Looking forward to going home today and catching up on some over due posts for the modchik. I wonder if I’ll find anything that fell down as a result of that HUGE quake in Baja California yesterday.  We felt it out here in the CA desert windows were flexing and the ground was shaking. It rolled for a long time and left you feeling a bit off balance like you had a case of vertigo.  According to USGS it was upgraded to a 7.2 quake. Its hard to describe to someone who hasn’t felt one before. Earthquakes around here are pretty innocuous, there are only a handful that make you sit up and take notice and yesterdays made you think for a second, is this “the BIG one”.  On the upside, the quake was strong enough to free up a window in my mom’s kitchen that has been accidentally grouted shut for the last 5 years after a counter top installation. Opening it was effortless now thanks to the tectonic plates shifting. BONUS!

Just another reminder that we are just passengers along for the ride here on planet earth, albeit bumpy at times. Can you ever really be prepared enough for a natural disaster? These swarm of the HIGH powered quakes in the past few months makes me wonder how old that tuna is in our emergency preparedness kit. I’m gong to redo our kit this week.

I just ordered this pack on Amazon (free shipping for Prime members):

more info –> Emergency Preparedness Kit (under $50 bucks)

Our current kit lacks some of the items included in the kit above. One thing I will keep in the pack are hand crank flashlights, tuna kits, gum, Red Cross solar powered radio/charger and a battery operated iGo powerXstender charger for our phones. We always have an iGo charge Anywhere plugged in at all times – this is a great product from iGo. If you haven’t seen these check them out, once you charge it you can throw it in your bag as back up battery power for your mobile phones, Bluetooth headsets, smartphones/PDAs, MP3 players, portable gaming devices, digital cameras, GPS devices and more.

iGo Charge Anywhere

Another thing I do in preparedness is keep a pair of running shoes (for every family member) in the trunk of my car. In California we are reminded if a quake is strong enough to buckle the roads you may be walking home and you certainly don’t want to be doing that in your Jimmy Choos. So listen up Californians, go put shoes in your car – and a pair under you bed (night time quake + barefoot + broken glass = your own natural disaster).

(modchik’s disclosure policy can be found here)