I knew we should have used that half bath rough-in for a safe room.

I live just outside of Washington, D.C., a city that generally saves its sturm und drang for the Capitol itself.  In terms of weather, the mid-Atlantic is a pretty mild place to be.  It has definite seasons -- a lovely spring and fall, a relatively brief and bearable winter, and a never ending summer straight from the swampy bowels of hell itself.  We have lots of quick summer thunderstorms (PSA:  If you're flying to or from DC in the summer, do yourself a favor and fly in the morning.  Trust me on this one.), but no real rainy season.  It doesn't even snow much; with the exception of Snowpocalypse 2010, snow is rare and, when it occurs, fleeting.

That said, we have had both an earthquake and a hurricane in the course of five days, so I'm kind of wondering what's next.  I mean, personally, we got off scot-free in these last two brushes with Mother Nature.  You saw our pathetic earthquake "damage" and the hurricane "destruction" was just as wee, so I'm assuming The Big One must be coming, whatever it is.  Locusts wouldn't really surprise me, what with the stink bug and termite issues we have had this year.  I mean, they're gross, but I'm thinking it will be something more exotic.  Perhaps an ancient and long dormant volcano in the Virginia countryside?  A tsunami probably isn't too likely given our distance inland.  Perhaps a limnic eruption?  Or a comet obliterating the beltway?

I know I am making light of a disaster that affected many, when I just should be grateful we survived without so much as our power flickering, and believe me, I really am.  But COME ONNNN -- a hurricane and a freaking EARTHQUAKE?  In a matter of five days?  In a place where hurricanes are unusual and earthquakes are really rare?  Between this and Lady Gaga with the Joe Calderone debacle, I'm beginning to see how one might argue that the end of days is nigh.