A Simple Plan
Tuesday, March 21, 2006
I, like most people, have low-level anxiety all the time. I think it’s my mind’s way of preparing—I imagine a few bad scenarios and consider what I would do and how I would feel should they come to pass. This is normal, confirmed by many psychological studies. You should check out this guy’s work. It made me feel MUCH better about it all.
As a result of this, I think, I like having contingency plans. I also assume it comes from growing up in Los Angeles and having had contingency plans for fires, earthquakes, and riots as a child. Nothing will scare you into planning mode for the rest of your life like your mom reminding you to call Grandma in Florida if there’s an earthquake and you are alone because the long-distance phone lines will have a better likelihood of working than the local ones. I was probably 6 when we worked that out. Oh, the many scenarios that ran through my little, imaginative head!
When 9/11 happened, I was reminded that it actually, really DOES make sense to have contingency plans, so I worked them out with friends here in New York. I had meeting locations mapped out for every eventuality: if I was at work and the incident was in midtown, head to my roommate’s boyfriend’s place in Gramercy. But if the incident was downtown and I was north of it, head to a friend’s place on 25th and 9th. I even constructed a very elaborate contact information sheet between several friends that had work, home, cell, parents, etc on it. You’re really impressed, aren’t you?
Most of those friends have left and I’ve become, to take a term from our head of state, a little less vigilant about things. I know that if anything happens and I’m at work, I will go to Darren’s because he lives literally around the corner from my office. But I’m not so sure what happens otherwise. But that’s okay, because I don’t know what this “incident” will be, so I have trouble preparing. I’ll just have to fly by the seat of my pants.
This doesn’t mean, though, that I’ve stopped this behavior. Let me assure you, I have several other contingency plans. Firstly, have you seen The Day After Tomorrow? Yeah. I know it’s like not physically possible, but believe you me, I’ve got a plan. It includes my roommate and I getting her car, packing into it with her sister and perhaps one other person, packing as many warm winter clothing in as we can (remember, we are reverting into an ice age in a 24-hour period—no flip-flops needed, people!). We also stock up with water, power bars, and all the cash we can get our hands on. Then, where we can, we fit in other valuables. We might need to hawk them for gas or something. Then we skedaddle over the GW bridge, and hit the first gas station we can (we’ll be packed in pretty tight, and New Jersey is ALL full-serve! That’s right—they won’t let you pump your own! Please don’t start talking about how everyone will be evacuating and no one will still be pumping gas and all that, it’s really more than I can plan for). And we get a lot of extra gas in those red containers and take those too. And then we point south and just GO. I have an aunt in Florida and friends in Texas, which are both below the line of permafreeze or whatever it’s called. So we’re totally good to go. I’d take you too, but we’ve only got a VW Beatle.
But that isn’t enough, my friends. The Discovery Channel has just opened up a whole new set of possibilities. Sunday, I watched the episode about the super tornado in Dallas and, well, I think we can all agree I won’t be moving there anytime soon. Though if I do ever move to a place with this potential, I’m so building one of those “safe rooms” into my home. Watch the episode and then tell me you wouldn’t.
And then today, on my way into work, I picked up an amNew York for some light reading, and came across an article referring to this threat (they don’t post the articles online, but it was saying that it’s going to happen, maybe even in 2006). I’ve been mulling, and I’m thinking my flushed out plan for what to do if we’re thrust into an ice age will basically work, minus all the winter clothes. Just board up the windows, pack a bag, and head west for a few days right?
Just wait until I watch the solar storm episode that centers around New York.
As a result of this, I think, I like having contingency plans. I also assume it comes from growing up in Los Angeles and having had contingency plans for fires, earthquakes, and riots as a child. Nothing will scare you into planning mode for the rest of your life like your mom reminding you to call Grandma in Florida if there’s an earthquake and you are alone because the long-distance phone lines will have a better likelihood of working than the local ones. I was probably 6 when we worked that out. Oh, the many scenarios that ran through my little, imaginative head!
When 9/11 happened, I was reminded that it actually, really DOES make sense to have contingency plans, so I worked them out with friends here in New York. I had meeting locations mapped out for every eventuality: if I was at work and the incident was in midtown, head to my roommate’s boyfriend’s place in Gramercy. But if the incident was downtown and I was north of it, head to a friend’s place on 25th and 9th. I even constructed a very elaborate contact information sheet between several friends that had work, home, cell, parents, etc on it. You’re really impressed, aren’t you?
Most of those friends have left and I’ve become, to take a term from our head of state, a little less vigilant about things. I know that if anything happens and I’m at work, I will go to Darren’s because he lives literally around the corner from my office. But I’m not so sure what happens otherwise. But that’s okay, because I don’t know what this “incident” will be, so I have trouble preparing. I’ll just have to fly by the seat of my pants.
This doesn’t mean, though, that I’ve stopped this behavior. Let me assure you, I have several other contingency plans. Firstly, have you seen The Day After Tomorrow? Yeah. I know it’s like not physically possible, but believe you me, I’ve got a plan. It includes my roommate and I getting her car, packing into it with her sister and perhaps one other person, packing as many warm winter clothing in as we can (remember, we are reverting into an ice age in a 24-hour period—no flip-flops needed, people!). We also stock up with water, power bars, and all the cash we can get our hands on. Then, where we can, we fit in other valuables. We might need to hawk them for gas or something. Then we skedaddle over the GW bridge, and hit the first gas station we can (we’ll be packed in pretty tight, and New Jersey is ALL full-serve! That’s right—they won’t let you pump your own! Please don’t start talking about how everyone will be evacuating and no one will still be pumping gas and all that, it’s really more than I can plan for). And we get a lot of extra gas in those red containers and take those too. And then we point south and just GO. I have an aunt in Florida and friends in Texas, which are both below the line of permafreeze or whatever it’s called. So we’re totally good to go. I’d take you too, but we’ve only got a VW Beatle.
But that isn’t enough, my friends. The Discovery Channel has just opened up a whole new set of possibilities. Sunday, I watched the episode about the super tornado in Dallas and, well, I think we can all agree I won’t be moving there anytime soon. Though if I do ever move to a place with this potential, I’m so building one of those “safe rooms” into my home. Watch the episode and then tell me you wouldn’t.
And then today, on my way into work, I picked up an amNew York for some light reading, and came across an article referring to this threat (they don’t post the articles online, but it was saying that it’s going to happen, maybe even in 2006). I’ve been mulling, and I’m thinking my flushed out plan for what to do if we’re thrust into an ice age will basically work, minus all the winter clothes. Just board up the windows, pack a bag, and head west for a few days right?
Just wait until I watch the solar storm episode that centers around New York.
This entry was posted
on Tuesday, March 21, 2006 at 11:32 AM.
|
