Midwest Earthquake

[figrin bran]

I didn't feel it while at work though I did hear some rattling and just assumed it was the construction crew working outside.

Back home, I had a few items topple to the floor like Masterpiece Optimus Prime and the Lego Well of Souls (the Ark must've caused it!) but that's about it.

[JediTricks]

I was working on the Hasbro SDCC panel writeup when it hit, and up here by Griffith Park, as well as being on the top story, 4th floor, of my apartment building, it was a whopper. I'd say about 30% of my displayed collection was tossed about, much of it heavily. I had to hold onto the monitor to keep it from violently flinging itself off the desk (no exaggeration). It wiped out nearly every freestanding figure on my desk, flung some of my Titaniums off my entertainment center, knocked down a lot of ROTS clones but little else on my main SW display, however my Saga shelf (the only line that got its own shelf, because it largely sucked) was DECIMATED thanks to cheap ikea furniture swaying too much (and stupid poses). On my Gunship, Padme is now leaning forward into a figure's back, and Obi-Wan is down, but the rest of the figures are surprisingly normal. The AT-AP toppled. A large LEGO motorcycle came down right where my head would be if I was still in bed (and if I wasn't on SDCC time, I would have been!). A few things in the closet toppled but not too bad in there. The living room was the most painful because half my Alternators ended up either on their backs or dropping 5 feet, and I haven't checked for damage yet. Masterpiece Starscream had slipped off his crappy flying bot mode stand, but was hanging on by the tiniest of margins (I had planned for MP Prime's earthquake readiness, and thankfully he held up perfectly). Most of my boxed and loose vehicles remained undisturbed, but my Snowspeeder wiped out my 4 LOTR figures which knocked over the Ep 2 Jedi Starfighter which was pushing the ESB X-wing off its shelf and bending a cannon, but I was able to save that from hitting the floor. Looking around, it appears I have even more toppled figures than I first thought, and it's going to take days to track this stuff down. To be honest, I'm not even sure anymore if I want to bother restoring it all.

Oh, and my 50+ Bandai MSIA Gundam figures all on 1 shelf, no troubles. Weird. And I had been planning to take them down!

Except for doorframes, I don't really have a safe place to "duck and cover." My dining room table is GLASS and that's the last thing I want to be under.

Doorways are no longer a viable option for safety. Modern apartments and homes aren't built with the need for super-strong door frames as more of the wall is sharing the load, so the doorways are no more secure than any other native part of the room.

[El Chuxter]

I felt nothing, which is weird, since folks in Palm Springs (about 30 minutes past me, in the same rough line from LA) felt it.

[figrin bran]

Wow, JT, I'm just blocks from you as you know and it wasn't nearly as bad for me though I'm only on the 2nd (and top) story of my apartment building.

Only the floor of my Lego Well of Souls stayed intact while the walls are scattered in pieces across the floor. I'm not sure when I'll want to sit down to rebuild the temple and it even makes me question just how much Lego I want to buy in the future. I had Slave 1 tumble a few months ago, tracked down all the pieces but still haven't rebuilt it yet.

Now interestingly enough, 3 of my JLU 10" figures - Supes, Wonder Woman and Batman fell. Supes and WW tumbled to the floor while Bats fell a bit but landed on top of a nearby box. Guess he shot out a grappling batarang in time.

[Neuroleptic]

Wow, JT, sounds like that may be the perfect opportunity to make some room in your collection for new stuff . . .

I do belive I'd be furious if I had to re-arange and assess for damage that much stuff.

[Bel-Cam Jos]

Here in Rancho Cucamonga, I was just about to make a phone call, felt the first jolt, realized I was in the kitchen (lots of non-locking cabinets) and moved to the doorway (I don't care what they say, it still should be safer than being near my glass coffee table, CD shelf, outside window, stereo, lamps, etc.).

When checking for debris/damage (really was none, just things that fell over), I noticed that two books fell off my Star Wars bookshelves and into my trash can. The titles? Last two books of the Legacy series! Are God and Mother Nature telling us something?

[JediTricks]

That is weird Bran. I suppose you're in the lowlands part of the area while I'm further up the slope on the hill, so maybe there's just more movement here from that. My collection is decimated though, I look around and what was already a mess is now a disaster. I really am thinking about packing it all up instead of fixing it, but at that point it'd really be the end of the road for me and SW, and I just don't want to make that kind of decision rashly.

[Tycho]

What? JT?

I can't believe I'm hearing that from YOU of all people!

I was just wondering if you'd gone out and gotten yourself a Falcon by now, as you seemed to like playing with my ship while you were here.

You're the last person I'd suspect to throw in the towel.

However, at Wal-Mart on the release-night, if I recall correctly, there was one guy with his collector friend who said he was NOT a collector, but just wanted to buy the Millennium Falcon, and the appropriate figures that go with it, for his own enjoyment. I'm sure that vehicle gets a few of those purchases by one-time-only-buyers.

[Droid]

That is weird Bran. I suppose you're in the lowlands part of the area while I'm further up the slope on the hill, so maybe there's just more movement here from that. My collection is decimated though, I look around and what was already a mess is now a disaster. I really am thinking about packing it all up instead of fixing it, but at that point it'd really be the end of the road for me and SW, and I just don't want to make that kind of decision rashly.

Well what did you decide? Are you giving up on Star Wars? I was SHOCKED to read that from you!

[JediTricks]

What? JT?

I can't believe I'm hearing that from YOU of all people!

I was just wondering if you'd gone out and gotten yourself a Falcon by now, as you seemed to like playing with my ship while you were here.

You're the last person I'd suspect to throw in the towel.

However, at Wal-Mart on the release-night, if I recall correctly, there was one guy with his collector friend who said he was NOT a collector, but just wanted to buy the Millennium Falcon, and the appropriate figures that go with it, for his own enjoyment. I'm sure that vehicle gets a few of those purchases by one-time-only-buyers.

Friday at Comic-Con showed me how bad things can be in this hobby, how no matter what one does, the best laid plans can be torn asunder to leave one feeling empty and alone. Then to come back with those thoughts only to have the bulk of my collection torn apart while I'm thinking of quitting only reinforces the negative feelings. I still don't know where I'm going to be in a few months, right now I'm still buying to keep up with my collection until I decide, but I haven't stood any figures back up which is a very bad sign. The Falcon could be the last SW toy I buy, and that will actually be my grandma buying it for me for my birthday at the end of the month.

Well what did you decide? Are you giving up on Star Wars? I was SHOCKED to read that from you!

I haven't decided, I'm pretty much torn right down the middle. I define myself in part by my collecting, it fuels my imagination, but the rewards are dwindling and the drawbacks are numerous, and I'm running out of room. Plus, it's been a major burden trying to catch up with my life while simultaneously trying to catch up with SDCC reporting (no internet at Tycho's really demolished my plans there) and helping others with other stuff. And it's not just Star Wars, but Transformers as well. So for now, I'm kinda in a "wait and see how I feel" mode, I won't make a rash decision.

Thanks for the concern though, gang.