Japan Earthquake - in the eyes of my wife MABU"

WRONG....so very wrong ....foreboding.....gut feel,that's how I felt when my husband Patrick told me the whole Concepcion clan will be spending the weekend at Tokyo for some family business matters. First, no details were given to me and I felt uncompelled to blindly follow what I know nothing about...like going to war without ammunition,or so it seems being as bullheaded as I am. You see,the headstrong ,opinionated straightforward obsessive-compulsive person that I am ( I know this does'nt paint a good picture of me but its true nonetheless),want to always know what, where,when how,why. In hindsight I think that's why my husband never told me cause I might just dissect every detail like a frog in chloroform, equally essential is my over-mothering for my kids on a trip over analyzing what might happen given the out-of -the -comfort-zone scenario I get dark...secondly Cesco my daughter's exam was coming up and to make matters worse she developed a very bad dry cough ,thus major production of nebulizer,nebules .antitussive, etc..thirdly my parents just arrived from the states and i had to see to their needs since they are 80 year olds,also I was reluctant to go anywhere without Patricia my eldest who's a sophomore at Boston,lastly the constant challenges n my business and advocacies will be left hanging as I personally see and take care of every detail.

The foreboding and the very wrong mixed feelings were not about all the hesitance stated above ..well it was just there..way before he announced the trip, it was a nagging,persistent gut-feel at the pit of my solar-plexus!!! NOPE its not an afterthought or after-the-fact cause it happened... I told everyone that there's this wrong feeling about this trip...anyone who cared to listen including Patrick, as I said No we cant go as argument ensued..to cut it short as a wife I obliged..so off we went MARCH 11 8:00 am and arrived at Narita airport at 1:10pm,took an hour and a half to get to Tokyo peninsula hotel..slept soundly ...for the last time in Tokyo.

We reached the hotel and was ushered to our room 1814! YES on the 18th floor..good God my worst nightmare was about to begin...Patrick and Cesco once they reached the room marveled at the great Tokyo view ,whereas I being a bathroom fetish marveled at the toilet thats auto-shut,flush,bidet,massage,heat,dry,deodorizes...WOOHOO I'm in heaven!!!! As I called Pat and Cesco to share my ecstacy the room started to shake (rattle and roll???) "I screamed EARTHQUAKE!!!!" I pushed my family by the doorway being said that its the strongest structure of a building due to the posts,the intensity of the quake started to ascend as my prayer asking God to have mercy...and ok if we die can you just spare my daughter??? our prayer intensified as it reached crazy levels..we threw our bodies on top of Cesco for protection and prayed more...side to side up and down stronger and stronger then it stopped. The hotels P.A system started to blurt out something in japanese followed by broken english like a defective robot..well whatever we can take from that will suffice...the calming word that echoed in our brain was "no fire" and "building safe"! Then we started contacting family members learning later that some were stranded at Mt Fuji,Tokyo Disneyland and the subway.Then we started to get hungry but we were barred from leaving our room, as the language barrier of -no speak english, I started to make my own sign language to motion that we need food...putting my finger in my throat in which in comedic circumstances it would probably mean I'm bulimic and I'm ready to hurl!-ok I agree its not a funny situation...but the highlight was when everyone survived went to mass as a clan and ate a sumptuous dinner of Kobe beef like there's no tomorrow in which at that time was'nt anymore a figure of speech.

As we were all together after the mega-earthquake all alive, something in me became more subdued,more calm,less obsessive,less opinionated but more grateful,more thankful second after minute after hour and waking up daily with greater appreciation of what true wealth really is-your own personal relationship with God,your family and friends and the character in us that has been Christ-built through-out all circumstances,experience in our lives that polishes our soul to diamond perfection as protocol for our real home ...we may dare ask when???? In Gods time!!!!! Its great to be alive!!!

Magnitude 8.9 !!!!

I was glad the Hotel had Ball Bearings in the structure to prevent structure damage View from our room at the 18th floorJapanese Reporters wearing Helmets ?!!! Nuclear Reactor - Melt down !!!!

Elevator was down we had to take the stairs from the 18th floor to get out

Best Crapper in the World !!!

7 11 - Tokyo. All the food Gone !

Dinner Celebration with the Concepcion Clan - Thank you God for Saving us !!Turmoil in the Airport everybody wanted to get out