The Lisa Files Quiz No. 5 - Man Overboard...

[KeithS]

now this bag just keeps getting fuller and fuller till I have to upend it and throw out the receipts, envelopes, chocolate wrappers, random escaped lollies

You see, us guys are not too different from you girls - that pretty much describes the contents of my wallet! It fills up with old receipts (mainly from service stations), lottery tickets, movie tickets, fantales wrappers, train tickets, business cards from people I can't remember, post-it notes with phone numbers and addresses of people I don't know, lots and lots of 5 cent pieces (my office vending machine doesn't take 5 cents...grrr...) - stuff like that. When it begins to get too heavy and my trousers are in danger of falling off - I go through it and chuck everything out!!

[mushu mama]

yep, that is my bag in a nutshell.

Lisa. */

[Mel]

Good Lord, you both just described my work backpack!

[calisota]

Having worked in Casinos for so long I'm used to not having pockets and not having anything on me at all. I carry the absolute minimum and even now I go to work with nothing in my pockets at all just out of habit.

Greg

[mushu mama]

I'm guessing that the 'no pocket' policy is so you don't pocket cash?

Not having anything with me at work would drive me insane.

On any given day, aside from my little handbag housing absolute essentials (money, at least 3 alternate lipsticks/glosses, eftpos/credit cards, hairclips, mobile phone, keys and 7000 receipts) I always have my daily horoscope book,little camera ( which now has Donald Duck and Goofy hanging off it) magazine/book, payslips from probably the last 6 months which I never open, hairclips, lollies, Earl Grey tea bags (I don't like the work ones) my lunch, Zyrtec, peanuts, iPod, mints, keys to the 3 different shops I work in, work name badge, lost coins, dental floss, CD's, sunglasses and almost a ream of copy paper sheets that I've pinched from the copier at work and done random bits of writing for my books when inspiration strikes. There is more but I stopped digging.
And thats just whats in it right now.

I might add that I live exactly 7.5 minutes drive from where I work the most often and could actually go home at lunch time and not have to cart anything.

And as soon as I take something out of that MacGyver bag, I'm sure to need it that very day.

Lisa.

[mushu mama]

Ok... my interpretations of your turfings....

Now, this one, like I said earlier wasn't about emotions, so it really surprised me that it came down to emotional choices rather than crisis response - which it was about. I was worried that it might be too obvious what the questions were about, but as usual, you guys came at me from left field and moved goal posts.

So..
This time, I'm going to break it down into the individual items and tell you what it might reveal about you having thrown an item in a particular order. I want to stress though, that there are no right or wrong answers, just better choices in a LIFE THREATENING SITUATION. You might wish to choose making those last moments more memorable rather than take a shot at making it to shore... and more power to ya - the choice is all yours if you are on a boat alone and its sinking. Who's gonna argue right?

The Lerrrrve letters...

I laughed at the boys responses... it was all there - surprise that you owned any at all, acceptance that you wouldn't have replied anyway and the assumption that they were indeed there and had to be dealt with.
While not all that romantic, it shows an ability to prioritise in a crisis. In a 'staying alive' sense, that's a definite plus.. They are paper, they are indeed edible but they won't sustain you for long. Notice that all the girls re-read them, indicating their attachment to them - don't be fooled by the 'I need something to read'... girls need acknowledgment in whatever form it takes... love letters are just convenient packaging for the emotions.
The thing with the love letters is that they are light and might be usable for other things... warmth ( poked inside clothing) or (presuming large sheets of paper) fashioning into hats for shelter?
So the only reason in a crisis situation for ultimately keeping them is as food, shelter or warmth. Otherwise, they are better out of the boat. (sorry girls) but if it makes you happier in your presumed last moments to be reading, then by all means keep them.


Ok...

The iPod.

MacGyver to the rescue... I seriously think that man could save the world with a swiss army knife and little else. I also loved the Titanic tie-in despite it being a pretty morbid thought.. might as well go out dancing hey Keith?

