# Lost my job - Have idea about cheap water storage - need input



## esmok (Mar 20, 2020)

Hi, all. Glad to find this forum.

I recently lost my job and I want to store water on the cheap, (if possible) for drinking, cooking, cleaning and hygiene. I'm not worried about space as I have plenty in my basement.

*Question 1*: I have about 20-30 cat litter buckets with locking lids (Tidy Cats, yellow #5 PP plastic) and was wondering what your thoughts are on using these for water storage for the short term (no more than 1 year)?

*Question 2*: Is chlorinated city water good enough to store as-is since it's chlorinated, or does it need further treatment?

I have about 9-months to 1 year worth of most preps but sadly water is one prep I dropped the ball on (and I feel ashamed to even say it).

Thanks for reading and responding. Please be gentle :vs_wave:


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## paulag1955 (Dec 15, 2019)

Is the cat litter scented?


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## Back Pack Hack (Sep 15, 2016)

esmok said:


> Hi, all. Glad to find this forum.
> 
> I recently lost my job and I want to store water on the cheap, (if possible) for drinking, cooking, cleaning and hygiene. I'm not worried about space as I have plenty in my basement.
> 
> *Question 1*: I have about 20-30 cat litter buckets with locking lids (Tidy Cats, yellow #5 PP plastic) and was wondering what your thoughts are on using these for water storage for the short term (no more than 1 year)?


No. No. No. No. No. No.

Kitty litter buckets aren't food grade. You're storing the liquid of life... why mess it up with chemicals leaching from the container?

No. No. No. No. No. No. No.

I know it's gonna hurt, but buy containers designed for storing water. Your life is worth that much, isn't it?



esmok said:


> : Is chlorinated city water good enough to store as-is since it's chlorinated, or does it need further treatment?
> 
> I have about 9-months to 1 year worth of most preps but sadly water is one prep I dropped the ball on (and I feel ashamed to even say it).
> 
> Thanks for reading and responding. Please be gentle :vs_wave:


A bit of bleach should be all you'll need.


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## paulag1955 (Dec 15, 2019)

Back Pack Hack said:


> No. No. No. No. No. No.
> 
> Kitty litter buckets aren't food grade. You're storing the liquid of life... why mess it up with chemicals leaching from the container?
> 
> ...


If the kitty litter wasn't scented, he could use those buckets in combination with mylar bags to store food, though, right?


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## esmok (Mar 20, 2020)

paulag1955 said:


> Is the cat litter scented?


Not sure, but I think it was. Not my buckets, got from my neighbor. Will have to look at the buckets tomorrow.



Back Pack Hack said:


> No. No. No. No. No. No.
> 
> Kitty litter buckets aren't food grade. You're storing the liquid of life... why mess it up with chemicals leaching from the container?
> 
> ...


I get it. I think it needs to be #2 HDPE plastic.

Still thinking about storing water in these kitty litter buckets for use as non-food needs, though, to save money on proper containers.

Any thoughts on that?


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## Back Pack Hack (Sep 15, 2016)

paulag1955 said:


> If the kitty litter wasn't scented, he could use those buckets in combination with mylar bags to store food, though, right?


Sure. I do the same thing.


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## Mad Trapper (Feb 12, 2014)

Food grade containers can be had cheap/free. 5-gal pickle buckets and plastic drums of various sizes. 

11 drops of bleach / gallon of water will kill any nasties if water is free of debris.


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## Back Pack Hack (Sep 15, 2016)

The bakery at my local WalMart used to give away their empty icing buckets for free, but now charge a whopping dollar. Not a bad price nonetheless.

Sammich shops also give away empty buckets for free. I've heard Firehouse Subs does merrily but I don't have any experience with them as there's none around me. 

Pickle buckets will have a strong odor too them. I've never gotten one, so I don't know what it would take to get rid of that odor. But the WalMart buckets are usually cake icing, so they smell damned nice.

Start making the rounds of the local restaurants, at least the ones that are still open for take-outs. You might have to do some dumpster-diving. I've scrounged a couple dozen empty 3-gallon frying oil jugs from behind a local chinese joint just sitting by the dumpster. Bring 'em home and wash 'em out.


