Some of us have been aware of Y2K, or even preoccupied with it, for quite some time - perhaps several months, or a year, or longer. We may think about Y2K morning, noon, and night. We may be addicted to this Forum, for example. We can push Y2K back a bit, but it is always there. We can't run away from Y2K. So after Y2K plays out, and it will eventually, what then? We do not even know how long eventually will turn out to be. Are answers only relevant to us as individuals, or does it make sense that there are other mass reactions within the realm of the possible? I know, I know, this is just another of Robs vexing questions, and with six months to go until the rollover, we arent even there yet. Still, I think this is an interesting subject to kick around. When folks get into a particular subject Big Time, as many of us are into Y2K now, this is a question that has some significance.

I tend to think that there will be some withdrawal symptoms. Some are inevitable after spending so much time thinking about and dealing with Y2K. This will vary greatly from person to person. To a large extent, this may be mitigated by the various other non-Y2K interests and responsibilities that each of us have, in varying proportions. That is, the more non-Y2K, the easier it should be to get on with whatever is next in our lives. Also, there is probably some correlation between withdrawal and the severity of Y2K itself. If it turns out to be less than severe in impact, what does that tell us about how we will experience withdrawal? It wont be cut and dry. Not much in life is. And when does withdrawal start for most of us? How about the idea of a mass withdrawal? Is such a thing even possible? Could this result from the masses actually getting it at some point before most of the Y2K impact arrives? (as unlikely as this currently seems). While Y2K get its may experience some of the above, the dont get its may experience a different kind of withdrawal, as they try to do without things that they have so long taken for granted.

Currently we are able to choose just how much of our free time to spend on Y2K related stuff, and this may be a key to how we handle what happens after Y2K plays out later. Perhaps by cutting back on our Y2K time now we will reduce post-Y2K withdrawal. Keeping up our preparations and efforts to stay tuned remains a necessity. I am talking about cutting back on other Y2K-related time we may be spending. Do you think this would actually be of benefit later in reducing potential Y2K withdrawal problems? It would be very valuable to hear from x-forum regulars on this subject, and others that have cut back their Y2K time already. Perhaps, just by chance, one or two will see this thread and put in their two cents.

We are preparing and staying tuned. At some point, Y2K hits. We enter a period of consequences and deal with things as best we can. Perhaps after this period dies down for the most part, assuming eventually is not forever, the withdrawal stage begins. If we are not busy with the beginning of the world as we build it, what will our lives be like without Y2K anymore? Will some of us simply trade the Y2K addiction for another new one? Does it make sense to cut back right now on our Y2K time that is not being spent on preparations and keeping current?

-- Rob Michaels (sonofdust@net.com), June 26, 1999

Answers

If we're not living off our preps,I'll almost certianly be getting better grades.

-- zoobie (zoobiezoob@yahoo.com), June 26, 1999.

In a word,

WONDERFUL!!!!!!!!!

I can't frickin wait until this is over, I was having fun and want it back.

-- Unc D (unkeed@yahoo.com), June 26, 1999.

It will surely be a relief if Y2k is only a minor event. Then, I can just worry about our govt becoming fascist, and enslaving us all... :)

ALL my preps will be useful anyways, so it's not as if I'm stuck with alot of stuff that I no longer have any uses for.

I'm NOT giving the food to charity until it's nearing the end of it's storage life... there may be significant "Earth Changes" in the next few years, and it'd be foolish to have a sigh of relief that Y2k was a bust and give it all away.

-- Bill (billclo@msgbox.com), June 26, 1999.

thankfully I am a totally 100% compliant artist :o) One of the reasons my attention was drawn to computers and Y2K was to sell my art on the net. Y2K is just to interesting to ignore and the big picture Y2K wise was greater than my artwork.

Another thing that will get my attention is books. Just a little behind with reading the books on the shelf. They aren't going anywhere though. During new years eve I usually have a good book, maybe some Jung this year. I usually party will some folks down the road on new years day.

-- Brian (imager@home.com), June 26, 1999.

Rob Michaels prodded: "If we are not busy with the beginning of the world as we build it, what will our lives be like without Y2K anymore?"

