Sitting at my computer today in sunny Carson City, suddenly my online media began to shake, rattle, and roll. Well, not quite. But there was quite a flurry of sudden posts about the 5.8 quake that hit Virginia earlier today.
Haven't heard about it yet? You must live under a rock. Or in California, where earthquakes are abundant and less exciting than when Specialty's Warm Cookie Radar sends out an alert.
I don't mean to bag on our fine East Coast friends. After all, there was some damage done (some of the spires fell off the National Cathedral!) and after living in the nation's capital city for three years, I know the heightened fears of attacks that come along with being a resident of a terrorist target region. But some of the panic seems a little over the top.
While I can't help but be slightly amused by the mass freak out going on back east, I'm also a tad disappointed that I missed it! It's been over three years since my last earthquake, and something about those shakers make me feel at home.
I still remember the last "larger" quake I felt, which was very similar in size to the one in D.C. today. It was October 30, 2007. I was at work (yes, at 8:00pm) on the 31st floor of a high-rise building in downtown San Francisco. The building started to sway. I looked up from my computer screen, realized it was a quake, gchatted a friend "quake!", and then continued to work away. Didn't even jump under my desk. But I guess after you live through a Loma Prieta quake as a kid, the things start to scare you less...
Four years is a long time to go without feeling the earth shake and I wish I could have been there for this one. But alas, I don't fly back east until Friday -- just in time to welcome Hurricane Irene. Never a dull weather moment on the East Coast!
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