Recently I took a day off to hang out & catch a movie.(This Is It – I sure do miss MJ) I spent the whole afternoon/evening in Downtown Silver Spring Md. I went from Whole Foods To Borders to a few of the little local shops before my movie started.

After a while I realized that its good to be prepared for what may come. I was glad to have certain items in my “man bag” (just kidding wouldn’t be caught dead with one. That’s why God made cargo pants. LOL) Here are 7 things,in no particular order, that I think its absolutely necessary to be prepared with if you find yourself just chilling out in the public with time on your hands.  Call it a survival kit.

1) Hand Sanitizer/Disinfecting Wipes – I’m one of those people who is always touching their face.  I like to put my hands on my chin, rub my eyes & occasionally smooth out my mustache.  I’m not a germaphobe or OCD but after touching money, door handles, kiosks and other sundry stuff sitting on store shelves its good to protect yourself.  Especially if you’re smart enough not to get the H1N1 vaccination.

2)Some Type of Energy Drink or Booster – There is nothing worse than being somewhere out there & realizing you’re geeeettting sleeeepy. Oh that is not a good feeling. Even if you find a nice hotel lobby to sit & relax in you can’t just fall asleep on their nice plush couch. Not if you have a sense of decency anyway.

3) Speaking of hotels this next one is critical so I’ll add some emphasis. Know the location of a bathroom that is scheduled to be routinely cleaned by a paid staff. If ya gotta go, ya gotta go and the bus station or a fast food restaurant is not gonna cut it.  Find a big name hotel where they might put you out if you look like you don’t belong.  Trust me on this one.

4) Wet Wipes – Yes the kind you would use on a little baby. You just came from the bathroom. ‘Nough said.

5) Something to record your thoughts & ideas with. How often do you come up with a good idea only to forget it  once you get home.  Enough of that.   Whether its a pen & pad, a crackberry even a plain old cell phones there’s no excuse for letting the 411 get away from you anymore.   Poetry or a great title for a new blog post may come to you.  In the information age remember: Knowledge is like the new money, don’t waste it.

6) Mobile Web Access -  It doesn’t matter if you do it by cell phone or laptop.  Communication with family & friends is critical in a crisis.  Aliens could be invading your town & unless you can find out what’s going on via twitter you might just think people are running in the streets for no good reason.   Stay connected.

7) Change – Not the wall street bailout kind of change.  I mean quarters & dollar bills.  There’s only one thing to say when you walk up to the kiosk in the metro station and all you have is a $20 bill.  “Damn”.  If you didn’t have change before get ready to walk around with $14.85 in quarters & nickels.  Well you could always stop by the nearest Starbucks & treat a stranger to a $6 Mocha Java No Whip Hazelnut Latte with a dollop of froth & a dash of cinnamon. 

Lets see, everything else is pretty standard.  Keys, jacket, clean pair of underwear, icepick……

All the things you need to stay safe & be complete.  Did I leave anything out?