Thursday, August 25, 2011

Earthquakes and hurricanes and Steve Jobs quits. Oh my!

I know you heard we had an earthquake here in the mid-Atlantic.  I know you heard about it, because the bureaucrats in Washington, DC felt it.  Yep, the president of the United States felt it.  He was in Martha's Vineyard, golfing, but he felt it.  The Washington Monument is broken.  The National Cathedral is broken.  Our government got half a day off on Tuesday.  And, the news outlets got something to talk about.  Yep, Tuesday, August 23 at 1:51 p.m. the EASTERN seacoast had an earthquake.  (take that California)  Personally, I was at my desk, working, when the quake hit.  I am an experienced earthquake survivor.  I recognized the shaking for exactly what it was, said "earthquake" (loud) and ran from the building.  I was the first one out.  Evidently my character has been revealed.  When in a disaster situation, I will get myself out of harm's way and leave my co-workers to fend for themselves.  Now we know.  In case there was any curiosity as to whether I would hold the door open and usher folks to safety, the answer is "no, I won't be doing that."  I was living in Monterey, CA during the October 1989 quake.  I was nearly scared to death.  That was the biggest shaker I've ever felt.  The Bay Bridge collapsed.  The Cypress Freeway in Oakland collapsed.  I didn't have power for a week.  My neighbor's houses were broken.  It was a disaster.  I lived in Naples, Italy from 1984-1987.  We had tremors regularly.  The city of Pozzuoli was, effectively, closed after an earthquake in 1983.  The tremors lasted all of '84 and '85.  These were my first earthquakes.  I remember the first night I was to sleep in the hotel after moving to Italy, there were 30 tremors.  Needless to say, I didn't sleep.  I have survived another earthquake.

Also, we have a hurricane on the way.  Irene.  I really don't like hurricanes.  They are messy.  You know they are coming.  You try to prepare.  You hope you have enough clean water.  You know you won't be having a hot shower.  Then you clean up the mess.  I keep hoping, hoping, and then hoping a bit more for Irene to travel east.  Please Irene, travel out into the Atlantic.  We don't want you here.  I am much luckier in the hurricane disaster area.  I've only experienced hurricane Isabelle.  It was a mess.  I was scared.  We didn't have power for 5 days.  We were ok.  Our house was ok.  We lost about 30 trees on our property, but not one of them hit the house.  I hope I haven't used up all my hurricane luck.  I'm not looking forward to Irene.  But, I know she's coming.

Lastly, Steve Jobs resigns as CEO of Apple.  I'm hoping this is not the disaster so many think it will be.  I don't think it will be.  We've known Steve has had failing health for quite a while.  We've seen this coming, too.  Like Steve, I believe Apple's finest and most innovative days are ahead of them.  I have confidence in Tim Cook.  I'm a Mac.  I know I told you this in my 100 things post.  I'll bet most of you have Apple stock in your mutual funds.  Just sayin'.  I hope Steve Jobs can get better.  He's so young.  It's very sad.  However, I don't think it's the end of Apple.

Ok, there you have it.  Three disaster situations.  You decide.  Is it the end of the world? 


19 comments:

  1. Girl. We're going CAMPING in Natural Bridge this weekend. I know. We're crazy.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Yep, time to prepare! We're mixed on whether we care about our RV or we just want to get out of our payments. On one hand, it's expensive and the other we have fun as a family vacationing  (when we can) it's parked on the bay near West Point...only time will tell!

    ReplyDelete
  3. most definitely...the end of the world as we know it...hehe...guess you know what the sermon will be on sunday...smiles.

    hey brandee, natural bridge is 18 miles from me...

    ReplyDelete
  4. Wow - you got to live in Italy!!!  And no, I don't think it's the end of the world.  I'm a PC, except I do have a couple of "i" things - the pod and the phone.  :)

    My sister was in Arby's in Winchester, VA during the earthquake - she said it was all over before she figured out what it was.   :)

    ReplyDelete
  5. Not the end of the world...its a new fresh beginning!!! Never realised that there were earthquakes over there. That would be freaky! Stay safe, all will be good.
    Cheers
    Lisa

    ReplyDelete
  6. I'm a Mac user, and grateful for all that company has done for me. But still, I think it might be nice if Apple slows down a little bit. Let us enjoy one gadget for a few years before stepping it up. Just sayin.

    I didn't feel the earthquake: was in an elevator. I guess the elevator was just starting or just stopping at that moment. I'm a little sad that I can't fully appreciate what happened, but a colleague who worked with me in Haiti reminded me of all the trauma associated with that feeling. Yeah, there's a lot of trauma to be had. Stay well.

    ReplyDelete
  7. I always think it is the end of the world, then French slaps me.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Yea I live RIGHT on the water (chesapeake bay in MD) and I'm not too happy about Irene!

    ReplyDelete
  9.  I live 3 blocks from the Bay.  I'm scared.  Seriously.

    ReplyDelete
  10. I know what you mean, but, really, you don't have to buy every new thing that comes along.  :)
    Sorry you missed the quake.  It wasn't that special.  And that's a good thing.

    ReplyDelete
  11.  There usually are NOT earthquakes here.  That's what made it news.  :)

    ReplyDelete
  12. Yep, Italy.  3 years.  They were SO MUCH FUN.

    ReplyDelete
  13. doesn't it just seem like one crazy thing after another lately?

    ReplyDelete
  14. Three blocks from the bay?  Yikes!  Stay safe!

    ReplyDelete
  15. Valerie @ Chateau A La ModeAugust 26, 2011 at 1:27 PM

    You take care of yourself out there in disaster land :) Hope you're safe and have a wonderful weekend.

    ReplyDelete
  16. I felt the earthquake, am awaiting the hurricane, and I love macs... in my mind the word is ending.  

    ReplyDelete
  17. I am a Mac head.  I really hope that Mr. Jobs enjoys the rest of his days.  Too hard to think about his dying. He has been Apple.  But it is such a good product. I hope that all will be well.
    “..
    almost everything – all external expectations, all pride, all fear of
    embarrassment or failure - these things just fall away in the face of
    death, leaving only what is truly important. Remembering that you are
    going to die is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking you
    have something to lose. You are already naked. There is no reason not to
    follow your heart.” Steve Jobs

    ReplyDelete

Comments from my readers bring sunshine to my day. They make me so happy.