My dear brother, Mike, is graduating from MIT this semester. He was offered a job in Cleveland. After this winter, he told me he is planning on buying the following survival kit for his new life in the Midwest:
- Back up Generator
- All Wheel Drive family transportation
- Emergency Propane Heaters
- Snow Blower
- Several Hundred Dollars worth of down coats for everyone.
After careful consideration, I decided to put together my own survival kit for Washington State. (Although I admit several of the above items would have been nice a couple of weeks ago.)
- Good windshield wipers. I cannot stress this enough.
- Rain gear. A really heavy duty umbrella--You know the huge ones with the wind flaps. I think most Seattl-ites don't bother with umbrellas since the less than heavy-duty ones are pretty much disposable. Rain boots. Rain Slicker.
- Dawn simulator. I got mine last year and it is indispensable. The natural tendency here is to hibernate all winter. My regular alarm was so painful to wake. This alarm starts about 15 minutes before I want to wake up to slowly get lighter. It hits full light at the time I want to wake up and has a nice pleasant beep. With my other alarm I was startled awake every morning and would spend the next 15 minutes shaking.
- Along those same lines, a light box has been very helpful. It simulates the sun on a very bright day. I sit under it and read for 30 minutes a day and it helps my mood. I used it when we lived in Indiana too.
- Caffeinated Beverages. (Being LDS, the choices for this option are very limited. Although I must admit, its position on this list is tentative. I have actually stopped drinking caffeinated beverages after reading an article in the Ensign. I am proud to say that I have been "clean and sober" for 3 weeks now. But I seriously need to find an alternative for this option. I've been recommended a variety of herbal remedies and I understand diet and exercise might be a good replacement. Jury is still out on this one.)
- (optional) After the amount of rain we had gotten in the last week, I think I might have to add a boat to the list.
2 comments:
Wow! Sounds like Seattle is a wet place!
I got Cindy Lynn a light box this fall--she has a really hard time in Rexburg once summer is over. Now if I could just get her to use it!
I thought about trying one of those dawn simulators for myself, but we don't have any blinds on the windows at all, and in the summer I still hate to wake up. So I figure it's me, and not the light!
I'm thinking I would have survived Indiana better in the winter with a light box! I love your new banner and pics :). You guys have definetly had strange weather up there!
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