5.8 Earthquake.

Did I wake up this morning and think to myself, "Ashley, today you are going to experience your first earthquake?". No, with a capital N.

It struck at 1:51 this afternoon while I was at a job site in the middle of downtown DC working at a building on the 9th floor. They had been doing minor construction projects around the building all day so I honestly didn't think too much of it when my table started shaking. There was six of us there today all sitting around a big board room table. As we looked up from our computers after the table shaking for a minute, it started to dawn on us that something wasn't right.

Stretching out my legs, I stood up and thats when it really struck us. Grabbing on to the table for support and looking in horror at the other members of my team, we were all thinking the same thing, "DC doesn't get earthquakes!" At that moment came a sound that will haunt me for a very long time. A deep sighing/moaning as if the building had given up holding together and was gently being pulled apart at the seams. All I could think was, "This is it. You've had a good life."

No, the earthquake wasn't shaking me so hard that I couldn't see straight but my mind was racing with the realistic possibilities about how 1) DC is not built for earthquakes 2) my car is parked underneath this building 3) too many people evacuating down these stairs, I won't make it 4) is it an earthquake or had another terrorist attack occurred 10 years to the first one?

One of my co-workers looked at us and said, "Everyone get under the table!" As we crouched down to do just that, the shaking stopped. It was then that reality struck, oh my gosh, we just survived the first earthquake DC has had in years. At that moment, a mad dash happened for the stairs. Grabbing only necessary items, we ran down those nine flights just hoping to make it out of the building before another shimmer struck. These photos attached show some of the sights I saw standing outside for 45 minutes watching hundreds of thousands of people evacuating their buildings.

As we started discussing what had just occurred, someone tried to call the main office. Looking around us, we realized everyone had their cell phones out. To say the least, Verizon and AT&T were both down for at least 30 minutes and I still cannot complete a call for longer than 10 minutes before it being lost.

Ironically enough, Brit in Kansas, my mother in Florida, and Joel in California were the first three to text to ask if I was okay. Giggling, I turned to my co-workers and said, "Well, word is getting out, I've officially had all other parts of the United States ask me if I am okay!".

Riding the elevator up to the 9th floor again had me holding my breath the entire time thinking, please don't let an aftershock happen while I'm in here! Grabbing my laptop and keys, I ran to the parking garage only to arrive too late to miss the rush of traffic. Between pedestrians frantically crossing the street to irate taxi cab drivers, my normal 25 minute commute took me 2.5 hours.

For those of you who don't care because you think this doesn't impact you, I'll ignore your ignorance and fill you in. Park Services have declared the Washington Monument not slightly tilted (thank goodness). There are multiple loose bricks in the structure though, and for that it is closed currently. The National Cathedral has damage to at least one of it four peaks on the roof. Thousands of homes are reporting gas leaks as the architecture of most buildings in this area simply weren't built with earthquakes in mind. Traffic is backed up for 45 miles with most commutes taking 6-7 hours.

With all of this being said, was today a little crazy? Yes, with a capital Y. Would I trade it in knowing that I'm safe? Heck no! I've now experienced all the natural disasters except a hurricane. So bring it on Irene! Looking to break my record this weekend?