Aftershocks

     Thank you for continuing to pay attention after the news cycle has moved on and largely left Japan for more exciting news. Thank you for continuing to care and to pray. God bless you!
     We're still here.
     Aftershocks seemed to be fewer there for a while.
     No more.
     We are still fine. We haven't suffered any damage. The panic buying and the petrol shortages and the blackouts haven't returned. But it is unsettling.
     Aftershocks have been so many we've lost count. Aftershocks have been so many we are learning finer and finer ways to distinguish them. Anybody can talk about mere size (magnitude) and location (epicenter) and some can discuss whether they had or didn't have accompanying tsunami warnings. But aftershocks are now so frequent we are discussing what makes an earthquake an earthquake in it's own right as opposed to an aftershock of the March 11th big one. Aftershocks are now so frequent we discuss all the different locations we've been when they've struck: in bed, in the kitchen, driving, outside, in a restaurant, in the supermarket, etc. etc. Aftershocks have refined our English vocabulary in the area of movement. We now not only "shake", we "sway", "swoon", "convulse", "rock", "swing", "vibrate", "rattle", "pitch", "wave", "jump", "jolt", "ricochet", "float", etc. (!)