Friday, October 21, 2011

Shake it Up!

I have an irrational fear of earthquakes. Not good for someone who lives only a few miles from a very active fault line (the Hayward Fault Line).

Yesterday we had not one but TWO earthquakes right about 4.0 on the Richter Scale. The first one was at 3:46 PM it rattled some of our things, and it happened BOOM! Just like that. Usually I can hear it coming a second or two before it hits. This one gave no warning and it was a jolt rather than a roll.

The second one was at 8:16 PM and I was standing on the sidewalk outside. It felt like one sharp jolt as well,  but Golf was up here in our apartment on the 3rd floor and he said it shook worse than the one in the afternoon. He was putting Aidan to bed when it happened.

I can't help what happens to me when an earthquake hits. My heart beats so fast it feels like it's going to explode out of my chest. My whole body shakes and my legs get so weak I feel like I'm going to fall down. After the 2nd one hit last night, I could not sleep. I put my headphones on and listened to late night radio until 5 AM, my usual wake up time.

Today I bought some earthquake preparedness items. 3 gallons of water. I'll put them under Aidan's bed. 4 cans of tuna. A 6-pack of ramen noodles. Plus we have some other canned food in the cupboard, but it's a start. We just don't have a whole lot of room. We already have candles and batteries. I feel a bit more prepared today.

In other news, my site got Panda slapped again. For those not into SEO, that means that Google changed its algorithm again last week and my best baby strollers site got hit hard. Over 50% drop. It sucks! But there is nothing I can do but continue with my good work.

I have decided to take it up a notch and do more stroller reviews myself. I've ordered a really cool new stroller and it ought to be here early next week. I will use it out over a period of a few days, see if any of my mommy friends with babies want to try it out and then make a YouTube video.

In the meantime I've been busy writing articles. A new opportunity presented itself earlier this week and I got to post an article on Schmoozins.com. The article is called Brand New Strollers for 2012. I'm really excited about this blog and it's got some great information on there.

Then I just had my bi-weekly article published on Shopaholicmommy.com.  This article is called Chicco Expands & Improves Stroller Selection. There are lots of changes and new stroller models coming out late this year and beginning next year. Lots of stuff to write about!

So despite my business shake up and the literal shake-up of California, I'm excited about the direction my business is going. I know things well shape up again soon.

2 comments:

Harold said...

Fortunately, [knock on wood] no shaking here in southern California.

I left a note for the folks at "Schmoozins." The "let's read on" link to the body of your article doesn't seem to be working. You might follow-up with them, later, to see if they got it fixed.

Regards from Ken C.

Anonymous said...

I worked in a hospital in Western Australia that was not far from a fault line. We practiced monthly what to do in an earthquake.

When it finally did happen I fainted from fright and my colleagues had to carry me out of the building!

I now also have an irrational fear