My life has changed for the better since I GI'd over a year ago. How so? I know, now more than ever, that I must be more selective in how, what, when, why I choose to eat, sleep, work, play, pray....

BigDog's "Intentional Technology" piece contributed to getting my wheels turning in the direction of making conscious choices in all that I do. That I needed to take more responsibility for making said choices & the resultant effects. Thank you BD. Mr. Decker's "smart living" philosophy which he generously shared with the forum likewise energized me.

I've learned so very much during the course of my research into Y2K. The lessons I'll take with me the rest of my days are not the number of mission-critical systems that 'ABCD' has remediated & tested. Or that the FAA has & is a model of governmental CYA. This type of information I hope will leak out of my memory banks rather quickly post-Y2K!

I refer instead to my newly-found knowledge about drinking water - how to purify it. The variety of contingency plans I've gathered & implemented such as storage in barrels, rain catchment, well buckets, solar puddles.

I've manufacturers' codes, you know the ones - H8123KLM - too deeply ingrained in my mind! Yet I realize now that much of the prepared foods sitting on supermarket shelves is OLD. Green beans (french-cut for my Dalmation) canned 12, 15 months ago just making their way into my shopping cart. No thank you! I used to grow vegetables & I will again next year. This time with the knowledge that gardening is more than just fun. It provides my family with fresh food.

The wood stove I heat with is appreciated now more than ever. As is the well-seasoned oak that pours heat through clothing & skin directly into my very marrow.

I could go on & on but I'll conclude with this:

I am better off today due to the kick in the butt Y2K provided to me. I shall be better off when the smoke clears as well, whether I survive or return home.

I am grateful to all who contribute to this forum. Contribute being the key word... ;-)

Best Wishes,

-- Bingo1 (howe9@pop.shentel.net), June 26, 1999.

Ever since I learned about Y2k and started preparing, I have been in a waiting mode. This is a terrible place to be. I am unable to make decisions about my future until I know what the future will be.

I will be glad to get Y2k behind me, whether it be good or bad. At least when it arrives, I can either be glad it was not as bad as I had anticipated or I can fight it. I am not a patient person and these last months are taking a toll.

-- Linda A. (adahi@muhlon.com), June 26, 1999.

After having been consumed with Y2K for about a year, it occured to me that I was shortchanging my family and myself. I backed off reading the forum and links. Went back to my hobbies and diversions (photography and reading) and back to life before Y2K. The preps just became routine and I didn't obsess(sp?) over whether I had forgotten something. The list of what to buy next just gets shorter.

I recommend this path for others who GI and are mostly prepared, relax, enjoy life, read your Bible. Things will get real interesting in the next few months.

If Y2K is mostly nothing I'll eat thru my stored food but replace as I go. I'll always have a year of food down there. Have a good laugh at myself. Look for an opportunity to get back in the market. If your are just arriving here and this is new to you then.... 1. Prep like crazy 2. Get your money out of the market and out of the bank. 3. If you can move from a big city, do so.

Already in the country Already out of the market LM

-- LM (latemarch@usa.net), June 26, 1999.

I will visit Costco and Sam's much less next year no matter what the outcome of Y2k. I will be using my short term storage items but not my long term items. I will again work on family geneology which is an enjoyable activity. I am retired but I still sell at the swaps each weekend and have a small paper/plastics distirbution business during the week.

I started my preparations early in 1998 and I have spend most of my free time either shopping or doing y2k research on the net. I read Ed's book and have been reading this forum for over a year. Preparations will continue until I "see the light at the end of the tunnel". There are so many things to see and do in this life than I can not see any personal problems regarding Y2k withdrawal.

I would like to attach this new tidbit.....Today I stopped by my local Smart & Final (food & equip) and on a shelf was a single butane stove. Let me give you a description: Made in Korea and distributed by Glowmaster Corp in Garfield, NJ. Compact...safe...reliable auto ignition - electric spark and safty locks....cast aluminum burners....4 heavy duty drip pan supports...Use a fuel can/canister...which fits into a slip in compartment at top of stove....full range flame control....porcelain finish....large cook surface....carrying case.....uses butane fuel....clean and odorless....puts out over 7000 btu.....for outdoor or INDOOR use....for camping or unpredictable disasters....With tax about $45.....fuel about $3. per can.