The iPod is the most useless thing of the three in the 'I want to live' stakes ( unless of course you are MacGyver). (sorry boys) Course, there is every possibility that you could listen to your iPod until it's battery gave out and then turf it. However, on the other hand, for those of us that are not able to live without it for long, that might sooth your anxiety sufficiently to either accept your fate or think a little clearer and come up with possible alternative survival techniques to employ. so it has merit there as well.
Essentially the iPod represents an escapist streak and while that is fun in a social sense, its not all that helpful in a life or death sitch. Again, the iPod isn't going to be all that useful in 'food/water/shelter' moments so its probably better turfed.

Now... the Survival Kit.

Wow... this absolutely amazed me that it was jettisoned so quickly.
And also how most assumed that the boat had a gaping hole rather than a slow leak and the weight of the kit would be a drawback.
Sheesh you guys.... Are none of you scouts?
check out its name... S U R V I V A L kit. Its supposed to help you survive . They are designed to hold what you need in a given situation.
The patch kit might come in handy if you are in a zodiac type of boat. The flare might come in handy in the dark. The chocolate ( yes... I've decided that it MUST contain some chocolate) would sustain you for a looong time if its rationed. It would also likely have tablets that would convert bad water into drinkable should you make it to shore. I suppose it would have a knife or scissors as well... that is essential to survival... killing/preparing, food; protection; medicinal slicing, trimming nose hairs... you name it, it'd be handy. I'm only guessing at what the survival kit on a boat might contain, but I'd assume it'd have the basics for survival on both the water and land - at least for a short time. But making it to land increases your chance of survival I'd imagine (in terms of food/water/shelter) so I'd hope it had stuff in it that got you that far. Course if you are in the middle of the pacific... sorry guys you are probably cactus.
So keeping the survival kit represents practicality and that is also another essential component of survival in a crisis.

I want to make special mention of Beths response... I loved the confidence with which you chose to put your life in Will Turners hands... I'm sure none of the girls would knock that back over drowning.

And also Sandie's presumed initial jettisoned object.... its truly dangerous being your partner Sandie... you helped him leap off a bridge in one quiz and then threw him to the sharks in the next... can't wait to see what the next one brings.

Ok... ready for another one?

Lisa. -/

[calisota]

I'm trying to remember all the things in a survival kit. I used to have to know them all.

Flares, both of the night and day variety. Yes, there is a difference.
Fresh water. Water purifying tablets. Water collection device in case it rains.
Knife.
Medicine kit.
Dye for spilling in the water and making you easier to see from the air.
Whistle, so they can find you in the dark.
Mirror for signalling.
Fishing line.
Those silver thermal blankets.
and most importantly...seasick pills!
and probably a few other things I can't remember.

We were shown a re-enactment of an actual situation where 6 people abandoned ship into a small raft and no one remembered to bring the kit. Only 2 of them survived (they had interviews with them) and they told of how a couple of the others jumped in with the sharks rather than stay on the raft and this was after only a few days, less than a week!

Greg

[sandie]

Ok... ready for another one?

Bring it on!

We were shown a re-enactment of an actual situation where 6 people abandoned ship into a small raft and no one remembered to bring the kit. Only 2 of them survived (they had interviews with them) and they told of how a couple of the others jumped in with the sharks rather than stay on the raft and this was after only a few days, less than a week!

Don't tell Peter that or he will back out of the cruise!

Sandie

[mushu mama]

and they told of how a couple of the others jumped in with the sharks rather than stay on the raft and this was after only a few days, less than a week!Greg

They jumped in with the sharks?
I just can't imagine being so desperate to die. And I can't for the life of me think of a worse way of dying than being bitten in half.

I didn't do a bad job guessing what would be in the kit though... I got a few of them.

Lisa.

[KeithS]

Flares, both of the night and day variety. Yes, there is a difference.
Fresh water. Water purifying tablets. Water collection device in case it rains.
Knife.
Medicine kit.
Dye for spilling in the water and making you easier to see from the air.
Whistle, so they can find you in the dark.
Mirror for signalling.
Fishing line.
Those silver thermal blankets.
and most importantly...seasick pills!

As Anthony and I suspected - completely useless rubbish in that kit - except maybe the mirror, and as I stated earlier - that's what the shiny surface of the iPod is for.