Journey To The Center Of The Earthquake

Where were YOU when the quake hit? It would be fun to hear in the 'Comments' section.

I was hunched over my laptop up here on my favorite chair in the corner of the bedroom reading about the swiftly moving events in Libya .... Ok, I was watching David's 'Design Star' vlog .... I did notice the floor swaying silently for a few seconds shortly before 2 p.m. Since they are digging on our street, I assumed it was a reverberation from some of the equipment and didn't give it a second thought -- until 10 minutes later when the texts and calls came in.

A friend said that after the earthquake all her picture frames were crooked. Since mine were crooked before the earthquake, I'm thinking maybe I can blame the quake for the messy kitchen, laundry piling up, dirty windows and lack of food in the house. As my cousin said, 'It's not my fault.' .....

I may be experiencing a relapse of paranoia: Previous to this summer, tornadoes and earthquakes did not make my List Of Top 100 Things Contributing To Insomnia. Now I may have to revisit the list. I may also have to move up Water Damage From Hurricanes And Tropical Storms from its current position of No. 87 on the chart, since Hurricane Irene is barreling her way north and we haven't fixed the bathroom leak from last week's seven inches of rain .... Yes, No. 87 deserves a major bounce. I think I'll move it up to No. 14, displacing Visible Panty Line.

Also, up until now I discounted any risks associated with converting from heating oil to natural gas. That is why they are digging up our street. This is one situation where I am glad the commonwealth is so rigorously over-legislated. I'm certain it wants the risk of gas explosions to be smaller than tornadoes and earthquakes, right? ... Upon reflection, Ima move Gas Explosion up to the No. 53 spot, displacing That Big Old Oak Tree Out Back Will Hit The House If It Falls Over.

Anyway, we've got Rocket Scientist on the case. He sorely regrets not having enough vacation time to take a week off and watch the excavation progress. I just texted him that the crew had reached our front corner, and he asked which direction they were digging. Uh, down?? Like, towards the center of the earth?? ... Honestly, who (not in possession of a Y chromosome) cares?

... So the gas company's first step is to dig a trench for their line in the grass median separating the sidewalk from the street. Then it will add a line to our house. Then our contractor needs to dig a trench through the junk in our basement to our furnace. Then he can convert our burner, add a chimney liner (that's $1,800 literally up the chimney), and finally we wait around for the final connection.

We figure we can recoup our investment in less than three years. We also believe it will be a selling point for our house. We are hoping potential buyers will be more worried about tornadoes, earthquakes and hurricanes than a house heated by gas. We are hoping any aftershocks occur BEFORE the lines are connected. We are hoping the digging on our street did not exacerbate the quake or provoke any aftershocks. We are hoping our homeowner's insurance payments are up to date. We are a hopeful household.



... So I'm off to observe the excavation, possibly take some pictures and then report back to the Rocket Scientist. Maybe someone can help me with answers to the questions he will inevitably ask. Maybe I should make a video, or interview the crew's supervisor and then arrange a podcast with Rocket Scientist. Maybe he'll be distracted enough not to notice there's no dinner ....


Naaaaaaaah!







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