Something in the way the earth moves

Maybe it's just an inner ear thing

I don’t faint at the sight of blood, so I guess I’m somewhere in the middle of the spectrum of folks who don’t like needles. But I have a weirdly specific fear when I’m getting bloodwork done. In the moments while I’m attached by my veins to the big bloodsucking machine, my main thought is: what if there’s an earthquake right now?

The idea strikes me as preposterous—earthquakes aren’t a Newfoundland thing, right? Okay, a quick Google search just set me straight on that one, but the possibility of an earthquake during a blood draw at St. Clare’s Mercy Hospital has never been on my radar. For all I knew, it was as far-fetched as fearing a cockroach invasion.

The Rio-Antirion Bridge spans the entry to the Gulf of Corinth. Its design incorporates innovations that enable it to withstand the effects of the“severe” seismic activity in the region.

I’ve been Googling “earthquake Corfu” all week because of an odd sensation I’m repeatedly having. I’m sitting still and suddenly feel as if I’m on a boat. Not nausea-inducing dizzyness, just a slight sense of spatial fluidity. Is it some tectonic movement in the earth or just some cilia shifting in my inner ear—I am just getting over that big ol’ cold.

So, I’d been having this sensation for a while and checked online several days in a row for nearby earthquakes. And then, like Lurch appearing with his catchphrase, “You rang?”, the earth actually shook me awake Friday morning at 7:20.