My "y2k experience" began a year ago when I realized that not everything was going to be fixed with perhaps some very bad consequences. Since then I've been scouring the net and these forums for information on (1) how bad it was going to get and (2) what was a necessary level of preparation for (1).

Since then I've become a "y2k addict" and thus the social, work, and personal facets of my life have suffered. My attitude just isn't quite so sunny anymore. I'm often paranoid and keeping to myself. My energy level and motivation in "real life" is down. My ability to laugh spontaneously or appreciate good times has likewise gone to the dogs.

I'm afraid to tell anyone that this y2k business is the Cause because I'm very frightened of being laughed at...And no, I have absolutely no persuasive skills whatsoever. No one would believe me if I told them of the potential risks facing our world. That would require a precondition of my having an inkling of charm or confidence in the reliability of the information I've obtained.

Yes I will continue preparing as I know how, moderately, gradually... Kinda like I've always been doing. But I simply can't stay here on these forums. Gotta cut back from pouring over this morass of tangled and contradictory Y2K information, too. It's turning me into someone I really can't respect. It's taking a toll on my sanity. Or maybe I am the only sane one in a world of crazies? Who knows. At any rate, goodbye, God Bless, and I'll see you on the other side.

In the meantime, I'm just moving on to do things like live my life.

Good luck, all. It's been stimulating.

-- coprolith (coprolith@rocketship.com), April 07, 1999

Answers

Goodbye, bud -- you were one of the better voices. I appreciated your clear thinking coming through your words.

Meanwhile, don't mistake the messenger for the message. This forum can also be an antidote for the y2k blues, but only if taken in doses appropriate for you. ("First you O.D., then you cold turkey, and then...?")

Come back when you'll enjoy it from a new perspective.

You'll be different then, the forum will be different, and the y2k situation might be different in ways you'll want to hear and measure against your own experience.

-- jor-el (jor-el@krypton.com), April 07, 1999.

As we say down south, I smell what you're cookin'. I, too, am at that point, only I have over-stayed my limit. It has more than taken it's toll. I should probably take a cue from coprolith; i'd be much better for it, I'm sure. At this late date, what's left to glean?

Good luck and Godspeed, Rusty

-- Rusty (eeford@bellsouth.net), April 07, 1999.

this forum is good in moderate doses. but you also need to have a life. usually it's the spouse who will let you know if you're OD-ing, but you need to know your own limit, too. take a break. it's spring, go out and smell the flowers, dig a garden, whatever. and establish a time limit for this thing.

-- jocelyne slough (jonslough@tln.net), April 07, 1999.

Dear coprolith,

Art Welling put it in perspective for me when he wrote, "Are you prepared to be wrong?"

Don't be a stranger. I suspect (if I may) that you came to the conclusion that you have better things to do when you realized that in the past month this forum has degenerated into an insult swapping contest with pollys who have contributed nothing. As a matter of fact, you *do* have better things to do.

I now spend more time going over old posts regarding preparation. There doesn't seem to be much good advice to be found in new posts.

I'm grateful to those who have posted good ideas and interesting URL's.

Instead of browsing today's new posts from the usual suspects, I'm going shopping. My local Walmart has a Ruger .22 for $150. My local K-Mart has 36 rolls of Quilted Northern, Regular or Ultra, for $8. I'm still looking for an Eckerd with Celebrity brand "spam".

Shopping to get prepared can be fun!

-- GA Russell (garussell@russellga.com), April 07, 1999.

I know the feeling. I've decided to come in there once a week and take a peek around. Nothing much happening until maybe the middle of the year.

-- thinkIcan (thinkIcan@make.it), April 07, 1999.

If you really mean it you won't be reading this, otherwise I predict you'll be back :-) ... You might want to check in on the archives in the preparation categories from time to time, if you think you could pick up some good ideas without getting sucked back in...

-- Shimrod (shimrod@lycosmail.com), April 07, 1999.

Coprolith, good luck. There's not really much news now anyway. There may not be any until January, and who knows if anything will be noteworthy then. If your preps are under control, no reason to rehash the polly v. GI argument everyday. Let us know if you hear any news.

