About Earthquakes

I am late blogging all sorts of cool stuff. It was the earthquake.  One is entitled to forget all sorts of things now 'because of the earthquake'.  I am not getting forgetful...it was the earthquake.  I have 'earthquake brain'.  Funnily enough the phenomenon is quite real.  One really gets 'earthquake brain' and also gets a little jumpy,and even feels slight rolls when none are happening or even recorded.
Although the worst earthquake I have experienced now is a 6.3 surrounded by several clusters of 5+ which are definitely worth discussing, I am grateful that I wasn't here for the 'big one' on February 22.  Listening to the folks that were actually downtown Christchurch is, in itself, hair raising.  I have heard several stories from that quake and the most recent cluster, that make me appreciate both the fraility and resiliousness of our species. I am also in awe of the folks here.
The most common word here in post earthquake lingo is now 'munted'.  It means at its most polite: Broken, stuffed, destroyed or ruined, as in 'you munted the cake,Susan'.  There are tee-shirts available with the dictionary definition using Cristchurch as one of the examples 'as in Christchurch after the earthquake.'
After the cluster of quakes last week, I made up or noted a few rules for myself to help me survive.
When entering a room, look around an the inside wall to throw yourself against when the house starts to shake.  If at all possible make sure there are no large pictures above your chosen site.
Make sure your cell phone battery is charged up at all times.
Wear pajamas or other nightclothes to bed.  I consider the last should be entered into the Canon of Earhquake.
Earthquakes bring people together.  After a good shake, all the members of our household gather together into the living room and, without putting money on the line, make bets on the size of the most recent aftershock.  None of us were right this past Tuesday night; we were all thinking about 5.6 to maybe even 6, but it came out at 5.3.  Apparently it was very shallow, creating more shake and making it feel worse.