn. Eventually, though, those of us without exterior walls (my windows face an interior atrium with plants and fountains) were allowed back.

I know that no apartment building is perfectly managed. Everywhere I've lived has had problems. This place, though, is starting to worry me. It's very expensive and my actual apartment is very nice. The management, though, really don't seem to care about anything other than collecting the rent. This will be the test.

Pictures to follow as soon as I can find my USB card reader...

addendum: We made the news! I can't get the video to work, though, and my pictures are better.

addendum addendum:More coverage here.