Eight months into living in California and I experienced my first earthquake the other day. Lon and I have asked a lot of people over the last handful of months if they've been around for one and what it was like. We've never really gotten a satisfying explanation and now I know why: it is a very difficult sensation to describe.

I was sitting in my living room on my sofa, surfing the net when suddenly the room began to vibrate a little bit. I didn't find it that odd because our apartment has been known to rumble a smidge when a large truck rolls by or even when a neighbor, particularly heavy on her feet, walks past our place. Then this slight vibration continued and grew in intensity. My large screen television began to sway on its tiny stand and a couple of our action figures toppled from their shelves.

My heart leapt into my throat as I was suddenly quite aware of what was taking place. I jumped to my feet, put myself square within the first doorway I could get to, and yelled, "Guys?!" to my husband, roommate, and friend upstairs. The whole apartment was rocking, nothing more fell from the walls, and suddenly it was all over. Fifteen seconds. It just stopped and I was stunned. The guys came downstairs and we all discussed what we had just experienced.

Though there was no more shaking after that, it took a good half an hour for my heart to stop beating so fast. It was immediately all over the news where it was classified as a 5.6 and then upgraded to a 5.8 and then later back down to a 5.4, tame by comparison I suppose, but I didn't know any better. I knew there was no real damage though so it obviously wasn't so bad. The news would continue to talk about it long after I felt any need to listen. I was over it, but it was truly a remarkable experience to know that the EARTH had been rocking below us. Crazy.

On an even stranger note, my husband and I were just going through the items that had fallen from his bizarre miniature collection that hangs on the wall in our living room. Literally only a handful of items hit the floor, but we had fun going through them individually and playing with the idea that there might be a reason these particular ones bit the dust.

Here is a list of the items:

Animals (dog, squirrel, bunny, turkey)

Six Coca Cola bottles

a heart

a beer bottle

a chalice

a bottle of wine

pillow

large clock

small clock

dinosaur

newspaper

globe

harmonica

baby bottle

laser gun

robot

a horrified looking nun

So here's a little prediction....

Something big is coming. Perhaps humanity's gross consumerism (coca cola bottles) and sin (beer, wine, chalice) is going to bring about the end of the world (globe). Not since the destruction of the DINOSAURS has there been such a momentous disaster. It will be the biggest news all around the world (newspaper). It may not happen until after Lon and I have a child (baby bottle), but time is running out (large clock- small clock) and it will probably come in the night while we are asleep (pillow). The ANIMALS will sense it first as they seem to have done with this earthquake. The relative harmony (harmonica) of the world will come to an end. When the evil ROBOTS come from space with their LASER GUNS. Even the deeply religious (horrified nun) will be without answers on this day of reckoning. Perhaps humanity's love (heart) will be our one saving grace when this all comes to be. We better start working on that.

There it is. Can you put together a different interpretation of these symbols? I would love to hear it.