Prepared

They're talking about aftershocks. Throwing around numbers that don't make any sense to me. What are you supposed to do with an x percent chance of a y magnitude quake? People love numbers, but generally have no idea what they mean. not helpful. Anyway, we'll take at face value the idea that it's not unlikely that we'll have another good rock or two in the coming days. Like David Bowie says, Let's Sway!

Kitchen cabinet taped up. Good thinking, Jim!

Water. Honestly, we could probably use a little bit more. We’ve got a few gallons spread out over a bunch of bottles. (A friend had filled every juice and wine glass in the house. Could get messy fast.) I cleaned out the bathtub and filled it with cold water. I hope we don’t have to drink it, but if the power goes off, we can use it to flush the toilet, wash or drink in a pinch.

To avoid having to wash in cold water, I’ve also laid in an extra pack or two of body wipes. Japan is rich in body wipes of all varieties. I also have some waterless shampoo that I got when I went to check out Katrina.

Safety. We’ve got first aid kits, headlamps, and a crank-powered radio. Headlamps may sound a little over-the-top, but Jim made the excellent point that if you’re in a situation where you need a flashlight, probably better to have your hands free. I took the picture frames that fell off of shelves and laid them flat. By the door, I have hiking shoes and a bag packed with mixed nuts, dried cranberries, water, a blanket, extra socks and underwear, a notebook, toiletries, my camera battery charger, and instant coffee and chocolate.

Food. Luckily, we went to Costco last week and stocked up on non-perishables. We have enough fixings for pasta and nachos for the whole neighborhood. Tuna. Olives. Brie. Peanut butter. We run a greater risk of getting fat than of being hungry.

Iodine. I have mixed feelings about this. If I think there’s enough of a chance of radiation poisoning that I’m laying in iodine, should I just leave? The fact is that I don’t think we’re going to get dosed. I guess I’m looking at it like putting on a seatbelt - I don’t expect to crash when I get in the car, but I put it on anyway. Further mixed feelings, because what I bought is not the potassium iodide that you’re supposed to take one dose of post-exposure. The pharmacist told me you can only get that from clinics here. He said a lot of people were buying the povidine iodine anway, which is basically meant for gargling. It’s the red stuff that comes in a dropper bottle. He said that if there were an announcement of contamination, the best thing to do would be to get to a hospital where KI was being distributed. The next best thing to do would be to put three drops of the povidine in water and drink it. He said he was worried that people were buying the stuff up and trying to take it in advance, which is not good for you. To be clear, there is absolutely no indication of how many people might or might not be doing this. I imagine the numbers are small.

Me. Doing some stretching, making a conscious effort to notice whether or not I’m breathing normally. I wasn’t for a while, which I didn’t even notice until I started again. Keeping myself fed. I forget to eat until I’m way too hungry in the best of times. A little added stress, and I don’t get hungry for hours and hours. Trying to read good sources of info, avoid sensationalist media, and consider carefully things that sound scary or unlikely. Learned last night that the Japanese equivalent of hearing a rumor from “a friend of a friend” is often “my friend’s father.” Interesting, because I did hear the rumor about acid rain from a friend who said it was her friend’s father who told her directly. It turned out not to be true.