panic

what's going onnnn??? what's happennnninnng???

my coworkers and i were just having lunch at a grill, after we let every1 in our department return home to their families after the earthquake earlier, and i just went to the washroom, and when i returned to our table, everybody was gone and rushing out of the place.

there was 1 waiter who screamed "run!" at customers. "oh, wait," he stopped 1, "you didn't pay yet!" lol.

then i spotted 1 of my coworkers at the counter, still paying, calm but clearly rationalizing. "hey, what's going on?" i asked him. "run!" he said. "no, what about you?" i asked. "just run!" he demanded. so i did. i rushed out of the grill and found people hurrying into their cars and people running for their lives.

before i could ask any1 what was going on, some1 pushed me. damn korean. hehe. i looked back and saw that he even left his friends behind. if a white guy with a funny accent didn't help me up, i would be crushed by the SUV in my face or by the people stampeding behind me. "go, go!" he said, and i ran without even thanking him.

hysteria. it was mass hysteria. people were coming from 1 direction and running to the hilly part of the city. it was awesome because it was like a scene from a disaster movie, and at the same time, it wasn't because every1 was super scared.

"water! there's water!" a stranger finally answered. he was quickly taking his shoes off and putting on wellingtons.

my friends were all i could think of. because i know my family's safe in the hills where we live: my parents picked my kid sister up from school earlier, and every1 else is home. so i thought about my friends, looking for them as i spun around and 'round.

"ace! ace!" a coworker called out. "where're the others?" i asked, now somewhat hyperventilating. she said they all left, our coworkers, our boss, everybody. "let's go!" she said. we started running, holding each other's hand. she obviously had her little daughter in mind because she kept saying her name as we braved the sea of people rushing forward.

the funny thing was that i knew i was about to have an attack. i tried so hard not to have an attack, and just keep running. not right now, i told my heart. i really forced it, and it kind of worked! lol.

it was then we found another coworker. "hey, (insert name here)!" i called out. "let's cross the street!" he shouted from a distance. "c'mon, run!" and we ran, the 3 of us. how we didn't get run over by vehicles is still a mystery. when drivers saw people running for their lives, they were like, "hey, c'mon, i'm driving to the hills!" but when they saw the sudden traffic jam, they abandoned their jeepneys in the middle of the road and ran with the crowd. it was crazy!

we ran and ran, not even sure of what we're running away from. people were saying stuff about a tsunami, and every1's seen enough videos of the 1s in japan and indonesia and thailand, so no1 bothered to look if there really is water coming after us. who would wanna look back, ne???

now i'm in the office with a few worried coworkers. the others, we're still calling on their cellphones. my battery is low. i just talked to my mom who was surprisingly calm, and i'm still waiting for the water people were screaming about. lol.

to tell you the truth, i'm not scared because i don't know what's really going on. and i know you'll think it's sick that i think this is sort of fun because it's like being in a disaster movie, but i really hope every1 is safe.