The Last Days

At about 2:00 pm I was taking a nap with Quentin on my bed when I awoke to what I later confirmed was indeed an earthquake. I had felt small tremors before when I was in Italy, but it felt more like a big truck passing by. This was much different because it escalated and things started falling off my dresser and bookshelf.

I had remembered learning from some tv show when I was a kid that you're supposed to stand in a doorway do I grabbed Quentin and stood in the doorway of my bedroom until it stopped. I then grabbed my keys and shoes and we went outside. There wasn't really anyone around and those that were out seemed unconcerned. There was a couple smoking on their balcony and a few people in the pool. I felt like I was in the twilight zone. I tried to call Albert to tell him about it, but I couldn't get through on my cell phone or on our magic jack. I was able to call from an app on my I-touch but he didn't pick up.

Occasionally our Magic Jack phone would ring but no one was ever there when I picked up. Quentin was really fussy and wanted to eat and his crying was not helping my nerves. I felt better watching the tv and seeing what was going on outside my home. I really wanted to talk to someone but couldn't get through.

Albert came home not too much later. I was afraid he was going to be stuck in the commuting mess I saw on tv, but he was smart and left right away.

It really made me think about how un prepared we were for the whole thing. What if it had been worse? What if we couldn't go back to our house? What if it wasn't an earthquake, but a terrorist attack? We definitely need to get a go pack. You never know when something bad might happen. This was definitely a wake up call for me and it scared me feeling so unprepared, especially with a little baby.  

Now we're supposed to be getting a hurricane (tropical storm) coming through Saturday afternoon / Sunday morning.  At least we can see it coming.  I'm really hoping we don't lose our electricity.  Good thing we're on the top floor.

Albert didn't even really feel the earthquake.  He thought it was his body reacting from low blood sugar since he hadn't had lunch yet, then he noticed a huge group of people running for the door to get out of the building.  He wanted to go back to his desk to grab his bag, but the foot traffic wasn't going in that direction so he had to ride the wave out.  

Over the past few days we've found cracks in our tile, large paint chips that fell off the ceiling in Quentin's room, and the counter top in our bathroom is separated from the wall.  They are small problems, but they aren't easy fixes.  At least Albert got off work early on Tuesday and didn't have to go in on Wednesday (of course they didn't tell him that until he got there).