-- Puddintame (achillesg@hotmail.com), April 07, 1999.

Yeah, I know the feeling. I've tried to give up Y2k research numerous times. I always come back. It's really hard to let it go when you know it's out there, and you know it's a problem.

My take now is I'm going to be prepared for a couple of months, and that's it. There's not much more I can do, and worrying about it doesn't help.

My friend has a really positive take on Y2k: she laughs about it and says it will be fun if society shuts down. She has a very adventurous approach to it all; that really threw some light on Y2k for me. I realized I was looking at life the wrong way. Whatever happens, it will be exciting. If it's really bad, even that will be an adventure. Even dying is an adventure.

It's important to have some sort of spiritual approach, and to have a sense of humor, or you get bogged down with how dark all these scenarios are. When we don't really know exactly what will happen, it's easy to get freaked out by imaginations of what COULD happen..

Just prepare to the extent that seems reasonable to you, then relax, take some time off, and enjoy life.

And we'll see you back here later . . .

-- One (1@1.1), April 07, 1999.

I've been doing the Y2K thing since the summer of 1997. I was one of the original posters on this forum. At that time there were three or four new posts a day if we were lucky.

Now it's too much to keep up with. I went throught the same feelings but got control. Y2K wears thin after awhile. I have gotten on with my life and only check in here once a week or so.

I don't think we will have doomsday. It just ain't gonna happen. Good Luck Dave

-- dave (dave22@concentric.net), April 07, 1999.

I remember your first post and that you were immediately called a troll..I posted your name did not make you a troll. You have posted some very good info and I thank you and wish you the very best. I have been reading this forum for over a year and have the same general feelings you do about y2k.

-- scat (okie-redneck@webtv.net), April 07, 1999.

>>in the past month this forum has degenerated into an insult swapping contest with pollys who have contributed nothing.<<

Amen! Can we do anything to lessen this problem before the forum is ruined entirely?

-- Pearlie Sweetcake (storestuff@home.now), April 07, 1999.

Coprolith,

I completely understand. Sitting with hubby the other day watching t.v. I make some comment about the news in Kosovo and then I say "I guess I am getting too cynical". Hubby looks me straight in the eye and says "Yes, you are." That kind of ticked me off at first but then I realized he is right. I have cut myself back from this forum considerably and am not scouring the web for information anymore. I have all the knowledge I can stand at this moment. Sometimes ignorance can really be bliss...Good luck and God bless!

-- Sharon (sking@drought-ridden.com), April 07, 1999.

Too much of anything isn't good, and it's so easy to OD on a subject that might turn out to be the most signal event in our lives. Best wishes - remember what you've learned here, take care and be well.

-- sparks (wireless@home.com), April 07, 1999.

Last November, my home computer died and I was forced, after six straight months of logging sleepless nights studying this mess, away from all but a few lucky shots now and then at this forum. It was a learning experience.

I have begun to appreciate how very few of us recognize the threat is immense, even if the probabilities are small. I'm deep in the medical world and I see how slim the chances are that we'll make it. They started inventory of their PCs and applications last November. First center they worked on had 10,000 PCs. They fixed some BIOSs as they went along, I understand. They're on their second center now. Only 15 more to go. And the facilities guys got a data base up now so they can check their embeddeds. I've heard some horror stories.

But after pounding away at making contact with other y2k folks, I finally got a call from a guy who saw my name is some pamphlet. He knew a church that would like to hear what I knew about y2k. There's a group of 6-25 folks, depending, who are working on ensuring low income families are informed. Neat. My new contact is a promoter when he's not working in the grocery store; his wife's a biologist. He's approaching sportsmans clubs and gun clubs as well as local churches, seeing if they want to have someone come talk with them about y2k. And I get to go do the talking.

The thing I'm getting to is that it doesn't go away just because you go off line. Out there in the real world are the things we all talk about here: the things run by the billions and billions of lines of code, the things run by the embeddeds. The repaired things, with all their errors per x number of lines. The windowed things with no bridges to the things that speak the year in four digits.

