I give it a 5.0 out of 10

So. By now, maybe you've heard the news...

Earthquake!

At 1:41 pm EST, I was sitting at my desk at work, and suddenly everything started shaking. At first, it was a little rumble, not unusual on our street where large over-sized buses and trucks go past, and we're only on the 5th floor...but this was unusual because it got stronger and kept going. I watched my monitor swaying, and waited for it to stop before getting up and going to the window in time to see the windows of the building across the street still shaking.

My coworkers and I were surprised...an earthquake in Ottawa? Really? Some people were worried, thinking a bomb had gone off somewhere (not out of the realm of possibility...we work just a few blocks from Parliament Hill, and the G8/G20 summit is being hosted up the highway from us in Toronto). Instantly, a coworker was on the phone home, and he found out they felt it out there too, far from the downtown core, so we ruled out bombing, and ruled in the earthquake.

Bemused, my coworkers briefly wondered what to do..."Should we leave?" And it was decided that yes, yes we should. So we did, because we didn't know if there would be aftershocks. And we went down to the street to wait for further direction. With no emergency/safety warden on our floor yet (our branch has only just moved into the building recently), we weren't sure what to expect. Everyone was texting or trying to call family and friends...I was trying to reach a couple of people myself, but the cellular networks were overloaded, and it took forever to send a message, never mind make a call. Oddly enough, I had no problems at all getting facebook on my blackberry, and I updated my status and checked out a few more, where I learned that the earthquake was felt in Toronto, New York and Ohio. Not bad!

As we stood there on the side of the Transitway, we watched buses rumbled past us, filled to the ceiling with people, and we laughed at the exodus away from the downtown core.

After a while, a floor warden from another floor told us it was okay to go back in, so we did. And then I found out that many of the government offices just sent staff home after evacuating...so why did we have to go back??

Oh well. I volunteered to be on the safety committee after it was suggested by a manager in my group. It appears that it takes more than a 5.0 magnitude earthquake to rattle my nerves :)

PS - the cats are obviously spooked, but they are fine. There are a few things on the floor, and a few more precariously perched on ledges and shelves, but otherwise, all is well in the Poitras Palace.

When it rains in Calgary...

So, my day wasn't going according to plan...Spain lost to Switzerland (yes, darling, I know you're mocking me)...there were no good movies on the flight from Ottawa to Calgary, and now this...

So I landed in Calgary to gray skies and rain, and I board the plane to Vancouver, and I'm getting ready for a quick 1 hour 10 minute hop over the mountains to YVR...not so. The air condition on our plane was busted. And while we were waiting for the new unit to be installed, a lightning advisory (the first of several) was issued, forcing the tarmack staff inside. And we're sitting, and we're sitting. And the plane runs out of cups, so hold on to yours (but I didn't get one, because I still had a full bottle of water). And the video system shorts out, and the attendants have to do the safety demo the old fashioned way (totally funny, because they's forgotten how, I suspect). To deal with the increasing heat on the plane, the crew opened the front and back doors.

Finally, two lightning advisories and an air conditioning unit later, we are pushed back from the gate and heading out to the tarmack for take off. Except we stop. And sit. And wait. And then the crew tells us that there is a light on indicating that there's a problem with the backdoor. Okay. But guess what? Another lightning advisory! So we have to wait for it to pass before the tarmack crew can come out and tow us back to the gate.

Finally, the backdoor issue is resolved...but we're not taking off yet. Why?

Because the air crew has now worked beyond their allowable hours for the time period, and...

So now I'm sitting here, not leaving until 9 or 10 because we have to wait for a new crew to be pulled in.

Clearly, raining in Calgary is a bad omen. I don't have many SNAFUs when I travel, but this day has just turned out to be one of the few!

And why am I going back to Vancouver (Fancy, it's Wednesday, shouldn't you be working?)? Because I convocate tomorrow! And if I ever get there, it will be the first time my Dad will see me cross the podium after 3 misses. So I'd better make it to Vancouver tonight, or Imma be insanely pissed.

PS - the rest of my life proceeds...working; dating life still a mess; cats still cute; still living on Ottawa. Carry on.