It’s a heavy and serious topic to start with, however, its only true that this is the most horrible incident I’ve encountered with so far and still many things are under the influence of this event.

First of all, my most sincere condolences to all who suffered. It is my strong wish that we all take care of each other to rebuild and reestablish strong and firm economy under the trusting politics (quite bluuurrr right now, how shame!). There are just too many things we “should” deal with, such as nuk plant issue, guarantee/security for evacuated ppl, and resume healthy land in Fukushima! Although there are very little I can contribute, I am determined to play my part, with donation or participating in volunteer work. Let’s make it happen! 頑張ろう、日本！

So what was it like on March 11th to me? Here is how it went: I was working inside the office, on a 1st flr of big building. The 1st & the biggest shake, hit at 2:46pm if I recall correctly. First 30 seconds, I was like, “yep, another shakes, will be resumed in a sec, just keep working here..” then it didn’t stop at all!! The shake was getting bigger and bigger then we all realize “maybe we should evacuate the building, like asap?” so along with coworkers, we all run outside with fear by the time. Everyone was there, some were feeling sick from stress and fear, some just stood still, some trying to calm down by talking to others.

It was less than 5 min, or at least so I felt, then we chat “it was the biggest shake I ever experienced!” as we went back to the office. Some shelves were leaned down, messy desk, but we did not expect anything larger than a usual shakes. First thing, we turned on tv to see where it originates, how bad other areas were. Cell fones were out of service, due to the crowded lines, but landline worked fine. By then, Tsunami were hitting the coat and slowly, we became to learn it was indeed one of the worst Earthquake happened in Japan. It was devastating, to see those mega waves hit to destroy coastal areas, sweeping off all the houses and buildings.

As I went back home, I saw ppl in usual habits, like walking dogs or taking babies on stroll, I thought “really? so.. it wasn’t bad as they show it on tv?” turned out, it was! Most trains, buses, highways were resumed to normal in just a few days to few weeks. It was Friday, On next Monday, surprisingly most of us made it to the office and were working, with additional workload that derived from the quakes. First one month from 311, the record says we had 600 shakes or so (maybe way more? pls refer to scientifically proven ones if you want) and we still have minor (M2-3) ones from time to time.

Impact This horrible incident surely made a huge mental impact on us, including myself. how? One of my friend were going to buy a house -> decided not to! Single ppl -> more energy to look for the partners to be with. To me, hmmm.. I guess I appreciate every minute spending with the loved ones. It’s precious. And, be more giving, helping, kind to the ppl in need. I should be appreciate by not suffering from this incident (only 5 glasses broken!) so being healthy and able, I should help those who in need. With limitation, I’d like to contribute as much.