So tonight, I am lying on top of my bed, curled up under my favorite quilt, reading a book. My bed is up against a wall, and my pillows are propped up against the wall. All of sudden, the wall feels like jello, and the bed feels like a water bed. I am not kidding. It was over so fast I wondered if I had just imagined it. Mike was on the computer in the other room, and all of a sudden he runs in and asks if I felt that. Yes, I most certainly did feel that.
According to earthquake.usgs.gov, there WAS in fact an earthquake in northern California tonight, a 5.2 magnitude to be exact. It was, however, 35 miles east of where I am, which is essentially the middle of nowhere. No damage has been reported, just shaking. Of this, I can personally attest.
It's a bit exciting and a bit frightening, really more frightening than exciting. This was my first earthquake experience, and frankly I'd like it to stay that way. It was so light that the hutch full of Mike's glass art just made a racket, but nothing fell or moved around. So, yeah. Earthquakes. Guess I really do live in California. Being surrounded by cows, sometimes I wonder.
Tuesday, April 29, 2008
My Nomadic Life
"The only constant is change," Mike said to me this morning.
I'm about to turn 27 and I'm nowhere near where I thought I'd be in life. I am, however, in transition, again. Again.
Oh, it's good, I am sure. But that does not make it any easier in the moment. Most of the time though it feels like I can barely keep my goals in mind, let alone begin to accomplish them.
Do you ever feel like life is just a rat race to keep up, pay the bills just in time for another month to roll around and start all over again, finally get into a regular exercise routine just in time to catch some stupid flu bug that makes me bedridden for weeks on end, and then when I do get back to work it's crunch time before the biggest deadline of the year, so I'm working 12- to 14-hour shifts everyday and suddenly months later I realize I haven't been taking care of myself properly, again. And am paying for it.
Since moving here I have lost touch with nearly all my friends from Wisconsin, and barely keep up with talking to some of my family members on a semi-regular basis.
I try and try and try just to be knocked down over and over again. I try to maintain positivity, but sometimes that gets old, you know?
I heard a song on the radio that included the lyric that without hope a person will die in three minutes. So that's a relief; I guess it means I have some hope in me yet. Since I'm not dead and all.
I think I worry that if I am in the same routine too long that I will begin to feel bored. But then I feel exhausted and overwhelmed when I take on all these new endeavors, neglect the important relationships in my life, and then eventually abandon the new endeavors, and am right back to where I started, except maybe even a little worse off.
Some people make it all look so easy. I wish I were one of THOSE people. Do lovely thoughts about your loved ones count for something? They don't equal phone calls, emails and letters, of that I'm sure.
On a less melodramatic note, I have been learning how to make pretty glass things, and have even made a few pendants. (OK, I have STARTED a few pendants, Mike has finished both of them because I haven't quite got that bale loop technique down yet. But I'm working on it.) So, that is fun. And of course, there is that plane ticket back to Wisconsin to look forward to. And the weather is pretty great outside right now. At least for the last five minutes. I think maybe I have been sitting at this computer too long and just need to go out there and get some fresh air.
I'm about to turn 27 and I'm nowhere near where I thought I'd be in life. I am, however, in transition, again. Again.
Oh, it's good, I am sure. But that does not make it any easier in the moment. Most of the time though it feels like I can barely keep my goals in mind, let alone begin to accomplish them.
Do you ever feel like life is just a rat race to keep up, pay the bills just in time for another month to roll around and start all over again, finally get into a regular exercise routine just in time to catch some stupid flu bug that makes me bedridden for weeks on end, and then when I do get back to work it's crunch time before the biggest deadline of the year, so I'm working 12- to 14-hour shifts everyday and suddenly months later I realize I haven't been taking care of myself properly, again. And am paying for it.
Since moving here I have lost touch with nearly all my friends from Wisconsin, and barely keep up with talking to some of my family members on a semi-regular basis.
I try and try and try just to be knocked down over and over again. I try to maintain positivity, but sometimes that gets old, you know?
I heard a song on the radio that included the lyric that without hope a person will die in three minutes. So that's a relief; I guess it means I have some hope in me yet. Since I'm not dead and all.
