Fears.

Around Christmas time last year, my girlfriend paid us a visit to AK. We were all sitting in the living room of our apartment, being all festive and drinking rum and egg nog, when we felt a slight vibration. "Welcome to Alaska", I said, "you just witnessed your first earth........". But, before I could even finish the word, the entire 2-story, 8-apartment complex started shaking, more than slightly, and definitely more than we were used to. 

Now, before I go any further with this story, I must tell you that my biggest fear in the world is a building collapsing. I honestly have no idea where it came from, it truly is irrational and in a sense more of a phobia (but apparently one that remains unnamed). Feel free to call me a crazy person. Anyways, I'm sure you can imagine how terrified I was when the entire building started moving side to side.

The sway of the building felt like we were on a ride, having a hard time getting our balance. We heard cupboards banging and Steve's teammates in the apartments next door were screaming like they were on a roller coaster. Me? I was ready to make a run for the bathtub (because I've heard that's the safe place to go). But instead, I was glued to the floor with only a look of sheer panic on my face. My husband and girlfriend would probably tell you I was exaggerating, but to me, my worst fear was becoming a reality.

Seconds later, the swaying finally stopped. The building was still standing, but for almost an hour after, my heart was still racing at marathon speed. I had just faced my fear, whether it was intentional or not.

It turns out the earthquake was a 5.8 on the scale. And while that by far isn't the largest AK has seen, the good jolt came from the fact that the epicentre was only around 10 miles from our place. Thank goodness for engineers that know what they're doing in earthquake territory.  I think I will put my faith in them, earthquake territory or not, a little more.

What is your biggest fear? Have you ever faced it?