There have been so many news-worthy things happening lately, that it’s been hard for me to pick and choose what I should blog about. First there was The Great Earthquake of August 2011. Next up is Hurricane Irene which is causing much pandemonium. The East Coast is sure an exciting place to be these days. Today is Natural Disaster Blogging Day, so hold on to your hats!
——
Ok. Earthquake time. It seriously couldn’t have come at a better time. Thanks Mother Nature, for lightening up my day! I had just been talking to a friend about the ridiculously boring work I had to do. I kept procrastinating the mind-numbingly mundane work and just couldn’t bring myself to get started. My friend took something I told him and created the following visual poem about my conundrum:
How poetic.
We were just discussing the genius of my typo-laced sentence-turned poem, when my co-worker and I felt a sort of rumbling vibration. I didn’t think much of it, because our offices but right up against the building’s loading dock so I figured it had to do with a large truck or something. My co-worker turns to me and asks me if I feel that shaking. We stand up confused, and that’s when the real ride began. Things were rumbling and tumbling and most noticeable, the large flat screen television in our office looked like it was going to fall from the stand it rests on. Completely panicked, my co-worker grabbed her personal belongings and lunged out the door. Seconds later, the building’s alarm went off and we are told to exit the building.
I kind of surprised myself about calm I remained the entire time. I attribute it however, to a lack of knowledge about the situation. What’s the point of freaking out if you don’t know what you’re freaking out about? That, or I am just way too mellow for my own good. Either way, I enjoyed simply hanging out in the beautiful weather that afternoon. Sure, I was hungry and had to pee, but I was just thankful of the welcomed distraction that saved me from having to do work. To top things off, I went to Chop’t for a late lunch after we were told we could go home. Any meal at Chop’t is reason enough to be happy, but that time, I had gained a free meal from using up my frequent buyer card. Score! Even better, was that the next day (yesterday) I had off from work due to building inspections.
——
Next up is this Earthquake Irene that everyone’s been discussing. Sure, it’s a major hurricane and it’s expected to disrupt our life for at least a few days, but I think everyone needs to calm down now. Of course however, I am delighted to revel in my irony: I am currently reading the book, “Isaac’s Storm.” This book is about the great hurricane of 1900 which completely destroyed Galveston, Texas without much warning from then meteorologists who were wrongly convinced the storm would be heading along the east coast. So I realize that storms can cause much damage and such.
Some of the damage caused by "Isaac's Storm."
But here’s the thing, folks. I’ve seen and been in hurricanes on the east coast before. I’ve been at the beach during Nor’Easters. High winds? Check. Tons of rain? Check. Damage is expected. But I think people are going a little too crazy. To me, it’s just that the east coast (north of say, the Carolinas) doesn’t typically garner the attention from hurricanes. It seems that because our area that rarely sees a hurricane, people are extra-concerned about what will happen.
Don’t get me wrong though, I’ll do my part just like the average responsible citizen to stay safe and protect my surroundings and belongings. But until I see some actual proof that this is more than just a really bad thunderstorm, I’m going to remain skeptic. -A skeptic who is ready for some exciting weather!
CAPSLove 