The (remnants of the) Dishes

Dishes.gif Our china cabinet, post-earthquake. This is actually the top half of a standard two-piece cabinet, which I took apart and placed side-by-side, since our Japanese lifestyle puts us at floor level most of the time anyway. Both cabinets stayed upright during the earthquake because the motion was parallel to the front of the cabinets. Aside from these two cabinets and a toy cabinet in the children's room, nearly every tall and narrow item we own, including the bookshelves, dressers, wardrobes, refrigerator, kitchen cabinets, etc., was oriented perpendicular to the earthquake's motion, and hence, tipped over. Only three items did not tip over: the TV, the audio rack and the computer table, all of which are mounted on wheels and merely rolled back and forth.

The doll case remained on top of the cabinet, though the doll itself fell over. That's odd, considering how incredibly fragile that doll case is. (I'm afraid to dust it!) The hamster cage was put on top of the cabinet after the quake. It had been tossed onto the floor upside down, scattering wood shavings and other rodent detritus from one end of the living room to the other. (Between that and the water from the turtle and fish tanks, our carpet was, by far, the biggest casualty of the earthquake.)

Note the two Starbucks commuter mugs standing by themselves on the top shelf -- saved by the foam rubber pads on their bottoms. (Does anyone know where I can buy formal diningware with foam rubber pads?)


Nengaletter / Earthquake