Tremors

As most everyone has heard we had an earthquake in New York City yesterday. This was the first one through which I had ever been awake. The other times I woke up and everything was foggy so I thought that perhaps I was dreaming. This time around, I wish I had been dreaming. It was equally surreal but being startled out of bed and thinking it’s a dream is better than being on the 19th floor of an office building in Manhattan.

I was sitting at my desk trying to finish a deliverable. I had just finished lunch and was getting to a groove, when I began to get very dizzy. I thought it was something I had eaten. I realized then that the dizziness was due to the floor shaking under my feet and my desk bending up and down beneath my arms. I looked around my desk to see if perhaps it wasn’t my eyes playing tricks on me. When I saw the other people on my floor looking as befuddled as I was, I knew something was not right.

I rushed to check NY1 on the internet but nothing was reported yet. I got a couple of Instant Messages from friends asking if I had felt that. I confirmed that I felt the building shaking. I said I thought it was an earthquake. Once I said it and understood, I got up from my desk and waited by the staircase for an evacuation announcement. The announcement never came.

The fire safety director said they were inspecting the building to see if it was structurally sound and that if there were any problems we would be evacuated. And we waited. After about 15 minutes, a number of us returned to our desks to check out the news. It was confirmed that the earthquake was 5.8 and the epicenter was in Virginia.

Another announcement stated that the building was still being checked. (I could have died by now. Thanks so much fire safety director!) I called my husband and my parents to check on them. Everything was fine. I got an influx of emails from friends asking if I had felt the tremors. I spent most of the afternoon checking in with people to make sure they were fine.

By 4 pm I had ensured family and friends were safe and went back to getting my work done. The deliverable was a little late but who cares when it comes to being safe. Obviously some people didn’t care about our safety or they would have let us go home. If I didn’t know who I was dealing with before, now I am certain!