As I started going up the stairs, everything started shaking. Harley shot up the stairs to the main level, and I followed him... I can't honestly say I was thinking straight during this moment. Everything was shaking. Pictures were rattling on the wall and becoming all sorts of crooked. I swear the fan in the living room was going to fall and shred some pillows. The water in the boys' fish tanks were splishing and splashing all over the counter. And I could honestly picture the house sliding down the hill. (Yes, I was dramatic. I'm a woman, I'm emotional, and I was scared the F out! Let's all accept it and move on with life.)
And just like that, it was over. Everything was still and somewhat calm. I, however, was shaking like a bowl full of Jello. I saw one of the neighbors outside trying to call someone on her cell phone, and she got in her car and left. I tried calling my parents and Michael, and my calls wouldn't go through. That's when I sat on the stairs in the foyer and just started crying. I could not believe that I had just experienced that. Granted, there are places around the world where they experience it on a much greater and much more devastating scale. But me... Erica.... Just experienced an earthquake. By myself. And I couldn't get in touch with my family. I had no idea where the center was, so I had no idea how much damage and destruction was out there, or where my family was amongst all this. Cell phones were obviously out of service for a while, but thank God text messages were still able to be sent out and received. I found out through texting that Mom, Dad, and Michael were all ok. I was also able to text Catherine to let her know everything was ok here.
Once I got myself together and fixed the crooked pictures on the walls, I logged on to cnn.com and read up about the earthquake. Its epicenter was in/near Mineral, Virginia, about 75 miles from Manassas. I don't know exactly what it measured on the Richter scale, though.... I've read reports that it was a 5.9 when it struck in Mineral, but I've also read reports that it was a 5.9 by the time it got to the DC Metro area. Surely if it was 5.9 when it initially struck, it wouldn't still be a 5.9 when it got to our area. But then again.... I'm not an earthquake expert. I am clearly a newbie when it comes to earthquakes. It was felt all up and down the East Coast... Georgia to northern New England. Crazy.
It didn't take long for people to start cutting jokes about the quake and posting their pictures of the damage that the quake caused. This one is, by far, my favorite:
Aside from the earthquake, things are still pretty boring in my life. I applied to some more jobs with FCPS and with a few local preschools. I feel so useless having a teaching degree and no classroom to use it in. Friends on Facebook have already started school and are posting about things going on in their classrooms, or how exhausted they are after a long day with the kids, which I totally get -- if I was teaching this year, I'd be posting the exact same stuff -- but it's weird knowing that I have the credentials and experience to have my own classroom, and I'm not. I'm not employed. I have one more paycheck coming from DCS and that's it. Then what? I have bills to pay. I've filled out application after application after application... And... Nothing. I thought things were picking up last week when I had four interviews, but still... Nothing.
Everyone is telling me to stay positive and be strong, and while I truly appreciate that, staying positive and being strong does not put money in my bank account that I can use to pay my bills. I need a job. A freaking J-O-B is what will put money in the bank. I don't know how much higher my stress level can go without me completely falling apart.
I feel the same way. Hunting for another job in marketing (since we moved and I had to quit) has been horrible. I share the same feelings, and I HATED hearing everyone say "Stay positive!" UGH. But something will turn up and probably when you least expect it.
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