In the city of brotherly love yesterday, while others tweeted their earthquake drama, one person found true love. Via Craigslist, Disaster Cupid also shot arrows in other cities affected by the 5.8 shaker.
But let's go to that first instance, shall we? We can see it unfolding like a scene in a movie: in the background, the familiar strains of Carole King's "I feel the Earth move" begin softly as a 25-year-old man stands at the corner of 15th and Walnut. As the quake suddenly rocks this part of the world, the song reaches a crescendo in its chorus, "I feel the earth move under my feet, I feel the sky tumbling down, tumbling down," as he locks eyes with a blonde in a blue shirt and jeans.
And just like that, fate has thrown true love up for grabs.
The man struck by Cupid's arrow rushed onto the "Missed Connections" section of Craigslist (note the time stamp: 2:31 p.m., only a half hour after the lovebug hit him) to try to find his destiny and wrote, "You know those moments where you believe it's true love, I think this is it because it felt like the earth was moving."
We don't know whether to wish him luck or tell him to shake it off. If you were the blonde, would you take this as a sign?
(Thanks, Buzzfeed, for spotting this and spurring more curiosity to find more examples.)
He wasn't the only one using the earthquake as a pickup opportunity. Others took to their local Craigslist to try to find the one that got away.
Under the heading, "Our Eyes Met During the Earthquake - m4w - 29 (Old City, Philadelphia)" this lovestruck fella had this to say:
It was magic, really.
I'd just run out of my office in Old City and stood waiting with my coworkers, a few of whom were smoking, playing on their phones, etc... when I saw you, calm and collected, exiting your building.
For a moment you were looking straight at me, your bright eyes lit up and wide open. You were either wide eyed with terror due to the rumbling of the Earth beneath your feet, or you had just locked eyes with me. I choose to believe it was the second bit.
If that was the case, drop me a line. I'd write a dirty give-you-aftershocks line here, but I'm way too classy for that.
Unlike our other guy, this one waited until after 9 p.m. to try his luck on "Missed Connections."
Richmond didn't yield any thunderbolts of love during yesterday afternoon's quake, but in the Big Apple, there was definitely something something going on.
"Earthquakes & Empanadas - m4w - 26 (SoHo)" had this to say shortly after 3 p.m.: "Me - black shirt, nervous energy, twisting a copy of daily Variety in my hands. You - Sparkling eyes and beautiful smile. Excellent fashion sense. Girls never make me nervous...but you did. I couldn't even properly flirt with you. Maybe I was shaken up by the earthquake after all..."
In DC, the earth moving inspired this note from "Metro blue line post-earthquake - m4w - 31 (~L'Enfant Plz. to Pentagon City)": "We were two of the sardines on a blue line train rolling through DC and NoVA circa 4 PM. You had red hair, freckles, and were wearing a gray t-shirt (and I believe an engagement/wedding ring...not that that's a deterrent). We made some severe eye contact on many occasions before you got off at Pentagon City. Would love to see your face again!"
Good to know the engagement/wedding ring is not a deterrent, by the way. (Sheesh.)
In Vienna, Va., a building evacuation could also spell romance:
"It's too bad that it took an Earthquake and our building to be evacuated for me to see you for the first time. Our building number is 8614 and my company takes up most of the building. I was very busy when I noticed you so it made it that much harder for me to try to talk to you. If you happen to seethis, let me know what I was wearing that was kind of unique."
Let us know if you find out what he was wearing.
But let's end on this note from "You, Red Dress, Screaming - m4w - 33 (14th & K)" because it made my morning:
You were outside your office screaming that Jesus was coming and Armageddon was upon us. It seems the earthquake had really shaken you emotionally and all I wanted to do was console you. Well, that and have dirty hard core sex. Your screaming really turned me on so I hope you read this and get in touch. Safe word: Penguins
Me: 6'1, blonde, blue eyes and leather Ricky Martin pants.
More stories:
- East coast earthquake beat bin Laden (in tweets per second)
- Twitter uses #earthquake to mock Nature's wrath, you
- Small quake has big reach
Check out Technolog on Facebook, and on Twitter, follow Athima Chansanchai, who is also trying to keep her head above water in the Google+ stream.