Well, a year has come and gone and my maternity leave is over. I returned to work and my daily commute yesterday. As if a sign from the preparedness gods, We even had a pretty long power failure. Given that our office is in a neighbourhood that lost power for a week after the pre-Christmas ice storm, I'm a little preoccupied with prepping.

Contrary to the "everything but the kitchen sink" approach I had when I last did the daily grind, I'd like to lighten things up this time. I've basically looking at three possible scenarios: (1)bugging in at the office; (2)bugging in at a friend's house between work and home; and (3)being stuck my the Jeep during the commute.

An office bug-in is highly unlikely, however, our warehouse is in an industrial manufacturing area, and the neighbourhood is bordered by a national railway and highway, and it also houses a nuclear power plant. I've got meds, FAK & hygiene, N95 masks, LED light, food, a couple of (full) water bottles, and a bunch of other little odds and ends stashed around my cubicle and the office kitchen, and think that with my EDC and the preps in my Jeep, I should be in good shape for a short bug-in. A good friend lives around the corner, so if something should happen here, I'd likely try to make my way there, unless it's a chemical accident.

BTW - yesterday's power failure highlighted some failings in our (group) office preps, like 2/3 of our emergency lights not working, expired fire extinguishers and a missing office FAK, which I'll be discussing with the owner at the end of the week. Nobody around here really cares, and we're too small a company for a health and safety community, so things have slipped, hence my need to have my stand-alone personal preps in solid shape. Lesson learned: don't depend on your co-workers!

Spending the night a friend's house or a local motel is much stronger possibility, in the event of something like the recent ice storm. I've got an overnight bag packed in a backpack, with two changes of clothes, a thermal under layer, toiletries, FAK, LED, enough cash for a motel room, etc. I also threw an MRE and a deck of cards in there, because I'd hate to couch surf and show-up empty handed.

Getting stuck on the road during my 63KM (one-way) commute is possible too. I always keep a small survival kit in there, along with extra hats, mitts, sweater, water, etc. I'm planning to take some short lunch-time hikes on the local trails, so my day hike pack is going to live in my Jeep along with my overnight bag and a wool blanket. It's got the basics of water, shelter, fire, food & cooking, FAK, signalling and knife/saw/headlamp/etc. in there.

The biggest thing I think I need to do right now is remember to bring my cel phone with my every day. I do have a charger in the Jeep and at the office, but after a year of barely using is, I've already forgotten it and today is only day two. smirk
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Mom & Adventurer

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