magnitude 5.4

that's how strong the earthquake was this morning. they say it's a forewarning of a bigger one to come.

it was weird. i had forgotten that california is sitting on a couple of plates and faults.

ryan had just come home from work and we were getting ready to eat lunch. i had decided to hide under the blankets with baby mac, an unusual thing since i usually just let her sleep in her cot so she doesn't get used to being lugged around.

it was a subtle shaking at first. being an earthquake survivor (baguio city, july 16, 1990), i kept my head and listened a bit. true enough, it stopped and then resumed. i stood up with mac in tow and prepared to either head out or find a safe space in the apartment. it didn't last for long but the phones were down.

way back in 1990 i was a bit cavalier about the earthquake. up until i was able to listen to horror stories about people getting trapped and dying, i didn't panic. i figured i'll go home and be with my family and all would be peachy. when i saw everyone safe, i just shrugged my shoulders and said a quick prayer of thanks.

this morning it felt different. i held a 3-week old baby in my arms, i was in a foreign land, and the rest of my family was half a world away.

i was scared, and enormously thankful that we were okay. as for it being a sample of a bigger one to come, i hope and pray that they are wrong.