Happy New Year...Now Get Going!

I am not much of a resolution maker. I am, however, a great checklist maker. In fact I love finding just the right pen or freshly sharpened pencil to make neat square boxes and "things to do" beside each box. As much as I love my iPad and iMac, I am a pencil and paper person at heart and relish the opportunity to write something by hand.

Resolutions are full of baggage and stigmas. Checklists are fun and unthreatening. So, this year, get our some paper and your favorite writing implement and start your to-do checklist.

Of course this list will have something to do with emergency preparedness, but perhaps with a twist you have not expected.

Write out the name and contact information for your out of state contact, then CALL him or her. Say hello, how are you and, if they live anywhere outside of Southern California, how much snow are you shoveling out of your driveway? Ha! Ha!

You may think of friends or relatives this time of year and maybe send them a newsy Holiday Letter, but nothing replaces picking up the phone and talking to them. Like feeling the pencil slide smoothly across paper, we often forget the nice feeling we get when we actively participate in life. Even the simple little things.

Now what about your neighbors? You may wave to them, smile, and recognize them anywhere, but do they know where the spare key to your house is? Do they know the name of your pets so they can help them if you cannot return to your house as you expected? Could they turn off your gas for you?

So...the first item next to your top box is simply to reach out to others. Call them, talk to them, let them know that you there. Just don't wait until it is too late. For any reason and for many reasons.

Say Happy New Year today.

What's in Santa's Sleigh?

Twas the day before Christmas and all through the workshop, Mrs. Claus was making sure the Big Red Guy had everything he needed on his long trip around the world that night. And think of all of the situations that a trip around the world in one night might require! Honestly, he would need a second sleigh just to hold his emergency kit!

If you are traveling over the holidays, and probably not flying via reindeer, you still need to take your emergency preparedness kit with you. In Southern California, the weather has been crazy, with heavy rain and mudslides, thanks to Mother Nature’s winter fury. So, moving around in this stuff should make us particularly cautious!

Remember that traveling could take you to places and climates that are not normal for you. Traveling to the mountains means carrying tire chains and extra boots, hats, coats and gloves. If you are going somewhere remote or at night, you need to have some flares, too.

Preparing yourself is important, too. “Fortifying” yourself with Egg Nog might taste great, but loading yourself with alcohol then driving is detrimental to everyone. Eating all that good food one day a year is not by itself harmful – although you really don’t want to see how many fat calories are in Pecan Pie! -- you can become quite drowsy as the blood heads to your stomach to digest all that stuff and leaves your head, well, rather empty. Also, not good for driving.

While we do not have the same “time-space continuum” that Santa has to make his rounds, we still do have the element of time to use and enjoy. Take your time over the holidays. Don’t worry when traffic gets heavy or your husband needs just a few more minutes to check every lock before you leave. Relax, smile and enjoy the fact that we are here today, and happy and well.

So, in Clement C. Moore’s immortal words, “Happy Christmas to all, and to all a good night.”

Get Cranky with your Radio

Cranky? Windup radio? Get it? Yes, you are probably sighing and rolling your eyes, too. Actually with teenagers you begin to believe that people respond that way to everything you say. Well, anything that YOU believe to be clever anyway. It IS the big gift-giving time of the year (seemingly regardless of your religion, or lack thereof...), so why not take this opportunity to get something cool (gadget-wise) AND useful...The crank or wind-up radio!

Recently there have been reviews of a few different models. Generally, they all seem to be pretty good and reasonably priced. Originally these were designed for emergency situations, but they are good general tools to have around – in your car, tool or sewing kit – so you can have a flashlight that works without having to hunt around for fresh batteries. The power comes from you!

Two qualifiers, however. One, cranking means that. You have to crank. The more times around, the more power you generate. If you want time to pass slowly, or get a good arm workout, just try to crank one of these guys for a couple minutes. I was surprised how tired my arm was. Forget the gym - just crank your flashlight for a few minutes a day! Oh, I can just see the Info-mercial...

