Wellington gets its shimmy on

Oh dear the shakes are back. We were just getting to the point of thinking life was back to normal when this afternoon around 2.30pm, a 6.5 hit. The shop rocked like it was on board an ocean liner. I dived under one of the big tables in the studio. It lasted a long time. That's the worst bit, when they go on and on.
Amazingly, noone else in the shop joined me. Mostly young students, they went outside for a bit then came back in and continued their purchases. Design students are tough!
Knowing there would be no customers, we rang the small shop and told Mel to lock up and go home. That part of town is full of government and corporations in high rise buildings, who get sent home on such occasions. With the trains and buses cancelled, town soon got gridlocked with cars. I had the car at work and managed to get home quite fast as it is not far.
David got sent home from his 24th floor office, so he took over the shop from Bruce. I was meant to be cutting out shirt samples at home (my leaving early was because of this not the quakes) but I was too freaked out to concentrate.
That was 8 hours ago. Since then we have been jolted, swayed, rocked and shaken almost constantly, from gentle tiny, barely perceptible shocks that make one wonder whether they happened or are just shaky legs, to deep, hard jolts and long deep rumbles that put my heart in my mouth and had me running for the doorway.

 From this website, I think we can all see that it's been a bumpy ride today!

Our beloved old factory apartment is perfectly fine. I know this, but I cannot rationalise away the fear. I wish for once we were in a nice one level wooden house built on rock!
I am a tough Wellingtonian born and bred. I grew up with earthquakes and they have never bothered me. But this, with the spectre of Christchurch still vivid, feels really bloody scary.
I have cut out one shirt now, even pattern matched the pocket, and I feel calmer. I hope that we are not awoken by a shake as sleep deprivation does not help at all!
I am eyeing the dining room table, and wondering if I could make a little nest under it to sleep in.....