Earthquake

I brought leftovers into work today to reheat for lunch. I had just walked into the kitchen area when the sound of creaking iron, crunch of foam, what sounded like heavy footsteps came from above. I ignored it at first, thinking, “Gee, someone up there is really moving around loudly.” And then I realized that no man could make noises like that, and my thoughts became, “The construction noise in this building is just so disruptive—what are they drilling into now? Are they knocking down a wall?” (They really are doing remodeling to my high-rise office building, so I did have good reason to think that it was construction noise).

I put my food in the microwave but before I could even press the start button, I looked up at the ceiling wearily. Crunch, crunch, smash! I held on to the counter top; the floor was trembling. I wondered, just for a quick moment, if the ceiling was going to fall through, but then I realized that such a thought was crazy. I hit the “Start” button on the microwave and as my spaghetti whirled around, it dawned on me: We’re having an earthquake.

It took me 10 or 15 seconds to even realize it.

The kitchen shook and continued to tremble and I just kinda stood there, alone, listening to the whiz and hum of the microwave, feeling the floor roll and sway beneath my feet.

The ding noise, symbolizing my food was done reheating came and it apparently also sounded the end of the earthquake, rated a 5.8 on the reichter scale.

I walked out to the general office area and no one was alarmed. Men stood near windows (the last place you should stand, really, in an earthquake), probably observing the other high-rise buildings swaying. People laughed. I heard someone say, “Now, isn’t THAT fun!?” The lights hanging from the ceiling swung back and forth like pendulums.

And then it was back to business. I hopped on a work call and started discussing Web strategy. Back to the grind.

For whatever reason, I was not afraid. This is my second earthquake here in LA. The first, I woke up in the middle of the night. In typical Joanna Goofball nature, I thought I was dreaming and didn’t realize that the bed quivering beneath me and the clinking noise of items on my dresser moving about was real.

*shrug.*