More and More Earthquakes

I'm terrified of earthquakes.

The ground is not supposed to move like that.

They have leveled cities, killed millions and destroyed lives.

Nothing good comes of them.

Yesterday morning we had another big one.

I grew up in southern California off the San Andreas fault line. You'd think I'd have gotten used to them by now, however I don't believe one ever does. I can remember only a hand full of earthquakes over the span of my life time. One of them being a 6.3 in Palm Desert.

My mother had taken my sister and I to Palm Springs (why? I cant remember) and we had stayed the night in a hotel. I remember waking up and freaking out and my mother was too. We jumped out of bed and my mom took me outside yelling at my sister who didn't move a muscle. I remember watching the swimming pool swoosh to almost as high as the second story balcony that we were on. My sister didn't wake. The earthquake slowly came to an ended and all the hotel customers were outside chit chatting about earthquakes. I remember a guy from New York was in the room next to us and he was talking to my mother about how in New York the smaller earthquakes started and built up to the biggest one, but how in Cali they started big and then we had aftershocks. I now have always had a slight fear of moving to the east coast.

A few other consisted of 4.0s and me freaking out while my family ran around trying to make sure I was OK. I panic!!

My first week in Japan I went to Sendai for the weekend. Didn't know a word of Japanese. Got on the train to come back to Nagai ( a feat in itself for me at that time) and was waiting for the train to leave in 15 minutes when all of a sudden.... the train started shaking, the sky scraper buildings started swaying and people started getting panicked. I sat there not knowing what to do. I couldn't panic like I could at home. I could talk to anyone. So I just sat there unsure of so many things. All of a sudden the announcer came on and started to ramble on in Japanese. People started getting off the train and I didn't know what to do. Finally the driver came up and tried in his best English to explain that the train wasn't going to be moving for a few hours and to take the bus. I did and all was well.

Since then I have been in quite a few earthquakes from Tokyo to Nagai.

After the earthquake in China, specialists have been predicting that the Yamagata are of Japan is going to have a huge 7.0 earthquake. And yesterday Sendai had a 6.3 again!

I was on the phone when the earthquake started rocking my apartment back and fourth. My heart started racing and I questioned for a moment if it was an earthquake or the wind. And started telling my mom "I think we're having and earthquake". I sat up in my bed not knowing what to do. The shaking was getting stronger and I was starting to panic. I said very little to my mother, which now that I think about it probably freaked her out a bit. I finally moved into the door way and was trying to figure out if the earthquake was getting worse or better. When my mother asked "Are you OK?" and my reply was "uhhhh........ahhhh." and then the earthquake started slowing when I said "yeah its over... I'm OK....I think." The apartment swayed to a stop and later there were a few aftershocks, but all was well. No damage around here.

So all is safe and sound, however, in the back of my head I'm thinking "Gosh I hope that that theory of a big earthquake to hit Yamagata this summer is just a theory".