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## paraquack (Mar 1, 2013)

*Use only food safe containers, period.* For what it is worth: I store 260 gallons of city water 
(already chlorinated) but I add 1/2 the normal recommended chlorine bleach (so, 4 drops of liquid 
household chlorine bleach (5 to 6% sodium hypochlorite) for every one gallon of water) to the water 
on a yearly basis. After 3 years I use the water for other purposes and sanitize the tank and start 
over again. This is due to temperature in AZ and I will not take a chance of anything growing in the 
water. Obviously there is a strong odor of bleach in the water. During the reuse of the water, I 
transfer it to outdoor tubs, where it "off gases" the chlorine in about 2-3 days and then reuse the 
water in my garden. So, if I needed to use the water, it might take 2-3 days to get rid of the strong 
smell/taste. Pouring the water back and forth from one bucket to another can speed up the process 
of of gasing, and I intend to run the water thru a Berkley after the smell is gone.


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## Limit Killer (Dec 6, 2017)

As far as I know, #5 pp is a food grade plastic that is commonly used to store all kinds of foods that are in direct contact with it.

Raise the limits.


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## jimLE (Feb 8, 2014)

id use the kitty litter jugs for non food situation's only.like flushing the tolit if the water shoul get turned off for what ecer reason.to keeping house plants watered.on account the litter can't be cleaned out completely.including what leached into the plastic.


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## esmok (Mar 20, 2020)

dup post


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## esmok (Mar 20, 2020)

Went around to all grocery stores that have a bakery and/or deli in my area. Most told me they were instructed not to give such things away to customers right now, others just claimed they didn't have any.

So I went to a local bakery thinking I may hit the jackpot there (they are a rather large bakery). I almost left empty-handed but I ended-up with three 3-gallon buckets and two 5-gallon buckets with lids. All food grade that either stored icing or high fructose corn syrup. They are all #2 HDPE

They do not usually have as many as I thought they would because they actually reuse/repurpose them.

But they told me to go back next Friday at around the same time and they would hold more back for me in the meantime, but didn't tell me how many I could expect. I didn't ask as I didn't want to come across more pushy than I already was. lol These guys are underpaid bakery workers so you can't push them too hard or you get no cooperation from them.

I also tried a specialty candy manufacturer on the way back but they were closed. Will try again.

I will go back to the bakery next Friday and hope they have more buckets and I'll keep trying the candy maker.

I will try to brainstorm other places that might be a source of good buckets.



jimLE said:


> id use the kitty litter jugs for non food situations only.like flushing the tolit if the water shoul get turned off for what ecer reason.to keeping house plants watered.on account the litter can't be cleaned out completely.including what leached into the plastic.


I agree. This is what I intend to do with these buckets now that I have found #2 HDPE buckets (but need a lot more). Putting out SHTF fires is also a good reason to store water that you don't intend to drink.

However I will still clean them very well just as if I would be using the water for food. Because, to be 100% honest, I probably would drink it if I went for days without a drop of drinkable water.

Even though #5 PP is supposed to be "food grade", they still may not be totally safe considering what was stored int them.



Limit Killer said:


> As far as I know, #5 pp is a food grade plastic that is commonly used to store all kinds of foods that are in direct contact with it.
> 
> Raise the limits.


Yes, #5 PP is considered food grade. Rubbermaid food storage containers that are freezer and microwave safe are #5 PP.

What do you mean by "Raise the limits"?


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## Back Pack Hack (Sep 15, 2016)

esmok said:


> .......so i went to a local bakery thinking i may hit the jackpot there (they are a rather large bakery). I almost left empty-handed but i ended-up with three 3-gallon buckets and two 5-gallon buckets with lids. All food grade that either stored icing or high fructose corn syrup. They are all #2 hdpe...........


Score!


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## Mad Trapper (Feb 12, 2014)

Glad you got a start on the containers. Besides bakeries check places with delis or fast food.


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## esmok (Mar 20, 2020)

Mad Trapper said:


> Besides bakeries check places with delis or fast food.


Had so much to do today and decided to skip those since many are closed and the ones that are open looked very busy. Also because the only ones open seem to be the national chains and didn't want to waste my time with them since some of the grocery stores (also national chains) had a policy not to let people have the the buckets. But I may try later or tomorrow.


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## esmok (Mar 20, 2020)

paraquack said:


> (so, 4 drops of liquid
> household chlorine bleach (5 to 6% sodium hypochlorite) for every one gallon of water)


Unfortunately, the only bleach I have is the concentrated kind that contains not only Sodium Hypochlorite but also Sodium Hydroxide.

