I was at work when the earthquake happened today - it was pretty weird as it is not a common Ottawa thing. It was also weird as I was in a strange building helping out some people I didn’t know and had left my purse at my cubicle where my phone, car keys and bus pass was.
The shaking started to get stronger and louder. Its funny how at first you hear people saying how they thought it was a big truck or jet, then maybe construction, but with the amount of shaking that was happening, it seemed impossible. I looked out the window and saw the apartment building windows across shaking and that’s when my heart started to pound. I was more so freaked out because:
A) I was in and surrounded by high rise buildings and if something were to happen to mine and crush me, the one next to it would do the same.
B) I didn’t have my purse… I missed my blackberry!!
C) I was scanning documents and thought “oh please I hope I don’t die scanning documents
D) I was with a bunch of strangers and in an odd building
E) When we were evacuated, I went outside and the streets of downtown were packed with people who had also been evacuated. Sirens were going off in the backgrounds, traffic was packed, people were talking about what was going on, and the damn security guards wouldn’t let me inside to grab my stuff so I had no where to go and no one to call and was alone. They had to let an engineer go up and check the infrastructure to make sure it was safe.. finally after an hour or so of roaming downtown looking clueless, I was able to go back up and everyone was gone. Most people had decided to go home after 30 minutes as it was pointless to wait and after something like that (even though a MINOR shake up) , it makes you think and you want to be around your friends and family.
All turned out well. Not my day though - eventually I got to my car and it wouldn’t start for a good 20 days. Came home, had a beer, watched some BBC Life, and fell asleep on my couch only to wake up and crawl into bed where I am now.
