of earthquakes and blankets

I survived the weekend. Literally.

[I'm probably one of the few people left in the English-speaking world who actually CARES about the meaning of the word literally and is hugely bothered by the fact that now it's okay to use it to mean the complete opposite-- figuratively-- and also that it's now WAY overused. So please take note that I am using the word sparingly and correctly. Thanks.]

I've lived in Georgia my whole life. I love it here. I don't know if I'll ever live anywhere else and I'm okay with that about 95% of the time (except for when I want to live in the Middle East). But after this past week, I'm not so sure that the feeling is mutual. I'm getting the impression that Georgia is sick of her inhabitants and wants us all to leave.

Exhibit A: Two Snowpocalypses in three weeks.

Exhibit B: The Great Valentine's Day 2014 Earthquake. Before we're even fully recovered from Snowpocalypse 2.0!!

Technically speaking, the earthquake was actually in South Carolina. But just barely over the border, in a teeny town so small that folks there claim they're from Augusta (Georgia), which is the nearest sizable town (and the place I grew up and my folks still live). And we could all feel it, up to 150 miles away! So basically, Georgia.

I'm sure you're dying to hear a play-by-play of my True Life: I Survived a 4.1 Earthquake 90 Miles from the Epicenter story. Unfortunately, it's a little anticlimactic. We were watching TV. I felt and heard the walls and floor vibrating strangely, kind of like a very prolonged thunderclap during a huge summer storm or something. It lasted maybe 5 seconds. It didn't concern me enough to pause the TV or even mention anything to Matt, who- for the record- was sitting 1 inch away from me and reportedly did not hear, feel, or notice anything. I probably wouldn't have ever thought about it again except that during a commercial break (I hate you, HuluPlus. COMMERCIALS?!?! This is injustice.) I glanced at Facebook and it was slam-packed with friends and family all experiencing the exact same thing at the same time. Was that an EARTHQUAKE???? all us poor inexperienced, un-earthquake-initiated Georgians wondered. 

We decided it was. I mean, a scientific survey of everyone I know that was awake at 10:30 on a Friday night and cared to share their thoughts on Facebook (so, everybody) revealed that everyone in Georgia and the Carolinas had all experienced the same thing. Within 5 minutes it was trending on Facebook and Twitter. And there was NO OFFICIAL WORD from ANY reliable news source for like TWENTY WHOLE MINUTES!! This was practically as alarming as the earthquake itself. If a news anchor or journalist doesn't confirm that we just felt an earthquake, did it really happen? Was it some kind of collective hallucination? Is this a conspiracy? 

I mean, snarky memes were already flying-- and the quake hadn't even been officially acknowledged yet! The fact that people can make memes faster than the media can freak out over something alarming is...well, alarming.

I wish I could properly cite the source of this meme, but I can't. It all happened so fast-- I saw this appear on someone's timeline and almost died laughing. I tried to 'share' it, but it wouldn't let me (due to that friend's privacy settings). It was too funny and I was too caught up in the drama and excitement of the moment-- I just right-click saved it and posted it myself. I know. I'm a terrible person. And now I'm sharing it here. For the record, I take no credit for it, I doubt whoever DID make it is/could earn money off it, and I'm sorry.

The earthquake was all the talk of the town (and state, and tri-state area, I'm guessing) all weekend, which is pretty funny considering it was basically no different (and far less destructive) than a single thunderclap/lightning bolt in the summer. Still, we've all been playing "where were you when it happened??!" all weekend, same as we do after any other major, life-changing event. So funny.

But then again-- two extremely unusual (for us) weather/geological events in one week? I'm keeping my eye on you, Georgia. (PS. There was a 3.2 aftershock in the exact same town today!! I couldn't feel that one, but the Augusta-area contingent of my friends and family definitely did. So ummm...watch yourself, people of Augusta. Stop making the earth mad. Go hug a tree or buy a locally-sourced hybrid or something.)

In other equally life-altering news, I got a new blanket this weekend. (I know, somebody phone the press...)

Source

The thing is, I've been lusting after this blanket for a month. A WHOLE MONTH, PEOPLE!!!! My sister-in-law has this blanket and when we visited her last month, I fell in serious love with it...and finally, at long last, I made it (well, its identical twin....conveniently mass-produced and sold at Target) mine. I had to wait a whole month because like...who just goes out and buys a blanket? It's not like I really need another blanket. I have lots already. It didn't come in any colors that particularly compliment my decor. And it wasn't super-bargain-basement cheap...so I felt like I needed to really justify it if I were to buy it.

So I just waited a month. I still can't really say I need it, but I still really want it AND it got special clearance pricing (that made it roughly $5 cheaper than it used to be, whoopie...), so...it became mine. It is HUGE and really, really, REALLYREALLY SOFT. I can't overstate the softness. And the hugeness. And the awesomeness. It's so awesome that I had a photo shoot with it.

Please ignore how hideous I look. I'd just returned from the gym (and changed into PJ pants, obviously) and couldn't be bothered to make myself presentable before I got back to cuddling with my blankie. Plus, I think it gives me super powers. Like the ability to survive earthquakes. And read lots of books. And watch lots of TV. Because that's pretty much all I accomplished in my post-new-blanket weekend. My only regret is that I didn't have the blanket before last week's snowstorm. I bet my endless days of being housebound would have been infinitely better if I'd had this blanket.

In semi-tragic weekend news, I finished (well, caught up to the current season/episode of) Revenge. Can anyone relate to the empty feeling that comes over you when you finish marathoning a show? Like...is there anything to live for now? What will I do with myself? It's pretty pathetic, really. Thank God the Olympics are still on...otherwise I might have to think of something to do that didn't involve laying on the couch caressing my giant new blanket.

Well, that's about it, folks. Time to focus on a new week and the inevitable separation anxiety that I'm going to experience when I am forced to leave the blankie at home and go to work. Wish me luck!