Remember last week when I naively made the comment that having no cell phone was giving me a new found awareness that I live in the middle of the Pacific Ocean??
I was totally serious.
Three hours after I wrote that blog I heard sirens going off. Sadly I didn't even react to hearing the very loud sound at first. I think I'm superwoman, so I don't get phased by them...
Or not. Or I'm from St. Louis, MO where tornado sirens go off about as frequently as my alarm clock. Okay maybe not really, but they are often used and rarely paid much attention to. Even if the sky is dark, the temperature drops a few degrees, and it's suddenly windy... the sirens still don't cause much concern for anyone but my grandmother, (sorry grandma!!! you know I love your visits to the basement:).
So last Thursday night as I was pondering how long it would take for my cell phone to start working and anticipating my weekend birthday plans... sirens went off, sounding JUST like those used for wanna-be-tornados in St. Louis.
I kid you not, I'm fairly positive that I didn't think twice about the sound for a good 5-10 minutes. Blondes and natural disasters are a crappy combination I suppose. (UGH... I hate blonde jokes... can't believe that came to mind!).
Anyway, I was sitting at my desk and all-of-a-sudden I thought to myself, "Hmmm.... they don't have tornados in Hawaii... that's odd........... (pause (for longer than I'd like to admit) for processing thoughts)..... SHIT!".
I immediately looked up FOX news online and was a bit mortified at the then-current alert. Mind you, this alert, though necessary, was perceived FAR more intensely being accompanied by horrific pictures of Japan's tragedy.
It's one thing to see Doppler pictures from your local weather channel with colorful swirly sections... it's a whole other thing to see actual buildings/cars/anything in the way being swept away by large amounts of water. Horrible pictures and little captions underneath saying (more-or-less), "watch out Pacific Ocean.. probably headed there next".
What do I do next? Call my dad? Can't. It's 3 a.m. and my phone isn't working. Plus, let's face it... what's he going to do from St. Louis?? Comfort me, that's about it. Valuable, yes. Going to stop a tsunami, not likely.
What next??
Pray? Done. Done again.
Call my boyfriend?? Crap, how long will it take me to remember I'm WITHOUT A PHONE??
Ha.
Email my boyfriend?? Done.
Not because I'm the damsel-in-distress type, but because I'm the midwesterner type without a working cell phone. Midwesterner meaning I have ZERO experience worrying or dealing with these types of water-related warnings. Zero.
So I send a quick email saying basically "Hey, remember that blonde chick who moved here for you?? She's down the street and a big ass wave is supposed to hit in a few hours... anything I need to know?".
Richard is the best, so don't be fooled by the following response... but it MUST be included to officially prove that men are a whole different breed than woman.
"Yeah its crazy! That was a huge quake....
Hopefully it won't send a big wave here..."
That was the entire response. Mind you, he had one of these alerts last year and it ended up being nothing... but SERIOUSLY?!?! THAT'S IT?! Being the sweet and loving girlfriend I am I responded "Okay honey, thanks!".
Psh, yeah right.
More like "WHAT THE HECK IS THAT RESPONSE?!?!"
I wasn't really even freaking out per se (about the storm or his response:)... but feeling pretty clueless on what to even do if a tsunami were to hit. So I was perhaps looking for like "Grab some extra water, look to this news station, etc."
:)
Richard would swim through a tsunami for me (he's a super hero secretly), so I can't be too hard on him... but it was pretty funny all the same.
Moving forward in this already too lengthy tale...
- Went to Richard's house and slept in the guest room.
- Figured there was nothing I could do and prayed some more before falling asleep.
- A little damage occurred around 3 am, but nothing close to what it could of been.
- My phone started working sometime around 4 am when I received many many MANY texts and calls from loved ones. Totally amazing and thoughtful, don't get me wrong... but when you've spent five hours waking up off and on and wondering whether or not a big disaster is coming, just to get in the clear and fall asleep.... well it's not exactly your favorite time in the world to have a miraculously working and busy phone:)
Okay I really did appreciate all the concern... 4 am and all (careful what you wish for!).
So that was my experience with the "tsunami". Little bit of panic and confusion, not a lot of sleep, and very few big waves.
Praise God for safety and comfort and scary times. If there is a next time, I would imagine I'd be able to process the whole experience a little more gracefully:)
Thankful to be safe, but just a reminder to everyone, keep Japan in your prayers :(
Oh, and now I really am aware I'm in the middle of the ocean. Hawaii tsunami watch of 2011 provided some excellent perspective... in more ways than one.
And no joke, there really are people walking around with t shirts that say "I survived the 2011 Hawaii Tsunami"... ha... always someone with a sense of humor.
Hehe :)
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