Anyone know if the concentrated bleach is OK to use for water treatment? It does show 6% Sodium Hypocholorite but does not say how much Sodium Hydroxide. It just mentions it being an ingredient on the label but not on the ingredient list.

Bleach of all types are pretty much gone everywhere in my area. Been about a week now.


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## Slippy (Nov 14, 2013)

@esmok

Good on you for taking some action.

I may not have read every post from this thread and if I'm off base, my apologies.

Water for drinking is damn necessary, so continue to do what you are doing to make sure you have the H2O requirements for you/familhy.

But don't forget water for hygiene, which also includes flushing toilets. Cleaning dishes, clothes and your person etc is important but making sure you can flush you toilets is also damn huge!

Get some non food grade containers just for flushing and you'll have a piece of mind that you can at least keep your waste system somewhat in control.

(OH and after this Shit Has Been Cleaned Off of The Fan, don't go back to your old ways of NOT being prepared! Promise me! :vs_shake

Slippy


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## Back Pack Hack (Sep 15, 2016)

esmok said:


> Unfortunately, the only bleach I have is the concentrated kind that contains not only Sodium Hypochlorite but also Sodium Hydroxide.
> 
> Anyone know if the concentrated bleach is OK to use for water treatment? It does show 6% Sodium Hypocholorite but does not say how much Sodium Hydroxide. It just mentions it being an ingredient on the label but not on the ingredient list.
> 
> Bleach of all types are pretty much gone everywhere in my area. Been about a week now.


You can make bleach using pool shock.


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## stevekozak (Oct 4, 2015)

esmok said:


> Went around to all grocery stores that have a bakery and/or deli in my area. Most told me they were instructed not to give such things away to customers right now, others just claimed they didn't have any.
> 
> So I went to a local bakery thinking I may hit the jackpot there (they are a rather large bakery). I almost left empty-handed but I ended-up with three 3-gallon buckets and two 5-gallon buckets with lids. All food grade that either stored icing or high fructose corn syrup. They are all #2 HDPE
> 
> ...


Good job!!


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## Limit Killer (Dec 6, 2017)

esmok said:


> I agree. This is what I intend to do with these buckets now that I have found #2 HDPE buckets (but need a lot more). Putting out SHTF fires is also a good reason to store water that you don't intend to drink.
> 
> What do you mean by "Raise the limits"?


Now that you have more suitable containers for potable water I'd certainly use those instead. Raise the limits is just an auto attached signature line, goes with the name.

Raise the limits.


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## Annie (Dec 5, 2015)

Sorry to hear about your job. I hope something turns up that'll work out well for you. I think it's awesome that you're using this time to do something as useful as preparing. I've talked to people who told me they didn't have any money to prepare and I tried to explain that preparedness isn't always about money. It can be skills you pick up online, or just doing what you can on the cheap even if it's just some extra bags of rice and beans here and there.


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## esmok (Mar 20, 2020)

Back Pack Hack said:


> You can make bleach using pool shock.


 Yeah, I know, but pool shock is too much of an upfront cost, especially given the amount I need. I need to watch my expenditure. I do understand that pool shock is better since you only make enough bleach that you need so you can store it much longer than bleach, but unfortunately I can't prep for everything at this juncture.

But I found out that concentrated bleach is ok for water treatment - at 5 gallons you would use 30 drops instead of 40 drops. In my case, I will go with the previous suggestion to use half since I'm using chlorinated water. So 15 drops per 5 gallons.


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## esmok (Mar 20, 2020)

Slippy said:


> (OH and after this Shit Has Been Cleaned Off of The Fan, don't go back to your old ways of NOT being prepared! Promise me! :vs_shake


I'll be honest, I never did stock water, I'm guilty.

But I did stock food and other supplies. But times have been rough for me the past 5-6 years and I actually ate about half or more of my preps to save money. I don't feel bad about it because I have heard stories about people who had to throw preps away because they got too old. What a waste of money and time.

I have a hard and fast rule I follow, especially for food: I don't stock anything I wouldn't eat presently so that I can rotate my preps to keep them as fresh as possible. Probably about 50-60% of what I buy goes into my stash and I use the old stuff.

I can tell you that 5 year old soup and canned veggies don't taste any different than the day they are bought. I can't speak to nutrition level but if taste is any indicator, I would say little, if any, nutrition was lost.