I asked the store manager his thoughts on the item......He said..Y2k ? He went on to say that the stores in San Diago were selling lots of the item to boat owners.

Before I buy I want to check out a Korean Wholesale house where I think I saw this item and if so find out his price......probably one/half. Will post more infor later.

The reason I mention this item today is the concern by many on how to cook in the house...and yes, sterno is ok and with great care some other methods...but we need a good "no-brainer".

-- rb (phxbanks@webtv.net), June 26, 1999.

I can't wait for y2k to be over. And I want to be wrong about how bad it will be because then I can redecorate my home, buy the new appliances I have put off purchasing, and watch my savings grow. There is so much to do and see and live for, Oh I want y2k to be over!!

-- Carol (glear@usa.net), June 26, 1999.

It won't really make any difference in my new found life...one way or the other. I've spent the majority of my life wanting to live *just* like this anyway. This experience has enriched my childrens lives, helped them to know the only true 'important' things in life and given them the ability to develop priorities. We have grown closer in our new found reliance on 'family' and take great pride in our lack of reliance on the current system in place. While standing in line for fast food today (very crowded/shopping trip to Wichita)our nine year old commented on how this is just like a bunch of ants in an ant- hill...he was right. "Event" or not...we won't be buying into this current system and society 'hook, line and sinker' any longer!

-- Will continue (farming@home.com), June 26, 1999.

One difference Will, ants can get along.

-- (html@guy.com), June 26, 1999.

It will be a huge relief when 2000 comes and goes.The worry is killing me. No matter the outcome the milkcow,chickens and large garden will be a permanent part of my life.The new trout pond and recently constructed root cellar will be an asset to our farm for generations.Never again will I depend on outside sources for basic foods.I'll be healthier to boot.

-- Robbin James (robbinjames@sweetwishes.com), June 26, 1999.

Will continue,

You've won the biggest reward hands down. Me too, sorta... The y2k baby is crowning and soon we'll all find out if it's Rosemary's. Either way, I'm better off. Oops! Better say I'm not doctrinally religious.

-- Carlos (riffraff1@cybertime.net), June 26, 1999.

The possible problems presented by Y2K will be only the latest in a series of drastic upsets punctuating my life. I got through them, I'll get through these--if they happen. I've got a c'est la vie attittude (as opposed to c'est la guerre!).

Sweetie and I had been wanting to try solar power for some time and Y2K provided the impetus to call Roy at Four Winds and get started. We have long put aside "comfort" supplies after experiencing power outages and shortages of goods after a local disaster. In addition, even before that, we stored some supplies because the JIT system is too vulnerable to a wildcat strike. (Sweetie headed an industrial bar-code conversion project and that magnified our concerns abotu JIT.)

Since I've known about Y2K I've developed some serious health problems, so now I think it's also prudent to have supplies stashed in case I become ill or elect to have surgery which will leave me incapacitated for a while--it will make things so much easier on Sweetie if he doesn't have to worry about grocery trips. And, of course, Sweetie might become ill and, since I'm no longer allowed to drive, having supplies on hand will ease problems for me--and The Hungarian, who acts as chauffeuse sometimes.

If Y2K is a non-event, I shall be very happy. Will I suffer withdrawal symptoms? I don't think so. I'll enjoy keeping in touch with the friends I've made and I know urban self-sufficiency will continue to be a major interest. We'll add to our solar system, try to cut down on the power we use, keep a prudent amount of supplies on hand, and tackle the next crisis, whatever it is.

-- Old Git (anon@spamproblems.com), June 26, 1999.

During the Vietnam war I was due to be drafted. My number on the draft "game of luck" was 28. During that time my life revolved around the question "will I be drafted, or not ?" Everything stopped for me. I could plan nothing, no future, no job plans, no family plans. Y2k has the same feeling. I don't know if my small business will still exits after 1/1/2000. My employees are in limbo, I don't know what the future will bring. What will I be doing this time next year ? I hope I am doing the same thing, minus Y2k. I am not fixated on this thing. I don't like the way the world is now. What am I doing ? I'm buying things that may go away. I'm preparing a place where my family "may" survive. I'm doing the best I can. Do I like it ? HECK NO ! Do I want more ? NOT A CHANCE ! We're talking survival here, not a game ! Stick around. Things are going to get REAL INTERESTING !

