We're coming in close to the start of season

Hurricane season, that is. 

This time next week, it'll be the first day of six months of weather watch. Six months of making sure the cars are fully filled with gas and are ready to get the eff out if we have to. Six months of making sure we're good with supplies. Six months of making sure the refrigerator and freezer have just enough food so that it's not overloaded if we lose power, making us throw everything out if it can't be salvaged with a container of ice for a few hours. 

Because you never know if a major storm will strike (due to the possibility of wind shift. Patterns change; we found that out twice in what will be 13 years here). 

Considering the way the country has been flooding lately, as well as having tornados touch down in the most random of places, start taking stock now. 

We're in for a doozy of a season, "they" are predicting. Even though they have been saying that every year for the past couple years.

But again, if it weren't for the random flooding in areas that rarely get but an inch or two of rain, the plethora of funnel clouds that make you think Dorothy is in the area, there wouldn't be a question about the severity of storms to come. 

Sure, we have been getting threatened with "the chance" of a storm or two, but no one in Southwest Florida expected Irma in 2017. They sure as hell didn't expect Ian in 2022.Yet the area is still trying to put the pieces back together from Charley in 2004, so Ian's wrath is still a bit of a mess in some places right now. 

So yeah, come next weekend, I'm sure people are going to watch the news more closely. They're already talking about the storms and predictions where I work and none of us really want to be here to see it to fruition. 

As long as we are still in this building, we have to, unfortunately. 

Therefore, it's time to start checking the tote bins marked "Hurricane". What we don't have, we need to get either when stores have their tax free days on supplies, or online. 

Just searching "hurricane preparedness items" on Amazon, I found lanterns, batteries, first aid kits. Beef jerky??? I think they lumped "hurricane" in with "camping", but it can go either way. 

Also on the page is something called Vive Toilet Bowl Liners with Super Absorbent Pads (24 Pack). Where was THAT when we needed it? We were struggling to use the toilet with the plastic shopping bags in order to do our business (like everyone else in the neighborhood was. However, the neighbors used the gross water that was backed up on the street to fill their toilets. Beggars can't be choosers, but no one thought to fill their tub before the storm hit, so no extra "clean" water). This thing looks like that bowl liner would have been a perfect lifesaver. I'll have to tell my mother...

"Hurricane supples" lists similar items, but deviates a little more by adding solar powered items on the first page. Things like a fan (omg you need it, especially if a hurricane hits early in the summer. It's 96° with humidity right now, so yeah, a solar powered fan will be a lifesaver). There's a little camping stove that uses those little canned fuel heaters (the type catering companies use for events under chafing dishes). 

There are things that look like bug out bags, called "hurricane kits". They really are retrofitted back packs meant for emergency situations - getting lost while hiking, camping, end of the world type stuff. Looks like good ideas, but not meant for a storm season. In my opinion. I can definitely see this type of thing being used for special emergency situations. 

All in all, I know I don't want to be here to talk about another hurricane that graced our presence, but what am I to do? With no job lined up back north, I can't just move without something to go do. Yes, the "fear" of another storm season is enough to push me away, but lack of sustainable income to purchase a house and secure work is keeping me here at the moment. It sucks, but what are you going to do?

Ed, my neighbor is doing what he can, that's for damn sure. Middle of March, if I recall correctly, he and his wife were outside in the driveway, having their drinkies moment, and Ed was tinkering in the garage. He was setting up a new generator and getting it ready; seeing if it works. Joanne just sat in her lounge chair, supervising, listening to whatever was on the radio in the running Cadillac. Yes, they back their car into the garage and keep it running just to play music. Must be nice to afford that... and coming from up north, they should know better than to back the car into the garage. Shame on that part. But, there's Ed, just tooling away, getting the place cleaned up so that he knows where everything is, and what he might need extras of. My mom told Joanne that she's got her plasticware restocked so we have plenty of throwaway cups, forks, knives, spoons and plates. Joanne laughed and said she's been doing the same thing. After the last time of all of us getting together, we now all joke and fill each other in on who is getting what. 

At least I was smart and grabbed a decent sized styrofoam cooler from an event at work. Twice a company came and provided my job with a free lunch. Both times we got bagged ice, a styrofoam cooler with lid (that looks like this. Choose your own adventure when you but it; reviews on that link aren't good, but Amazon has others), several sleeves of aluminum cups (holy cow do these cups retain cold!! Fair dos - put a couple ice cubes in these cups with some water and you've got a cold drink for a few hours) and the food - 2 liter bottles of cola, catering from a local Mexican restaurant and plastic ware. Because there are hardly any people in my office (majority work remotely), I know everything sits for days after an event. So I called the leftover cups and the cooler and off they went with me. 

So now we've got 2 coolers and several packs of cups to keep on hand, although I'm not sure about the cups since they're apt to get damn well hot in the sun all day, which isn't the point of the drink staying cool. 

I don't want to try it out, but at least we have them. 

On another note, I got my car back today. The air conditioning module is all fixed and I'm good to go. Even got an oil change. I am so happy to have AC again in my car and am glad this wasn't winter in New England. Otherwise I'd be stuck with no heat in the car. I'm also glad I didn't get any dead animals stuck in my car like I had last fall. If I had something corpsing on my engine while I've not had AC.. God help me; I don't know what I would have done. Maybe that would be the kick in the ass I would need to buy a new car. 

#nojinx

But yeah, my car is fixed and all I need to do now is keep it gassed up whenever it gets to half a tank. I don't want to get stuck with nothing for the next several months. 

Other than that, everything is okay. Still trying to stay out of the heat and figure out what I can do next in life. Any suggestions, let me know! 

Until then, start packin'.

Cheers;