Preparedness...

Even when I was supposed to be studying for my sedimentology & stratigraphy exam, I was worrying about my lack of preparedness for regional or global disasters. My first thoughts were: Do I know how to find water? How do I make it safe to drink? So, I immediately abandoned my study and Google-d my new quest. Oh, I DO know how to find water, and apparently, boiling water for at least two minutes will destroy any ill-seeking pathogens in the water. Boiling longer than two minutes is a waste of water unless you are capturing the steam. The water needs to be at a full rolling boil... need to get temperature above 185* F, and I did not remember that water boils at lower temps at lower air pressure (higher elevations)... thermal dynamics was not my favorite subject.

Ah-hah! okay! but on the way to learning how to make "wild water" potable, I also learned how to make sandals from truck tires and how to sort and prepare acorns. I furthermore stumbled upon several websites (mainly blogs) about being prepared because "it could happen tomorrow." Okay, I thought about the many to-do lists... do I have a first aid kit? how complete is it? do I know where it is? Do I have food for 3 months if I suddenly had no way to get any more? (well, no... ). Do I keep my gas tank filled on my car? ummm... not really,so  in case you were hoping to take my car in an emergency, it will likely be low on gas, and if you need it tomorrow, the tires are worn and my mechanic tells me I need brakes all around!

Clothes, boots, food, WATER... the heaviest of all necessities! even heavier than the essential cast iron frying pan! which is why (you/I) would need to be able to find a reliable water source.... food... after awhile, (I/we) may have to forage for food. I can't kill an animal even for my own survival. I will dig for roots and berries and suck on tree bark before I kill something to eat! ... However, if I was lucky enough to have a hunter as a post-apocolypse partner.... LOL

So, now I have found some Y2K preparedness manuals and magazine articles... remember when the world was going to end at the end of 1999?... like asteroids, comets, Messiah, etc give a hoot about how we crazy folks have numbered our years? LOL still makes me laugh.... but what's NOT funny is political unrest and widespread economic crises keep me up at night worrying about water...and health...and nutrition..and foraging skills... and physical fitness... and sturdy shoes.... and bandaids... and... and... and...

another blogger "Ferfal" has a preparedness blog I stumbled on today http://ferfal.blogspot.com/

I accidentally found it while seeking the answer to: where's the (corned) beef? It used to come from Argentina and Brazil... Argentina overhauled agriculture and is no longer a major exporter of corned beef to the USA, and Brazil was drugging the cows and has been banned from shipping to the USA (as of a year ago)... somehow, I have only just now been affected by the shortage! :(

I need a cross-country itinerary to Arizona

I want to move out west. I have been planning this for a year already. I know I definitely want to study geology among those gorgeous outcrops in Arizona! If I knew anything about networking, I would know a few key persons out there and maybe even some intern prospects. However, I am plodding through the hard way. I know I need to complete some remedial courses in Geology to make up the difference between my undergraduate degree and the pre-reqs for graduate school. I have started taking those here, but have a few still to go... I also need to take the GRE and actually APPLY to grad schools!

On the practical side, I have decided that driving to Arizona is my best travel plan, since I have a car, and I will need one once I get there. How to navigate that distance is my issue. Okay, Interstate 40 goes directly from my house to Flagstaff, Arizona.... a whopping 2,025 miles away! I've read that a solo driver should not aim for more than 500 miles per day... so, there's a minimum 4 days on the road. I have been searching online all morning for websites that would help me plan the trip and all the details like 200 mile breaks, 500-600 mile stopovers, where to eat, etc. I need to stay on a shoestring budget, and still be safe. Plus, I until I can get a GPS unit, I don't want to stray too far off the interstate... I am easily lost trying to find my way out of a paper bag! LOL... also, I am concerned about current flooding in the Mississippi Valley because I will have to cross the Ol' Mississip at Memphis.

I am interested in finding a surrogate church family. I love my church here in NC, and I expect to find a "home away from home" out there...Next order of business is a JOB!!  I will need a place to stay and a way to pay for it, and plus, I want to take advantage of IN-STATE tuition at Arizona universities... I have a couple in mind, but I was first attracted to Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff because of their relationship with the USGS Astrogeology Science Center (also in Flagstaff). I hear that Flagstaff gets cold and snowy in the winter.... not my favorite season... and a desert cat like myself might enjoy the more temperate Phoenix area. I was impressed with the Mesa, AZ, area when I took a class trip out to Usery Mountain Regional Park last fall. Four days was NOT enough! I wish we could've stayed a whole semester (or longer!)... coyotes, tarantulas, Bagdad Copper Mine, Superstition Mountains, ... awesome, awesome time!

Okay, that is a full enough post for today. On to other things... thanks for letting me vent! :)