an explosion = ?

so today . . . i thought we were having another earthquake, but we weren't.

i guess no matter where you live, there are unique cultural things. (i'm sorry. i know "things" is not the very best word to use there. but i am soooo tired--you know, graduation last night and then all day at adventure city with my kindergarteners today. i'm exhausted! i wasn't even going to blog, since it is wednesday, but then i heard the explosions and had to blog . . . but, i cannot promise that my choice of vocabulary is going to be up to my normal standards.)

when we first moved to california, i was not convinced it was going to be a place i wanted to live. i thought it was going to be one big traffic jam with air so smoggy you could see it and gangs on every corner. thankfully, that is not what it turned out to be, but that was my initial expectation. i hadn't been here very long, when one night i heard a sharp explosion. "GUNSHOTS!!" was my initial thought. as luck would have it, i was home alone. i ran around the house, closing windows, making sure the doors were locked and setting the alarm--which should be the normal state of things, but i didn't know that yet. i just knew there was going to be a gang confrontation right outside our front door and we were all going to die, just because we had moved to california. (well, we weren't all going to die. i was home alone. but clearly i wasn't thinking all that rationally.)

the next day i looked in the news, but there was no mention of the hail of gunfire i had heard. hmmm, i thought. maybe it is so common place that they don't even report shootouts here! but there were no shell casings in the street either, which as anyone who watches tv knows, are a byproduct of a shootout. i asked someone about it a few days later, and they said, "oh, that was probably just the fireworks from the high school graduation."

what? fireworks at the high school graduation? i guess that could be what it was . . .

the next summer, in the middle of june, i heard the explosions again. "GUNSHOTS!" i yelled. i had to yell, because we had company visiting and i didn't want anyone to be hit by a stray bullet. i was thinking we should all hit the deck and maybe someone should call 9-1-1. then rollie reminded me about the fireworks. i peeked out an upstairs window and noticed that all the neighbors were standing around looking at the sky. and then the sky lit up with a burst of fireworks . . . followed by a boom that sounded suspiciously like a gunshot to me.

the next summer, when i heard the big BOOM, i am sorry to say i still thought gunshot. but i quickly remembered the fireworks, and instead of throwing myself on the floor, i ran outside with the rest of the neighbors to enjoy the show.

i now know that the likelihood that i will hear gunshots in my neighborhood is virtually non-existent. so every june when i hear the explosions, i remember that it is time for my own personal fireworks show.

that is, until today.

because a couple of days ago we had an earthquake. it was small. it only lasted a few seconds, and i barely felt the movement. but it began with a loud BOOM. i've only felt one other earthquake here in socal, and that was the one on easter sunday. i don't remember a boom with that one, but the movement lasted for a couple of minutes. I don't want the probability of an earthquake to dictate my choices, and yet, there are times when i think about it. occasionally when i go to bed i will think, "what if there is an earthquake tonight?" and then i put my laptop in the trunk of my car and my handbag right by my bed . . .

. . . just in case, because you never know.

of course, since i don't do this every night, odds are that when we do have an earthquake, it is going to hit on a night when nothing is where it belongs, which will make it hard to find stuff in the rubble . . . (you see how my mind works? i mean, i don't sit around worrying about this stuff, but sometimes i have 'disaster' thoughts. i blame all those disaster movies that were popular during the formative years of my youth--especially "the poseidon adventure.") but i digress . . .

so tonight i was sitting here on the couch, sorting all the photos i took at adventure city today, when i heard a loud BOOM. and this time, i didn't think gunshot. but i also didn't think fireworks. this time i thought EARTHQUAKE!!!

i sat very still. i watched the dogs (which wasn't really all that helpful, because they seem to be totally unaffected by earthquakes--they just keep on sleeping.) i heard another BOOM and then another one. then i thought gunshots. (i see this as an improvement. at least my mind doesn't immediately go to violence.) then mia came running into the room, her body on alert. and that's when i knew. it had to be fireworks.

because my highly strung "guard" dog will sleep right through an earthquake, she quivers and shakes in fear when it rains, but she is all about defending the house when she hears . . . fireworks.

after i heard a few more BOOMS, and the crackling that follows a fireworks explosion, i went out to enjoy the show . . . and quickly noticed that the car alarm was going off on a car across the street. the force of the explosion had apparently set it off. no one came running out to check on it, and after about five minutes it stopped.

good to know. apparently car alarms do not continue indefinitely. and now that i know that, my criminally inclined mind is formulating a plan . . .

so the good news is, i have progressed. i have grown. gunshots are not my first option when i hear an explosion in the middle of june. i no longer think the evils of southern california culture are out to get me. i have adjusted and even embraced much of this culture. i defend it to my rain-soaked friends up north. in fact, i hope i never have to live anywhere else!

