What is everyone doing to cope on a daily basis, while preparing? I am having moments where I feel like I'm cracking up. Much of day-to-day stuff, the barrage of popular culture irritates me to no end. I feel like I'm walking through jello. I am taking steps daily in my preparations. Still....anyone else having problems with numbing out, or bursts of hysterical laughter? (just kidding about the hysterical laughter,...so far)

-- Donna Barthuley (moment@pacbell.net), June 07, 1998

Answers

The question was:

"What is everyone doing to cope on a daily basis, while preparing?"

For many of us, as Christians, we believe that we know the end of the story. This gives us great hope. Great hope in the One who is the author of the story.

It is not easy to watch and be part of but we know where our help comes from.

-- Dave Jones (dfj@fea.net), June 07, 1998.

Feel like you are living a double life, don't you? It's not easy, in fact it's downright weird.

One world is real, the other unreal, both together are surreal.

I go into our storage area and look at our supplies and I keep reminding myself that my kids will eat as long as I can defend our home. That's a simple thing to understand. When I look at those who refuse to consider the problems I am sad, and I wonder if I will be able to help them later.

Resolve yourself that you are either a kook, or one of the survivers. If you are settled with either result then you can relax and get to work.

-- art welling (artw@lancnews.infi.net), June 07, 1998.

No, you're a smart one. Preparation is everything.

Today I got my pop to show me how the .22 works. Cleaned it, put in the little teeny bullets. I think the magazine holds 18 of them.

The thing kept jamming however. Dangerous old equipment. It would be nice to get a new rifle.

ken

-- Ken (k150@yahoo.com), June 07, 1998.

i too am finding it difficult to keep up this rather "schizophrenic" perspective. i've followed the matter since gary north first mentioned it in his newsletter. i think i know as much re Y2K as most of the spinning heads - correction, "talking heads." my spouse thinks i'm obsessed with y2k and won't really examine the issue. these discussion groups help keep me focused. i'm an old materialst of the Freudian variety;and find no personal solace in religion though i don't begrudge others their views or faith. i just think the human race has been generally stupid, short-sighted and greedy. i just wish the whole sh*tstorm wasn't going to impact my young children as much as it will.take care & be prepared. jim taylor

-- jim taylor (jtaylo6078@aol.com), June 07, 1998.

I've been concerned about all of this for many months. Have started food storage, am planning on installing a holding-tank for extra water, and am spreading the message to everyone I know. It's totally frustrating to see the apathy from all sides. I'm just now, FINALLY, getting through to some in my family. I'm a widow of two years, in my early sixties, and live on just over an acre in Southern Oregon. A good friend on the adjoining property, also a widow, is also very concerned. We're both doing everything possible to get ready for any eventuality...but getting through to others is the biggest challenge.

-- Betty Brackett (bettyb@cpros.com), June 07, 1998.

Donna, You are very honest in openly expressing your feelings! That's good...much better than the denial too many others are showing. My faith will get me through this. The Lord's looked after me for 73 years--some of them very, very tough--and I know He will continue to do so for whatever time I have left. In my human nature, I, too, feel scared at times. But, Psalm 23, 37, and 91 are especially helpful now, and will be for the days ahead. I'm NOT a religious person--religion is mankind trying to reach God by being "good enough". God's way is reaching out to us, through the gift of His son, regardless of who or what we are! Speaking practically, right now I'm being very, very aware of the smallest blessings each day, e.g., turning on the faucet to wash my face each morning. I'm going to miss that! But, I'm enjoying it while I can, and so very many other things! We are such a blessed people! We can concentrate on those things now, and prepare in practical ways. Printing out some of these pages, and giving copies to family and friends is a real plus, I'm finding. It's convincing them, and that makes me feel better. Remember: pray for the best; prepare for the worst! Blessings to you! Holly

-- Holly Allen (Holly3325@juno.com), June 08, 1998.