I think I worry that if I am in the same routine too long that I will begin to feel bored. But then I feel exhausted and overwhelmed when I take on all these new endeavors, neglect the important relationships in my life, and then eventually abandon the new endeavors, and am right back to where I started, except maybe even a little worse off.
Some people make it all look so easy. I wish I were one of THOSE people. Do lovely thoughts about your loved ones count for something? They don't equal phone calls, emails and letters, of that I'm sure.
On a less melodramatic note, I have been learning how to make pretty glass things, and have even made a few pendants. (OK, I have STARTED a few pendants, Mike has finished both of them because I haven't quite got that bale loop technique down yet. But I'm working on it.) So, that is fun. And of course, there is that plane ticket back to Wisconsin to look forward to. And the weather is pretty great outside right now. At least for the last five minutes. I think maybe I have been sitting at this computer too long and just need to go out there and get some fresh air.
Monday, April 28, 2008
I can no longer afford to drive my car
Gas prices locally are $4.09. Can anyone beat that? I surely hope not! So now I have set up a home office and I'm playing a game called "let's pretend I don't own a car." It's been interesting so far, to say the least. The weather has been pleasant and quite warm for the most part, but if it starts pouring I think the game is over. Well, not completely. I do have a nice umbrella and a bus pass and it's been quite fun to wander around with a backpack pretending I'm a college student or something. But seriously, $4.09? Seriously!?
Tuesday, April 15, 2008
Earthquake Guaranteed!
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080414/ap_on_sc/california_quakes
Scary. Guess I'd better find out what one does to prepare for such an event. I only know about tornadoes...
Here's the story in full if you don't want to click the link above:
Forecast: Big quake likely in Calif.
By ALICIA CHANG, AP Science Writer
Mon Apr 14, 6:20 PM ET
LOS ANGELES - California faces an almost certain risk of being rocked by a strong earthquake by 2037, scientists said Monday in the first statewide temblor forecast.
New calculations reveal there is a 99.7 percent chance a magnitude 6.7 quake or larger will strike in the next 30 years. The odds of such an event are higher in Southern California than Northern California, 97 percent versus 93 percent.
"It basically guarantees it's going to happen," said Ned Field, a geophysicist with the U.S. Geological Survey in Pasadena and lead author of the report.
The 1994 Northridge earthquake under Los Angeles' San Fernando Valley was magnitude 6.7. It killed 72 people, injured more than 9,000 and caused $25 billion in damage in the metropolitan area.
The damage created by an earthquake depends greatly on where it hits. A 7.1 quake — much stronger than Northridge — hit the Mojave Desert in 1999 but caused only a few injuries and no deaths.
California is one of the world's most seismically active regions. More than 300 faults crisscross the state, which sits atop two of Earth's major tectonic plates, the Pacific and North American plates. About 10,000 quakes each year rattle Southern California alone, although most of them are too small to be felt.
The analysis is the first comprehensive effort by the USGS, Southern California Earthquake Center and California Geological Survey to calculate earthquake probabilities for the entire state using newly available data. Previous quake probabilities focused on specific regions and used various methodologies that made it difficult to compare.
For example, a 2003 report found the San Francisco Bay Area faced a 62 percent chance of being struck by a magnitude 6.7 quake by 2032. The new study increased the likelihood slightly to 63 percent by 2037. For the Los Angeles Basin, the probability is higher at 67 percent. There is no past comparison for the Los Angeles area.
Scientists still cannot predict exactly where in the state such a quake will occur or when. But they say the analysis should be a wake-up call for residents to prepare for a natural disaster in earthquake country.
Knowing the likelihood of a strong earthquake is the first step in allowing scientists to draw up hazard maps that show the potential severity of ground shaking in an area. The information can also help with updating building codes and emergency plans and setting earthquake insurance rates.
"A big earthquake can happen tomorrow or it can happen 10 years from now," said Tom Jordan, director of the earthquake center, which is headquartered at the University of Southern California.
Researchers also calculated the statewide probabilities for larger temblors over the same time period. Among their findings: There is a 94 percent chance of a magnitude 7 shock or larger; a 46 percent chance of a magnitude 7.5 and a 4.5 percent chance of a magnitude 8.
The odds are higher that a magnitude 7.5 quake will hit Southern California than Northern California — 37 percent versus 15 percent.
