My first earthquake

As most of you know, I am working in Central Virginia right now (Charlottesville, at UVA Medical Center).  Unless you've been living in a bubble you've seen the news reports (sensationalized especially on CNN) about the East Coast Quake.  While I recognize that an earthquake on the East Coast is relatively rare and one of a 5.8 magnitude is even more rare, the reality is that this wasn't really a big deal.  Aside from some relatively minor damage near the epicenter (a town called Mineral, VA where there isn't really much of anything- thank goodness- but that is about 35 miles from where I was on Tuesday in C-ville) and some damage to older buildings in DC (the Washington Monument had some cracks, the National Cathedral lost a few angels) there wasn't much to report on.  Still, I was amazed by the extensive (and ongoing) coverage of this event in the national news. 

For me, it was the first earthquake I had ever been in.  They had a pretty big one in Seattle right before I moved there in 2001 but I missed it.  This one occurred right before 2pm.  I was actually on the 3rd floor of a very old building on UVA's campus in a small 6x8 conference room alone and had just finished a conference call.  When the shaking started, it didn't immediately register that it was an earthquake.  In fact, I first thought someone was just shaking the locked door, trying to get in.  Next thought was that is was caused by the constant construction that is going on outside of that building.  In fact, by the time I realized it was an earthquake (and shouldn't be standing by the window looking out) it was pretty much over.  I went into the hallway and basically ran into a stream of people running down the hallway for the stairs.  This seemed a bit dramatic to me so I calmly walked down the stairs and back to my team room to see how everyone was doing.  When I walked in, it was a pretty funny sight.  My team room (for context) is a large old ballroom with chandeliers and big ornate windows.  There are almost 40 of us in there using folding tables and chairs as desk space.  Anyway when I walked in it was pretty quiet.  I asked why everyone was still sitting calmly in their chairs when everyone else in the building seemed to be in doorways or running for the exits.  Some people (those from Seattle and California) were under their desks (pros, they had been through this before).  Others, like me, who had never been in a quake, were just looking around at each other probably wondering what had just happened.  It was pretty funny all in all.  The funniest moment was when of my newer analysts (name withheld to protect the guilty) asked "Was that a drill?"  Ha, yeah, someone just reached out and shook the entire building.    Basically we paused and then just kept on working (dedicated consultants that we are).

Anyway it was an experience.  We had a few aftershocks including one last night at about 1am that woke me up.  I am on off of work today and tomorrow and am currently sitting in ATL waiting to board another plane to Connecticut for my favorite sister's couples wedding shower on Saturday.  Today and tomorrow I'll be busy cooking for 40 or so people and hoping that hurricane Irene decides to follow her intended course and not show up in CT until late Sunday after the outdoor shower on Saturday and my flight home Sunday morning so I can see my beautiful daughter on her 3rd birthday.  Where does the time go?

To sum it all up, here's a picture I saw posted online under the heading "DC Earthquake Devastation" (of course, DC takes credit for the quake even though it occured far south of there)