October 27th, 2012
Saturday night, after a nice dinner (thanks to wonderful Wife), I was just lazily watching TV and someone scratched my window. Huh? This is the 29th floor! Was a bird hurt out there? I rose to investigate. We have the rolling curtains operated by metal chains that are just free hanging. They were rattling and making noises? They are really only two logical explanations: the wind was swaying the building or there was an earthquake. Some other hanging objects in the house were also swaying around, but TV and other free standing objects were stable. We felt nothing. So, shrug, Wife went back to computer and I TV.
An hour later, when the dinner was reasonably digested and wine almost dissipated, I changed into my workout gears and attempted downstairs. I summoned the elevator, but the button refused to obey. I stood in front of the stubbornly closed elevator doors and contemplated my options: skip work-out tonight, push the button harder (yes, it was irrational, but human), call for help, or use the stairs. The stair option also implied the possibility of getting stuck downstairs, since we cannot come in from the stair, only out.
I chose to wait for five minutes. The elevator button worked (so happy, yay!) and everything went well after.
Turned out there was an earthquake at Haida Gwaii, Canada, roughly 700 miles northeast of Seattle. A 7.7 one no less! That Loma Prieta, vividly remembered 13 years later, was only 6.9 and the Fukushima 7.1. Wow!
And the only thing I remembered was the elevator not working for 5 minutes.
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