A Whole Lot of Shakin' Going On

Hey there. If you follow me on Twitter, than I'm pretty sure you know that we had a shaker over here in Southern California. Nothing too serious, but it was a good jolt for about 10 seconds or so. First reports estimated it at a 4.7 magnitude quake, then it was a 5.0, then it went back to 4.7. lol I chuckled to myself at how the media blew the thing up. We live in Southern California, we have little quakes all the time so when the news makes it a big deal, I feel as if there's nothing better for them to report on. They had callers dial in to share their experiences and it was just funny how a lady said, "Nothing fell, except for my eye glasses". Then there was this other person who called in and stated that he lived in Southern California for 15+ years. The newswoman then asked him if he's ever experienced any quakes before. Oh man... Of course he has! Who hasn't that lives in this area! Sheesh.

My wife is terrified of quakes. She never got used to them so she was shaken up a bit. She was lying in bed with our little one, I was in the living room, and the kids were eating dinner at the table when it happened. The weird thing about this quake was that we were able to hear it before it started to shake. I don't think I've ever heard it before it actually happens so I stood up to react, but didn't really do anything until I knew for sure it was a quake. I told the kids to get under the dinner table and I ran towards the room to get my wife and little one. By the time I reached the room, she was already up holding our little one heading towards the door. Once we reached the living room, the shaking subdued. We all sat in the living room, including our dogs and cat, and we sat around waiting for the aftershocks. From what I read, we had a 2.something and 3.something aftershocks, but we didn't feel them. While watching the news, and twittering and sending messages, we talked to the kids about earthquake safety and what they should do in case we experience an aftershock in the middle of the night. I don't think our boy was too shaken up, though, if he was, he wasn't really showing it. Our girls were shaken up a bit. Our little one ended up sleeping in our bed last night, while the other was restless throughout the night. How do I know? Because my wife couldn't sleep either so she counted the times she saw our daughter pop her head out of her room. lol

It's funny how every time there is an earthquake in Southern California, talks of the "Big One" arise. I understand that we live near a pretty active fault line but when all you hear is "disaster is a coming! disaster is a coming", how can you expect the public to not panic? It's like saying that a meteor is going to hit Los Angeles. We have no idea when, but it's going to happen. So what? Am I supposed to live a life in fear keeping an eye out on sky for any ominous looking objects? If it happens, it happens. No matter how much I prepare for it, I'm either going to survive it, or not. Same deal with earthquakes. There's no amount of rations and water and what not that is going to prepare you for the "Earth opening up and swallowing half of the south land". There's is no way to be 100% earthquake proof. It's either you're going to be lucky enough to survive it or not. Can I increase my chances? Of course! I can pack our stuff and we can all move to where there are no earthquakes. But you know what? Natural disasters happen anywhere so no matter where we go, there's is always something that the media will force us to fear. Tornados, hurricanes, lightning storms, earthquakes, meteors, pink teddy bears, or maybe even the dreaded hefalumps. lmao I say, that as long as you're informed and have a plan of evacuation, there really isn't much more that can be done. With that being said, I'm planing on having another talk with the kids, just to make sure that they know what needs to be done if it happens again. Later.