The Roomie, who is supposed be flying home tonight, just sent me a first hand account of the 7.9 earthquake that struck 90 miles Southeast of Lima, where she is holed up in a hotel. The gist of her reaction to this frightening experience is as follows: "HOLY. FUCKING. SHIT. GIANT. EARTHQUAKE. JUST. STRUCK". I had the same reaction reading her brief e-mail and I'm still freaked the fuck out myself, but as far as I know she is OK.
That being said 17 people died and there is no land-line or mobile phone service. From the Chicago Tribune: "The U.S. Geological Survey said the earthquake hit at 6:40 p.m. (7:40 p.m. EDT) about 90 miles southeast of Lima at a depth of about 25 miles. Four strong aftershocks ranging from magnitudes of 5.4 to 5.9 were felt afterwards, the USGS said." And "Sea level readings indicate a tsunami was generated," the center said on its Web site. It did not report the tsunami's size, but said it could be large enough to "be destructive" on coastal areas near the quake's epicenter."
All I can do is sit here and check the news and my e-mail every 10 minutes and wait to hear that she is still fine. Fuck. FUCK.
UPDATE #3: I just got a voicemail like an hour ago. She's alive and well, or at least as alive and well as anyone stuck at Newark International Airport can be. Someone is getting a big hug and an even bigger shot of whiskey tonight (maybe she will too, haha).
I knew I needn't worry so, but when friends of mine are in peril the latent "Mom" in me tends to come out. Plus, seeing as I'm a Midwestern boy, any natural disaster besides a tornado or a blizzard scares the shit out of me and I tend to think the worst. Whew!
That being said 17 people died and there is no land-line or mobile phone service. From the Chicago Tribune: "The U.S. Geological Survey said the earthquake hit at 6:40 p.m. (7:40 p.m. EDT) about 90 miles southeast of Lima at a depth of about 25 miles. Four strong aftershocks ranging from magnitudes of 5.4 to 5.9 were felt afterwards, the USGS said." And "Sea level readings indicate a tsunami was generated," the center said on its Web site. It did not report the tsunami's size, but said it could be large enough to "be destructive" on coastal areas near the quake's epicenter."
All I can do is sit here and check the news and my e-mail every 10 minutes and wait to hear that she is still fine. Fuck. FUCK.
UPDATE: I ignored 2 "unknown number" calls and thought nothing of it until a minute ago, right after the second one, and realized it was likely The Roomie calling from the hotel or airport. Stupid me for being so weary of answering the unknown cell calls. Now I'm staring at my phone waiting for it light up again. I think I'm gonna sleep with it in my hand, or next to my head tonight, just in case.
UPDATE #2: Maybe it wasn't her calling. According to the airline's website the flight left at 10:50PM. Who knows...things are probably all fucked up down there.
UPDATE #2: Maybe it wasn't her calling. According to the airline's website the flight left at 10:50PM. Who knows...things are probably all fucked up down there.
UPDATE #3: I just got a voicemail like an hour ago. She's alive and well, or at least as alive and well as anyone stuck at Newark International Airport can be. Someone is getting a big hug and an even bigger shot of whiskey tonight (maybe she will too, haha).
I knew I needn't worry so, but when friends of mine are in peril the latent "Mom" in me tends to come out. Plus, seeing as I'm a Midwestern boy, any natural disaster besides a tornado or a blizzard scares the shit out of me and I tend to think the worst. Whew!
3 comments:
dude, you're a decent guy for worrying about the roomie. happy to hear she's OK, enjoy the reunion.
now when are you going to tell us about your latest horizontal adventure?? ;)
Glad to hear she's ok.
Hell I'd be worried like shit if I knew someone close to me was in peril too
Its a bit silly how much I worried about your roomie without even knowing her. But the fact that I know you and you love her, I just hoped she was alright or that she did not feel the quake.
But with an earthquake that destructive i knew it was a possibility that she experienced the quakes and aftershocks.
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