Second qualifier is that you need to crank them a few times once every few months. I found this out the hard way. I had one sitting for over a year and when I tried to get some light out of it, I nearly wore my arm out getting only a small flicker of light. Future models may improve, but for now that is just another thing to add to your “Quarterly House Duties,” like checking your smoke detector batteries.

Some Crank Devices (I will call them) can do a whole lot more. Most are also flashlights, often with a flashing emergency light, too. I would choose LED types, as they require less energy to work. Mine, an Eton Microlink FR160, has the AM/FM radio, with an additional NOAA weather band. It also an USB cell phone charger (which I have not yet tested), and can be powered with solar energy. It’s a cool green color and cost me $30 a year ago, but I am sure there are others out there that have similar features and could cost less. Especially now that practically every place has everything on sale.

So consider getting a Crank Device soon. For a present, or just because. And, believe it or not, Santa IS watching, and in this case, cranky is OK.

Greetings from Sunny Southern California!

It was extremely difficult to think of anything but sweet calming thoughts as I strolled along the beach yesterday with a glassy ocean and 85 degree weather. As I sat with my family on the bench at the Laguna Beach boardwalk, I could not help but feel my blood pressure drop and the corners of my mouth drift up. What a perfect day!

And what could possibly go wrong on such a beautiful day? Well, fortunately, nothing did. But I have to admit that whenever I leave my house, I can’t just jump in the car and go. Not since I realized "what could happen...,” by which I mean an earthquake. And potentially a big one.

When my children were little, I always had the dreaded "diaper bag" with me. How I came to hate that little bag with cartoon animals on it, stuffed with food, extra diapers, clothes, toys. Honestly with all of the stuff I crammed in there, it seemed like Mary Poppins bottomless carpet bag. It was like preparing for battle!

I rejoiced when my children finally stopped having accidents that required a change of clothes and started growing up. What a freedom I felt! Now, alas, the diaper bag has been replaced by another bag...the emergency bag. So when I go somewhere, anywhere, I feel compelled to make sure I have a case of water in the back, some comfortable walking shoes and a jacket. I also toss in a blanket and first aid kit for good measure.

There are certainly more things that I carry when leaving home for a longer trip, but those are my mainstays. I really don't think of this as being paranoid, but I would likely really kick myself if I got stuck with my family somewhere when I didn’t have the basics. So I take a few extra minutes while everyone in the car sighs and glance at each other while mom gets just a few extra things. It does not bother me, though. Not when I can sit on the beach in December in 80 degree weather and feel very calm and assured.

And at least I didn't have that darn diaper bag.

Promise to Prepare

Promises are to keep, right? The reality is that we TRY to keep them. However, unlike New Year’s Resolutions, a “Promise to Prepare” in Orange County [http://readyoc.org/promisetoprepare/index.html]
is one that is easy to make and fulfill. It is simply: Get a Kit • Make a Plan • Volunteer.

WHAT? You have to DO something? Yes, but it is really easy, and I am here to help...

1. Get a Kit.
This is really not as difficult as it sounds. There are LOTS of places to find information on what to have, how to store it, and so on, but I would recommend starting at the Emergency Preparedness website at CSUF: http://prepare.fullerton.edu. On that site, you will find “12 Steps to Preparedness.” Read them all at once, or, as it was intended, read them one at a time, once each week. Before you know it, you will be very prepared and it will seem like hardly any effort at all.

2. Make a Plan.

Making a plan simply means considering the things that are important to you and what you would do with/for them in an emergency. A Family Plan, a Pet Plan, a Car Plan, an Evacuation Plan. Often just thinking about what you need to do will lead you to some really good solutions on what things need your attention. And, at readyoc.org, you will find lots of templates to help you.

3. Volunteer.

Volunteer at work to be your emergency coordinator for your office. Volunteer in your neighborhood to be a source of information for preparedness. Trust me, you WILL benefit from having those around you well prepared for an emergency. Having those around you educated, prepared and able to help you and your community will mean that you will be way ahead in the survival game in a large scale disaster.

So, that’s it. Just 3 things. It’s really not so hard, and it is a promise that you will very glad you kept.