two years later and i finally get to experience my first earthquake in LA. i realize this is an area known for its geological instability, but the reality is nothing like the TV/hollywood version (it never is!). of course, it was nowhere near “the big one”, clocking in at around 5.4 on the richter scale. but it still gave everything a good shake for about 20 seconds and the only casualty was that the water dish for my cats spilled some water on the floor. cell phones stopped working for about 30 minutes right afterwards, but they say it’s because everyone suddenly makes a bunch of calls to make sure everyone (and everything) is ok. all in all, it was a good introduction to the phenomenon and i’m glad it wasn’t a bigger earthquake, otherwise i’d be super pissed at my insurance agent for not sending me the earthquake insurance papers two weeks ago like i asked them to…