The weather is so warm right now, that it is giving me a really bad feeling about what the next few months will bring.
Queensland has gone 40 days without rain. Strong winds in the past few days in the 'Gong are nothing compared to what the Victorians have had to go through. Yesterday was a total fire ban in Wollongong. And this is only Spring.
And what has surprised me in all of this is the knowledge that, if someone knocked on my door and said "Evacuate, now", I would not be prepared. I would not know what to take or what to do.
I read a blog of a vet in the US after their most recent Hurricane in Louisiana. She was so proud of her clients for being prepared - they had time to prepare. They knew the storm was coming, so they prepared. Good for them, as this is awesome. After Hurricane Katrina, they learnt alot as they made alot of mistakes.
Have you seen the movie "Terminator"? She knew what the future held, and she prepared herself (and her son) for the time. Did you know that a vet is a good person to have around in a zombie apocalypse? Google it, and you will see. Apparently, vets are good to have around in the time when the shit hits the fan.
Apparently sometime in December is supposed to signal the end of the world according to the Mayan calendar. Well, I don't know if the world is going to end, and I don't know if we should be stockpiling years of food, or building a self enclosed bomb shelter in our backyards that could sustain the entire neighbourhood for 5 years.
But I do know that if someone knocked on my door and said, "You need to evacuate, now", I know that I am not prepared. My family is not prepared. And that is my fault.
Be prepared. Tomorrow (well, it is now 8.30 and I really need a good sleep, so, yes, I will put it off until tomorrow), I vow to get my Pet's Emergency Details updated, uploaded to my vet, as well to a friend in a town away from me,. I vow to get my First Aid kit together and ready for any emergencies for me, my family and my pets. I vow to get a box together ready to grab in the event of that knock on the door that I need to evacuate, now.
And, I vow to hug my family every day, tell them that I love them, and value them, as bad things don't always happen to "other people". And my cats... well, they get fed, don't they? No, joking aside -my entire family deserve to be protected, and whilst many emergencies can't be protected, they can be protected from the feeling of "I have lost everything, because no one was prepared". I vow to have cat carriers/pillow cases/whatever to grab the cats and go. We don't have a dog now, but if we did, we would vow to have leads easily accessible, ready to go.
My vet hospital has those pages available for anyone to borrow, steal, whatever. Use them for the benefit of your pet and your family. Visit http://animalclinic.com.au/site/view/214123_EmergencyFirstAid.pml
for this information.
But love your family (four and two legged, haired or furred or feathered) - every day. Hug them, appreciate them, even if they look at you as if you are nuts. It is far better to be thought nuts, and be nuts and show your love, than to go through the rest of your life reliving the moment of anger and not being able to retract those words.
And no, this is not a personal regret of mine... it is just an observation from the regret of others.
Be a good boy scout... Be prepared.
Queensland has gone 40 days without rain. Strong winds in the past few days in the 'Gong are nothing compared to what the Victorians have had to go through. Yesterday was a total fire ban in Wollongong. And this is only Spring.
And what has surprised me in all of this is the knowledge that, if someone knocked on my door and said "Evacuate, now", I would not be prepared. I would not know what to take or what to do.
I read a blog of a vet in the US after their most recent Hurricane in Louisiana. She was so proud of her clients for being prepared - they had time to prepare. They knew the storm was coming, so they prepared. Good for them, as this is awesome. After Hurricane Katrina, they learnt alot as they made alot of mistakes.
Have you seen the movie "Terminator"? She knew what the future held, and she prepared herself (and her son) for the time. Did you know that a vet is a good person to have around in a zombie apocalypse? Google it, and you will see. Apparently, vets are good to have around in the time when the shit hits the fan.
Apparently sometime in December is supposed to signal the end of the world according to the Mayan calendar. Well, I don't know if the world is going to end, and I don't know if we should be stockpiling years of food, or building a self enclosed bomb shelter in our backyards that could sustain the entire neighbourhood for 5 years.
But I do know that if someone knocked on my door and said, "You need to evacuate, now", I know that I am not prepared. My family is not prepared. And that is my fault.
Be prepared. Tomorrow (well, it is now 8.30 and I really need a good sleep, so, yes, I will put it off until tomorrow), I vow to get my Pet's Emergency Details updated, uploaded to my vet, as well to a friend in a town away from me,. I vow to get my First Aid kit together and ready for any emergencies for me, my family and my pets. I vow to get a box together ready to grab in the event of that knock on the door that I need to evacuate, now.
And, I vow to hug my family every day, tell them that I love them, and value them, as bad things don't always happen to "other people". And my cats... well, they get fed, don't they? No, joking aside -my entire family deserve to be protected, and whilst many emergencies can't be protected, they can be protected from the feeling of "I have lost everything, because no one was prepared". I vow to have cat carriers/pillow cases/whatever to grab the cats and go. We don't have a dog now, but if we did, we would vow to have leads easily accessible, ready to go.
My vet hospital has those pages available for anyone to borrow, steal, whatever. Use them for the benefit of your pet and your family. Visit http://animalclinic.com.au/site/view/214123_EmergencyFirstAid.pml
for this information.
But love your family (four and two legged, haired or furred or feathered) - every day. Hug them, appreciate them, even if they look at you as if you are nuts. It is far better to be thought nuts, and be nuts and show your love, than to go through the rest of your life reliving the moment of anger and not being able to retract those words.
And no, this is not a personal regret of mine... it is just an observation from the regret of others.
Be a good boy scout... Be prepared.
