Where's the worst place to be in during an earthquake?

I'm not talking embarrassing places like sitting on the john, trying to -- as Truong would so delicately say -- pinch off a loaf so you can run, duck and cover. No. I'm talking about where's the worse place to be in terms of safety.

That would be an elevator, right? All the experts say in the event of a fire or earthquake, do not take the elevator.

Guess where we were this morning when the 5.4 hit? You guessed it. Just stepping into an elevator. The kids and I picked up Truong for lunch and we had just stepped into the elevator to go to the ground floor. Kael was madly punching the buttons when the doors started acting weird. It wouldn't, couldn't close. The elevator starting shaking and swaying. I could see the doors trying to close but they were off center, rocking left to right. It was weird to see the frame and the elevator move in opposite directions. At first I thought: well, damn -- Kael broke the elevator! But it continued to sway and that's when I realized that it was an earthquake. Almost immediately I thought "Crap! We're in an elevator where the only lifeline is a cable that could snap at anytime..." Just when I started to make my move to pick up the kids and push everyone out, the swaying stopped. The doors closed and we moved down.

When the doors opened, Truong and I just stood there, not moving. I'm not sure why we hesitated except that the experience really weirded us out. We heard some people talking in the lobby and that's when we realized we weren't transported to another dimension in that crazy ass elevator and got off.

All in all, I have to wholeheartedly agree with the experts: Do NOT get on an elevator during an earthquake.

On a side note that's kind of funny: I got phone calls from friends wanting to make sure I was OK. The first call was from Shana, who was in Carlsbad (nearish San Diego) so I could understand her knowing about the quake. She is, after all not only in the same state, but in the area.

The odd call I got was from Erin. The same Erin who lives in Saline, Michigan. MICHIGAN! How in the hell did she hear about the quake fast enough to make a phone call within 20 minutes of it happening?! But that's not all. She got a phone call from her mom, Maureen who lives in Massachusetts. MASSACHUSETTS! Maureen heard about it, called Erin in Michigan, to let Erin know that there was a quake in Chino Hills and wasn't that near where you lived? So then Erin got on the horn and called me.

Wow. That's the longest grapevine I've ever encountered.