Wednesday, July 30, 2008

I Know Just How You Feel, Ms. King

Carole King once sang about feeling the earth move under her feet. Granted, her earth was moving because her would-be lover was in the vicinity. Yesterday my earth was moving because, well, my earth was actually moving. I experienced my first earthquake, ladies and gentlemen! It was like my official "Welcome to California!" from God Himself. I can't say I appreciated it too much.

Here's what happened...

It's 11:42 a.m. on Tuesday, July 29. I'm getting ready to leave the apartment to drop off a project for my oh-so-lucrative (sense the sarcasm) part-time, freelance proofreading job when I feel something that confuses, disorients, baffles and horrifies me. The floor is wobbling. The windows are rattling. Things are shaking. Have I inadvertently ingested some mind-altering substance? Did Jess drop some acid in my milk jug this morning, perhaps? Is there a large aircraft flying entirely too close to my tiny home? Could I be experiencing San Clemente's very first elephant stampede? No, no. Not even close. It's an earthquake.

Okay, so I like to be overly dramatic from time to time. The whole fiasco couldn't have lasted more than 15 seconds or so and, oddly enough, the shaking didn't immediately trigger an "It's an earthquake!" response in my brain. Actually, by the time I realized what was happening and remembered what I learned in elementary school about getting in a doorway (because who knew I'd ever actually USE that piece of information), the whole thing was over. And I'll gladly admit, it completely freaked me out. I was wound up and terribly anxious for about an hour afterward.

Yes, tornadoes, hurricanes and fires are scary. But you can run from those. And in most cases, you know they're coming before they happen. Not so with the sneaky earthquake. You never see him coming. He's the annoying ex that pops up in the middle of your perfect dinner date. Or the misbehaved child that yells in church right when the prayer's getting good and makes you jump six inches off the pew.

Truth is, there's just not a damn thing you can do when plates shift. Not a pleasant thing for a gal who likes to always be in control, or so I'm told. But as they say, c'est la vie! And welcome to California!

Friday, July 4, 2008

Ready for Fireworks

Another Fourth of July has arrived. Unbelievable, really. I'm not sure how it got here so quickly, or how I am so far from where I was this time last year, not just in distance, but in every other way possible. My mind is different. My heart is different. I'm still pretty cheesy. I guess that's the only thing that hasn't changed...

At any rate, here I sit, eagerly anticipating so many things. Not knowing what's going to happen in the next month or even the next week used to horrify me. Now it excites me. I have new friends. I have a new life. I have a chance to do and see things I've never had access to before. It's thrilling, to say the least. And I'm so anxious to experience all of it. Warning: Cheesiest line EVER coming right now...

I'm ready for fireworks.

Yes, I'm ready for the fireworks I'll see when I sit on the beach later this evening. But I'm ready for bigger, better, longer fireworks. You know what I'm talking about. The explosions that come from landing a new job, going on a first date or finding a new apartment. The colors that don't fade into the darkness above an endless ocean, never to be enjoyed again. I'm ready. Who's got the lighter?