Of all the faults in the state, the southern San Andreas, which runs from Parkfield in central California southeast to the Salton Sea, appears most primed to break, scientists found. There is a 59 percent chance in the next three decades that a Northridge-size quake will occur on the fault compared to 21 percent for the northern section.
The northern San Andreas produced the 1906 San Francisco earthquake, but the southernmost segment has not popped in more than three centuries.
Scientists are also concerned about the Hayward and San Jacinto faults, which have a 31 percent chance of producing a Northridge-size temblor in the next 30 years. The Hayward fault runs through densely populated cities in the San Francisco Bay Area. The San Jacinto fault bisects the fast-growing city of San Bernardino east of Los Angeles.
Scary. Guess I'd better find out what one does to prepare for such an event. I only know about tornadoes...
Here's the story in full if you don't want to click the link above:
Forecast: Big quake likely in Calif.
By ALICIA CHANG, AP Science Writer
Mon Apr 14, 6:20 PM ET
LOS ANGELES - California faces an almost certain risk of being rocked by a strong earthquake by 2037, scientists said Monday in the first statewide temblor forecast.
New calculations reveal there is a 99.7 percent chance a magnitude 6.7 quake or larger will strike in the next 30 years. The odds of such an event are higher in Southern California than Northern California, 97 percent versus 93 percent.
"It basically guarantees it's going to happen," said Ned Field, a geophysicist with the U.S. Geological Survey in Pasadena and lead author of the report.
The 1994 Northridge earthquake under Los Angeles' San Fernando Valley was magnitude 6.7. It killed 72 people, injured more than 9,000 and caused $25 billion in damage in the metropolitan area.
The damage created by an earthquake depends greatly on where it hits. A 7.1 quake — much stronger than Northridge — hit the Mojave Desert in 1999 but caused only a few injuries and no deaths.
California is one of the world's most seismically active regions. More than 300 faults crisscross the state, which sits atop two of Earth's major tectonic plates, the Pacific and North American plates. About 10,000 quakes each year rattle Southern California alone, although most of them are too small to be felt.
The analysis is the first comprehensive effort by the USGS, Southern California Earthquake Center and California Geological Survey to calculate earthquake probabilities for the entire state using newly available data. Previous quake probabilities focused on specific regions and used various methodologies that made it difficult to compare.
For example, a 2003 report found the San Francisco Bay Area faced a 62 percent chance of being struck by a magnitude 6.7 quake by 2032. The new study increased the likelihood slightly to 63 percent by 2037. For the Los Angeles Basin, the probability is higher at 67 percent. There is no past comparison for the Los Angeles area.
Scientists still cannot predict exactly where in the state such a quake will occur or when. But they say the analysis should be a wake-up call for residents to prepare for a natural disaster in earthquake country.
Knowing the likelihood of a strong earthquake is the first step in allowing scientists to draw up hazard maps that show the potential severity of ground shaking in an area. The information can also help with updating building codes and emergency plans and setting earthquake insurance rates.
"A big earthquake can happen tomorrow or it can happen 10 years from now," said Tom Jordan, director of the earthquake center, which is headquartered at the University of Southern California.
Researchers also calculated the statewide probabilities for larger temblors over the same time period. Among their findings: There is a 94 percent chance of a magnitude 7 shock or larger; a 46 percent chance of a magnitude 7.5 and a 4.5 percent chance of a magnitude 8.
The odds are higher that a magnitude 7.5 quake will hit Southern California than Northern California — 37 percent versus 15 percent.
Of all the faults in the state, the southern San Andreas, which runs from Parkfield in central California southeast to the Salton Sea, appears most primed to break, scientists found. There is a 59 percent chance in the next three decades that a Northridge-size quake will occur on the fault compared to 21 percent for the northern section.
The northern San Andreas produced the 1906 San Francisco earthquake, but the southernmost segment has not popped in more than three centuries.
Scientists are also concerned about the Hayward and San Jacinto faults, which have a 31 percent chance of producing a Northridge-size temblor in the next 30 years. The Hayward fault runs through densely populated cities in the San Francisco Bay Area. The San Jacinto fault bisects the fast-growing city of San Bernardino east of Los Angeles.
