MAY 14, 2008
I probably had my biggest (and scariest) adventure to date on Monday. And it lasted all of a minute or so although the memory will live with me for the rest of my life.
I had a fairly normal Monday. My Tai Chi lesson commenced promptly at 8:00 and lasted for two hours. It was a nice day .... sunny and upper 70's with a light breeze. I returned from my lesson and started sorting laundry and doing general picking up around the apartment. Once the washing machine was churning suds, I started on some dirty dishes left in the sink from the previous night. We'd had Alan over for a Mother's Day BBQ of salmon, shrimp, and chicken, corn on the cob, baby potatoes, asparagus, and chocolate mousse for dessert (making the best of the fact that none of us would see our mothers or our children). I'd been lazy and left the mess to the next day.
I finished cleaning up the kitchen and thought about checking email when I remembered that Randy had my computer at the office. It had been infected with a virus (or possibly multiple viruses) and was going back to the plant for Sean's second attempt to remedy the situation. The washing machine was done so I hung up the laundry to dry on the rack that is currently installed in the guest room.
After a lunch of leftover salmon and asparagus, I decided to leaf through a National Geographic that we'd picked up in Singapore. The entire publication was devoted to China. I'd glanced briefly at the photos, but decided I'd actually put on my reading glasses and read the articles instead of simply looking at the pictures. The patio doors were open and there was a lovely breeze ruffling the sheer drapes. It was about 2:30 in the afternoon.
I suddenly had the slightest sensation of gentle movement, sort of like being in a boat that was being gently rocked. I looked up and frowned, and the notion that maybe somebody upstairs was moving furniture or something flitted through my mind. The sensation didn't stop though, but steadily increased in intensity at which point I stood up (or rather staggered up). My head seemed a little dizzy and I felt as though I was experiencing motion sickness and weak knees. About that same moment, I noticed both chandeliers in the living room and dining room were swaying forcefully back and forth. The chandeliers have glass bead drops hanging from them (VERY Chinese), and the glass beads were clinking together as though a roomful of people were toasting each other with crystal stemware. The floor felt as though somebody was trying to roll it out from under me and then roll it back the other way. A terrifying thought struck me ..... EARTHQUAKE!!
A few seconds of confusion passed and I grabbed my cellphone and called Randy all the while walking somewhat drunkenly toward the patio door to look outside. "I think we're having an earthquake!!" I yelled into the phone. Randy, in his usual detached manner, made some mundane reply expressing general disbelief. "No, REALLY!!" I insisted. The entire building is swaying back and forth!!" I made my way through the kitchen hanging onto the kitchen counter with one hand, and looked out into the courtyard of our compound. I couldn't see anything happening just then but the building continued it's gentle sway.
As I passed back through the kitchen and into the dining area where the chandelier was still swinging, I noticed the door to the office slowly opening and closing. The framed photos, pictures, and the Chinese scrolls hanging on our walls were also moving back and forth. It was just the most helpless feeling knowing there wasn't a blessed thing I could do but hang on tight and pray!! I told Randy that I thought I should vacate the building and hung up. A few more moments passed and finally the motion stopped except for continued swaying of the chandeliers and the beating of my heart which had quickened to the pace of terror.
I'd had the TV on which is normal for me .... something just to break the silence and cover the near constant din of horn honking from the city streets. Just then, CNN broke in to say that an earthquake had just been experienced in China! My first thought was, "You're NOT just a-whistling Dixie!!!" I called Randy back to say that it was being reported on CNN and that I was most definitely leaving the building wondering aloud if I should use the elevator or not, and pondering aftershocks.
I immediately called my friend, Suely, to see if she was at home. By now, the courtyard was filling with residents from our compound who had no doubt felt exactly what I had experienced. Most had their cellphones to their ear and were chatting anxiously. Suely detected immediately that I was upset about something. She and her family live on the ground floor of a different building. She told me that she was home and I should come over immediately.
