shake it, baby

San Francisco Identifies Buildings Most at Risk | New York Times

SAN FRANCISCO — The picturesque Victorians and brightly painted apartment buildings where thousands of city residents live and work are especially vulnerable during earthquakes, according to a report issued Friday by the San Francisco Department of Building Inspection.

The report said that an earthquake with a magnitude of 7.2 or higher could render unlivable as many as 85 percent of the city’s “soft-story” apartment buildings — those that are less structurally sound because their ground floors are open space, often used as retail stores or garages. At least 65,000 people live and work in the 2,800 most vulnerable buildings studied in the report.

This is the city I want to end up in for pretty much the rest of my life. I grew up in Chicago and have a lifetime of beautiful memories from there. I used to want to live and work in the fashion industry in New York when I graduated from The Art Institute Of Chicago; that was back in the late 80s and I've since left the industry so New York means little to me today, at least in terms of career.

For me San Francisco represents a return to art making and is an inspiration for writing and for living richly and meaningfully.

As for the earthquakes, I must be philosophical about it. We all have a limited time in this existence, but to live each day paralyzed in fear of disaster and death is to live as if already dead. And how productive and good is that?

^ Yeah, I know, corny mushy touristy video. But still, how can I say no to this?

The best we can do is prepare for certain emergencies but still experience our lives, enjoy our lives, and prosper of ourselves in defiance of any fears we may hold. Practically, this would naturally mean searching for a home that isn't as susceptible to earthquakes as those older buildings, keeping track of where to go in such an emergency, and keeping supplies stashed for when things happen, and knowing exactly what to do in the moment.

In the end, it isn't death that I'm afraid of. What I'm afraid of is not having truly lived.

Related:

the shaking | a space alien