Mister Tectonically Sensitive

As if the Philippines needs any more problems, what with the mudslides and political unrest, we just had an earthquake tonight. It doesn't feel like it was very big and, in fact, I'm not sure Shelly would have felt it if I hadn't pointed it out.

I was sitting here, typing, when I started rocking gently back and forth. It was so mild that I couldn't tell at first if it was an earthquake or if I was, for some unknown reason, feeling tipsy. Shelly was nearby in the living room enjoying a nice foot massage, but didn't seem to notice. I looked at the cat, since I've heard that animals sometimes freak out during an earthquake (or maybe that's before an earthquake, at which point I was too late), but he was dozing on the couch. Before saying anything, I looked at the chandelier and saw that it was swaying back and forth.

Ten minutes later, Google News was reporting an AP story indicating that there was, indeed, an earthquake near Manila.

Don't get me wrong: after living in Japan and on Guam, where they're very common, an earthquake is not that exciting. (Gee, lucky Mom, who hates earthquakes, had the pleasure of earthquakes while visiting in both places, including one that struck during the Old Testament lesson at church on Guam.) It's just that, between me, Shelly and Mister Tanaka, I never would have guessed that I would have been the one most sensitive to tectonic plates moving around.

Edited on Friday to add that the quake was magnitude 5.7, centered about 80 miles south of Manila. Thankfully, no damage or injuries were reported. One single story, in something called "Journal Online," which bills itself as "the online edition of the Philippines' biggest group of daily tabloids," ties the quake to a potential eruption of Mount Mayon, a volcano located well to our southeast. However, their Web site has been down all afternoon, so I haven't been able to read any details.