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My Turn by Wayne Chan

Did you feel it?

I’m guessing that is a question many in the San Diego area heard a bunch last month. If you were there, you definitely felt it.

I’m talking about the 5.2 magnitude earthquake we experienced on April 14. I felt it. The thing is, I’m not sure I had the proper response to it.

I’ve lived in Southern California my entire life. I’ve felt earthquakes big and small. But I don’t think I’ve ever felt "THE BIG ONE."

Anyone who has lived here long enough knows what THE BIG ONE is. We hear about it all the time. I certainly have. I’m talking about the constant reminders from scientists that Southern California is due for a really significant earthquake because of our proximity to the San Andreas Fault.

Don’t get me wrong. I believe the scientists. We’re in an earthquake zone and it’s just a matter of time. I appreciate the heads up on all of this.

But I’ve lived here my whole life.

As a people, many Asians are used to experiencing earthquakes throughout Asia. It’s pretty routine in Taiwan, Japan, and China. How my family chose the one area in the U.S. that also has earthquakes seems a bit ironic.

How am I supposed to live my life knowing that THE BIG ONE could happen at any moment? How long can we wait on pins and needles? Add in the wildfire threats we face every year and it’s a wonder we can get anything done.

The answer is, we can’t live that way. You prepare the best you can, and just go with the flow. Or in this case, "take a break from the quake."

That’s just how I roll. But I’ve been around long enough that maybe I shouldn’t be quite as calm as I tend to be when an earthquake occurs.

Years ago, I walked into the house after a long day at work and out of pure exhaustion, plopped onto an easy chair. Right at that moment, the house started shaking back and forth and I heard a big rumble throughout the building. What was my response? Run for cover? No.

I got up and flopped back down onto the recliner to see if I could do it again.

On another occasion, I was driving and stopped at a light when suddenly the car started rocking side to side. For several seconds, the lightposts swayed back and forth. I looked in the back seat to be sure the kids were okay. My first thought after that was to turn down the music and wonder how loud the music had been and whether it caused the quake.

Apparently, I still haven’t changed my tune.

During several weeks last month, I had an issue getting online to access a bank account. I just hadn’t been able to fix the problem despite calling the bank numerous times, getting put on hold, and them apologizing to me repeatedly and asking me to be patient. It’s been a very frustrating experience.

Then, I received a call and the representative told me they fixed the problem, apologized again, and asked if they could go through everything with me to be sure the issue was solved on my end.

Right at that moment, the earthquake hit.

My lovely wife Maya ran to my desk and said, "Get up! Get under the table! We’re having an earthquake!!!"

My response?

"I’ll be right there! I just need to make sure they’ve got my login and password right!"

I may be doomed.

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