Hariri Assassination - thoughts, comments, feelings, accusations

First of all, I want everyone to know, that i am obviously alive...and I do thank God for that, although it would have been unusual for me to be in that area around the time the explosion happened, you never know and I pass it all the time in a serveez (Lebanese taxi), to go to AUB to Hamra...It is a really beautiful and safe area...What was my day like?? well to start it off..I was feeling sick this morning..so I texted messaged one of my coworkers to tell him that i don't think that i was going to go in today, and then I felt better around noon, so I decided I would head in...It takes about 30-45 mins to get out of here, so I was heading down the Old Damascus Highway, just a normal day...and at 1pm almost perfectly, I heard an incredibly loud explosion..and felt it in my stomach..to the poin that i jumped and was freaked out...I looked towards downtown, and then I saw a dark dark mushroom cloud rise up from the buildings...I had no idea what had just happened, I looked to the sky for an Israeli jets, but I didn't hear any airplanes...and I saw the Lebanese scatter on the sidewalk and rush outside to see what was going on...There is nothing more frustrating then trying to find out what happened in Arabic...especially when I am not familiar with words concerning violence...I finally spoke with a man who told me sayara "boom"..sayara meaning car..and I knew...at first i thought it was just an attack on a hotel because everyone told me near St. Georges...so I had no idea... I went to meet my friend because we were going to check out an apartment that we might move into, and I found out that he was even more oblivious...I tried to call my friends, to see if they were ok, but the phone network was full and I couldn't get through to anyone....Finally, after looking at the apartment, just after witnessing a bombing, we headed back to the downtown office...we found broken glass all over the city because of the magnitude of the blast...I can't explain it any better....When I arrived at the office, I found that the car bomb was an attempted assassination...and it was targeting Hariri...We first were told he was alive and in the hospital, until CNN broke that Hariri was in fact killed in the attack...It has been a terrible experience, and a crazy shift in the atmosphere, for now, i am just staying inside my apartment in fear of any type of retaliation....these are my initial thoughts, and situation... I am in disbelief....and I am certain it involved syria....not 100% sure, but the timing, and the recent warnings...indicated that it just might be...don't automatically accept the group that claimed it as the ones responsible...I think there are definitely links to Syria... well as for now, i am going to stay indoors...I hope all clears up here peacefully, and there is no retaliation...as many of the Lebanese feel the same way.....well that is all for now...i will be sure and post more in the future...