You try to see the world differently, but already stuck in the routine of the day, it is only when that routine is summarily interrupted that you notice that something is different, that things do not match expectations.

Aside from the lack of cars in the train parking lot in the morning, the commute seemed like any other day's commute. Grey skies held back the day a little longer than usual, headlights from cars and SUV's still projecting cones of white through the misty air.

The streets downtown, however, remained quiet. On each corner, a vendor with 2000 New Millenium masks blew on sample noisemakers, their cries of 'Happy New Year!' (shouted in an attempt to sell their wares and not in the joyous tones of celebration) echoed silently along the almost deserted glass and stone.

One can't help but wonder if people have avoided (or deserted, perhaps) the city in fear, or to prepare in celebration. The surreal quality, a veiled shadow of an episode of the Twilight Zone, or the Outer Limits, projects an eerieness that is hard to shake.