-- reed moore (reed_moore@postmaster.co.uk), June 26, 1999.

If y2k dosen't happen , and it turns into a little bump in the road, Then I will have to move out of town, out of state for sure.

I have agraviated so many of my family, friends, and neighbors, Some I have scared even seen scared sh*tless, But they recover pretty fast after a visit to the local grocery store or Walmarts. I am sure that all the printed materials from the internet from North, Cowles, Cory and many others will be used at my trial for the best rope possible.

I'm not as popular as I used to be with those around me. Some think I belong to a gang thats going to overthrow the goverment and they all want their little goodies good times to last forever, and some even believe they will.

If it don't happen I have decided not to run...

If it don't happen I will get my poison, my rope, shotgun and head for the river to find a long branch hanging out over the waters, )If there is any water) I understand were're about 18" short for the year. Anyway back to my demise and y2k. Then if at all possible I will report, After the fact ,And let you know the best way out. Assuming that I don't shoot the rope in two, the poison can be swallowed, and I don't drown before I can gather my witts.

Boy, Do I feel sorry for all of us that has passed on y2k materials and talked our people into spendind a few dollars for Rice and beans. IF, IF, It turns out to be a 0 on a scale. Ever thought about that?

I think the dicussion will then turn to 2000 elections at some other forum.

-- Lon (Lon1937@aol.com), June 26, 1999.

Hey Rob! It's not like you to start a thread & then not monitor it. I hope everything's OK on your end.

Peace to All,

-- Bingo1 (howe9@pop.shentel.net), June 26, 1999.

Going after my master's degree. Eating icecream every day for a month at least. Going to the movies. Going rollerskating. Visiting every national monument in this country. Cutting free of y2k is no problem here.

-- Helen (sstaten@fullnet.net), June 26, 1999.

It will have been enriched for having been on this forum for so long and watched events unfold with the most intelligent and funny group of disparate characters I have ever come across - if it's a bump I will be taking a long time out to enjoy life, do a little travelling for maybe a year - read a lot more, relax and smell the roses - maybe buy a fast motorbike and do some road trips - the list is endless.

Everything is on hold however for the next six months - fingers crossed.

-- Andy (2000EOD@prodigy.net), June 26, 1999.

Don't be so down!

We still have solar flares, rocks from space and the A-bomb. Man I can think of any number of things to keep me up at night. Just think, never a restful night again. So don't worry about me, I'm stocking up on nightmares in case y2k doesn't 2k!

-- Tootsie Roll (still@worried.com), June 26, 1999.

If its a bump in the road, I'm buyin' a new truck !! I just got a good new job, but I cant spend the new big (well, bigger) money on myself now, gotta spend it on preps.

Also I'll go camping in LUXURY! I've done a bit of camping, but usually roughing it. Now I've got all kinds of kool camping gear!

-- y2kbiker (y2kbiker@worldnet.att.net), June 26, 1999.

When it's over?

I'm as prepared as I can be, but when it's over?

Whatever happens, it will be such a relief not to wake up every day depressed and scared and go to sleep (when I can) the same way. It woud be nice to have a life again now. Some of you expect that after y2k. When it's over.

Withdrawal? No. Wrong word. Been there, done that - nicotine, you know. Withdrawal assumes nothing much happens, we can crawl off and sleep for a week. When it's over.

I may be dead in the city; I may be a dirty old crone in a European babushka, tattered wool and high boots in a dark gray surrealist landscape. Or what would surprise me most of all, I may toddle off to the office in my best blazer and newly-sincere smile to happily wait out two more years till retirement. If I am not carted off to the nearest housing for the sanity-challenged. When it's over.

I never wanted to be wrong so badly. I was never so sure I'm not. What have we been talking about all this time?

When it's over??

-- none (anymore@nowhere.now), June 26, 1999.

Thanks to you all for the responses.

Despite the title of this thread, the question I was thinking most about was the last: "Does it make sense to cut back right now on our Y2K time that is not being spent on preparations and keeping current?".

