Do your preparations match your expectations?

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Preparation never ends. It is hard work. It requires thought, time, commitment, energy, money, new skills and knowledge. Many of us agree it is best to be as prepared as we possibly can be, regardless of if we are at '5' or '10'. That is our goal. I hear a voice asking 'will it be enough?' We all have expectations and are preparing in varying degrees. Do the two match? Mine do not. I sometimes think about what Ed, Gary, Paul, and others have done. They match. How about you?

-- Rob Michaels (sonofdust@net.com), December 08, 1998

Answers

Great question, Rob. For me the answer is no. I expect about an 8. However, due to financial constraints, time and energy spent at work and living a complex modern lifestyle, the expectations of the people that I'm preparing with, my own inabilities and inexperience...and that sniggling little voice telling me I'm blowing it all out of proportion...I'm preparing for a 4-5 (maybe a 6? it seems hard to judge). I'm not completely comfortable with it, but when it comes down to it, I'm not completely comfortable with everything I do in my life NOW. So. it'll do. And I believe I'll be better off than most people. Hopefully in a position to help some of them along. I'm mentally prepared for worse, and I suppose that's useful...

-- pshannon (pshannon@inch.com), December 08, 1998.

Since I don't know what's going to happen, I have no idea if i'll ever be doing enough, or too much. If I listened to my guts, I'd be doing more and faster, but I have a husband who's putting the breaks on my anthusiasm somewhat.

-- Chris (catsy@pond.com), December 08, 1998.

Don't be so hard on yourselves. Take one day at a time. Let's call it opportunity time. We've all felt the same what if's, maybe it won't happen, maybe it will, these are mind games we play. I live in earthquake country and I'm not sitting around waiting for one to happen, but I am prepared for one if it does. I live in high fire danger country and I'm not sitting around waiting for one, but I am prepared for one. I've had cancer and been cured, but I'm not sitting around worrying about a reoccurence. You do what you are capable of doing. Nothing in our pee brains will ever tell us that everything is in control, there's always something that we can dwell on that may never come to pass. So the time you spend fretting, spend it on preparing yourself whether mentally or physically for the things you have no control over. That's where peace of mind comes in. People with lot's of money worry about having it all taken away, and worry about how to make more. Worry doesn't change a thing. JMHO.

-- bardou (bardou@baloney.com), December 08, 1998.

"preparing yourself whether mentally or physically for the things you have no control over. That's where peace of mind comes in. "

And also preparation itself reduces the anxiety, like taking delivery of something important. But the 'will this be enough voice' doesn't go away, it just isn't as loud.

-- Rob Michaels (sonofdust@net.com), December 09, 1998.


Preparing to go camping, at home, for an extended period, with a good portion of the neighbors and local community. Keeping it simple. Planning on a "5." Getting the "spirit" ready for anything, and following inner guidance. Feel Y2K okay.

Diane *Create Community, Prepare To Share, Be Y2K Aware*

-- Diane J. Squire (sacredspaces@yahoo.com), December 09, 1998.



I guess I can say that mine do match. I "got it" about a year ago and took major steps that included a significant career move (down the ladder). I'm at about an 8 and my preps run along the lines of quitting a major metropolitan area to buy a rural place and getting the whole schmeer: non-hybrid seeds, farm animals, woodburning stoves, alternative energy equipment (although I'm wondering if I should ditch this stuff, in case it's actually a 9 or 10). We're liquidating all of our retirement savings to pay off our debts (at this point just our mortgage); hopefully if we owe anything at all it'll just be a modest sum to my parents, who will not foreclose on us (and may be living with us, in fact).

That's just me. Hope this isn't too self aggrandizing.

-- Franklin Journier (ready4y2k@yahoo.com), December 09, 1998.


My Expectations: can you say rollercoaster ride that seemingly never ends?

My Preparations: just doing the best I can to prepare for the worst.

-- Bingo1 (howe9@pop.shentel.net), December 09, 1998.


Frank, your preparations sound thorough! I am probably about at 5, compared to you... but at least a 9, compared to the rest of the population. I know, don't compare; everyone's situation is different.

I am stil working on our HUGE relocation project. Our move should take place between Jan. and the end of March. Had to make it before TSHTF in April (my guesstimate).

Luckily, I have already begun to develop relationships with my new community... bless the internet and (please) save the internet!

Got the food, the vitamins, the first aid, some prescription medicine, non-hybrid seeds, sprouting seeds and supplies, clothing for my 3 kids for the basics (sneakers, jeans, T-shirts, etc.)for a few years' sizes, and basic "camping" gear.

Money processed. I'll leave that to your imagination. Everyone who needs them will have an extra pair of glasses/contacts, etc. in time. There's more, of course, but how much can we take? We're all up to our eyeballs in this stuff!

-- Sara Nealy (saran@ptd.net), December 10, 1998.


Relocation is where some of us get disconnected between our expectations of Y2K and our preparations (knowing that we should get out of Dodge). When I wrote the question, I think that this was the thing that the voice inside my head is most insistent on - relocation - problem is, no can do. Having a rural bug-out place where family get its are already living and waiting for us if it comes to that is the thing that helps me most.

Diane: You are way cool - thanks for your post. Keeping it simple isn't easy, but I am trying to get the "spirit ready for anything" .

-- Rob Michaels (sonofdust@net.com), December 10, 1998.


A poster on the kitco forum today gave the following results of a search (Lycos) where "Y2K" and "survival" were entered:

1,364,457 total results

Six months ago the same search had 223,586 total results.

If you needed any prodding to start minimizing the distance between your preparations and expectations consider the above.

-- Rob Michaels (sonofdust@net.com), December 12, 1998.



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