Ya gotta be careful not to get infected by the "one week, some problematic disruptions" virus. Now is NOT the time to sit back and WAIT! Real human beings out there need to know that the potential for horrendous disruption is rushing at us nonstop--and unstoppable, barring divine intervention. People deserve to have some notice.

So, yes, by all means, enjoy the luminous moments this lovely Spring offers. Enjoy your precious family and loved ones. Savor it all; drink it in until you feel life's joy. That's what we're trying to ensure here, after all--the possibility of continuing to experience life's amazing beauty and mystery.

But come back. The folks here are an astonishing bunch. Clear minds, good hearts, for all the crabbiness that erupts from time to time. This is an excellent community.

Let us know what you learn.

As for those who are staying, buck up! What's all this ennui I hear? New people must be dropping in all the time. Might be some gems among the trolls. I say fight the lulling, dominant memes. See through them, and realize that until everybody you care about and live near is prepared, you ain't done diddly yet.

Good to be back. I sincerely wish you all the best.

Suz aka "Faith Weaver"

-- Suz (suzsolutions@yahoo.com), April 07, 1999.

Coprolith --- we're in the spin cycle and you/we are the ones being spun in the big machine. Y2K is just as clear and simple as it was a year ago. We're still screwed. Equally simple is the fact that life post-Y2K will be filled with opportunities and excitement, just as it is today.

.... You're not the only sane one, but you're not crazy either. There are millions preparing quietly, though, alas, tens of millions doing nothing. Even though a tiny fraction of those preparing ever come here, this forum does keep up its end by emphasing that the emperor (Y2K) still doesn't have any clothes (compliance) on. OK, maybe a jockstrap.

-- BigDog (BigDog@duffer.com), April 07, 1999.

coprolith,

I will miss your calm, intelligent input. I hope you visit from time to time, and find a place in this world to 're-charge'.

See you on the other side,

-- Deborah (infowars@yahoo.com), April 08, 1999.

Ciao, rockhound.

-- Paul Davis (davisp1953@yahoo.com), April 08, 1999.

Coprolith,

It certaily is refreshing to know that someone else is experiencing Y2K burnout/addiction - I thought it was just me. Good luck to you and God Bless. Sounds like you are making a healthy decision.

Also a note of thanks to all those who work hard to make this forum informative and humorous. Y2K is a strange issue - a "slithy tothe" indeed. Being a GI is stranger still given where most people are on the issue. It's very difficult to understand how anyone can research this issue at all and not "see" the possible implications. So, you can only think either they're nuts or you are. While info on this forum can sometimes seem overwhelming, its really great to know that your not alone in your thinking.

-- fellow traveler (dogle2066@aol.com), April 08, 1999.

It would probably help if the redundant posts and posts for the sake of posting were cut down. I've noticed, in the time i've been on here that the volume has increased but the "content" has not. If I skip a day or two-no way to read all of them. Even if i get on for a bit each day- too much stuff.

Also- much of the archives is better reading i think- lots less arguing and stuff. Why don't we all agree to try to post only if clearly good info or a real need? This will make it easier to see if a piece of info has already been posted before- volume is too heavy now to tell.

Also- as has been said before- too much Y2K isn't good for anyone- will make you nuts- go out and plant a garden, go fishing, do something else besides sit in front of the monitor.

-- anita (hillsidefarm@drbs.com), April 08, 1999.

coprolith,

In the words of a favored wise one ...

"Live long, and prosper."

Also, live well, and "stimulate" new growth in your life.

All the best,

Diane

-- Diane J. Squire (sacredspaces@yahoo.com), April 08, 1999.

Yes, the realities for those of us who truly understand the implications of Y2K are already pretty intense, because we feel a significant change in our lives approaching which we cannot control. It won't help to try to forget about it though, because it is easier for your psyche to adjust to it gradually over time than to wake up and find yourself in a completely different world overnight. In addition to being prepared physically, we will need to be prepared mentally. Those people who think they can wait until December to buy their supplies might still be able to get what they need, but psychologically, many will crack under the pressure.

-- @ (@@@.@), April 08, 1999.