apparently, it is emergency preparedness month. you would think that an over-prepared person like me would have at least a dozen of these already, but sadly that is not the case. i am simply lazy and, frankly, overwhelmed by the long lists of supplies that should go in a kit.

putting these together had seemed like a monumental task and i had been putting it off for a long time. i imagined that i might get stuck without one, but the “it hasn’t happened yet attitude” was stronger in this young padawan. until today.

fortunately, my local library made it easy for me to overcome my laziness. i bought an emergency preparedness kit for home (everything is in a handy industrial strength bucket including a lid that is a toilet seat – awesome!) and a roadside emergency kit for the car. i dug the small kit that a previous employer gave m out of the closet and will keep it upstairs. this small kit is surprisingly well-stocked but i suppose i shouldn’t be surprised…she got it when we lived in sf. the same sf that has its own web site and handbook for handling disaster.

i spent the better part of two hours reviewing disaster checklists and adding some extra (personal) things the kits didn’t include. maintaining said kits will also take a bit of time but most of the hard work is done. the small kit had some water packets that were expired so i’ll get some more of those. at only $0.29, i think i can manage.

i have no idea if i could’ve put these 2 kits together for less than the $120 i paid for them. but in a disaster, i won’t care how i came by them, i’ll just be grateful i have them.

i forgot my everyday bag (i don’t carry a “purse,” per se, especially by LA standards) at home today. of course, i wasn’t concerned about my wallet. i was concerned about my earbuds, notebook, and various fountain pens. at the tier 2 level, i was missing chapstick. yet, somehow, i still managed to entertain myself with various iOS devices, 2 sets of colored pencils, a bottle of water, a joan didion book of essays, and a mug of coffee. i’m like a human swiss army knife of crap (but at least it’s *cool* crap).

88 episodes of inspector gadget and 163 episodes of rocky and bullwinkle are available to stream on netflix. what a splendid way to pass some time!