I prepared two emergency backpacks today.

The idea had been hatched in my mind for some time, but this quake and a flyer about preparation for emergent occasions yesterday finally made me carry out the plan.

There were probably more than 30 items on the list , but I only packed those that seem to be most needed and those that were available to me in the house. My bags contain the following items: canned food and nutrition tablets for energy, raincoats for bad weathers, plastic sheet to sleep and sit on, lighter to make fire, gloves and ropes for rough environment, medical kit for cases of injury and illness, towels, tissue paper and alcohol handwash for hygiene, and flash light for nights. Bottled water and clothing were also packed in.

The flyer advises that a bag of 15 kg is ideal for a male adult to carry, and 10 kg for a female.

I have tried my backpacks, and they are not light. A rearrangement is inevitable.

Packing is never an easy task for me, I have to admit, either for moving or short trip. I am too attached to the things that I own. My dependence on my belongings has made me their possession instead.

I have always been anxious before check-in counters in airports every time when I travel. It has been a question for a long time: how weighty is a life? or, how light should it be? We might only need 10 to 15 kg to live on, but how much is required to have a life?