Well, it happens.

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My nap went astray.  I didn't get down until 15:00.  I set the alarm for 18:00.  I remember hearing it, but not what went on.  I woke, in the dark, with no clue.  Nothing was working at first.  Where I was, even who I am, were not immediately available.  I just laid there, in the dark, for moments to minutes, letting life return.  Actually, rather than that frightening me, it merely makes me curious.  It all filtered in, fairly quickly I would guess.  But what time was it?  A small roll and a peek, it was right at 1:00... well... the alarm suggested 1:15 I think, but when I want the real time, my mind subtracts the 15 minute lead I keep on there.  Actually :14, but I round.  Hush!

I really wanted to just sleep a bit more, to arrange for more of an official "day".  I could tell, by how my body felt, that more sleep was a bad thing.  I can always take a nap later.  Sleeping too much is almost as bad not sleeping enough.  My body doesn't sit well with either, and really I had already slept a bit more than I should have.  Given that I was awake longer than usual the day before, I suppose it was evening out.  That's just how it works around here.

I have been tinkering with a couple of notions.  I set up the altimeter for local altitude.  I looked over some of the other tools purchased.  I read blogs and looked over the "news".  A comment here, a chuckle there.  I fed the girls, after their... smoke signals finally registered that they were hungry and not happy about it.  Sam, immediately after eating, has taken over my lap.  I tried to wave her off, and as is typical of my women, she just ignored me and laid claim to "her property".  Yeah, well, I can still bark really well.  Not that everybody listens.  Pwnd!  So... don't go thinking even Doom is absolute lord and master of his domain.  Just sayin'.


I keep thinking about a couple of notions, regarding prepping.  One issue that keeps bugging me is that I haven't put together a complete, well thought out, medical kit.  I found a vid that seemed to cover the topic, but then it wouldn't allow me to put it on my blog.  There are several problems with what was presented, for me personally, however.  While I am deathly ill... I don't get sick.  When my nasal passages are blocked, blowing my nose works fine.  I don't get diarrhea, I don't get acid stomach, I don't have a problem with allergies, I just suffer through any minor and some major things that occur.  I haven't seen an improvement from using most drugs, herbals, or such, when I have had minor problems.  As well, those things are difficult to track, as to how long they are useful.  Still, there were some good ideas in there, and on a budget.

The other thing, which might help, would be using a spreadsheet to organize.  Someone recently suggested that organization is a top skill for a prepper.  I would extend that to say that organization is a top skill for life, business, even play.  Some people have it naturally, some of us don't really understand even the basics.  Now, I am probably better prepared than even some middling preppers.  But if they are organized, they have an advantage.  Of course, there is too much of a good thing as well, as I learned in my trip to Burning Man.  Still, the experience... taught me more than any video or piece of advice could.  Two lessons.  Ignore those who tell you that everything possible is needed.  And don't worry so much about much of what you could worry about.  I never needed a bobby pin.  I didn't need pen and paper.  I didn't need 90% of what I took, or more.  Further, I would guess, if I had need, and asked around, someone would have had it.

Not that I am recommending that you not prep at all.  Just... perhaps... be a little more practical.  And... figure out two things... how to improvise and when that fails, how to make do.  You would be amazed at how little you really need.  Figure out water, figure out food, figure out shelter and heat for cooking and warmth.  Then figure out how to make those things, and yourself, slightly less at risk.  But don't be ignoring those around you, as potential enemies, allies, help, or hindrances of various sorts.  You know, that little old lady that you go check on, and secure as you may?  She might be able to fix those torn pants, be able to teach you how to garden without access to chemicals, or be willing to tend children when a trip must be taken.  Favors come around, if that really shouldn't be the aim.

I do take breaks from prepping, or at least in some areas.  But then, really, my whole life is about prepping.  It didn't start as a means to deal with the end of the world as we know it.  I remind you, for periods of time, as long as six months in my life, I have been unable to even get to the store.  I have learned how to live, to a degree, as if the world had ended.  Mine, until medicines provided some hope for improvement, had ended.  It is still tenuous.  I have to be ready to hunker down and deal with life in the best way possible.  Now that some improvements have arrived, and there is hope for a few more, when I am not working on food I am working on firearms.  When I am not working on those, I am figuring out water.  When I am not doing that, I am trying to figure out land navigation, hiking, camping, and the techniques and tools that makes primitive living not only possible but just maybe enjoyable. 

Well...  I suppose I should get on to other things.  I'll be looking over the maps and deciding which among them are preferable for a start to land navigation exploration.  A couple of maps, easier trails with some reasonable room for off-trail exploration, the tools I have and how to use those...  Well, and soon, to set up a pack so that if I head out and... do what so many others do and quite often, get a bit lost... I have what it takes to grumble and stumble my way back to civilization more surely.  It doesn't take much, but not having the right things can mean everything.  Later.