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what fun, another earthquake

the journal of Michael Werneburg

twenty-seven years and one million words

Today's earthquake one was by far the worst one I've yet experience, even though it wasn't the strongest. I was in the lobby of our office building when it struck, and immediately it was noticeably different from the others I've experienced. Whereas the earlier quakes had a strong side-to-side shake, this had a gentler wave-like motion to it that caused a moment of vertigo.

Small things began to fall around the lobby. Remembering that vertical waves do the most damage in earthquakes, I bravely declared "fnck this" and bolted for the exit. Outside I saw puddles sloshing back and forth on the pavement, and when I looked up at the surrounding buildings, I noticed that the nearest one was visibly bobbing up and down in relation to the much taller one in the background.

As always, everyone else just went about their business. I was certainly the only one holding onto a lamp post.