Saw this posted on another forum, about the St. Louis storm & blackout:

<<On the other hand, first friend I mentioned was at work and en-route to home when the storm hit (luckily! he usually parks right where the tree fell) He gets home to his apartment and his girlfriend is sitting on the stairs crying her eyes out "I didn't know what to do! The lights are all out! I didn't know how to reach you! (temporary cell phone outages) I couldn't get any money from the ATM!"

He says, "Well, let me break out my kit." So he pulls his 30 gallon Rubbermaid bin, digs some candles and a couple of flashlights. Says, "You're not dressed properly if we have to do any walking. Here's some blue jeans that should fit you and here's some tennis shoes -- might be a bit big, but better than flip-flops. I've got some sleeping bags if you want to spend the night someplace else. I can heat up some backpacking food if you're hungry. Oh, and I always keep some cash on hand, let's see ...I've got about $200..."

His girl friend interrupted sarcastically, really agitated, "Oh yeah, you must be Mr. Big Time Preparedness! You're just loving this! You're just reveling in all this survivalist stuff!" >>

I think I would have grabbed my kit and turned on my heel.

"Boys and their toys...." is typically the response I get from my girlfriend when she sees me arranging kit. I guess it depends on whether he really cared for her or not. I would have stated: "Ok, I can put it all back and we can do without it then!" Then wait to see what her response would be. My guess is he would get an apology, but she might just have started bawling again.

Also, different people react differently to stressful situations.

There's gotta be something there, or that relationship is smoking and the ground is getting closer. I wouldn't have told her about the cash, from the sounds of it, but who am I to judge his choice.

Bah. Dude needs a new GF. <img src="/images/graemlins/mad.gif" alt="" />

Lets analyse the girl's reaction. Society has created an illusion of well being, continuity and control. One of the sad results is a populace largely emasculated with a false sense of entitlement. I'm going to be 20 something and beautifull forever and I DESERVE a BMW, bee sting lips and an ambient room temperature climate of 79 degrees with lemon slices in my bottled water. Thats sad, but no sadder than the popular media image of 'survivalists' who reject and THREATEN that same infallible society. When the monsters came in TREMORS who got the most laughs? Not the two bumbling heros, but the couple with a GUN COLLECTION. The girlfriend was upset, facing perhaps for the first time the realisation water comes
warm with no lemon. She reacted much like a disoriented lost hiker hiding from rescuers or survivors of a disaster blaming rescue personel for not coming fast enough. Again, it's the unfortunate displacement of individual self reliance by a society modeled on complacency.

With me it's always like this: I buy something, my family/parents criticizes me....... and then they need it! Every time!
I buy flashlights/ light-sticks/ candles: power fails. I but Water-Jel: someone get's burned.

The general attitude: It's always unneccesary to be prepared untill the SHTF, and that is a really bad thing.

I know what you mean. Everyone thought I was overdoing it when I bought a tool box (under $10.00 at Wal Mart) for a home FAK. Every week without fail , I would add to it . I have bandaged lots of boo boos and they were glad I took the time. It was well worth the effort and wasn't very expensive.

The old saying 'Any idiot can be uncomfortable' applies I think- generally unprepared people [censored] and moan and (mostly) muddle through.

You can sit in the dark and be cold and hungry and not die. I'd just prefer not to.

If I treated my GF like that in such a situation, I might need a new one too. The guy may need to improve his people skills.
Let´s face it: The girl hit the nail right on the head with remarkable precision. The guy must have enjoyed the opportunity to show off his level of preparedness.
I do not dispute the need to be prepared but there are different ways to handle an emergency situation. Most certainly one of them would have left the girl in a much better mood. Handling a situation like that should provide comfort to all people involved.