Four Non-Essentials You Wish You Had While Waiting Out the Storm

When Nature’s wrath visits us in the form of large storm systems (like hurricane Sandy, which is currently wreaking havoc in the East Coast), there’s little we can do but to prepare and brace for impact, or just plain get out of the way. Whichever the course of action you decide to take, there will be a point in time that you will be forced to endure the passage of time patiently even as your regular routine is disrupted by a natural calamity.

Hurricane Sandy (image from telegraph.co.uk)

Waiting leads to boredom, which in turn leads to idle thoughts, and idle thoughts may go in the way of darker ideas and sentiments that are best left to the morbid imagination. Before that happens, you need to occupy yourself with something. Aside from flashlights, military rations, an axe, and a shortwave radio, here are four portable items that may prevent your mind from going idle while you wait it out.

Why just three? Because, dear reader, you need to concentrate on essentials, especially when in an emergency situation. Priorities, please!

Handheld Video Game Console
Video games have claimed many hours of many a person’s life in the modern age. It is not a total waste of time, though some parents and employers would vehemently disagree with that assertion. You can easily substitute this with a laptop, notebook, tablet, or smartphone; it’s all up to you.

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Once you’ve dug into your temporary residence, or perhaps the basement of your own home, a video game is something that will help make those hours pass by much more quickly. The handheld variety is better for the obvious reasons of portability, and even if the power goes out, you will still have a few hours of useable play time. Have an extra battery pack or three, just in case.

Chocolates and Candies
Aside from the regular canned goods and military rations you need to keep handy, having a bag of sweets is also a good thing to have. It brings a little cheer to the otherwise serious and anxiety-charged atmosphere brought about by calamities.

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For the reason of practicality, choose the sweets that will melt in your mouth, not in your hand (sounds like a blatant endorsement, I know). Electricity is one of the first things to go during a powerful storm, so refrigeration will be a bit of a luxury.

Camera
While most mobile phones (even the simplest phone has one, nowadays) have cameras, I heartily suggest you don’t waste your phone’s battery life on snapping photos and making vlogs; you’ll need your phone for more important purposes. Having a camera is great way to log your experience, as well as record anything that might be important later on (other people, damage to properties, etc.)

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Ideally, it should be of the rugged, water-resistant variety. Don’t encumber yourself with something that was made for studio use, either. In the aftermath, when things are less chaotic, you can upload the important parts into your virtual storage drive or onto sites like YouTube.

A Little Booze
Sometimes, you just need something to take off the edge, so to speak. Do not go overboard with it, though. A six-pack or two of your favorite brews would be a great companion to have during a crisis like this. I’d go even as far to suggest that you drink these after the storm has passed, in a celebratory kind of way.

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Be ready, stay safe, and keep your spirits up! There’s a rainbow after the storm, after all.

About the Author
Stacey Thompson is a professional writer, marketer, entrepreneur, and a lover of weird little animals. She is based in San Diego, California, and is currently working on putting up a blog with her closest friends, Word Baristas.