my very first earthuake

well sunday evening, mike and i were sitting in the living room (i had gotten home from work recently) watching television. suddenly my chair was vibrating and sort of shifting back and forth on the wood floor. there was a low rumbling and some rattling from dishes and lamps nearby. it was over in a couple of seconds, and afterwards i sat there, shocked. "was that an earthquake, mike!?" seeing as he'd lived in california, i was sure he'd know if he felt one. well he wasn't fully convinced. the experience was very similar to having a bus drive right by your house, except much much more powerful--the house and everything in it was moving. thank GOD for the internet, and the united stated geological survey website, because in 10 minutes we had our answer: a 2.7 magnitude earthquake hit portland at 9:35 pm pst!! it was amazing. all my life i'd heard accounts of quakes, but had no real idea what they felt like. the closest frame of reference was the "bus driving by" analogy. anyway, earthquakes here are relatively common, according to the usgs website. one thing for sure: anything stronger would be terrifying. my heart was beating fast for about 15 minutes after the event. i can't imagine how shocking a bigger earthquake would be!

love, annie
http://earthquakes.usgs.gov/