Right now, given my limited funds and limited stocked water, I am not buying any food that requires water to prepare. Everything I buy needs to be able to be eaten right out of the package/can, like non-condensed soup, canned veggies, etc. I'm not stocking any meat or anything else that needs refrigerated or frozen either. I don't have a generator.

Unlike a lot of people, I don't think this pandemic is going to go away any time soon and I believe it will trigger other "events" that will push America and the rest of the "civilized world" into a new world.

*Prepare to be chipped. * They have "good" excuse to implement it now, even in America. And most Americans will welcome it because they will want peace and "a better way".

I for one will not accept the chip. They will have to just kill me and I'm quite certain they will.


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## Back Pack Hack (Sep 15, 2016)

esmok said:


> Yeah, I know, but pool shock is too much of an upfront cost, especially given the amount I need. I need to watch my expenditure. I do understand that pool shock is better since you only make enough bleach that you need so you can store it much longer than bleach, but unfortunately I can't prep for everything at this juncture.
> 
> But I found out that concentrated bleach is ok for water treatment - at 5 gallons you would use 30 drops instead of 40 drops. In my case, I will go with the previous suggestion to use half since I'm using chlorinated water. So 15 drops per 5 gallons.


You can buy pool shock at WallyWorld for lunch money.


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## esmok (Mar 20, 2020)

Back Pack Hack said:


> You can buy pool shock at WallyWorld for lunch money.


Didn't know that. I paid 1.39 for a gallon of bleach.

I rarely spend more than $1 for lunch, BTW :vs_laugh:


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## Back Pack Hack (Sep 15, 2016)

esmok said:


> Didn't know that. I paid 1.39 for a gallon of bleach.
> 
> I rarely spend more than $1 for lunch, BTW :vs_laugh:


Bleach loses it's potency over time.


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## esmok (Mar 20, 2020)

Back Pack Hack said:


> Bleach loses it's potency over time.


I understand that, but as I said before, at this juncture I can't prep that way. I have a limited budget.

So if buying a gallon of bleach is going to get me what I need for 6 months to a year for less than pool shock which will last me years and years, I unfortunately have to go with bleach.

It's like the old lady on a fixed income who pays $1 for 1 pound of sugar at Dollar Tree, yet she could get 4 pounds for $2 at Kroger.

She does it because all she has left is $2.00. Getting the $1 sugar allows her to have sugar for the rest of the month plus $1.00 to spend a can of beans.


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## marineimaging (Jun 1, 2013)

esmok said:


> Hi, all. Glad to find this forum.
> 
> I recently lost my job and I want to store water on the cheap, (if possible) for drinking, cooking, cleaning and hygiene. I'm not worried about space as I have plenty in my basement.
> 
> ...


In a survival situation you must throw conventional thinking out the window and think outside the box. For example, use that water for anything else BUT drinking. Save drinking water into food grade containers. Also, you can filter your drinking water from water that is otherwise not suitable for drinking. Look up filtering systems that will work in your situation.


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## bigwheel (Sep 22, 2014)

esmok said:


> Yeah, I know, but pool shock is too much of an upfront cost, especially given the amount I need. I need to watch my expenditure. I do understand that pool shock is better since you only make enough bleach that you need so you can store it much longer than bleach, but unfortunately I can't prep for everything at this juncture.
> 
> But I found out that concentrated bleach is ok for water treatment - at 5 gallons you would use 30 drops instead of 40 drops. In my case, I will go with the previous suggestion to use half since I'm using chlorinated water. So 15 drops per 5 gallons.


Trying to figure out why chlorinated water needs chlorinating. The water coming out of my faucet has plenty enough to not need any and has too much to be good for plants. In fact from what I heard chlorine can only exist in water as a gas..so to get chlorine out it needs to be exposed to air with a bubbler. You might wasnt to snag a little test kit to check it. We do that on the cement pond. I have 10 k gallons but cant drink it because of pool stablizer in it. Pretty sad huh? Only way to get it out is distillation I think. Any clues on that? Know you cant filter it out supposedly. I dont know how long it would take to kill a person to drink it.


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## esmok (Mar 20, 2020)

bigwheel said:


> Trying to figure out why chlorinated water needs chlorinating. The water coming out of my faucet has plenty enough to not need any and has too much to be good for plants. In fact from what I heard chlorine can only exist in water as a gas..so to get chlorine out it needs to be exposed to air with a bubbler. You might wasnt to snag a little test kit to check it. We do that on the cement pond. I have 10 k gallons but cant drink it because of pool stablizer in it. Pretty sad huh? Only way to get it out is distillation I think. Any clues on that? Know you cant filter it out supposedly. I dont know how long it would take to kill a person to drink it.