Coping with Y2k is perhaps the hardest thing about the situaton, and to tell the truth I have laughed out loud ( not quite hystericily ) when thinking about Y2k. I have also found informing people to be difficult. Even friends of mine who are intelligent don't consider Y2k a threat. I've given up trying to inform people. I don't have the time to try and convince these people. The easist part is preparing. To cope with the insanity of Y2k; I just think of what will happen if I don't prepare...

-- Frank Anderson, Jr. (Zanazaz@Earthlink.net), June 08, 1998.

One way my husband and I manage to cope is with humor. We've decided rather jokingly that if nothing dramatic happens as a result of the Y2K problem, we are throwing a big Y2K party sometimes after the year 2000 and will serve our Y2K food that we are accumulating.

Right now, what is giving me fits the most are the reactions I get from others when I try to talk to them about the threats Y2K poses. These people don't have a clue as to why Y2K might be a problem...and they don't want me to bother them with any facts. Yet they tell me that I am overreacting. They believe that whatever the problem happens to be, someone is bound to fix it in time. I'll keep trying to get through to them though. Now that C-Span has aired the Y2K conference and Y2K is getting more news coverage, my task should be easier.

-- Joyce (meremere@aol.com), June 08, 1998.

I, too, feel as if I have double life. As an ICU nurse, I talk with, and take care of of critically ill patients and their families all night long. Sometimes, especially when I'm in the middle of a talk about their husband or wife or life I look into their faces and think, "wonder if they'll survive?"

-- karen eckels (leckels @msn.com), June 09, 1998.

Donna,

You are not the only one. Popular culture is irritating, Y2K or not, but even more so in the face of this potential happening.

In the beginning of my awareness, I was getting way too obsessed and involved in this. One day I would be depressed and angry and insistent that we move now, and the next day I would be thrilled that something like this is happening because I don't care for much of the way our world functions now. I was quite manic, really. Not at all like myself.

Now what I do is set aside each part of my day to deal with it-(in the morning if possible, so I can sleep at night) - work on my preparation list, read the forums and web sites, etc. Then, when that time is up, I enjoy my life just the way I always have.

As for telling people, my acquaintances who I like and don't want anything bad to happen to, I bring it up in casual conversation, (not in panic mode), sort of jokingly and then if they inquire further as to what I'm talking about, I'll go into a little bit more. If they don't respond, well, they aren't interested. Maybe they'll care when they see it on Dateline!

Most of the people close to me, families and friends, have responded thoughtfully and agreed at the very least, to have cash and food on hand. I refer them to TB 2000. My brother, who lives in Kansas, cannot find the book in his town of 60,000, because they don't carry it at the bookstore or at the library.

The probem I'm encountering is that most of our family is back in small towns in the Midwest where this sort of thing seems entirely removed from them. It's true they live by a different rhythm in the middle of the country than they do here on the East Coast. So, we just try to point out the things that could possibly affect them. And, as a last resort, I will have extra food and supplies for those people I love that may not prepare adequately for the situation.

I've printed out some of the articles from Gary North's sight(which I only use for the articles he posts. If you're not a religious and/or survivalist person, I wouldn't venture into his forums). Like the government stuff and the power grid information. I send these articles to people because they seem much more official than me getting caught up in the jumbled ramblings of too much information. (Too much information--a great line from the fabulous and funny computer-chip caper movie SNEAKERS!!!)

Personally, I think if we can maintain some electricity supply, we can muddle through the rest. If we lose electricity, it will be seriously rough. (Just an interesting aside: My brother teaches on an Indian reservation where the schools do have computers but lots of the kids and families live in houses with no running water and no electricity.)

Of course, you can never underestimate the power of humor. I wish I had a good Y2K joke for you now, but, I haven't heard any yet.

Most of all, you just have to believe that you're going to make it through because you were ready for it, physically, mentally, and emotionally. Do whatever it takes to get to that point. It's okay to spend a day here or there not even thinking about it!!!(I don't think about it all on the weekends!) I'm planning and preparing like I would for any significant event of my life--thoroughly and methodically. It's way too overwhelming to constantly think about all the ramifications all the time. It's debilitating, really. And the last thing we need is to be paralyzed!

I would like to get a Y2K hat, though. Anyone know where I can get such a thing?

