Earthquake Drunk

Apparently there is a one in twenty chance an earthquake will be followed by a bigger one. And that is what happened tonight. Yesterday morning around ten-thirty as Americans were planning a day of grilling, chillin' beer drinkin' and fireworks watchin' (especially on the beach here in L.A.) A 6.4 earthquake hit Ridgecrest, two hours north of here. It's the largest earthquake in twenty years out here.

I was sitting on the guest bed with my cat on my lap, looking at the yachts sail by on the marina and editing what I hope will be a final draft of my second novel when everything shook. And shoot some more. And continued shaking. My cat leaped off my lap, scared herself shitless, ran into the other room.

After a while it subsided. She was distraught. Ended up puking up a huge hairball. Then puked a few more times, her mouth foaming with bile. I cleaned her, calmed her down and then walked to the store to get some more paper towels just in case, and what I always feed her if her stomach is upset: baby food. She liked ham or chicken.

The fireworks didn't bother her. I went to sleep sometime around ten. A few hours later, an aftershock briefly woke me, but I fell back asleep instantly. Woke up and it was a brand new day.

So imagine my surprise when tonight, I'm editing the novel again, and this time we have a bigger earthquake. Turns out last night's 6.4 was a foreshock. Out in the same area tonight the magnitude was 7.1. I think by the time it reached here it was less than 5.

The difference was definitely noticeable. The earth shook a lot longer today than yesterday. Outside, the marina moved in a foreboding manner, as if at any moment, Jaws' mutant cousin would break the surface.

I felt quite dizzy for a good half hour, too. The only time I've experienced that level of dizziness was in 2013 when I tried an Oculus VR experience. Actually, the VR experience was much worse.

Tonight's feeling made me curious enough to do a little research. Am I just being neurotic or is this headache dizzy thing an actual thing? Apparently, it's common. I suppose it more or less depends on proximity and how great the magnitude is. In Japan, they have a name for it jishin-yoi.This translates literally to "Earthquake drunk." I have put this tidbit in the writing prompt pile because you never know.

I texted some of my Angeleno friends who experienced the Northridge earthquake in 1994, That one was actually in Los Angeles county, and was a 6.4. Both friends confirmed the dizziness, too. One said he stayed home from school for a week and there was gas leaks in his neighborhood. That was a much bigger deal since thousands of people were injured and close to 60 people died.

Here's hoping that's it for a little while. I really would like to finish editing this novel.