First Tremors

My first 11 months in California have been very pleasant. After living in Madison for 2 years, one feels strangely privileged for the chance to live in an area with mild winters. Surprisingly Tuesday was the first time that I experienced the San-Andreas at work below me. So good weather comes at a price... you're now sitting atop a fickle fault line at the mercy of plate tectonics. The radio on my way to work never ceases to remind me: "In California every day is earthquake season", making a queer allusion to the Deep South where hurricanes only occur during a specific part of the year. Ideally I am supposed to stock my car with water and enough food to last me two days... but I've not done that.

On Tuesday though, I was a little annoyed when all of a sudden the lid of my cabinet started making noises. I then realized that I could feel some back and forth vibrations at my hands near the keyboard as well. Suddenly the leaves of the plants on my desk also started swaying a little. I am on the top floor at work, closer to the edge of the building. Given the building's earthquake-aware design, I am probably one of the people who would get amplified shock waves from around the state.

I walked across the aisle to another co-worker's cube to ask him if he felt anything, and the tremors didn't seem to have registered with him. He said "Oh there are small one's all the time. If you feel a big one, just duck under your table!"

So then I checked with the US Geological Survey Website. I also found a link to a seismometer at Stanford but didn't see anything substantial on the waves there. The USGS Website listed some minor 2.9 magnitude earthquakes around here but none really substantial enough to be felt.
But this does seem like the most seismically active region of the United States given the USGS data.

There was a larger earthquake down in Mexico but that's about a 1000 miles away. I highly doubt I would feel that one. So I really wonder what it was... my roommate felt the first few shocks too but I am beginning to wonder if it was just some construction work going on somewhere in the building. :)