I was a-quakin'!

Sometime in the early morning hours, in that time between dreading the alarm clock going off and it actually waking you in time to start your day,  I surfaced from one unmemorable dream into what i mistook later as another.  A low, throbbing hum filled the air and my mind, half-asleep, only began to try to interpret the sound's source as my ears picked up the sound of my ceramic work, suspended six feet in the air on shelving that I inexpertly installed, as it began to clink together like a stationary wind chime.

For the briefest of moments, a nanosecond of thought, the word "earthquake" shot across my mind.  Layered behind that word were words like "terrorist attack," "gas explosion," and "really big truck."  With those words having come and gone in the span of a mere moment, I settled for an explanation that seemed much more safe, but much less plausible: perhaps, in what could only be described as it's throws of death, the washing machine one floor above me had begun thrashing about, causing the hum that still throbbed in the air and the slightly musical chinking of my ceramic work.

At 6:30 in the morning the sound of ocean waves trapped in a tin can crashed over me and I hauled myself from bed.  I showered, shaved, brushed my teeth, gathered some things, and not once did I think about that which I could easily dismiss as nothing more than a strange dream.  When Megan called me in the morning, and as we were exchanging thoughts on the morning and the day to come, I suddenly remembered the odd experience.  After explaining the experience, I told her that I was not sure if it had actually happened or if I had merely dreamed about it.  We spoke of aliens for a minute and then considered options that were closer to home.

"Maybe it was an earthquake," she said.

"Oh yeah!  I can check that!" I replied.

It took me a full three seconds to find the answer.  Weather.com had, in big bold letters, a headline stating, "Washington DC rattled by earthquake."  For me the realization that I had half-slept my way through even a 3.5 earthquake was surreal.  How often does one get to experience a natural occurrence like an earthquake on the eastern side of the U.S.?  Not often.  However, despite Megan's claim that it was scary how many of these earthquakes were taking place in the area these days, I found that I was still rather excited about the idea of having experienced one for the first time that I can remember.  I'm pretty sure I experienced one while I lived in California, but I don't remember it.

I feel that experiences are paramount to actively living life, and while I can't really say that this was a great experience, heavy with sleep and half stupid as I was, I can chalk it up to something that I will remember.  For a little while anyway.