28 Feb, 11

Earthquake. I was on the 6th floor when things went silly. Having just looked at my sandwich with a certain level of disdain the shaking began and then got crazy. I don’t remember much – I was under the desk holding on as large pieces of computer equipment flew around. I watched a filing cabinet flying around as well, something I hope never to see again. I also remember my sandwich hitting me in the face in a final insult.

Lots of alarms and sirens, lots of dust and what felt like a long wait for aftershocks to settle down long enough for us to get down the stairs. Quite a long walk down Hereford Street. A long walk home followed that. My bike is still trapped in the basement of the building.

We left the city for a bit to stay with our parents but are back now, tidying up. The power is back on but no water so far. Will never take water and electricity for granted again … and I was already pretty appreciative of the benefits of both. Hot showers are quite frankly a luxury that keep us going.

Working from home for now and taking the opportunity to clean up around the house. The few decent aftershocks have had us scampering for the table with slightly fuzzy nerves but all good so far. We’re alive, safe, and not too smelly. Can’t ask for much more than that at the moment.