Put to the test

Okay, kids, POP QUIZ!

You find yourself at work, in the middle of a 5.4 earthquake. Do you:

A.) Hide under your desk

B.) Stand under a supported doorway

C.) Run outside into an open field or park

D.) Update your Facebook status

Well, apparently I was in the minority for thinking the answer was B, as I was the only person at work standing under my doorway. Everyone else, it seemed, wanted to get outside, away from the building, so I followed them to the sidewalk.

When we went back in, maybe five minutes later, I thought to myself "I wonder how many people have already updated this on their Facebook status?"

The answer, at just before noon, was 10. Now that has more than doubled.

At first, I just thought it was funny that everyone's - including my own - instinct was to share the experience. Some people were being practical, letting friends and family know that all was well. Some clearly did it for bragging rights, and some people, like me, were probably just excited to have something new and interesting to share. After all, if it didn't happen on Facebook, did it really happen at all?

Then, having lived in New York through both 9/11 and the Blackout of 2003, I found myself wondering what those days would have been like had some similar application been around then. Sure, we were lacking electricity and phone service for a while, but nowadays almost anyone can text their way onto Facebook if their wireless access goes down. My parents aren't on Facebook but some relatives are, and it could certainly serve as one-stop shopping to keep everyone else in the loop.

Anyway, for those of you wondering, I am fine. I work in a very old (historically landmarked) brick building, and the walls crumble down on a good day! When it first started, I thought it was just a small one, but it got very loud and a little scary pretty fast; then, just as quickly, it was over. I do have a bit of a mess of brick and mortar debris to clean up, but there was no major damage to anything beyond some people's nerves.

I was curious returning home to my apartment tonight, but from the looks of it, you'd never know there was a quake at all. Not a single frame or vase or any of my 10,000 beauty products were a smidge out of place.

What I've come to realize about quakes is that by the time you can think to be scared of them, they are over. And, after they are over, I have a tendency to forget that I might have been scared, because I can't remember how long it lasted or how loud it was or what it really felt like having the floor roll beneath my feet. My brain only remembers thinking everyone was overreacting for going outside and that I really wanted to finish my status report.

The only thing I even should be concerned about at this point is that earthquakes tend to happen in groups, and this may have only been the first in a while to rattle our chains. Fortunately, I am leaving tomorrow for my annual trip to Hotlanta, and will hope that the friendly skies prove a bit more stable than solid ground.