I noticed on my way over to Suely's that a light had fallen from a pole near the shallow end of the pool into the children's wading pond. Interestingly, she hadn't felt a thing. Apparently only people who were on higher level floors could feel the motion in Shanghai (we live on the 24th floor). Of course, my mind was swimming with questions like would it be better to be on the ground floor, or high up in a building somewhere (would I rather be crushed or fall from 24 stories aloft) ... my brain still wasn't functioning properly, operating more in panic-mode, I'd say. Lots of folks were staying outside, but our compound is completely surrounded by tall buildings so if one of them came tumbling down, I couldn't really say the danger was any less out there!
Suely listened to me relate my experience while she made us a cup of tea and we settled onto the sofa to watch CNN. Reports were coming in from Shanghai, Beijing, and Chengdu, and it took quite a while to determine the epicenter of what was to become a devastating earthquake for China. It turned out the epicenter was very near Chengdu where the plains meet the mountains in Central Southwestern China.
I called my oldest son, David, who works third shift for a TV station in Grand Rapids, MI as a cameraman and editor for the early morning newscasts. I knew he'd have heard about the quake and would probably worry about us. He was relieved to hear from me and very happy I was OK. Then he asked me if the news team could interview me during the 5:00 AM news. I was still a bit shaken, but said, "OK, I guess so." I talked to an anchorman named Brett who asked me if I'd call in for the 5:00 and 6:00 AM newscasts (which would be 5 and 6 in the afternoon for us here in China). So I did. Told them what a rocking and rolling afternoon I'd just had. By then, some of the reports were coming out of the more devastated areas, and there were stories of schools completely destroyed and students still trapped under the rubble.
Of course, that was just the tip of the iceberg, and as the last couple of days have passed, the news from Central China is worse and worse. I know my experiencing was harrowing, but I cannot imagine what the folks nearer that area must have felt. As for me, I have had a hard time sleeping the last couple of nights, and I still have moments when I think I feel the building moving. Just my imagination I guess, but I guess I'm a bit shell shocked. But there is evidence of the building having shifted permanently. The door to the guest bedroom will not remain open ... eventually swings shut every time I open it. It never did that before so there has apparently been some settling.
In chatting with some of my friends who live in other parts of Shanghai, I thought it was weird that most folks didn't feel anything (again, they all live in the lower floors of their buildings). Randy mentioned that the workers in the plant did notice the ductwork and pipes hanging from the ceiling swayed back and forth although he didn't notice any movement himself. Even Tom, the husband of my friend, Margaret, who works high up on a shipping crane, didn't feel anything. But it was explained to me that it all depends upon how the building is juxtaposed to the waves of the earthquake. If the building is somewhat parallel to the waves, then not a lot of motion is felt. But if the building is facing the waves, there is much more movement with the rolling of the quake (sort of like the difference between a boat taking a wave from the side or taking it from the front ... the side wave produces much more rocking motion). Our building is long (actually 3 buildings conjoined), tall, and somewhat narrow facing due southwest which is the direction from whence the quake came facing straight into the waves. Of course, the higher in the building, the stronger the sensation. Also, I have been told that the swaying of the building is good because if it didn't sway, it would indeed break and crumble. Sounds good, I suppose. It's just that I hadn't had floor surfing on my agenda for Monday and wasn't at all prepared!!
As I write this blog entry, the news out of Central China is just awful!! The death count currently stands at around 12,000, and is sure to rise. There are villages that still have received no assistance due to the devastated roads, but the helicopter views have shown almost total destruction in those areas. There are six schools that are in complete ruin and many people still trapped in the rubble, parents waiting for what is sure to be the most horrible news a parent can hear. It brings my heart to my throat to think about what these folks are experiencing. Many businesses here are asking their employees to donate to the rescue effort.
Well, in my lifetime, I've now survived a tornado, a typhoon, and an earthquake. I told my brother that God must have something big planned for me (I'm praying that it isn't another weather or geological event). And I'd worried I wouldn't have anything interesting to blog this week ..... silly me!!
