I knew it was going to be one of those weird days when around 9 am, the office started reeking of gas..natural gas, tart and oily. I opened one of the large windows facing the street and reeled back from the smell. The fumes were much stronger out there. Great. Is this freaking block going blow sky high before I've had my coffee? Christ, Monday can be cruel.

Of course, as soon as I poked my head out of the window, a small buzz began, like that of a gathering of drones in a hive. Groups collected and leaned out, sniffing the air themselves to confirm the presence of an unnatural smell (which in New York is really saying something). People snapped into action. A radio was switched on. The internet was scoured for some news. Someone called security downstairs. The pressing question: is it a potential terrorist attack or simply something that wafted this way from New Jersey?

Soon enough, the odor subsided and the moment The Mighty Bloomberg proclaimed this fair metropolis safe (albeit smellier than usual), people resumed their activities and the drama had passed. Returning to my desk, I saw that The Dog Whisperer had sent me a CNN Alert, bearing the headline: Gas Like Odor Permeates Parts of Manhattan. She included the comment: "Did Aunt Bert serve you too much cabbage this weekend?"

There were other things that contributed to this rather surreal day:

-Jewels' impression of a hearing impaired supermodel. The clincher: Dolce & Gabbana.

-Someone told a story of going to the dry cleaners and seeing a freshly cleaned Santa suit in plastic as it passed by on the rotating carousel. A small child on the premises was apparently traumatized and exhilarated by the sighting.

-The notion that Tigger slugged someone at a Disney theme park. I guess Tiggers really do more than bounce.

-Mamela explaining to me the ritual of sitting Shiva and why it's so civilized.

-All day, for no reason whatsoever, I kept wanting to yell out, "MORE COWBELL!"

Maybe there was something in that gas.