Mrs. Newbie's First Earthquake

SHE GETS EMAIL earthquake alerts. She checks the USGS LA quake map. But today was the first time Mrs. Atwater Village Newbie felt a good ol' Southern California shaker - a 3.5 centered near Chatsworth - first hand. She was working 15 miles away in Sherman Oaks when things starting falling off shelves. A few people screamed, and she had to mute a conference call for a few seconds. A few seconds. That's all it was. She was shaken, not stirred. Mr. Newbie, on the other hand, in an office in Glendale, felt nothing. I'll wait, thanks.