Hopefully it is the first quarter, and not the last.  Only three more days of being 25 and into 26. Over the hump. The 25th year was not a particularly good one for me.  It had some momemts, like getting a new job that I like and going to Italy, but I think I was depressed for most of it.  My old job really crushed me emotionally and school was just a struggle.  The last few months, things started to look up and then my mom became sick and has been getting worse.  She really depressed, hasn’t worked in months, and is staying with a friend who has her own issues which is not helping either of them.  I’m going down there today to figure out what we are going to do.  I also have two job interviews while I’m down there: UM’s CARD program as an educational consultant and the MDC ACCESS Program as an advisor.  The UM is full time and the MDC is part time.  I also applied to the doctoral program at FIU, so we’ll see how that goes.  If I do get accepted in the program for the Spring Semester, my plan was to maybe take the MDC job, so I can take as much classes possible at school and apply for a public school job in the fall.   If I get the UM job, I’ll have to school part time, but I’ll have a full time job with the benefits.  Problem with the UM job is that it doesn’t pay much, but the benefits are good if you plan to go to UM for a Masters.  So there are pros and cons to both.  Of course I have to get offered either of the jobs first.  Oprah said that 26 was a “wow” year for her, and I hope for me as well.  I do feel a little bit more motivated about school, be dedicated, and be done.  I also need to work, but the time will pass and the time will come.

Sam.sa.ra: The eternal cycle of birth, suffering, death, and rebirth.

I have a serious problem with procrastination.  I have a 12 page paper that was due today and didn’t even lift a finger.  Now I’m going to drop the class because I will miss the dead line for this paper and apparently there is no going back according to the syllabus.  So, now I’m out of the money for the class and out of the credits.  I think part of it is that I can’t do all these things at the same time. No matter how much I want to, I do need some down time in my life.  I’ve been working 7 days a week for the past 2 1/2 years and I’m just braindead for anything extra that doesn’t have to be done. But at what I price, the price of tuition of course.  Why do I keep on doing this to myself! 

While I was sitting watching Sunday morning tv, the objects on my mantle started rattle slightly. My first reaction is a huge truck rattling the neighborhood, but I didn’t hear I truck.  A few minutes later on the news, there was a earthquake in the middle of the Gulf of Mexico.  At least it wasn’t a poltergeist as my father suggested.

Tremors rattle local residents
6.0 earthquake reported in Gulf of Mexico

By SUZETTE PORTER

The blue square shows the epicenter of Sunday morning’s 6.0 magnitude earthquake 260 miles west-southwest of Clearwater.

PINELLAS COUNTY – A magnitude 6.0 earthquake that originated in the Gulf of Mexico at 10:56 a.m. Sunday rattled windows of local residents, and tremors were felt as far north as Georgia and Alabama.

According to the U.S. Geological Survey, National Earthquake Information Center, the epicenter of the quake was in the Gulf of Mexico 260 miles west-southwest of Clearwater and about 6.2 miles below the surface.

A 6.0 earthquake on the Richter scale is classified as strong. According to Wikipedia, strong quakes can be destructive in areas up to about 100 miles across in populated regions. About 120 are reported a year.

More than 200 county residents reported feeling the effects of the quake to the U.S. Geological Survey, National Earthquake Information Center on Sunday morning. Local reports came in from Clearwater, Clearwater Beach, Largo, Pinellas Park, Seminole and St. Petersburg.

No major damage was reported. The USGS said there was no danger of a tsunami.

Florida is not known as a place where earthquakes are considered a hazard; however, history shows that the state has experienced several earthquakes or “tremors” over the years. Only one has ever caused “considerable damage,” according to an USGS bulletin.

The earliest recorded earthquake occurred near St. Augustine in January 1878, according to the 1971 bulletin, and reportedly knocked plaster from wall and articles from shelves.

Floridians felt the effects of two strong earthquakes located in Cuba in January 1880, and were shaken by the Charleston, S.C. quake in August 1886.

Minor quakes, 3.0-3.9 on the Richter scale, were reported in Jacksonville in 1893 and 1900.

Quakes in more modern history include the one reported in Captiva on Captiva Island in November 1948. In 1952, a “slight tremor” was reported by residents of Quincy, a small town northwest of Tallahassee.

Before Sunday’s quake, the most recent event was recorded Nov. 13, 1978, near Lake City. Authorities said the quake originated in the Atlantic Ocean.

No tremors were reported by the Gainesville seismographic station from 1978 to 1991.

According to information at www.dep.state.fl.us, Florida is located on the trailing (or passive) margin of the North American Plate while California is located on its active margin. The active margin is bounded by faults that generate earthquakes when there is movement along them.

“This is the fundamental reason that Florida has an extremely low incidence of earthquakes while California experiences many (mostly small) earthquakes,” according to the Florida Geological Survey.

The FGS said because earthquakes are most often associated with faults, it has received numerous inquiries about the location of faults in the state.

” A number of faults have been proposed by various authors over the years based on various criteria,” the USG said. “Because of the difficulties in defining faults in the state there is little agreement concerning the validity of those which have been proposed.”

Florida’s unique geology makes it difficult to define faults.

“The natural process that causes limestone to dissolve may obscure what was originally a faulted surface,” the USG said. “Faults have been proposed based on unconventional criteria such as water quality changes … None of the proposed features in Florida are known to have any seismicity associated with them. “

Article published on Sunday, Sept. 10, 2006

I’ve been listening to the Eva Cassidy version of “The Letter” and interestingly enough I got 3 letters today.

1. City Code Violation- The overgrowth in my backyard is violating the alley in the back.  The alley that no one ever goes through, except code inspectors.  Solution suggested – mow it.

2. Overdraft Protection- My checking account has overdrafted 500 dollars from savings account, since I didn’t have enough money to pay the mortgage in checking. (I had to buy a last minute plane ticket and pay for my car to be repaired in one week) Now I only have the requisite 5 dollar minimum in my checking.

3. Academic Probation letter – This one is from the special education department. Because I had an I that turned into an F, my GPA is under a 3.0. I’ve switched programs and I wonder will the GPA still be the same, probably. I got to get good grades this semester in my library science classes.

Lonely days are gone, I’m a comin home, my baby -he wrote me a letter.