what's shaking

One reason why I know that I need a vacation...

Yesterday in the afternoon, I was sitting at my desk, working on a project that was due today. That's when I felt a rumble. At first I thought some of the maintenance men that I frequently see around the office were fixing some random piece of HVAC eqipment. But the rumble lasted a lot longer and grew more intense than the typical maintenance job. When I looked to my right, the wall partitions and lights above were vibrating. And that's when I panicked. I thought the building was about to collapse. I pictured that same scene of a building collapsing on TV. This image did not move me b/c I still sat in my seat trying to think of what to do. Am I supposed to run to the stairwell? Stand in a doorway? Get under my desk? One thing that I did do, I saved my work. Dramatically speaking, in the event that I should go down with this building; yet, my work is recoverable, I would like it to be up to date, lol. When it stopped, I got up and walked into the hallway and shouted, "What in da hell was THAT?!" A coworker said, "I think it was an earthquake."

My office is on the third floor. I migrated to the window, only to see that the whole first floor had left the building and were gathering outside. I go back to my desk and text my dad to tell him that VA just had an earthquake. Soon after that, I called my son's daycare and ask them if everyone was alright. And then, I was told that we had to evacuate for an hour.

I know that I need a vacation when I'm being told that I have to evacuate immediately, but I proceed to save my work AGAIN, shut down my computer, grab my laptop, pack my bag, and bounce. Heaven forbid it had been a fire. I went to an eatery down the street with some coworkers (us rebellious ones who refused to stand outside in the heat) and we watch CNN to try and piece together what happened. This is when I realize that I can't call anyone, can't check voicemails, can't text, BUT I can get on FB. Apparently, my dad had sent out the bat-signal to my stepmom, my sisters, and my aunt (who I hadn't talked to in YEARS) --- all FB friends. I didn't know that he tried to call me right after I sent the text and I'm sure that a lot of stuff had to have been going through his mind based on what he had seen on tv and his inability to reach me. By the time my 2nd sis got a hold of me on FB, I was able to use my phone to call him back and calm him down.

And then I became concerned about J. When we left the N.O. b/c of Hurricane K.atrina, it took a while for him to get over the trauma of losing everything. I just knew that he was probably losing it. So, I left to pick him up. When I get to the daycare, he was having a blast in the ball pit in one of the play rooms. He was actually upset that I picked him up early. When we walked outside I asked him, "Man, did you feel THAT?!" He said yeah. He goes on to tell me how all the kids were freaking out b/c of the vibrations, but that he was sitting by a bookshelf during reading time, so he got a massage out of it. I fell out laughing. Here I am worried about him. He wasn't the one that needed to be soothed.

We went home to make sure that all was well...and it was. So the only thing that came from that earthquake is a cool story to share on the first day of school.

And I will be taking a mini-staycation soon, before I go home in October.