but the bad news is "the big one" is still out there. somewhere. it is just waiting to catch me off guard.

who knows . . .

so today . . . i have been thinking earthquakey thoughts.

a couple of weeks ago we had an earthquake, and our plan was to sort of earthquake-proof the house over the weekend. but we didn't. because, you know, stuff happens and we got sidetracked (and went to the movies.)

but we live in earthquake territory, so it is probably a good idea to be prepared. and yet it isn't realistic to just pack up everything because, you know, we LIVE here. but there seems to be some growing support for the idea that "the big one" is probably on it's way. and so it seems reasonable to me to do what i can to protect the things that are important to me. just in case.

i was home today, because i have pink eye. my morning did not get off to a good start--i couldn't open my eyes! i had to grope my way to the bathroom sink to unstick them. and on the way, it became very clear to me that i also had a killer headache. so i took some tylenol, put antibiotic drops in my eyes, and went back to bed. and started thinking about, "what if there was an earthquake today?"

really. what if there was an earthquake today? what would i want to save? my initial answer was easy--i thought of three things. the more i thought about it, the more i thought that maybe i should do what i could to make those items safe. so i did. but then as i looked around, i thought, "but what about the big round mirror? and the signed print? and the stained glass we got in mexico for our 25th anniversary?" it was pretty easy to take care of those things, so i did. then i thought, "would i need clothes? skin care products? and what about that kind of expensive hand lotion i just got--i would hate to lose that in the rubble. and maybe i should pack a toothbrush--just in case." so i put a few things in a small bag and put it by my bed. just in case.

and then i made a small stack of books to put into a drawer. and i moved the dolls my mom made for diandra into my dad's old sea chest, hoping that would be enough protection for them. i put some water bottles and the dog's leashes into the car, along with my external hard drive. then i went into the kitchen . . .

. . . and i just stood there. i have a lot of dishes and glassware. and many times dishes and glassware are the first casualties of an earthquake. but as i stood there in the kitchen at 10:30 p.m. tonight, i realized that i couldn't save it all. i walked around the house and realized that if there is an earthquake tonight, our tvs will be smashed on the floor. our framed photographs will lie in puddles of broken glass. my wedding china and christmas dishes will be history. my coke bottles from other countries will be intermingled with glass from broken windows. all those clothes that i have so carefully been organizing will probably be ripped and ruined. and even the few things that i boxed up and put into relative safety might not survive in one piece.

i have found that my thinking has shifted several times today. it has been kind of unsettling. i need to go to bed, but it seems like i'm not ready yet. because really, what if there is an earthquake? tonight?

maybe i should vacuum . . .

a day of discussions . . .

so today . . . was an exciting day at school. we talked about earthquakes, rain, and new glasses.

yesterday we had an earthquake. well, technically WE didn't have an earthquake. the earthquake was in mexicali, mexico, but we felt it here. it was a very strange feeling. i have been so excited to actually feel an earthquake, and yesterday i did. and then i promptly forgot about it.

this morning i had other issues on my mind, until the first little dumpling came into my room. he was so excited to tell me all about the "earfquake." this pattern repeated itself all morning, which led to a discussion about what to do if we have an earthquake at school.

midway through the morning, we were interrupted by the sound of rain on our windows. this is not small feat, since we are in a basement and our windows are at ground level. it was raining hard! and since we rarely have rain like that during the day, it was distracting. but i knew that it was supposed to clear up by late morning, so that led to a discussion about rainbows. we watched for a rainbow all morning, but with our small, ground level windows we didn't get to see one . . .

and then . . . new glasses came to school today on the face of one of my little boys. he came in so non-challantly, like "yeah, i'm wearing glasses, and now i am even more cool than i was before!" and yet, i could see a little bit of hesitation too, like "are they going to buy it? will they think i am cool? or just dorky?" so to diffuse the situation, we talked about it. i told him how cool i thought they looked and asked if he could see better when wearing them. he tilted his head to the side, thought for a moment, and then said, "no, everything looks smaller!" it was funny to watch him adjusting to them. he was having some problems, because he is korean and the bridge of his nose hasn't developed much yet, so trying to keep his glasses up on his nose was a challenge! they kept sliding down to the end of his nose, but he didn't really know what to do about it, so he would look out over the top of them. until he remembered that he was supposed to be looking through them, and then he would tip his head way back so he could see through the lenses. it was hilarious!

and that about sums up my day--pretty low key and uneventful. but you know, sometimes low key and uneventful is preferable to stressful and full of drama.

goodness knows i've had plenty of those days lately . . .

i feel the earth. move. under my feet.

