Got my cherry popped tonight.....

My earthquake cherry that is.

So after five years in the Bay Area, I've finally actually felt an earthquake. There have been others, but I've never felt them for some reason. That ended tonight.

At 11:36 PM we had a 3.6 earthquake. Small by Bay Area standards. It was centered in San Leandro, just about 9 or 10 miles south of me. And I have to admit, it scared the shit out of me.

It started with a loud rumble from outside the house. That caught my attention and I looked up. Then all of a sudden the house shook as if something had hit it. And then I saw what looked like a wave going through the walls from one side of the room to the other. It was all very surreal.

It was all very quick. The whole event last maybe 3 or 4 seconds. But my heart was pounding for 4 or 5 minutes after that.

Of course none of this would have been a big deal if this had not been the first earthquake I had ever actually felt. A 3.6 doesn't even wake people up in the Bay Area.

And, by the way, that stuff about dogs being sensitive to earthquakes certainly doesn't seem accurate to me. My dog was totally oblivious before, during, and after.

I used to live in hurricane country, and it amazes me that people here are terrified at the thought of a hurricane. But the thing about hurricanes is you get plenty of warning that it's coming your way. This thing tonight happened totally without warning. And that's a hell of a lot more scary to me than a hurricane. Not to mention that it could have easily been a 7 instead of a 3.6.

Oh well, I guess I can now say I have officially arrived.