Thursday, April 10, 2008
It's Time for an Overdue Visit
It's booked. I have a plane ticket! I'm coming to an airport near you (that would be Madison, Wisconsin) Thursday, May 29 and I'll be in the area for a few weeks.
If anyone is interested in rescuing me from the airport early in the morning Thursday, I'll take you to breakfast for your efforts.
I CAN'T WAIT!
If anyone is interested in rescuing me from the airport early in the morning Thursday, I'll take you to breakfast for your efforts.
I CAN'T WAIT!
Monday, April 7, 2008
No, I do not have a cold
I just sound like I do. It's called allergies, and apparently it's part of who I am now. Ah, Humboldt County, you and I have such a love/hate relationship. This is all your fault.
I wonder if I moved back to Wisconsin if the itchiness in my eye sockets and the non-stop blowing of my nose would just disappear. Or if this is my souvenir that I get to keep FOREVER.
I'm sorry, lil sis, that I ever made fun of the way you said mom ("bob"). Now I understand just how frustrating these kinds of problems are.
The festival is over which means I have time to whine and complain again. Yay!
In other dews (that's "news" if your nose isn't full of snot), I'm taking vacation sometime this month. I am watching airline rates and as soon as I can snatch up a decent deal I'm homeward bound. Prepare yourselves accordingly. I'm generally a fun person. When I'm not complaining.
I wonder if I moved back to Wisconsin if the itchiness in my eye sockets and the non-stop blowing of my nose would just disappear. Or if this is my souvenir that I get to keep FOREVER.
I'm sorry, lil sis, that I ever made fun of the way you said mom ("bob"). Now I understand just how frustrating these kinds of problems are.
The festival is over which means I have time to whine and complain again. Yay!
In other dews (that's "news" if your nose isn't full of snot), I'm taking vacation sometime this month. I am watching airline rates and as soon as I can snatch up a decent deal I'm homeward bound. Prepare yourselves accordingly. I'm generally a fun person. When I'm not complaining.
Wednesday, April 2, 2008
I've Made It to the Other Side (or, On Starting Over)
I have time to read books again! Clean my house again! Go for walks again! Watch the sunset again! Live my life again!
The Jazz Festival was incredible, and so hard, and lots of fun, and infinitely satisfying. I solved problems all weekend; that was my job description I'm pretty sure. There were glitches and hitches, people called me on my work cell, I solved them. At the end of the weekend we had a volunteer appreciation dinner and I had people constantly approaching me and hugging me, thanking me, for taking such good care of them, for helping them to do their jobs in an enjoyable manner. It was unexpected, and made the entire weekend worthwhile.
Up until Monday I had been working for weeks from 8 in the morning until sometimes 1 or 2 the next morning. I've never worked this hard in my life. But to see the Jazz Festival go off without a hitch (that the public eye could see), to see everything come together, and all these people joined together enjoying these wonderful bands, eating, drinking and being merry, made all that work worth it.
Now that I've had a few days of regular sleep to recover, my body and mind is finally starting to accept the relief that it is over! We made it! We did it!
So now it's back to a "normal" life, whatever that means. Today my boss and I are going to nail down that vacation time I have coming. I CAN'T WAIT! Spring is here, it's a new season, a new project, and a brand new outlook!
The Jazz Festival was incredible, and so hard, and lots of fun, and infinitely satisfying. I solved problems all weekend; that was my job description I'm pretty sure. There were glitches and hitches, people called me on my work cell, I solved them. At the end of the weekend we had a volunteer appreciation dinner and I had people constantly approaching me and hugging me, thanking me, for taking such good care of them, for helping them to do their jobs in an enjoyable manner. It was unexpected, and made the entire weekend worthwhile.
Up until Monday I had been working for weeks from 8 in the morning until sometimes 1 or 2 the next morning. I've never worked this hard in my life. But to see the Jazz Festival go off without a hitch (that the public eye could see), to see everything come together, and all these people joined together enjoying these wonderful bands, eating, drinking and being merry, made all that work worth it.
Now that I've had a few days of regular sleep to recover, my body and mind is finally starting to accept the relief that it is over! We made it! We did it!
So now it's back to a "normal" life, whatever that means. Today my boss and I are going to nail down that vacation time I have coming. I CAN'T WAIT! Spring is here, it's a new season, a new project, and a brand new outlook!
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