By the by, my computer seems to be cured, and I am technologically back in business.
I had a fairly normal Monday. My Tai Chi lesson commenced promptly at 8:00 and lasted for two hours. It was a nice day .... sunny and upper 70's with a light breeze. I returned from my lesson and started sorting laundry and doing general picking up around the apartment. Once the washing machine was churning suds, I started on some dirty dishes left in the sink from the previous night. We'd had Alan over for a Mother's Day BBQ of salmon, shrimp, and chicken, corn on the cob, baby potatoes, asparagus, and chocolate mousse for dessert (making the best of the fact that none of us would see our mothers or our children). I'd been lazy and left the mess to the next day.
I finished cleaning up the kitchen and thought about checking email when I remembered that Randy had my computer at the office. It had been infected with a virus (or possibly multiple viruses) and was going back to the plant for Sean's second attempt to remedy the situation. The washing machine was done so I hung up the laundry to dry on the rack that is currently installed in the guest room.
After a lunch of leftover salmon and asparagus, I decided to leaf through a National Geographic that we'd picked up in Singapore. The entire publication was devoted to China. I'd glanced briefly at the photos, but decided I'd actually put on my reading glasses and read the articles instead of simply looking at the pictures. The patio doors were open and there was a lovely breeze ruffling the sheer drapes. It was about 2:30 in the afternoon.
I suddenly had the slightest sensation of gentle movement, sort of like being in a boat that was being gently rocked. I looked up and frowned, and the notion that maybe somebody upstairs was moving furniture or something flitted through my mind. The sensation didn't stop though, but steadily increased in intensity at which point I stood up (or rather staggered up). My head seemed a little dizzy and I felt as though I was experiencing motion sickness and weak knees. About that same moment, I noticed both chandeliers in the living room and dining room were swaying forcefully back and forth. The chandeliers have glass bead drops hanging from them (VERY Chinese), and the glass beads were clinking together as though a roomful of people were toasting each other with crystal stemware. The floor felt as though somebody was trying to roll it out from under me and then roll it back the other way. A terrifying thought struck me ..... EARTHQUAKE!!
A few seconds of confusion passed and I grabbed my cellphone and called Randy all the while walking somewhat drunkenly toward the patio door to look outside. "I think we're having an earthquake!!" I yelled into the phone. Randy, in his usual detached manner, made some mundane reply expressing general disbelief. "No, REALLY!!" I insisted. The entire building is swaying back and forth!!" I made my way through the kitchen hanging onto the kitchen counter with one hand, and looked out into the courtyard of our compound. I couldn't see anything happening just then but the building continued it's gentle sway.
As I passed back through the kitchen and into the dining area where the chandelier was still swinging, I noticed the door to the office slowly opening and closing. The framed photos, pictures, and the Chinese scrolls hanging on our walls were also moving back and forth. It was just the most helpless feeling knowing there wasn't a blessed thing I could do but hang on tight and pray!! I told Randy that I thought I should vacate the building and hung up. A few more moments passed and finally the motion stopped except for continued swaying of the chandeliers and the beating of my heart which had quickened to the pace of terror.
I'd had the TV on which is normal for me .... something just to break the silence and cover the near constant din of horn honking from the city streets. Just then, CNN broke in to say that an earthquake had just been experienced in China! My first thought was, "You're NOT just a-whistling Dixie!!!" I called Randy back to say that it was being reported on CNN and that I was most definitely leaving the building wondering aloud if I should use the elevator or not, and pondering aftershocks.
I immediately called my friend, Suely, to see if she was at home. By now, the courtyard was filling with residents from our compound who had no doubt felt exactly what I had experienced. Most had their cellphones to their ear and were chatting anxiously. Suely detected immediately that I was upset about something. She and her family live on the ground floor of a different building. She told me that she was home and I should come over immediately.
