As some of you might have heard in the news - or experienced - there was an Earthquake in Costa Rica yesterday. Worry not, we are fine. The Earthquake was rather strong - 7.6 on the Richter scale, though world wide it was said to be 7.9. It worths to say that the Richter scale is logaritmic - I don't know why, which means that the difference between 7 and 8 is MUCH bigger than between 6 and 7. Anyway, anything over 4 can be felt, and anything over 6 is scary, though some around 5 are capable of freaking you out alright. Yes, Richter says it's small, but if the epicenter is close to the surface it can do real damage, or at least it can scare the living Hyne out of you.
As you all know, I work in a 16 floor building that's not the favorite of anyone. Yes, we don't love out building, and ever since an unsightly addition is being built, the lost on the view has made some of us - namely me - even more cranky. However, lo and behold, the building survived the earthquake unscathered. No cracks, no broken windows, no bent rods, not even a fallen lightbulb. My luck had it, however, that I wasn't in my cubicle at the time of the earthquake, but as I had to solve the problems with my badge, I had just came back - on foot - from the other side of a large park, where I had to go to our other building to get things done. I was actually on the lobby banging my fist against the reinforced door of the Whatever Center where they should take care of programming my badge so it works in the building.
As I was busy wrecking havoc at the door, when the earthquake came I honestly thought it was my blood pressure getting low - either from the long walk or from me tapping on the power of my rage and trying to get people to do their jobs. Low pressure often feels like the floor is sliding from under your feel or as if your knees would go on a strike, so I wasn't worried. There were no earthquake sounds, so yes, it had to be blood pressure. So I continued focusing my wrath on the weaklings hiding behind the door (I could see them through the tinted glass, they were there!), and I noticed that "my blood pressure" wasn't getting any better. It wasn't until I actually saw people running from the premises that it downed to me that this wasn't blood pressure, it was a fucking Earthquake. Of course, by then the mother fucker had reached such height that as I went to the wide open doors towards the street, I just didn't seem to aim my steps well. You couldn't walk straight, the floor was LITERALLY being moved from under your feet!
I made it out along with some people from the lobby, and as we stood there suddenly had no idea where were we supposed to go. What can I say, I've missed each and everyone of the TWO emergency drills. Anyway, my first thought was to get away from the building and the cables hanging over our heads, so we did, and then patiently waited as we saw the emergency doors being opened and people pouring out from them. Though the drills showed that the building could be evacuated in 18 minutes (time during which you could experience several substantial replicas from an Earthquakem which would send people in the narrow emergency stairs into a stampede), the total evaquation took about 30 minutes. As it happens, it seems that a group STOPPED in their way out of the building to TALK, holding up the people from upper floors in their attempt to get out. Of course, there could be another explanation, but as I looked worried at the exit of the stairs in question, I never saw anyone being carried away sick, blacked out or harmed in any way.
Once out, people went out and blocked the streets just by standing there aimlessly, concentrating on trying to get their phones to work, meeting with friends and staring at the building to see if it would collapse. Panic? Horror? Fear? Nah, people seemed actually glad to be able to get out of the building and enjoy the nice weather. Not one commented how nice would it be to be right then at the beach with a beer. There was a meeting point, but there was hardly anyone there. People gathered in groups on the street talking, then migrated to populate the diners around, getting coffee, breakfast, while checking on the news and so on.
We were kept on the street for around two hours while the building was thoroughly inspected to state the damage, and the Emergency Brigade people tried as they could to make us go to the meeting point. I think they should provide a diner and a large TV screen at the meeting point if they want people to go there next time.
After two hours, when we were getting really bored already, we were told that the building would be entirely evaquated for the rest of the day, so we would go to our cubicles IN ORDERLY FASHION, retrieve our things and leave also IN ORDERLY FASHION. Those who had nothing in the building could leave at once. Some did. Some might even have left their cars in the parking lot. I had stuff to retrieve, plus I'm no going nowhere without Sookie. However the so called orderly fashion was anything but. People disregarded which floors were being called in, and raided the stairs, then clumped up in the parking lot trying to get their cars out.
But there was no damage. People was actually happy to get out, go home, slump in front of the TV and enjoy a day long coverage of the Earthquake while posting and reposting pictures of the places where there was some damage.
By today graphic jokes surfaced and populated the e-mails of many, while a lot of people refuses to work by gathering up and exhausting the Earthquake topic. People around the world show concern, and I've received many e-mails from friends from all over worried that I might be in an Haiti-like situation, but in here there's nothing farther from people's minds. I think we may not take Earthquakes so seriously.
Being as common as they are - even if each time they freak the hell out of us - we have a very strict building code, which demands all buildings to be End-of-the-World proof. All our buidlings are properly reinforced with iron and the foundation is also strong. For a building to fall in here there can be only two possible explanations: it wasn build cheaply, disregarding the building code and paying out corrupt, neglecting people, or it is the Second Coming. Then, since we are small we are all taught to look always for open, clear spaces, away from anything that could fall on us, and stay there. Not like you could be persuated to stay inside under a desk when all the fun is later on to happen outside as neighbours and coworkers gather up to comment. Besides, it's scary to be at home or at the office and see walls crack and windows explode, but it's exciting to be OUTSIDE and see it happen to other buildings and houses.
Today things went back to normal, probably with people wishing for a replica so they might be able to get yet another day off, or at least a couple of hours outside. The last effects of the Earthquake are being stretched as thin as they would go, extracting as much as possible, because once it is over, we will all be back to the same old rutine.
What can I say? This is Costa Rica. ¡Pura Vida!
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