Do you lie in bed planning your day and rehearse your parents’ eulogies just in case you’re called upon to make them at short notice? Do you think about what your future self would have to say to validate their identity when they travel through time to give you advice? Have you thought about how defensible your house will be in the case of a zombie attack? Do you think about where the safest place to stand would be in an earthquake?
Cause I do…
It’s not that I’m expecting death, or time travel, or the apocalypse. If I was I’d be better prepared. I mean, our house wasn’t built with zombies or earthquakes in mind, and if society falls apart… well, I don’t have an off-road vehicle, can’t light a fire without matches and basically the only useful skill I bring to a group of survivors is the ability to milk a cow. Assuming there are cows.
But I do know what I’d say to my past self in order to validate my identity if the time travel thing ever come up. And I know where my sword is. Although the hockey stick would probably be the more effective weapon. Come to think of it, my Æbleskiver pan would be pretty good. It’s cast iron and has great balance.
Because I think about it. I wonder what would happen if between one moment and the next everything fell apart. Probably regret that I never took it seriously. So I don’t change my coat when I have that thought. But it’s a choice. I’ve resigned myself to it. If the apocalypse comes and I’m cold, I will be responsible for that. This will be the last normal moment. You’ll remember this and wish you’d done it differently. Which is a weird thing to think when you step out of your house.
Of course the other thought I tend to have as I cross my threshold is, How many days has it been since I was last outside? So, you know, that’s probably not normal either. And if the apocalypse comes… well, my coat will probably be the least of my problems.
Kandace Mavrick
Paul McLaughlan
platform thing 
Claire
18/11/2011
Never underestimate the value of a heavy-base frying pan in combat.
Angela Scott
19/11/2011
Yeah. If the apocalypse happens, I’m pretty much screwed. I have a lot of glass windows and doors. Hard to board up. I also own one rifle and no bullets. I have very little food storage.
But on the up side, I think I would make a pretty fierce zombie 🙂
If something bad happens, I want to be one of the destroyed right off the bat. I know myself. I would make a horrible survivor–complaining and crying and stuff like that.
I should try harder to be prepared. Perhaps I will.
Great post. Now you have me thinking about all this stuff, too.
Consider yourself stalked! I will be back.
Kandace Mavrick
21/11/2011
Note to self: in case of apocalypse avoid Angela. Probably a zombie. Will eat your brains.
Of course… given the floor to ceiling windows we have on half the house I’ll probably be right there with you in the zombie horde 🙂
arkayspark
19/11/2011
Yes, at one time I thought about carrying the SAS survival minibox, what you can’t do without in emergencies… although it would cause problems if you left it in your handbag getting on a plane now… there were sharp objects, I remember.
arkayspark
19/11/2011
Doom survival
Chapter 3 and appendix a in
http://doomguide.com/sas/
Kandace Mavrick
21/11/2011
That is kind of awesome. Especially the ‘psychology of survival’ part. Now want to join the SAS for research… possibly not the best motivation?
arkayspark
21/11/2011
Check this one out!!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Survival_kit
Supplies in a survival kit normally contain a knife (often a Swiss army knife or a multi-tool), matches, tinder, first aid kit, bandana, fish hooks, sewing kit, and an LED flashlight and laser pointer with long shelf-life batteries (usually lithium type)
Laser pointer?
Minkie
12/03/2012
http://www.bt.cdc.gov/socialmedia/zombies_blog.asp
Because the CDC are looking out for you. That clause was intended to mean “looking after you” however without the verbal emphasis it could be misinterpretted.
One reason to have a car instead of a bike is that your emergency kit/toolbox in a car is very useful if things go wrong ( Breakdown/ too drunk to drive/ Earthquake/ Zombie outbreak/ Timequake etc ).
Just realised that I need to add toothbrush/paste to the bag