Earthquake Diary 36

About 25 minutes ago we had another very strong aftershock - 6.5 and very shallow. It is really getting to be very tiresome.

Today I will teach my first lesson since before the earthquake. I have private lessons for a husband and wife and they will come this afternoon. I guess that the topic for today will be earthquakes and how to talk about what happened.

This morning I will be alone because the rest of my family is going to the doctor to get a prescription refilled. I will stay home and work on my computer or more likely try to relax by watching TV.

We had good news yesterday. An official building inspector investigated and reported that our building is okay, not structural damage. There is a lot of damage outside but that can be repaired or ignored at leisure.

We also heard that an Indian restaurant that we liked very much is closing. It was run by a friend of a friend and had a Nepalese husband and wife as cooks. The building was badly damaged in the quake and can not be repaired, so they are closing the the Nepalese couple have returned to Nepal. I regret that very much because the food was really good. We have two other Indian restaurants near our apartment. We have been to one and it is okay. It is Indian rather than Nepalese. The second one, we just discovered the other day and have not been there so we do not know how good it is.

I am not sure what the reason is, probably just coincidence, but every time I sit down to do my daily 40 minute meditation, we have a strong aftershock. They seem to come just before I start and have a negative influence on my sitting. If they come while I am sitting, there is no problem. I just briefly note that every thing is shaking and then go back to the meditation. However, when I am not meditating, I have a fairly strong physical reaction and that effects the subsequent sitting. I suppose it would be worse if I were not meditating. It is interesting how the human mind, or my mind at least, attributes coincidences to some causal effect - I am going to meditate, there is an earthquake, the quake is caused by my preparation to meditate. Logically I know that it is not true, but something in my mind wants to believe it.