This has been on my mind lately since I have had to cut back on Forum time quite a bit, as well as other non-prep/stay current Y2K time spent. Doing so made me ask the question. It seems to make sense to do this from the perspective of reducing potential Y2K withdrawal, which many of you seem to think is not really an issue anyway.

Bingo: Thanks for your concern - you are right in that my style is to have a discussion but the time I thought I would have after starting this thread evaporated and I am just now getting online (and off again - time for sleep now).

-- Rob Michaels (sonofdust@net.com), June 26, 1999.

Rob, you have asked the right questions at the right time (Six Months Until), but I don't believe that I can really answer them. Because although I am preparing for Y2K, I have not yet figured out how to plan for it. In fact, I know that I can't.

Quoting from Bruce Lee's Tao of Jeet Kune Do:

The great mistake is to anticipate the outcome of the
engagement;  you ought not to be thinking of whether it
ends in victory or defeat.  Let nature take its course,
and your tools will strike at the right moment.

-- Jack (jsprat@eld.net), June 26, 1999.

I had a life before "Y2K" - and it is still there waiting for me to return to it full time. Nothing I have done to this point was a waste. I echo the sentiments of Bingo and others - the education over the last year has been fantastic. I have also made some intrinsic life style changes...read more non-fiction than fiction, listen to more news than music, get more exercise doing things manually.

I don't "Y2K" round the clock now - the closer I get to being "ready", the less I worry.

No withdrawel symptoms on the horizon for me.

just me

ps - Will Continue - next trip up this way - let's do lunch.

-- justme (finally@home.com), June 26, 1999.

i'm getting so sleepy been working hard and trying to keep up with y2k news.learned a lot about how the infrastucture works. want y2k to be a nothing but have studied to much i know it't going to be a big something.i would like to continue where i am but know there is no chance.sometime i think the egnorant may be blessed in a way till the time comes.i have always had an open mind listened to all and had enough sence to know what was right buy checking things out good night to all.

-- lurker (lurker@home.com), June 27, 1999.

Can't resist a Rob Michaels question... the "human being factor" is always totally engaged!

Rob, I am hardly here in the same way anymore. I check in, almost out of habit, running down the threads to hit on ones that may still hold some bit of something that I've overlooked, or a report I missed.

In the past year+, my life has already undergone an enormous change, a dramatic lifestyle/location move, and work dedicated to building a completely new set of plans for our family's future.

Feeling positive and committed, yet with a sense of sadness and anxiety for the world. Change is always uncomfortable. If nothing else, Y2K seems to be about facing change.

My values have become more focused and deepened. In one sense, Y2K has already been very good for me. That said, I pray that the magnitude of the change is not measured in "death counts", but in the more subtle shifts of society to more self-sufficient syatems and cooperative, earth-friendly habits.

Be well.

-- Sara Nealy (keithn@aloha.net), June 27, 1999.

Will be too busy next year for withdrawal if this goes bump. I'm still having a hard time seeing into the next few months. It's like I'm on JIT life. Unless something BIG happens, school will start with all the activities and expenses. I think about how I will be able to justify some of those expenses like book and cheerleading fees for a school year that may be over in three months. Football tickets to see my kid march in a college halftime show? And knowing full well that a majority of the people around me at these events are totally clueless. Sometimes it reminds me of a phrase we used to throw at each other in a fight when we were kids, "...who died and made you the boss?". (Of course, being the oldest of five kids, I take exception to this.) So, enjoying the summer and the air conditioner, and trying to keep the blank look off my face as I stare at people buying truly stupid stuff at Sam's. Withdrawal? Hell no, I miss Mad Trivia and Parent Soup.

-- lvz (lvzinser@hotmail.com), June 27, 1999.

No withdrawl for me. If Y2K is a 5-8, my life will change in unknown, but no doubt interesting ways. If less than a 5, I'll be trying to decide which high school is best for my daughter, and if we need to move, or if there's good transportation available, and how we can care for parents if they need more help as they age and just what job do I want to do for the next 20 years and if I can take that creative writing course I'd like to do and... If greater than a 9, my life will be full of learning to survive without infrastructure. What I will miss is the friends I've come to know here. Your humour, moral attitudes and facinating ideas in all sorts of areas are food for my mind and often for my soul. D'ya think we can persuade Greenspun to let us stay (if infrastructure survives)?

