On The Verge of Tears

why would a picture of a fire drill be of any interest??

When it’s not a picture of a fire drill, but instead a very real evacuation of NFL Films due to the incredible earthquake that occurred today in Virginia.  I never thought I’d experience an actual earthquake, and it was a little bit scary, a little disorienting, but really a very surreal experience.  I feel bad for those people who didn’t get to feel it today because around New Jersey, it’s kind of a once in a lifetime experience.

There were three of us at our workstations next to each other after lunch just doing our thing.  Then all of the sudden, it seems like my desk dipped down and was shaking.  The guy to my right immediately got up because he noticed the same thing, and wrongly believed he was about to pass out from something because he was seeing things.  At first, I thought that he broke our desk and that’s why it had moved, but they the wall in from of me started to move as well, and the whole room seemed like it was on the deck of a boat.

My friend to the left of me says what the hell, before a second shock really shakes the room, and he says, “This is an earth quake, I moved out of California to avoid this kind of shit!”  My boss stormed in the room and the room was still shaking a bit.  We all regrouped, not wondering how long that quake would last, and headed towards the front door to get out into the open and avoid any ceiling collapses.

Of course, I tried to make a phone call to Monika to make sure she was okay and safe, but I couldn’t .  I could get online and send texts though, and eventually she confirmed her safety.  All her kids were sleeping in her classroom, and she had been outside in the lawn when it happened, and so she definitely go to feel the whole thing.

Eventually the fire alarms went off and we stood outside for 45 minutes waiting for any aftershocks to pass.  I’ll admit I wasn’t feeling all that great before the quake, and afterwards, felt a bit sea sick for 10 minutes or so, and some of that must have been adrenaline.  But, eventually I was okay, we were allowed to move back into the building, and I made it home safe.  Nothing seems to have been broken in our house.

It’s still a bit freaky that I saw my desk and the walls of the lab looking like that he been turned to liquid for 20 seconds.  That was something I don’t think I’ll ever really forget.  I hope all of my readers got to feel the earthquake, nobody got hurt, and nothing got broken in your lives as well.

This entry was posted on August 23, 2011 at 11:12 PM and is filed under Daily Pictures. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.