small quakes 6.9

it was a normal day for normal employees like me. i came to office a little past 8:30. late from my everyday morning dose of nihongo lessons. once again, we breathed in and out. and went on with the class. but just before noon came, something out of the ordinary happened. EARTHQUAKE!!!

1, 2, 3, 4, 5... the building was still shaking. we went out of the room to meet our other colleagues also wondering what on earth is happening. my first instinct told me to find somewhere safe. and i saw the building pillar. i went near it and dragged a colleague with me only to find out that an a/c unit is directly above us. this place is surely not safe. and then the ground stopped shaking.

we quickly ran down the emergency exit. in no time from the 7th floor we reached the bottom only to find out that the door leading outside the building is locked. wow! this is the best feeling of my life. the threads of sanity i strongly held on slowly broke. why on earth is the emergency exit door locked? i didn't panic from the actual quake but a little claustrophobia got into me this time. we immediately alighted 2 floors back up and took another exit.

slowly, people got out of the building and stories of shock filled the air. everyone had a story to tell. and the worst part, phone lines broke. it only came back around 15 minutes later. i normally skip lunch but i took one this time thinking that a much needed energy would be helpful should there be an aftershock.

i was a little disappointed to hear no company official statement. other companies in that same building went home early than the usual. it was business as usual for ours. the earthquake was 6.9 with kilometers offshore negros as it's epicenter.

our japanese teacher then shared that during earthquakes, the first thing to do is to hide under the table and stay under until the quake stops. i immediately replied, there is only one table in our training room. surely, five people won't fit under it. and besides, cebu is not tokyo. in tokyo everything, buildings and people included, are earthquake proof. in cebu, we have no proof that buildings will remain standing after withstanding quakes. now we know it will but we didn't know before.

hours later, news of an impending tsunami came. the water in downtown area rose, they said. and this caused panic. just search for videos in youtube to find more. it must have been a carnival out there. but thinking back now, no one can blame these people. first, others haven't heard of the news of where the epicenter was. if they did, then mostly likely they would know that a tsunami in the city is impossible. second, this is the first big quake in cebu. most people don't even know what epicenter means. not knowing anything is scary and that makes one vulnerable to believe what others say. third, it was already a mob out there. when a huge number of people run towards you, won't you run with them as well? lastly, news of japan and new zealand is still quite fresh in the people's minds. you just can't blame them for acting that way. these made me conclude that cebu is not ready for earthquakes yet.

later around 6, as we were having a video conference with our japan counterparts, came a big aftershock. but i didn't even realize it until our boss himself alerted about it. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5... our boss finally stopped the conference and told everyone to get out of the building. what a day it was. i went home with stories to share.

aftershocks still came days after but the trauma of the first is incomparable. i can't be more thankful that we were safe.

as the earth trembles 20110311

i was sitting patiently in the office and then a message came from our colleagues in japan, earthquake. oh well, japan is known for that. while i was there for 2 years, i must have experienced the most earthquake in my entire life.

but then new messages came, they went out of the buildings. it was that strong! we then started to call our other colleagues in tokyo, worried of their safety. no contact.

communication network is down but internet is fine, said our boss in japan. this was at around 2pm philippine time.

talked with other friends in japan making sure they are safe and getting news about the others, it was heart pounding. we finally received a call from 2 colleagues, they were both fine but the trauma is clear in their voices. stationed at the 6th floor, they immediately grabbed the helmets and ran down the stairwell. wall cracks becoming visible and ceiling paints raining down, it was like a movie. when they came back, all their things were tossed around, giant monitors down the floor. they recalled via phone giving us updates before they go home and end the working day abruptly.

the sin

had some time alone last saturday. all of my housemates went somewhere. they are all busy with their lives which is like the opposite of mine. the house is so empty... and so silent... and so empty... and so silent... this is driving me crazy.

i browsed for my daily dose of asian stuff. i even watched live feeds for some show airing somewhere. good way to kill time.. great music. hmmm. good music for working out. out of the blue, i did some floor exercises to flatten this bulging tummy. that was fun and hard. great way to sweat it out. ohhh, the show ended and the house felt empty... and silent...

out of the blue, i played "hiphop abs". and after two 40-minute sessions, waaaah.. these routines are killing me. its fun grooving it out, but you feel the burn all over. why are my arms in pain when the program is called "hiphop abs"???? owwww.. this is too much. but i would love to do this again some other time. i just need to eat dinner though.

so out i went, ate dinner and strolled. as i wondered, i wandered... i thought of stuff i normally don't think of. and then i'm far away from home. i guess thinking is bad for me. the more i think, the more i get lost (pun intended). i think too much thinking is bad but yet, i was thinking even with that statement.

my housemates have gone out too long now so i called up only to find out that they went clubbing. owkey... i didn't even know about that. at least they should have invited me. but then i still would have declined. but still, there is a big difference right?

yesterday, sunday we all went to kawasaki to buy things for our fuji mountain climbing expedition. i bought a thicker winter jacket just because it was in the news that someone died from freezing in fuji. i just don't wanna die yet so i'd rather be prepared. much to my surprise, i think i would not die from climbing a mountain but rather from over eating. we had a buffet for lunch and another one for dinner. it is very hard to even laugh nor bend down to get things from the floor.

then there was a long earthquake. maybe it is a sign from above that i've eaten much and should leave right away. but no.... the earthquake didn't stop us from eating more. oh my. all the calories i burned the day before were replenished in 8 folds. oh my...

gluttony kills...