August 23, 2011

Did You Feel That?

Earthquake (not quite drawn to scale)

Earlier today I was in a meeting, and felt something unusual. It felt like the room was moving a bit side-to-side - nothing really bad, but noticeable. I looked around and didn't see anyone react, so I thought it was just me.  (I had forgotten to take my high blood pressure medication this morning, and I thought it was some sort of side-effect.) I was wondering if I should get up and get a drink of water or something.

Then I thought maybe it was the train track repairs going on just outside our building. They had been rolling trains through for a few hours - I thought maybe a particularly big train was on the repaired tracks.

Finally, the head of our division came into the meeting room and asked "Did anyone else feel that? My vertical blinds are swaying."

It was an earthquake.

Apparently, an earthquake measuring 5.8 on the Richter scale occurred in Virginia just before 2:00 PM local time, and it shook the Eastern Seaboard, including the Boston area. We are on the fifth floor of an older building, which might have made the shaking a bit more pronounced.

At the time, I couldn't tell what was going on. But now I know what a mild earthquake feels like. As far as I can recall, I haven't experienced one before. Then again, I might have felt it before, but just thought I was getting sick.
This article originally appeared in my blog: All Things Quality
My name is Joe Strazzere and I'm currently a Director of Quality Assurance.
I like to lead, to test, and occasionally to write about leading and testing.
Find me at http://strazzere.blogspot.com/.
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