Thanks for another dose of mind food, Rob :-)

-- Tricia the Canuck (tricia_canuck@hotmail.com), June 27, 1999.

This is for rb,

Don't wait with your genealogy! I've been feverishly gathering all the information I can. I've found a wealth of information on the internet and have been cutting and pasting and printing like crazy.

A lot of this information could get lost or harder to get hold of if Y2K gets bad. DO IT NOW!!! Don't wait

GeeGee

-- GeeGee (GeeGee@madtown.com), June 27, 1999.

Y2k awareness was an event in itself for me. It came while researching the compliance of some hardware, I found this site and my world flipped upside-down. I imagine the potential for catastrophe had been lurking in the back of my mind for some time, I just refused to acknowledge the fact. But while this revelation has been frightening it has also been very rewarding. I had never participated in discussion forums other than for technical purposes and had no idea that one could become emotionally attached the way I have to many here on this forum. Thank you. All of you. I hope for the relative relief of a 2, I can't see the possibility for anything less. As far as post-y2k, I intend to strengthen the ties I have with loved-ones, I have been whoefully negligent.

At the least this forum (which I consider y2k home) has been an education. Some here will melt away regardless of the severity of y2k, others I hope will continue to correspond and perpetuate this virtual family.

Sincerely,

Mike St. Louis, Missouri. The United States of America

-- Mike_ (midwestmike_@hotmail.com), June 27, 1999.

I just don't know what I'll do, be happy millions won't perish for one thing. Hope things get better in my life so as not to lose my home from preparing with credit cards ): Good luck to us all.

Rooster

-- Rooster Cogburn (Gotitkindalate@wow.com), June 27, 1999.

It looks like I have overestimated this whole idea of Y2K withdrawal, based on the responses. Perhaps the poster who suggested that withdawal was not the correct word was right. Regardless, it was useful enough to make the points I wanted to, and doesn't seem to be something that is of much concern after all. Live and learn.

Thanks again for your opinions.

-- Rob Michaels (sonofdust@net.com), June 27, 1999.

Now you're getting the point Rob. Cheers!

SubSubSub_thought: Will-continue, wanna adopt me? I await your reply (hehe) on forum or email. Love to you and yours'.

-- Mike_ (midwestmike_@hotmail.com), June 27, 1999.

Well Mike...I'll think about it. Only if you can hit the water when you piss, OK? I've just had about enough of that!

-- Will continue (farming@home.com), June 28, 1999.

I'll hire a trainer. Maybe take a class....

-- Mike (midwestmike_@hotmail.com), June 28, 1999.

Alright Mike....that reply just won you a minimum of 25 points on the human scale.....I'll keep you posted! LOL and GBA

-- Will continue (farming@home.com), June 28, 1999.

>What will your life be like without Y2K anymore?

> Some of us have been aware of Y2K, or even preoccupied with it, > for quite some time - perhaps several months, or a year, or > longer.

Y2K was a big issue for me till '93 after that I washed my hands of it till Nov of last year.

If Y2K ends up being a "bump-in-the-road" I'll become a lemming. Join the rest of America and blindly follow our new God - big brother. I'll also expect a few things to happen, 1) the government to explain the HUNDREDS of BILLIONS of dollars, and millions of man hours spent on all the computer systems they now deem "not critical" I want a full explination as to why we Americans have worked hundreds of thousands of hours to pay for systems that they now say - weren't really needed.

I will ALSO expect to see a HELL of a lot of people writing thank-you's to those who brought this need for the computers to be fixed to the attention of the nation...

Anyone who thinks this forum and others like it will come to a grinding halt around Feb 2000, really don't know online-dynamics. It's a soap-opera, and the participants are a part of the soap... the y2k issue may have brought us together but it's not what keeps people posting here.

If y2k is a bump-in-the-road this forum will go on for at least a year after...

If it's a major crisis .. it will go on for at least a year after...

If it's say somewhere in the middle... it will go on for at least a year after...

My suggestion? We put this collective energy to solving one of our biggest problems... say the treatment of our war Vets...

Whitney

-- Whitney (Y2KWhit@aol.com), October 06, 1999.