It's now or never

The world is getting scarier; especially in this part of the world where I'm currently at. After the consecutive typhoons (and just days after the deadliest one in more than a decade), Japan has been hit by strong earthquakes since Saturday last week. The first one had a magnitude of 6.8 in Niigata prefecture (epicenter), 250 kilometes north of Tokyo. It was followed by two more quakes which were above 5.9 in magnitude. Up to now, aftershocks have been rattling the area almost every hour. (I think more than 300 aftershocks have been recorded so far.)

Japan, sitting atop three restless tectonic plates, is among the world's most earthquake-prone countires. There is even a study that Tokyo is due for a major earthquake within 50 years. The last destructive quake hit Tokyo in 1923 which killed at least 140,000 people. (Am I scaring you already?)

These tremors have caused a bit of a fear/alarm among us friends. Not only the tremors, but because we reside near a beach, tsunamis or tidal waves are also a major concern of ours. For the past two days, one friend of mine has been waking up very early in the morning because of the shaking she felt. (I am not sure if an earthquake did occur or just paranoia.) Just this morning, while in a meeting, I felt a strong shake and for a moment the question "Is this the one?" entered my mind. I checked the net afterwards, a magnitude of 2 was recorded in our area. I couldn't help say to myself ... only a 2.0? It felt more like a 4.0. If that was a 2.0, what would a 6.0, a 7.0 or an 8.0 be like? (When the 7.7 earthquake hit the Philippines back in 1990, I remember myself crying and calling aloud for my mama while going down a flight of stairs from the 3rd floor of our school building in Quezon City.)

When my friends and I get to talk about what's happening, we tend to make light of it so as to calm us down. Asking what prized-possession they will be bringing with them when something happens; one said a cellphone, some replied passport and money, another one said a piece of wood which can help him float (in case of flood), and quite a few answered their notebook pc being their most valuable possession at the moment. (I heard one did bring her notebook outside when the grounds shook last Saturday. =) A friend joked he (not knowing how to swim) will just tie himself to the bed so we won't have a hard time looking for him when a flood occurs. I, myself, told my friends that I will be purchasing a life boat for my DVD collection (and just wanna say sorry in advance if I won't able to let them ride with me =).

But amidst all the chuckles, each one of us knows what is truly in each of our hearts and minds -- it is the longing to be back at home ... 'cause it's times like these when we hope to be with the people who matter to us the most.