Hurricane Preparedness Checklist, Maiden Aunt Edition
The always helpful and funny sibs at Coalition of the Swilling provided a handy post for things to get and do to prepare for the arrival of a hurricane. Being a renter and the sole (human) resident of my home--not to mention hopeful that the 'burbs where I am are far enough outside Philly to be on the "tropical storm" side of the warnings--I have different things to do. So here's what I did to prepare:
* Cleaned off patio chairs and brought inside so they don't blow away (or through my neighbors' windows). It was already on my list before the management slid a memo under the door stating (paraphrased but just as all-caps shout-y) "GET ANYTHING THAT COULD FLY AWAY OFF YOUR PATIO/BALCONY." Also, "get water, charge your cell phone, keep your fridge closed if the power goes off, etc."
Side note: First casualty of the hurricane occurred when a rough edge on one of the chairs sliced my knuckle as I was cleaning. I'll live.
* Got cat litter. (Because if kitty ain't happy, I'm trapped indoors with statement stink bombs.) I also got a couple cans of tuna (for people) and a couple bottles of water. However, there was a huge traffic snarl as the result of some random unexplained road closure near the store, and I drank almost all of one water bottle. I guess I'll just refill it and stash it in the fridge.
* Dropped off Friday's Wall Street Journal to Mom (so she can enjoy doing the crossword) and mooched some paper towels. We kind of have communal bulk buying--they have the cellar storage I don't for mass quantities of paper products. I already mooched a few AAA batteries for one of my flashlights last night. I also chatted with all the cats and debated two kinds of laptops with Mom.
* Bought a laptop. Yeah, I took the plunge. There was one I tried out (not at that price) last week at another store, and it showed up in another store's ad with a way better price and offers on Office 2010 and antivirus. I had to buy it this week to get the deals. (Even the manager had to look at the ad I brought so everything was rung up correctly.)
Poor ol' Lappy must've been some sort of fluke, because I didn't have to deal with battery failure or anything like that. I think I had a virus once and it didn't wipe anything out, fortunately. It never occurred to me that sort of thing could happen. Ignorance truly is bliss!
Now I'm not taking any chances; it's a whole new ballgame after five years. So add on the two year protection and the setup service (I figured it was worth it, because I don't know Windows7 well enough to pull off useless trial stuff and the like), the antivirus (which after rebates will be free, yay), and I have sticker shock. But I got what I needed.
Or at least I'll have it tomorrow morning when it's ready.
Left to do: pray a Rosary that the stupid leak under the dining room A/C (which only appears when it rains really hard and sideways) is minimal. Oh, and also that nobody gets hurt, either.
Have a safe weekend, everyone.
* Cleaned off patio chairs and brought inside so they don't blow away (or through my neighbors' windows). It was already on my list before the management slid a memo under the door stating (paraphrased but just as all-caps shout-y) "GET ANYTHING THAT COULD FLY AWAY OFF YOUR PATIO/BALCONY." Also, "get water, charge your cell phone, keep your fridge closed if the power goes off, etc."
Side note: First casualty of the hurricane occurred when a rough edge on one of the chairs sliced my knuckle as I was cleaning. I'll live.
* Got cat litter. (Because if kitty ain't happy, I'm trapped indoors with statement stink bombs.) I also got a couple cans of tuna (for people) and a couple bottles of water. However, there was a huge traffic snarl as the result of some random unexplained road closure near the store, and I drank almost all of one water bottle. I guess I'll just refill it and stash it in the fridge.
* Dropped off Friday's Wall Street Journal to Mom (so she can enjoy doing the crossword) and mooched some paper towels. We kind of have communal bulk buying--they have the cellar storage I don't for mass quantities of paper products. I already mooched a few AAA batteries for one of my flashlights last night. I also chatted with all the cats and debated two kinds of laptops with Mom.
* Bought a laptop. Yeah, I took the plunge. There was one I tried out (not at that price) last week at another store, and it showed up in another store's ad with a way better price and offers on Office 2010 and antivirus. I had to buy it this week to get the deals. (Even the manager had to look at the ad I brought so everything was rung up correctly.)
Poor ol' Lappy must've been some sort of fluke, because I didn't have to deal with battery failure or anything like that. I think I had a virus once and it didn't wipe anything out, fortunately. It never occurred to me that sort of thing could happen. Ignorance truly is bliss!
Now I'm not taking any chances; it's a whole new ballgame after five years. So add on the two year protection and the setup service (I figured it was worth it, because I don't know Windows7 well enough to pull off useless trial stuff and the like), the antivirus (which after rebates will be free, yay), and I have sticker shock. But I got what I needed.
Or at least I'll have it tomorrow morning when it's ready.
Left to do: pray a Rosary that the stupid leak under the dining room A/C (which only appears when it rains really hard and sideways) is minimal. Oh, and also that nobody gets hurt, either.
Have a safe weekend, everyone.
Comments
Rob--why, yes, I *do* have a battery-operated radio. It's also got a hand crank that scares the living daylights out of cats.
It's known as the "terrorist radio" among our family, because one year for Christmas (2001 or possibly 2002) everyone in my immediate family (as well as my boyfriend at the time) got one from my mom. I believe Older Brother, Younger Sister, and I also a case of TP. You know, for "survival."
There are radio towers near my home, so I get interference with AM stations, but KYW (the Philly all-news station) has a super strong signal and the terrorist radio picks it up just fine.