Earthquakes. In Colorado we don't get earthquakes. Or at least not ones that a normal person, or small animal (like our cats) actually notice and feel. No, in Colorado we prefer our tornadoes, or a good blizzard. Growing up in Colorado, you are taught how to prepare for both of these. I know the what and hows of good safe driving in the Winter, and have heard what to do if an oncoming crazy lightening/rain shower or tornado hits near me in the middle of the summer (which has happened).
But earthquakes. Hmph. Have NO experience. So this last Tuesday..I was taken completely off guard. Yes, before we moved Doug and I did talk about how California is more susceptible to earthquakes. But let's face it, can a couple refuse to move to a new state because they are afraid of a little ground shaking? It's just one more of the things in Cali you have to get used to here, that eventually, if you stick around long enough you might get to experience the ground rumbling.
That doesn't mean on Tuesday, when it happened I was prepared. That day I was sitting at my desk, in my office in Arcadia (close to Pasadena for those of you not familiar with Southern California) right before lunch. My co-worker/friend Sandee and myself were having a discussion (although it has since slipped my mind what it was about). Suddenly, it felt like a heard of buffaloes and elephants ran past the outer edge of my cubicle. Like about 800 poor souls running past to a meeting they were incredible late for. I felt myself pausing in the middle of whatever I was saying to Sandee, and cocking my eyes above my cubicle wall, trying to find the culprits. I mean after all, this WAS a work environment.
Then it honestly hit me. This wasn't a herd of small baby elephants. I was feeling these vibrations underneath my feet. I was watching my little stuffed animals on my shelf fall to my desk. Holy crap..I was experiencing an earthquake!
Sandee told me later she watched my eyes get perpetually bigger. Like somehow watching the light switch go on in my brain, suddenly making me aware of what I was feeling, hearing. It's weird, considering we felt the vibrations for probably only about 5-10 minutes. A bunch of employees of my office probably weren't even there, since it was lunchtime. Yet for the next few hours that is all we all talked about. What we should have done to protect ourselves (running outside in frenzy like I ALMOST did is definitely not the smart thing to do), to where the earthquake had hit (for the record it was centered in Chino Hills...a community about 10 minutes east of our condo here in Covina, and within 5 miles of Doug's Pomona plant). And, I will be fair....I was easily freaked out and a ball of nerves for about an hour after that.
Most true native Californians I work with said this quake wasn't too bad. First reports were that it was 5.8. They downgraded it to 5.4 a few hours later. For a kid from another state, those numbers seemed high. But everyone warned me anything in the 5's is still manageable. Nothing compared to the 6.7 that hit and is still talked about, the famous Northridge Quake.
The other group that noticed the difference though, our cats. Poor Sienna and Joey. Neither have had to weather (ha ha.good pun) any natural disasters other than watching the snow pile up in the backyard during the bad blizzards of '06 a few years back. So when the quake hit both who normally waste away their days sleeping in various rooms of our condo, were shaken. Doug came home early that day and said he couldn't find either of them for hours. Both have taken turns hiding in the cabinets, laying at the very top of the cabinets, high above our fridge and have spent time staring off towards the east (Doug's theory for that is that they are still feeling aftershocks that us humans don't feel, and are looking to the east, (where Chino Hills, where the epicenter hit, sits in relation to our condo)
So, in all, chalk another truly California experience for the Milligans. In true California fashion after a bit of talking about it, relating our experiences about it things have gone back to normal. IN fact that night I did my typical Tuesday night run at the Rose bowl without really thinking about earlier in the day. I am hoping I don't have to experience another one of those while we are out here. But at least I can say...I felt the earth move..under my feet (btw...I heard that song playing over and over again in my head that day. Chalk that up to my mom playing WAY too much Carol King when I was growing up ;)
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