so today . . . we had an earthquake. i think.

it happened around 4:00 a.m. i was sound asleep, and probably would have remained that way, except rollie woke me up with these words: "WE'RE HAVING AN EARTHQUAKE!!" at least, that is how it sounded to me . . .

rollie, along with many others, is expecting that "the big one" is going to hit LA any day now, and so, being the boy scout that he is, he is always on alert.

i am not. on alert, that is. i woke up just long enough to hear the windows rattling and think, " i'm glad the curtains are closed, so that when the windows break the glass won't fall on me." and then i went back to sleep.

rollie did not. i'm sure as soon as he felt the shaking begin, survival plans started forming in his mind. and it was probably a little bit hard to go back to sleep after that . . .

i wish i had awakened a bit more or that the earthquake had lasted a little longer, because i don't really remember how it felt. i do remember thinking, "i need to wake up! i am finally here for an earthquake and i need to experience it!" don't misunderstand--i am not a fan of earthquakes, because i have seen the damage they can do. but i admit i am a little bit fascinated by solid ground MOVING!

when we moved to california nine years ago, i was not thrilled. i loved the pacific northwest--all the green, the mountains, the ocean, the wide open spaces, the clean air . . . and i pictured southern california as clogged, congested, cramped, and brown, with air that was barely breathable. i expected traffic, concrete, sales tax, and earthquakes. i did not expect to like it. at all.

but i do. i love the sunshine and moderate temperatures. i love the palm trees and exotic flowers. i love the energy that comes from the people, and yes, even the traffic. (ok, that's a lie. i don't love the traffic, but i have learned to deal with it.) although we have lived in different parts of the country, we have always found something to love about wherever we were. and there are many things to love about southern california. although, earthquakes may not be one of them.

i think i remember being in an earthquake as a little girl. we lived in vancouver, washington at the time, and i was walking home from school. and the earth moved. it only lasted a few seconds, but i still remember that feeling of the earth shifting under my feet. i think. or maybe i just dreamed it, because it was a very loooong time ago, and vancouver, washington is not the earthquake capitol of the country.

california is--at least it seems that way to me. but they never occur when i am here to feel them. there have been a few small quakes here in the last nine years, but always when i am out of town! i joke about my presence being the only thing keeping southern california safe from earthquake disaster. but apparently my earthquake repellant tendancies are only effective when i am awake. which i clearly was not at 4 a.m.

before rollie went to work this morning, he came in to talk to me for a few minutes. i knew we were going to talk about the earthquake. this is the conversation that i envisioned.

"do you remember that we had an earthquake last night?"
"of course i do! you woke me up to tell me about it!!"
"well, you weren't moving! do you even know what to do if there is an earthquake?!"
"yes, i know. but it is a little hard to move to safety if one is asleep!"
"THAT'S WHY I WOKE YOU UP!!!"

i'm kind of cranky in the morning, so the conversations in my head tend to be a little snarky. of course, in real life we never talk to each other like that. the actual conversation went something like this.

"did you feel the earthquake last night?"
"no, but i heard the windows rattling. i just thought it was the wind."
"nope--it was an earthquake."
"you know, if 'the big one' hits at night when i am asleep, you may have to just push me off the bed and onto the floor. because i might not wake up."

we are much nicer in real life than in my head . . .

later i asked him about diandra, because i didn't know if she had been awakened by the shaking or not. i would have expected her to come flying out of her room. but of course since i was asleep . . . he said she did wake up, but when she came out into the hallway and saw that mia wasn't going berserk, she figured that everything was ok. considering that rain reduces mia to a shivering mass of white fur, diandra said, "i guess mia thinks that rain is more dangerous than an earthquake." yes, mia is a california dog.

of course, it was only a 4.4 quake. rollie emailed his mom to let her know that we were all ok, and she hadn't even heard about it! i guess a 4.4 quake in socal is not all that newsworthy.

there are predictions that last night's quake was an indicator of more to come. my prediction is that my weekend is now going to be different than before the earthquake. i predict that rollie is going to spend saturday securing the tvs to the walls, stashing bottled water all over the house, and maybe even installing latches on all the cabinets. because he is a boy scout and must always be prepared!

at lunch time i was teasing him about the look on his face when it happened. "you couldn't even see my face! it was dark! and you were asleep!" he said. "i know," i replied, "but i know what your face looked like--it had that 'on alert' look that you have." "you are mocking me!" he said. "yeah, i am. i just think it is so funny how we react to a crisis. you immediately react and start making a plan, and i just sleep through it." "you can sleep through it," he said, "because you know i will take care of you."

which is true. i have absolute confidence that if "the big one" hits in the middle of the night, rollie will push me off the bed . . . to safety, of course :)