Allow yourself time to decompress and process what has happened.

This is not a time for pride. Allow yourself to accept help from others to help you get back on your feet. Help can come from many places, such as governmental and nonprofit agencies, friends, family, neighbors, churches, your employer and co-workers, even strangers.

They need to look at the worst-case scenario. If they decide to go variable and it goes against them, what's that going to do to them? Play the different scenarios in [your] mind.

They might be able to make payments for you in the short run. Summarize the terms in writing so there won't be any misunderstanding down the road whether this was a loan or a gift.

When you've experienced a disaster, you'll likely be overwhelmed with everything you'll have to deal with in rebuilding your life. As much as possible, deal with the most important items immediately.

There must be a little memory bank, a library or storage unit in my brain, that just tucks away memories of other people. I suck in as much of life as I can. I don't do it deliberately - I'm just curious. Dangerously so. I collect visual and aural patterns, physical human patterns, from experience.