~*SoMeTHinG tO tALk aBouT*~: March 2011

Friday, March 18, 2011

What happened a week ago.

I thought it was just another Friday afternoon.

Our office was on the 9th floor of one of the buildings in Fuchu. I was already counting time 3 half hours before going home, making up a checklist on what to finish before the weekend. 2:45 PM, I decided to take a break I went directly to the ladies room. As I was about to pee, the doors of the cubicle shook. I realized then that an earthquake is happening. I immediately zipped up my pants waited for the shaking to stop. Yes, I even forgot to buckle up. But it the world kept shaking, it was even getting stronger.

"Is this going to be it?" The walls kept creaking and I can hear some cracking sounds above me. I closed my eyes and prayed. My heart is beating faster and faster every minute. After about an eternity, the shaking finally slowed down. I went out and found another officemate holding on to one of the walls. "I have never experienced an earthquake this strong in my entire life" she told me. I merely nodded in agreement. We finally decided it was safe enough to go back.

Inside our office, people's reactions were mixed. Some were crying, some were telling jokes recapping their actions when the earthquake happened, others seemed shocked. Most of the elder members seemed composed, but the younger ones looked worried. I was uneasy. I wanted to get out of the building as soon as possible. But they advised us to stay, as it is much safer inside than out. I took a moment to sit down, e-mail my loved-ones, and tweet:

EARTHQUAKE AGAIN! This is probably the strongest I have ever experienced! Make it stop please!

Funny that only a few days ago I also tweeted:

yet another earthquake #typicaldayinjapan

This wasn't just a typical earthquake though. This was THE earthquake of earthquakes. This was larger than life.

Now, a week after the great Tohoku earthquake, work in Tokyo has already resumed, yet we are still adamant- always in constant watch of the news, weary of what’s to come, and hoping against hope that things will be over before it gets worse.

*Image from Japan Meteorological Agency http://www.jma.go.jp/jma/indexe.html