Take care, everyone, and thanks for this forum! I've been reading it for a month, at least, and it's been a good tonic.

Bill C.

-- Bill Currier (Pookahrini@aol.com), June 09, 1998.

:(Too much information--a great line from the fabulous and funny :computer-chip caper movie SNEAKERS!!!)

Not to split hairs, but it's TOO MANY SECRETS aka 'Setec Astronomy'

-- havocuz (havocuz@mindspring.com), June 09, 1998.

Yes, yes. You are absolutely right about the SNEAKERS line. Guess I translated it into my head as Too Much Information!!!!

Bill C.

-- Bill Currier (Pookahrini@aol.com), June 10, 1998.

Bill, I found it interesting that you think people in the midwest have a different mindset. My relatives on the east coast think we are the crazies. They are doing nothing to prepare for Y2K. A few of them live in New York Shitty. Or is it the Rotten Apple? :) That should be fun if the power goes out! Anyway, good luck !!

-- Annie (anniegaff@mailexcite.com), June 10, 1998.

As for Y2K jokes, the best I've heard goes:

A CIO tells his boss, "Well, we have good and bad news. The good news is we are ahead of everyone else. The bad news is we are ahead of everyone else!"

-- Dave Fassett (dfassett@king.cts.com), June 10, 1998.

Bill,

The US News and World Report y2k article on 6/8/98 mentioned a company selling y2k tshirts etc. Why not make your own? I suggest

PANIC NOW- Avoid the Rush

as a slogan ;-).

LPL

-- Lee P. Lapin (lplapin@hotmail.com), June 10, 1998.

Bill:

Here's a little Y2k humor for you and the list.

Two Digits for a Date > >(to the tune of "Gilligan's Island," more or less) > >Just sit right back and you'll hear a tale >Of the doom that is our fate. >That started when programmers used >Two digits for a date. >Two digits for a date. > >Main memory was smaller then; >Hard disks were smaller, too. >"Four digits are extravagant, >So let's get by with two. >So let's get by with two." > >"This works through 1999," >The programmers did say. >"Unless we rewrite before that >It all will go away. >It all will go away." > >But Management had not a clue: >"It works fine now, you bet. >A rewrite is a straight expense; >We won't do it just yet. >We won't do it just yet." > >Now when 2000 rolls around >It all goes straight to hell, >For zero's less than ninety-nine, >As anyone can tell. >As anyone can tell. > >The mail won't bring your pension check. >It won't be sent to you >When you're no longer sixty-eight, >But minus thirty-two. >But minus thirty-two. > >The problems we're about to face >Are frightening, for sure. >And reading every line of code's >The only certain cure. >The only certain cure. > >ckey change, big finish! > >There's not much time, >There's too much code. >(And Cobol-coders, few) >When the century is finished with, >We may be finished, too. >We may be finished, too. > >Eight thousand years from now I hope >That things weren't left too late, >And people aren't then lamenting >Four digits for a date. >Four digits for a date.

-- Jeff H. (jh@holly.colostate.edu), June 10, 1998.

I know the feeling! I became award of the y2k problem through Gary North, as many of you did. My husband thought that I had really lost it, but bit by bit, I would put an article that I had printed from Gary's Links by his breakfast table (he rises early and reads- I sleep). He has now come around and is in agreement. We are having to relocate, so that is on our agenda now. As for trying to inform your friends and relatives, forget it! They look at you with that "you poor thing, that couldn't possibly happen- the government wouldn't let it". (If they only knew!) So, hang in there and do what you have to do and hope and pray that the others will learn before it's too late. Betty

-- Betty Allison (bettya@pflash.com), June 13, 1998.

I find that I am coping with Y2K when suddenly I think about something (like the lives and deaths of women and children under harsh rule) and I feel the panic rise. I can't do everything to be prepared. But I try to assume a best case scenario (my family and I will survive) and prepare to the best of my abilities. I agree that we who believe in God's love must trust in Him. I also know that He allows free will, for which the weak suffer the consequences.

-- Lois Knorr (knorr@attcanada.net), September 20, 1998.