The thing that really is blowing my mind is… #japan

I closed my blinds last night and got to thinking about Japan. In bed with iPad & Android, I looked outside, the lake was calm.  I said goodnight to Twitter. I don’t usually do that, I often leave like an irish goodbye.

I said goodbye because I love my friends and in the back of my head I know that so many people in Japan woke up Friday morning and never got a chance to say goodbye. They woke up to their houses and lives right fucked up. I can only imagine that happening. There is no word to explain how is makes me feel when I watch those videos over and over. It’s like a movie but it’s not a movie, its real.

The world trade centre, that was real. We all remember that day. I remember lots of other stuff in my life but that WTC stands out as something totally monumental, like Japan. I will never get any of these images out of my head. The water rushing over the city, the planes crashing into the buildings. Yes, one distaster was man made and one natural but to me, they are the biggest I’ve ever seen.

The thing that really is blowing my mind is the severity, scale and consequences of it all.

How the hell do you fix a first world nation that’s been shaken, stirred and radiated? Japan was pretty much run through the dishwasher. There’s going to be a massive ripple affect on society from this. Japan is home to vehicles and electronics that WE love. It is the third largest national economy in the world after US and China in GDP & purchasing power parity (aka PPP if you forgot). I read on Bloomberg.com that Cannon, Sony, Panasonic, Toyota, Honda, Sapporo have all suspended production. I love Sapporo! I have a Cannon!

Never have I ever seen something so massive and destructive my entire life, but then again none of us have. There was no YouTube, no live blog, no twitter when I was young. The world has changed.

I’m suddenly reminded of school, I have a B.Comm Degree in International Business & a Diploma in Marketing. I love learning and the world economy. Blogging is all about learning, so is the internet. The curious ones learn to use and share it and they get ahead. I’m really interested to see what happens now and how the situation in Japan affects and brings the world together. I really hope it gets better and not worse. The amount of after shocks and rising death toll are scary. I’m thankful to live in Canada. Canada has a long standing history of being friends with Japan and I want to help.

A Toronto fundraising event, JapanQuakeTO, is being organized for March 31 for victims of Japan. Imagine we ALL buy a ticket and donate a prize that goes up for silent auction. Think about how much stuff that is, lots. I can’t just sit here and not do something. Last year over 200 people attended HaiHaiTO in support of Haiti and I was proud to be part of that team.

I’m ready to do it again.