I noticed on my way over to Suely's that a light had fallen from a pole near the shallow end of the pool into the children's wading pond. Interestingly, she hadn't felt a thing. Apparently only people who were on higher level floors could feel the motion in Shanghai (we live on the 24th floor). Of course, my mind was swimming with questions like would it be better to be on the ground floor, or high up in a building somewhere (would I rather be crushed or fall from 24 stories aloft) ... my brain still wasn't functioning properly, operating more in panic-mode, I'd say. Lots of folks were staying outside, but our compound is completely surrounded by tall buildings so if one of them came tumbling down, I couldn't really say the danger was any less out there!
Suely listened to me relate my experience while she made us a cup of tea and we settled onto the sofa to watch CNN. Reports were coming in from Shanghai, Beijing, and Chengdu, and it took quite a while to determine the epicenter of what was to become a devastating earthquake for China. It turned out the epicenter was very near Chengdu where the plains meet the mountains in Central Southwestern China.
I called my oldest son, David, who works third shift for a TV station in Grand Rapids, MI as a cameraman and editor for the early morning newscasts. I knew he'd have heard about the quake and would probably worry about us. He was relieved to hear from me and very happy I was OK. Then he asked me if the news team could interview me during the 5:00 AM news. I was still a bit shaken, but said, "OK, I guess so." I talked to an anchorman named Brett who asked me if I'd call in for the 5:00 and 6:00 AM newscasts (which would be 5 and 6 in the afternoon for us here in China). So I did. Told them what a rocking and rolling afternoon I'd just had. By then, some of the reports were coming out of the more devastated areas, and there were stories of schools completely destroyed and students still trapped under the rubble.
Of course, that was just the tip of the iceberg, and as the last couple of days have passed, the news from Central China is worse and worse. I know my experiencing was harrowing, but I cannot imagine what the folks nearer that area must have felt. As for me, I have had a hard time sleeping the last couple of nights, and I still have moments when I think I feel the building moving. Just my imagination I guess, but I guess I'm a bit shell shocked. But there is evidence of the building having shifted permanently. The door to the guest bedroom will not remain open ... eventually swings shut every time I open it. It never did that before so there has apparently been some settling.
In chatting with some of my friends who live in other parts of Shanghai, I thought it was weird that most folks didn't feel anything (again, they all live in the lower floors of their buildings). Randy mentioned that the workers in the plant did notice the ductwork and pipes hanging from the ceiling swayed back and forth although he didn't notice any movement himself. Even Tom, the husband of my friend, Margaret, who works high up on a shipping crane, didn't feel anything. But it was explained to me that it all depends upon how the building is juxtaposed to the waves of the earthquake. If the building is somewhat parallel to the waves, then not a lot of motion is felt. But if the building is facing the waves, there is much more movement with the rolling of the quake (sort of like the difference between a boat taking a wave from the side or taking it from the front ... the side wave produces much more rocking motion). Our building is long (actually 3 buildings conjoined), tall, and somewhat narrow facing due southwest which is the direction from whence the quake came facing straight into the waves. Of course, the higher in the building, the stronger the sensation. Also, I have been told that the swaying of the building is good because if it didn't sway, it would indeed break and crumble. Sounds good, I suppose. It's just that I hadn't had floor surfing on my agenda for Monday and wasn't at all prepared!!
As I write this blog entry, the news out of Central China is just awful!! The death count currently stands at around 12,000, and is sure to rise. There are villages that still have received no assistance due to the devastated roads, but the helicopter views have shown almost total destruction in those areas. There are six schools that are in complete ruin and many people still trapped in the rubble, parents waiting for what is sure to be the most horrible news a parent can hear. It brings my heart to my throat to think about what these folks are experiencing. Many businesses here are asking their employees to donate to the rescue effort.
Well, in my lifetime, I've now survived a tornado, a typhoon, and an earthquake. I told my brother that God must have something big planned for me (I'm praying that it isn't another weather or geological event). And I'd worried I wouldn't have anything interesting to blog this week ..... silly me!!
By the by, my computer seems to be cured, and I am technologically back in business.
posted by Roxanne Gillett at
9:41 PM
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