We've had some rockers recently, aftershocks they call them, but they are earthquakes in the truest sense. Sometimes they're just a rumble and a quiver or two, other times they have knocked stuff off my shelves and shaken the walls so much I think I have blurred vision.

For the first two or three weeks after the initial disaster, there were shortages of some foods, as well as gasoline, but the store shelves are gradually filling up, and there are no longer gas lines (although gasoline is about a dollar a gallon more expensive now than it was before the disaster).

Some roads are still in pretty bad shape, it will take a while to get them all repaired. And some rail lines are still in bad shape as well, but they seem to be making progress in getting them back in operation.

I will admit for the first couple of weeks after the initial disaster or so, I was pretty freaked out. One day there were several large earthquakes in relatively rapid succession in the vicinity of the reactors, and seeing where X marked the spot on small earthquake maps, I got a sickening feeling that they were from nuclear-induced explosions. But further investigation revealed that they had originated from a mountainous area several miles away from the reactors. Since that time, I have calmed down a bit, especially after gathering information from a wide variety of sources about radiation levels, etc. And the US Embassy has recently updated its travel advisory for Japan, removing the caution about "unnecessary" travel to my area. The 50-mile recommended evacuation zone around the reactors is still in effect, though.