a taster.

Yup, you never know until you've experienced it yourself.

This morning, just about 7.55am, we woke up to the door rattling, to a constant rhythm. Mel got up, thinking someone was knocking. Me, I was stunned. Because besides hearing the door, I felt the bed rocking, to the same rhythm as the door. I was like, what the hell? Plus, we just woke up, all dazed and easily disillusioned. I even thought that for some reason, my alarm clock was rocking the house down, trying to wake me up. But NO, of course not. When I got out of bed however, I didn't feel any obvious tremors whatsoever, although I expected it. But the door kept on its peculiar rhythm, almost poltergeist-like. Even after Mel opened it, and closed it, it went on. I did the same thing, closed it, but held it against the doorframe, released, and it was gone.

Door rattling isn't something new for us NTU hostel folks. Live-firing beside our campus often cause our doors to rattle and our curtains to pulse with the bomb beats. But those were just one-off rattles and pulses. This morning, it was to a constant rhythm.

Basically, it freaked me out abit. My first thought had been supernatural alarm clock, followed by earthquake. Then I was like, earthquake? Here, in Singapore? Maybe I'd be less surprised if I had perchance hopped down to the TV lounge to catch some news. Well, I'd never, but anyhow. I was informed later that there was an earthquake in Indonesia, but that was last night! In any case, most recent news confirmed that there WAS a 2nd one that hit Indonesia around 7.45am. So it took about 10 minutes or so, to reach us.

I'm just thinking that, with such relatively super-mild tremors, no, vibrations, I could be struck with some fear. What more, for those who receive the full impact? Who could find peace in the violent tremors, and in its aftermath?

I wonder if I'd have felt different, if I had instead woken up at 7.30am and gone through all that wide-awake.