This morning I felt my first earthquake. 3.7 magnitude, not more than a few miles away. I was still in bed. Despite going to bed early, and drinking fluids, and all of those things, the remnants of having the flu are still kicking my ass. Coughing through the night meant I wasn’t sleeping. Not sleeping meant I turned the 5:30am alarm off and slept (on and off) until just before 7am when the bed shook and I could hear some things in the apartment rattling. Apparently there was a second earthquake (2.2 magnitude) shortly afterwards. I didn’t feel that one.
I’ve felt one other earthquake before. It struck somewhere in Maryland but could be felt where I was living in Pennsylvania. It was small. The internet tells me it was July 16, 2010. 3.6 magnitude. I didn’t so much as feel that one, but saw it. I was in my bedroom at the time. I think I was folding laundry or staring out a window or petting one of the cats. We had a long dresser that had a mirror attached to it. The mirror had some beads or a necklace hanging on it. I could see the mirror and the beads shake. Today’s quake was definitely felt. I’m pretty sure the headboard of my bed bumped against the wall. I was neither jostled nor jolted, but nudged. Wakey wakey, time to get up. Really, earthquakes get a bad rap. They just need a better tag line: “Earthquakes, nature’s alarm clock.”
I don’t have a lot to say about earthquakes. While I know they can be destructive and awful – this was not terror inducing. I got out of bed. Thought, “well, I can check that one off on the being a Californian bingo card.” I texted the folks back home “just experienced my first earthquake. 3.7” I made some coffee, made some frozen waffles, read the news. Awfulness piled upon awfulness with a side of indignity and a heaping pile of hypocrisy. Pretty much what I expect to consume from my daily news. Though a day late, I learned that it’s the 12th anniversary (technically yesterday) of the “This is Fine” comic… which, considering the fires in LA, a convicted felon about to assume the presidency, global catastrophe looming on political, economic, and environmental fronts, and a minor earthquake in my back yard feels fitting.
