California Love: WTF Earthquakes?

Apparently last night there was an earthquake of 4.5, which is strongish I guess. I didn't feel it, but Disco felt it and looked me all wild eyed and accusatory, like some how I had managed to conjure the earth to shake just to frighten her.

"STOP, DROP, AND ROLL, NO WAIT THAT'S NOT IT!!!"

There was another one this morning, 4.5. THAT ONE I felt. I was making some food and it was all shakey. Since my apartment building was built in the days of the Rat Pack you can feel everything move just by having a 5 year old walk infront of your apartment on the second story.

I think a lot of us Californians are kind of jaded when it comes to earthquakes. Yeah they startle us, but I think it takes a lot to frighten us. This makes me ask the question we (earthquake experiencers) have:

At what point to you run out of your building?

I was at a farmer boys once with the boyfriend and there was a 5. something. It went on for a bit and we just stayed really still (Like somehow  us staying really still and quiet will somehow give us an indication of how long this shaking is going to last) and waited.

Do you wait until you see dry wall dust fall from the ceiling?

Do you wait until shit starts breaking?

What is the second marker when you think, ok, that's it, I should probably leave now? 10 sec? 8 sec? 2 sec? (the 2 second runs I see most common in people who have never experienced an earthquake).

I remember an earthquake when I was around 7 years old. I ran to my parents room because I was scared and the floor, I kid you not, was ondulating. IN A WAVE!!! So creepy. I can't remember the intensity of that one but it felt strong. We actually got out of the house, that's how bad it was. To have two parents who were born and raised in El Salvador where the earthquakes are catastrophic (none of thiss 4.5 crap, we're talking 7.5 and up) to have them run out of their house (that isn't made of cinderblocks) takes an impressive jolt.

At my job we all look at each other assessing who is going to loose it first, which sucks because we're all therapists and we've been conditioned to hide our emotions in stressful situations. So we may all just die in this blue building.

For the mean while, as this day progresses I'll be thinking more about the emergency earthquake kits for cats and how the hell I plan on getting them out of the apartment should a big one hit.