No idea. And I find all the information on potable water storage is all conflicting. So I went with what another member here stated and I put half the amount Clorox suggests since it is already chlorinated.

Bad move? Maybe I will find out.


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## csi-tech (Apr 13, 2013)

I have an MSR Sweetwater hand purifier as well as a Katadyn Pocket Micro filter. Great choices. Watch TV and pump clean drinking water from pond water. I want a Royal Berkey. Even easier. Good luck and God bless.


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## comp124 (Sep 15, 2014)

*Water Bobs*

What about waterbobs


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## Back Pack Hack (Sep 15, 2016)

comp124 said:


> What about waterbobs


Strictly short-term storage.


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## esmok (Mar 20, 2020)

Just an update. I went back to that bakery this past Friday as they instructed and they denied me any more buckets. 

As I was walking into the building, a manager or supervisor ran up to me and asked what he could help me with. I told him that I was told by other employees the week before to stop back today as they would be setting back some buckets for me to pickup today.

He said they don't have any buckets but then asked what I was using them for. 

Not wanting to divulge I was storing water in them, I merely told him I like to use them to store tools and transport things in.

He gave me a funny look and told me that they don't really get buckets.

I asked him where the employees who gave me buckets last week got them.

He stammered and responded something to the affect of "Oh, I don't know, they were just sitting around or something". 

I said OK and just left. No time or patience for these silly games, really. 



Been going around to restaurants, grocery stores and other businesses that might have buckets, including a few local confectioners...no luck. They either tell me they don't have any or that they are not allowed to give them out.


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## MountainGirl (Oct 29, 2017)

Sounds like a shift into panic.


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## esmok (Mar 20, 2020)

MountainGirl said:


> Sounds like a shift into panic.


Naw, not panicking. Just trying to do what I can to get some water stored, but I'm done and accepting with what I have at this point.

Not going out of my way anymore to find buckets but if I find myself somewhere or going by someplace that I feel might have some, I will stop and ask.


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## Deebo (Oct 27, 2012)

@esmok, I Have to ask, what country are you in? 
I also can add, that water is my weakness, relying totally on city water at the moment.


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## esmok (Mar 20, 2020)

Deebo said:


> @esmok, I Have to ask, what country are you in?
> I also can add, that water is my weakness, relying totally on city water at the moment.


I'm in the USA


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## Deebo (Oct 27, 2012)

I have never heard the term confectioner, threw me off.


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## esmok (Mar 20, 2020)

BTW: For anyone looking to use plastic buckets or other plastic vessels for storing water or food (without mylar bags), in my research I have found the following...

Just because a bucket or other plastic vessel is made of a plastic that is considered "food grade", if it's a colored bucket then there's a good chance that the bucket is not actually food grade because the dye isn't food grade. 

While they do make colored #2 HDPE and #5 PP buckets that use food grade dyes to color them, they're rare and more expensive to manufacture, which is why you usually only ever see bulk food items transported/packaged in the white buckets. 

For instance, all the colored buckets you can buy a lowes and home depot and WM, they are all made of #2 HDPE plastic which is considered a food grade plastic, but they are not food grade because the dye in the plastic is not food grade, which is why these places also sometimes sell the white, unbranded buckets (albeit for at least twice the price lol). But if you read the Q&A sections of some of these sites where people ask if these buckets are food grade, you will sometimes see someone answer "Yes, they are #2 HDPE so they are food grade". But this is false information. The plastic alone is not what determines if the bucket is "food grade". 

To make it easy, it's best to stick with white #2 HDPE.


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## MountainGirl (Oct 29, 2017)

esmok said:


> Naw, not panicking....


Not you - the guy. Sorry I wasn't more clear. 
You're doing good from what I can see from here.


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## esmok (Mar 20, 2020)

MountainGirl said:


> Not you - the guy. Sorry I wasn't more clear.


I kinda figured that now that I think about it, but after I posted my reply.

The way the dude walked to the glass door as he saw me walk in was kinda strange and definitely panic-stricken.



MountainGirl said:


> Not you - the guy. Sorry I wasn't more clear.
> You're doing good from what I can see from here.


Thanks, I could be doing better, though lol But no use crying over spilled milk, as they say.


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