Thursday, October 20, 2011

The Great California Shake-Out Drill


My husband has been dreading this day for a long time, well maybe since the last one in October. He and the city manager got together and prepared a statement to be announced on our local radio. Santa Paula residents were all, and I mean all of California too, were supposed to do this earthquake drill. It didn't matter where we were today, but we were encouraged to listen to 1640 am in our radios and respond altogether as a community. It was going to even have earthquake sound effects. It sounded like static, but I figure, "Hey, that's probably what the TV would do and every radio everywhere."

I was over at my mother's house and told her about it and got online and registered both of us. I like to do drills and I like to be prepared. Mostly, I don't want to be scared and not know what to do in case of a disaster of any kind.

Me Working The Triage Area of A Drill
I decided to go home because I don't want to be in an earthquake in the heaviest house in town. My mom's house is made with huge cut rocks. She said she was going under the dining room table anyway and there's not room for the both of us.

I Grew-up Here and Felt The 1971 Quake Here. The House Groaned
My house is right next door to my mother's and 
just across driveway and the grass on the right.

The drill began right on time: I was listening to Santa Paula
Emergency and information broadcast on the dial of 1610 am
 "SHEEESSSHHHhhhhh......" And then the announcement began and it continued over and over. I had moved my genealogy over to my regular roll-top desk and made room under the library table with a little padded stool to help me get-up after the drill was over.


I planned the earthquake drill and was starting to restore my new information on my genealogy file and the drill it began (I knew that) I ducked under the library table and grabbed the leg with one hand and the other over my head. And I learned a very important lesson.

The legs on the library table had one screw in each of the front legs and they had not been tightened by the wing-nut that held them on. I grabbed the leg and then the library table was being held by my BACK. It dropped!  It came down and was a bit concerned because I didn't have my cell-phone with me... another mistake. No one called 911, thankfully. The table was very light and just "planked" around on my back until I figured this is nuts. FAIL! I guess I didn't survive the drill.

Lovely!

I should have gone under my roll-top desk, the one that I was working at when the drill started. I only thought, at the time, that I should get-away from the big picture window that isn't tempered. The place for my legs while I use the computer has is absolutely nothing to hold-on to inside that space. We're suppose to drop, cover, and HOLD ON. If the desk scooted back and forth maybe I'd get pinched. We'll have a fix more than a few things in this house.


Oh no... the pinching, it's better to get crushed 
by a table! I figured that was just par for me.
This is Danger Ranch and I was just
filling my quota of excitement for the day.

My Steve thought that my experience did teach me, so the drill wasn't a real failure for me. Now, I may actually think a little clearer, especially if I'm "home alone" and trying to be in the right spot to ride-out a quake. Pretty weird that Berkley, California had an earthquake early this afternoon on the same day as the drill. It was a 4.0 and that's not exactly tiny.

The broken desk did give reveal some surprises while I was looking for the parts to fix the it. I found a new box of Ticonderoga pencils and my old IPod ear phones and it's the tiny ones that FIT IN MY EARS! I wish I hadn't thrown the player away. I think it'll fit my phone... sooooo, it wasn't a wash. I found gold! (gold pencils and stereo!) Dang, glad there wasn't a spider under the library table. I didn't even think about that. But, while digging out the good stuff there was "web evidence" of spider(s). We would have scared each other.

This afternoon I took my mom to have some skin cancer biopsied and the places that were checked, had to be burned on face and hand for excessive bleeding. Oh gee, it was awful. It smelled just like the odor of disbudding goat kid horns. I hate that. It smelled exactly like a burned hot-dog and you know what? Bar-B-Q hot dogs are on my "yuck list". I almost threw-up in the doctor's office. Smell, plus my little mom. I know it hurt me more than it hurt her. It didn't bother my mother at all and the doctor did that TO HER! My mom wanted to go out to eat. I will not comment my thoughts on that.

Cal Poly Quitters
Since this is somewhat like "one of those days" I really, really hate "Quitters." It's those socks that are real soft and the top edge of the sock runs around ankle just where the shoe ends. "Quitters" are those socks that don't stay there, they want to sneak-down under my heal and make me crazy. I have a pair and if anyone wants some Cal Poly Quitters, let me know. They're free.

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