In Praise of Earthquakes

You know, there's something to this earthquake thing. All of a sudden a disaster pops up out of nowhere and either you're prepared or you're not. Hurricanes, on the other hand, are an exercise in patience and stress management. For days you agonize over whether you're adequately prepared, if you have enough water and food, what you're going to do with your car, how you're going to deal with matters of hygiene without any power, water, or sewage, how you plan on attaching plywood shutters to your concrete windowframes, and how you're going to amuse yourself for hours in a noisy, stuffy, dark little cave. Earthquake? Bam! You're done.

I bring this up because my Jamaican coworker commented to me today how she can't imagine having to deal with the constant threat of earthquakes looming overhead. As bad as they can be, at least you don't go stir-crazy checking NHC every three hours - which reminds me, another update is ready. Gotta go watch that little orange dot creep a little closer...