The Day's Excitements (Tuesday)

• We had an earthquake -- originally reported as a 5.8 but revised downward to 5.4. I was in a nice, new building on rollers, and it didn't get too bad there. None of us even left the building. No damage in our area or our house, though I couldn't make a cell phone call for about half an hour afterwards. I found that rather disturbing, because isn't that the reason most of us say we have cell phones -- for emergencies?! Sheesh. Anyway, a small mirror fell off the wall at the house of the friend whose dogs we're feeding this week. That was all. Just a reminder that yes, indeed, one day we will fall off into the ocean and so we had better be prepared. It was rather fun hearing Kay Hutton, supremely competent earthquake goddess of Caltech, again after a hiatus. I hope the next ones will continue to be these little pressure relievers. (Let it be so, lord!)
• One note of hilarity -- in the building where all of my classes are held, the director of our program came running out into the hallway during the actual event and, in his inimitable British accent (tinged, apparently, with African and German notes), started shouting (for comic relief), "We're all going to diiiiiiiiiiiiiiiie!" And when the occupants of that building (a considerably older specimen) had amassed in the courtyard, he proceeded to bellow, "It's every man for himself!" It's a good thing to be able to laugh where an earthquake is concerned.
• My little bunny buddy visited me as I was catching up on reading Alexander Pope at an outdoor table after lunch. He wasn't a yard away from me. He is not a tame bunny, by any stretch of the imagination, but he posed for my pictures and held eye contact with me for a bit before hopping his cottontail bunny butt across the walk and into the ivy. It was a small gift.