FULL QUESTION: Given all these natural disasters, what would you grab if you had to evacuate your home?
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Well, it really depends on how much time I have. For example, it wasn't a natural disaster,
but several years ago, a gas line at my house was accidentally cut when
foundation work was being done. All I
did was run in, grab my daughter and dogs, the cars keys, and got the "you know
what" out of there. You hear stories of people taking photos, computers, and perhaps a beloved stuffed animal, but in that moment, all I cared about
was saving the lives of my loved ones.
A few years prior, when Hurricane Harvey was quickly intensifying and heading toward Texas, I had about six hours after getting a mandatory evacuation notice to get out of the house. So, at that point, I was able to not only pack my bags but gather important documents and a few sentimental items (and move things to the second floor in case the first floor flooded). Granted, it was all in an incredible rush/panic, but I still had those few precious hours. Now, copies of all my important papers are in a binder, ready to grab. And I created a master "evacuation checklist" based on this hurricane checklist (as that's the most "common" natural disaster in Texas) if I'm lucky enough to have time to pack. |
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Given natural disasters do not always give you lead time, everyone
should have an evacuation checklist. I based mine on this evacuation list (but, the Ready Campaign has lots of great
planning tools) as well as experience, since Hurricane Harvey resulted in a
mandatory evacuation of my high-rise.
(The basement, where all the building's mechanical equipment is located,
flooded and left the building without power and uninhabitable for almost two months.)
I have always had digital copies of key documents on my primary computer (a laptop that I would grab), but now I also have them on two portable hard drives – one in a safety deposit box and the other in my "evacuation time capsule". And, what I mean by that is … imagine you were going to lose everything in your home – determine what items would you want to "save" (whether for sentimental or practical reasons) and put them in a small piece of luggage or carry bag. The interesting thing is when you do that, you will most likely find the items you consider irreplaceable are not the most expensive ones (those become your insurance company's problem, anyway.) |
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Black
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So much of what we had to say about March Madness in our 2023 post still holds true … Red’s lack of interest and Black’s love of …
| Until a few years ago, I would have thought March Madness had something to do with Spring Break. I’ve never followed sports (pro or college), but once my younger daughter started playing competitive high school volleyball, and then applied to colleges, I learned all about college sports and division teams. This year, living in the Greater Houston area, I couldn’t help getting caught up in March Madness since the University of Houston was a No. 1 seed. (I hate to admit it, but it’s the same with the Houston Astros. I’m not interested until they make it to the playoffs.) But now that Houston has been eliminated, my only real interest in March Madness is avoiding Houston’s NRG Stadium since that’s where the Final Four playoffs will be held, and the traffic will be, well, madness! |
| I love March Madness. Not because I love the sport but because the statistics are fascinating. (Plus, it is a great name.) The odds of filling out a perfect bracket (correctly predicting all game winners once the March Madness teams are selected) are almost too small to calculate. Out of a record 20 million brackets submitted on ESPN this year, just 37 picked the men’s Final Four. That's 0.000185%. And, this is the first time all four No. 1 seeds were eliminated during the Sweet Sixteen, not even making it to the Elite Eight, let alone the Final Four. Which improves the odds of this being a “Cinderella Story” year. |
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Black assets.rebelmouse.io FULL QUESTION: Asking Again: I love how Red & Black is run by two sisters. Is one of you “the boss”?
We thought this would be the perfect question to rerun on National Boss’s Day. Why? Well, we think the responses below say it all …
| Oh yes, definitely! Without question, that would be Black. In fact, on more than one occasion, I've been known to refer to her as The Boss (and I'm not talking about Bruce Springsteen). It's usually me kidding around and saying something along the lines of "I'll have to check with The Boss." (Even my daughters have heard me refer to their aunt that way, and they've never questioned me, so there must be some agreement, at least in my family, about who's the boss.) To a great extent, it may be because if you were to compare our bios, I don't think my background as a mom prepared me to be a businesswoman, although Black has tried to convince me otherwise. On the other hand, Black's bio makes it painfully obvious she's "all business" so better suited to be "the boss." |
| It depends on how you define "boss." If you are referring to who owns more of the company, I hold 1% more than Red, which technically means I have more"authority". And, I will admit that as the older sister, I have more practice being bossy (especially as she has always tried to avoid conflict), but when it comes to business, I value teamwork. Red has a perspective and background very different than mine (that is an understatement!), but the key is acknowledging that – and learning from one another in order to make the best business decisions. The bottom line is there would be no Red & Black … without Red or without Black. It is truly a partnership. |
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