Was that shaking first-day nerves?

I spent my first day on my new job in San Diego undergoing orientation with several other newbies.

During one presentation, the company's head safety guy reviewed what we should do in case of an earthquake - move away from windows; stay in the building (which was constructed to withstand magnitude 5 shakes); and hide under a desk if you really feel such a precaution is necessary (though it probably won't be).

People here keep telling me that the city is relatively safe from the big quakes that could wreck L.A. or San Francisco because the really nasty fault lines run well east of San Diego in the desert.

I'm hoping the theory is never tested.

Meanwhile, a new report says that I won't have to spend days fretting over the approach of a big quake the same way I used to brood over approaching hurricanes in the Gulf of Mexico. That's a relief.