I Feel the Earth Move under My Feet...

"I feel the Earth move under my feet!"
No, I am not singing to the song of Martika. I literally felt the Earth moved under my feet. I felt an earthquake this evening at about 7:15pm. It lasted for at least 4-5 minutes. The tremors we felt were from an earthquake in Indonesia measuring 8.4 on the Richter scale.

I was sitting down to have my dinner when I started to feel giddy, kind of like having vertigo. Then I noticed that various objects in my flat were moving, like the chandeliers moving to and fro, my mother's antiques in her display cabinet shaking, the plants "trembling", our Chinese cabinets' handles "clanking" away. The chair I was seated on was moving ever so slightly and the floor was shaking too. Lol. I told the girls that we were experiencing an earthquake. But they couldn't feel the shaking at all. They are probably too young or not sensitive enough to feel the shaking sensation. But they could see the things moving around in the flat. Lol.

Once a teacher, always a teacher, I immediately seized this golden opportunity to explain to the girls what was happening and the concept of an earthquake. I also showed them pictures of the effects of earthquake such as shaking and ground rupture, fires, landslides and avalanches, and tsunamis. (Ah, the wonder of Internet.) They seemed to understand pretty well. Smart girls. Lol. I think they deserve some praise for their quick understanding. Hahaha.

This is not my first time experiencing an earthquake. I don't mean just feeling the tremors of an earthquake that is happening in a neighbouring country. I experienced my first real earthquake when I was in Taipei, Taiwan during my yearly visits to see my mother's family. I think I was in Secondary 1 or 2. It was pretty scary that time. The whole bed was literally shaking away. My first thought, however, was not that of an earthquake but that of a scene from 'The Exorcist' where Linda Blair's bed was shaking because of demonic presence. Hahaha. Yes, I watch too many horror movies. Lol. Anyway, that was a learning experience for me.

"I feel the earth move under my feet
I feel the sky tumbling down tumbling down
I feel my heart start to trembling
Whenever you're around" (I Feel The Earth Move lyrics)

Oh dear, now the song is stuck in my head. Hahaha.