176 - Now... this is a story about how my life got flip turned upside down

Good blog titles are hard to come by, so from now on I'm going to pilfer from 90's sitcoms if I can't come up with anything else.

For some reason I've gotten on a 'what would I do if there was an Apocalypse?' kick. I've always had a bizarre fascination with it, but lately I find myself starting to think of it in terms of reality rather than mere fantasy (The Stand, awesome book, favorite #2, second only to 1984). I guess it's a combination of having made it through Ike, the hype about the H1N1 virus, 2012, remembering 9/11, hearing Capt. Sully speak, and now Haiti... whatever it is, I'm starting to feel like I should prepare for something.

Only problem is... I don't know what kind of Apocalypse I'm preparing for (or even if I'm spelling it correctly). That makes it hard to prepare... Am I preparing for another hurricane, a big flood, meteorites, a pandemic, terrorism, global warming, zombies or Skynet?  ;)

I usually start out thinking 'pandemic,' so I think along the lines of staying home and sheltering in place. I can get filters and water purification tablets, I can cook on the grill, if I stock up on certain items (powdered milk, vitamins, toilet paper, pre-moistened cleansing cloths, hand sanitizer, canned goods, water, jerky, cat food, water) I can probably last a while. Especially if water and electricity stay on. If not, things start to get more complicated.

Then I start to consider the breakdown of social systems... the police force isn't necessarily immune to all this, what if they aren't in the equation? Lawlessness, vandalism, roving gangs of thugs looting people's empty homes a la New Orleans... the scenario morphs to something much more dramatic... now I may have to leave my home and head for a more remote area (or find a more secure home).

So in the new scenario I need a compass, thermal blankets, MRE's, a flint so I can start a fire, something to carry water in and cook in, some fishing line and hooks, a first aid kit, a crankable flashlight, an inflatable boat -- I'm getting serious!

And, admittedly, a little paranoid...

I know how bad the roads were when we evacuated for Rita... I can only imagine an emergency where sick people are also stubbornly trying to leave, then they die on the roads and clog the freeways, cars break down, people have accidents... that part is all too real to me. During the evacuation for Rita, we spent 18 hours on the road, going to a family member's house that is normally less than 7 hours away. For hours at a time we sat in the car and didn't move, not knowing if the car was going to overheat, the cats were in cages, we were exhausted... That experience is the reason I stayed behind for Ike. That experience is the reason that if traffic doesn't move -- to this day -- I literally start hyperventilating. I don't like to feel trapped.

In this scenario I don't know what to do with my cats. I don't know if I'll have a vehicle, whether I'll be in a group or flying solo. This scenario is more terrifying because it's outside the box and if I encounter other people I don't know if they're trustworthy. There are no locks on a tent. And when everyone is desperate, all bets are off. And animals get hungry when they aren't fed...

Of course, the worst case scenario -- hands down -- is the Skynet Zombie Apocalypse.

That was a joke to lighten the mood.

The other stuff I'm a little serious about...

Good new is, there's so much neat stuff out there... There's a collapsible straw with a filter in it that's good for 20 gallons of water, and it filters out nasty bacteria. It doesn't take up much space and if you can't get a fire started, it's a way to get some water into your system. Some of the survival knives have hollow handles for carrying water or stowing things like needles and thread, matches, etc. Some of these things might even be good to have on hand in case there's another hurricane that comes through. Last time wasn't too bad for me, three days with no power, questionable water supply for a few days... if I had some of these supplies they might have been helpful. As it was, I had plenty of charcoal, my refrigerator kept things cold, and I'd stocked up on water. If it had gone on much longer I might have had to improvise.

Am I the only one who sometimes thinks 'what would I do if I had to survive?' Is that paranoid or is it just me testing myself as a writer? I tend to put myself into the story when I'm reading a book or watching a movie, so I start thinking about these things... what would I do if I were in that situation? As a writer, I try to write myself out it, I think of every possible scenario. I think that's probably a good tool to have in an emergency... like an Apocalypse... but sometimes I wonder what it does to my psyche...

Day 6. I can definitely tell a difference in my endurance. I don't breathe as heavily during the cardio. I used my 5 lb weights for about half the routine. Attempted regular pushups and failed miserably... The muscles in my biceps are certainly more toned though (they might actually be a little swollen, because they're pretty big when I flex.. ba-BAM -- welcome to the gun show...). My jeans don't fit differently yet, at least not that I can tell, but I do think my belly is flattening a bit. I'll do level one for a couple more days, then (God help me) attempt level 2... I have a feeling the pain is going to come back stronger than before...