Sunday, June 12, 2011

the burning house

I've seen some pretty pictures around the burning house site.

Pretty, yes. 
Pretty impractical, too.

Although I like the idea of this project, 
and I am totally respectful of other people's point of view... 

I saw somebody posting pictures with books, vinyl records, silver bowls, an axe and some more sentimental valuables, including potted orchids, succulents & other major heavy loads.
Sentimental stuff is indeed important, but if the temperature is rising quickly, the heck with these things, I just want to get out.

If my house was burning, 

and if I had to run and get my sorry butt out of there...

(Since my dogs are living with my parents now, 
I am not mentioning them, 
but they would be a no brainer otherwise.)

* my crocs flip flops
beside are these are the most comfortable flip-flops, I wear them all the time (during winter with socks, how sexy) and they rest next to my bed at night... since I would be freaked out, probably wear them on opposite feet

yes, having more time, I would probably take a lot of other stuff

* crocs

* my purse of the day before 
which usually holds my wallet, credit cards, chances of some money, sunglasses, reading glasses, chapstick and hopefully my iphone which I always forget to plug in 
* laptop 
for pictures and files and all the stuff that's usually in a laptop

* passport & green card 
somewhere between my laptop, my craft supplies, or buried in a drawer, so yeah, chances are I'll have to stand in line at the immigration office again (but I do have a scanned copy in my laptop)
* a change of clothes
probably sweatshirt and sweatpants and a pair of sneakers, I wouldn't think of party clothes at that point
* the bag with some of my blings 
most of them are sentimental values either gifts from my husband, my parents or my grandparents.

So as much as I can accept the "the burning house" as a concept, the result on the website isn't quite credible: 
if you want to put together a pretty picture just call it 

"the 10 things I care a lot and look how cool I am".

But I guess it wouldn't sound as good.

I don't want to sound bitter, but after seeing the desolation that a fire or another calamity can cause, being hipster and play cool doesn't appeal.
Go and ask people who really lost everything in New Orleans, or in Japan, or in Joplin how they feel about all the sentimental and not so sentimental things that they have lost.

While I lived in Houston, I did find myself where there would be the chance that my house would be seriously damaged - if not destroyed - during hurricane Ike. 

I spent that night dressed in layers, with my shoes on (guess what? I wasn't wearing my pretty stilettos), my dog on a leash, (on my bed) and a waist bag with passport, green card, money, credit cards, a pocket knife, a flash light, a chocolate bar and a ziplock of dog food. 
Bottle of water on hand.
A backpack next to me with a change of clothes, more dog food and some protein bars.

My husband was on a business trip. I was alone and it was freaky.

That time, I've got lucky. 
My home was intact and was one of the very few that never lost power, many other on the coast are still rebuilding and mourning.

Sorry for the long and logorrheic post.
Sometimes I have to vent. 
And, I will not submit this
to the burning house.

DIY and tutorials resuming ASAP

xox, d.


  1. I totally agree with your vent. Thee is nothing cool about facing the possibility of losing everything including your life.
    I have had to leave my home twice due to emergencies - once the house next door was on fire (we were in a townhouse complex) and once again due to a train derailment which caused toxic gas to escape in the air. Both times I grabbed my purse, my dog, her medication, and the insurance policy. There really is no time to think or collect much when the fireman/police officer is banging on your door telling you to leave NOW!
    Luckily we escaped unhurt both times and were able to return to an undamaged home, though with the derailment, we weren't able to return for a week.

  2. I have to agree with you. I saw this site a few weeks ago, and I just thought I would grab my kids and run.

  3. I've been in a burning building but not all fires are created equal. We rushed yes but in the end it didn't matter as much. It took awhile for it to go up (we had time to watch since the firefighters up the street took 30 min to arrive). I had enough time to go chasing my friends cat who had huddled under the bed, refusing to get out. It was scary but, depending on the fires, there might be enough time to grab a few items. One of the things I noticed about the pictures is that people had a lot of stuff. If you can't carry it with you at once then it's unlikely you'll "bring it with you." It's not too wise to run back into a burning building for possessions. I would simply and say the list should be about 3 items long. You won't be thinking much further than that if it happens.

  4. we lost our house to fire,, does put things in perspective,,love this post,, love the crocs,, I wondered if they were comfy,, now I know,,

  5. I've been fortunate enough that I've never had to experience something like this (minus the occasional fire drill scare at work) but since also finding the website, "the burning house," I've given more thought about what I would take if I were in that I situation. And I have to completely agree with your vent that the people on that site are fairly ridiculous. I'm sure I wouldn't want to lose my favorite pair of boots or book but dude - I can't imagine thinking like that in that kind of a situation. The only thing I would care about bringing with me is my family and my two dogs. Maybe maybe my phone simply so I could call someone and cause it has all my contact numbers in it. But that's even if i remember.


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