There’s something about experiencing massive quakes and aftershocks that don’t seem to end. I guess when we think about how we’re alive and safe and our houses not part of a massive misou soup due to the tsunami, that kinda puts things into perspective, and it makes you thankful, at least, that you’re marginally fine and not physically damaged or anything.

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Still unable to form coherent thoughts. I’ll probably write more about this when the shocks stop. Whenever that is.

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Update: March 15, 2011

So it’s currently March 15 already and today marks my 4th year anniversary of being in Japan. It’s been 4 days since the massive earthquake and we’re still experiencing tremors that it felt like our office building never really stood still. And yes, we went to work today even if it took two freaking hours just to travel from here to there.

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My friends and I have been losing our heads over this nuclear meltdown thing and how radioactive particles released from the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Plant could reach Tokyo and/or Kanagawa. Lo and behold, radiation is present but they say it’s a really small amount. Our company president posted these values in our bulletin/news group/group page in Facebook:

Tokyo(Shinjuku) 0.809microSv/h
Kanagawa（Kawasaki)　0.209microSv/h

Comparing those with the usual levels they use for CT-Scan (6900microSv/h), these are still really low, right? I just hope those values won’t rise over the next few days.

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It’s been, what, 3 days since I haven’t gone home because the train line that goes from where I am now (a friend’s place somewhere in the outskirts of Tokyo) to where I live (somewhere along the Odakyu-Odawara Line) has been cut off. I thought I could go back earlier since the line going to my station’s operational but the one connecting that line to the one I’m in just started at 2230H or something. I’m not sure when the trips will stop so I decided not to brave it out there and risk the chance of getting stuck somewhere that I don’t know the area of.

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It’s March 15 and amidst the chaos and the hysteria and panic and whatever else shite there is, I almost forgot MarcT’s birthday. So anyway, before it’s too late — HAPPY BIRTHDAY DUDE!

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When I was walking home from the forced overnight stay we did over at a hospital near our office, I was composing this blog entry in my head. I told myself I’d write those thoughts down when I get the necessary rest and time.

But then again, after 4 days, I can’t remember what to say anymore. I know that the terror I felt during the first 7.9 quake will never be erased in my mind and that will probably still be the most terrifying moment of my life (we were still inside our building during that one and we were on the ground watching the buildings sway during the massive 9.0 quake). I dunno, I’m not sure why I can’t exactly tell the story about that day. I’m pretty sure those people up north would blank out when they’re asked about their more horrifying experiences, too. Blank out or break out in hysterics or most likely just proceed about the whole thing calmly, like most Japanese people do.

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I’ve never been more thankful about Japan’s strict building codes and their awesome earthquake engineering. Buildings swayed like crazy, yes, but at the end of it all, they were still left standing tall.

Exception to that are those up north in the coastal prefectures — Miyagi, Ibaraki, Iwate, Fukushima. The quake didn’t destroy their buildings and homes — the massive tsunami did. 🙁