FINALLY!

[swan_tower]

I've been in California for seven months, and I finally felt my first earthquake.

What's funny is that it didn't feel like what people told me it would. In fact, it happened twenty minutes ago, but I wasn't sure it was an earthquake until just now, when the USGS map updated. More than anything, it felt like a reeeeeeeally big gust of wind came along and knocked my building a bit sideways, like when you're in a car and a semi goes whooshing past -- but I seriously doubt any gust of wind is big enough to make this entire row of townhouses rock like that. Sure enough: earthquake. 4.3, ESE of San Jose.

I know I've experienced a billion and one earthquakes since coming here, but none of them big enough that I noticed them. Now I have. I can mark that off my checklist.

Comments

[amysun.livejournal.com]

Hmm, I suppose that might also be a valid comparison, but most of the ones I actually notice are more like what this one was. For the bigger ones, everything shakes *a lot* more, back and forth, and there are more sounds, both of the shaking, and from the shaking (ie dishes rattling, etc.)