Tuesday, August 30, 2011

Hurriquake Week 2011











Oh hey! Remember that time a group of my friends and I decided we were all going to blog? Yeah, that worked out well. But alas, I have had some inspiration, and have returned! My friend Lori inspired me, and perhaps I will inspire someone else! Probably not.

Anyway. I just turned 27, and the week of my birthday was pretty ridiculous.

Let me start out by saying that I have lived in Maryland my entire life. I didn't leave for college, or any extended trips. Despite the fact that I spent 22 years of my life plotting ways to leave Maryland, I'm clearly here to stay. With that said, the thought that I would ever actually feel an earthquake never crossed my mind. Why would it? I knew blizzards, hurricanes, and tornadoes were always a threat, but an earthquake? Please. Well, last Tuesday afternoon I was proven wrong!

I was at work, training our new receptionist how to ship things. There was a slight rumble and I explained that since our building is so old, it shakes every time a truck goes by. Then the rumbling came back... This time it was getting stronger and it wasn't stopping. I thought it was really windy but when I looked out the window I noticed the trees weren't moving. "That's strange," I thought. "What the hell is going on? Oh.. my... God... the building is collapsing." Well no, of course the building wasn't collapsing, but honestly the thought that it was an earthquake never even crossed my mind, and I legit thought the building was about to crumble to the ground. I can honestly say that I have never experienced sheer terror in my life before that moment. I froze, and my mind went completely blank. Suddenly, my co-worker yelled for everyone to get in a doorway. I don't remember this but apparently I screamed "Where's a doorway??" duh. It was right in front of me. I ran do the doorway and as soon as the shaking stopped, ran outside to join the rest of Baltimore. Once we were out there it was confirmed that it was in fact an earthquake. My boss told us to go home, but we were so shaken up (no pun intended... Well, ok. Maybe a little pun was intended) that we stayed for a little. I seriously could not get myself back to normal for a good hour after the quake had ended. Looking back I almost wish I had known what was going on, so that I could have taken it all in a little more. Is it weird that I almost wish it would happen again? Nothing serious of course, just a little one so I can remember it this time! Ok maybe not. One thing it did do though, was make me feel TERRIBLE for people that experience devastating earthquakes. Ours was small, but it was terrifying. I can't imagine experiencing one that destroys cities and kills people.

Speaking of destroying cities and killing people... Enter Irene! Yes, as if an earthquake wasn't enough, let's throw in a hurricane! Irene was more hype than actual devastation in Maryland, but unfortunately that did not hold true for the rest of the east coast. Unfortunately, the state that got hit the hardest was my beloved Vermont. I can't even get in to all of the problems Vermont is facing, but I know they will be ok. The pictures and videos of the flooding brought me to tears. Seriously. I know it doesn't make sense to anyone, but Vermont to me is such a place of innocence. I don't want to seem mean, but I would almost use the word "Simple" to describle the people there. Not simple as in dumb, just simple. Seeing the state and it's residents in peril broke my heart. I KNOW that the sense of community in those Vermont towns are strong as can be, and they will all be ok. It's just hard to watch. I can't imagine what I would do if that happened here. It could have!

Long story short, I'm thinking if we didn't have any more natural disasters for a while, that would be great. Well... A blizzard would be ok I guess :-)

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