You may or may not have heard about the recent quakes in New Zealand. I don’t really know if they made international papers – no one died. It’s the queerest thing to experience.
You’re sitting there at your desk on the 21stfloor that stares out at the harbour while glaring at the ceiling as those on the floor above are playing ping pong. Does that sound weird? Well in New Zealand multi-floor buildings (newer buildings) are designed with earthquakes in mind and the building sways in high winds, when the lifts zoom up and down, and when those on the floor above decide to play an enthusiastic game of table tennis.The vibrations running through your desk are distracting and a tad unnerving, but nothing you’re not used to. Then it hits.The floor, the entire room jolts and (to quote Jennifer Lawrence) you shriek a very bad word; a very bad word being loudly yelped by people in the rooms behind and across from you. The shaking picks up and you dive under your desk, fingers gripping the carpet.It stops.Just like that everything seems startling clear. Your heart pounds and you give a nervous laugh. People come charging around. A work mate is sobbing and you try to soothe her.The room starts to sway again.Everyone freezes eyes wide and bodies tense.The crying work mate gives another horrified sob and you guide her under the table. Your cellphone starts ringing. It’s your partner.‘All okay-‘ the line cuts off as the network overloads.

Can you find New Zealand on the map?
After the quake Friday afternoon we got the okay to evacuate and I made it home just after five. Everyone checked in and all was well. And that’s when you start to realise just how weird it is to live with the constant, real threat of the ground beneath you jolting.It’s short, shocking, and over minutes after it starts.Without any real damage or visible results, you’re left almost feeling like you imagined it. Everything is normal. Yet you know, at any given second it could start again. You go to the supermarket, as are lots of others, and in the back of your mind you consider options.Can I squeeze under that shelving? Is it stable at the end of the aisle?As we pulled out of the supermarket Glenn suddenly stopped the car. All the other cars around us had stopped too and I realised then that we were shaking. Another quake.There’s been too many aftershocks to count and they’re still going. While we made the bed last night I heard the drawers creaking. A second later and the room starts shaking again. As I type this I’m sitting at my desk with my hair smothered in henna and wrapped in plastic wrap (yes, I look a-m-a-z-i-n-g) and hoping that we don’t get a big quake before I get to wash this out (only five hours to go…). Work has txted to say the building’s been checked and is sound so we’ll be opening as normal on Monday.Providing of course, there isn’t another decent quake before then *grin*

The earth moves for us….
Nic
The Arrival, is currently available for FREE at at Amazon : AmazonUK : Barnes & Noble : iTunes US : iTunes UK : Kobo : Smashwords : SonyAwakening on special till the end of August! Available at Amazon : AmazonUK : Barnes & Noble : Smashwords : iTunes US : iTunes UK : SonyFeel the Burn on special till the end of August! Available at Amazon : AmazonUK : Smashwords : Kobo : iTunes US : iTunes UK : Barnes & Noble : Sony