Personally, a well paying career...

Owl

-- owl (b@a.com), September 30, 1999

Answers

Time. I've spent more time on Y2k research than I did in-class for my PhD. Lots and lots of time. Time I could have spent writing (I'm a fiction writer and I have a novel my agent wants me to revise and another one I'm halfway through; if not for Y2k, I'd be long done with both of them and probably almost done with a third); time I could have spent with family; time I could have spent mowing the yard --- NOT! But I can make up that time next year when things are grinding to a halt and we're here on our little hill.

-- Kurt Ayau (Ayau@iwinet.com), September 30, 1999.

My greatest loss from Y2K so far is time/money resource availability for education in my career, both in/out of classrooms.

my site: www.y2ksafeminnesota.com

-- MinnesotaSmith (y2ksafeminnesota@hotmail.com), September 30, 1999.

Lots of time and money spent on the homestead instead of going on vacation to play. *Slaving* on our place instead of sitting around enjoying ourselves. Buying lots of stuff to help not only ourselves survive, but other folks who are not prepared at all. Instead of adding luxurious remodeling to our home, we are keeping things as they are so that we can have our other place ready.

It hasn't been easy, it has been a lot of work, but I think it will be worth it even if we have only a 2-3.

-- (formerly known as nobody@nowhere.not), September 30, 1999.

I am giving up nothing. I am indulging in luxuries that may not be availabe in the next few years. Of course I made my preps first. That took about two years to do. Now I enjoy movies, hot baths, gourmet food, small trips and mail order. I am a gettin while the gettin is good.

-- Carol (glear@usa.net), September 30, 1999.

I have given up time. Because the mainstream media, the government, et al, are not doing their jobs, nor are they telling the truth, I spend countless hours researching the web in order to make informed decisions regarding the safety of my family and myself. To be very honest with everybody, I'm pretty pissed off about this. Time with family is invaluable. Time lost is priceless. The reverse is true of the media and our government. In this time of potential crisis they are worthless.

Off my soap box for now (but you asked)...

-- Uncle Bob (UNCLB0B@Y2KOK.ORG), September 30, 1999.

Yes, isn't it ironic that we who are preparing are not making the money or having the lives of those who are too lazy or near-sighted to realize what's happening. I left a great life in L.A. and miss almost all of it.

I may never be around another girl!!!!!!!! AHHHHHHH

But, if it turns out to be nothing, at least you have lived in the only way you could, and taken the needed steps to provide a life for those you love. A true test of character and responsibility, as I see it.

-- Gregg (g.abbott@starting-point.com), September 30, 1999.

An entire way of life, two really wonderful careers, two major promotions, great friends and associates, MILLIONS of dollars of income, pensions, and scholarship $$ for two teenagers, and a house we all loved. It takes a lot of strength not to cry everyday over what we left behind and can never go back to. Sometimes I would give anything to go back, even if it meant we would all die together in six months.

-- Y2K Pioneer (pioneer@aol.org), September 30, 1999.

I moved from maryland to rural florida lost my friends and family members sold my business in maryland no jobs down here havent made the money or life style me and my wife and childern use to sometimes felt homesick worried about y2k but feel i have made the best choice to prepare and survive.

-- eugene harrod (gene0763@aol.com), September 30, 1999.

Well, my life actually. I gave up my life. Y2K is a precursor to much, much more. The preps were good, even if the thing doesn't happen, I've got food for forever to eat. Same with the all the supplies and gear, won't need to buy another thing for the rest of my life. But that's not what I'm talking about.

I gave up my life. I woke up and realized what was going on. Not Y2K - but everything else. Y2K woke me up.

I woke up and found out my government was not only crooked (I knew that) but it murders people at whim. I woke up and found out that our government deliberately poisons our food and our water. I woke up and learned that our medical programs are designed to keep people sick, causing people to pay out their life savings until they have nothing more to pay and then the system is designed to let them die. I woke up and found out that my kids were being deliberately dumbed down to grow up stupid, ignorant and unlearned. I woke up and learned that my sons are learning how to have sex with each other rather then with a future wife. I woke up and found out that my government wants to take away my freedoms, my rights, my guns, my home, my retirement, hell, everything I've ever worked for. I woke up and found out my taxes never did go to pay the federal debt. I woke up and found out my government prints money out of thin air. I woke up and found out that I'm only useful to my government if I keep my mouth shut, pay out everything I make and even that's not enough. When I die, they will take the rest for good measure.

I woke up and found out that our entire culture is based upon a lie, a deception, an insidious evil that pervades everything that it touches. God, I could say more, but is anybody listening?

Yeah - you could say that I gave up my life. Thank you Y2K - you made a true believer out of me.

-- I awake now (WakingUp@from.adead.sleep.com), September 30, 1999.

Some of you people are pathetic. Is all you ever think about money? How much money is enough? I'm sorry, but I'd like to slap one or two of you. Who cares about careers, money, position, prestige? These things are terribly shallow and insigificant. Good grief, your talking about your life here with the possible outcomes of Y2K and your missing your condo in L.A.? Get a life man and get a reality check. Even is Y2K is a bust and nothing happens your still going to be better of then living in some stupid rat hole with the other rats living the same stupid pointless and meaningless existence. Get a grip! Life is more then stuff!

-- J.R. (junior7@hotmail.com), September 30, 1999.

Its a good point JR. It might sound shallow, it did to me after I started the thread. But personally, I spent maybe 12 years developing a certain expertise in a very interesting line of work, and basically threw it all away to prepare for Y2K. So its not the 'well paying' career that I sacrificed, its really the direction, and the passion I had, for it. BUT, to be completely honest, I've never enjoyed what society formally has to offer. The Y2K existence is my kind of lifestyle, waaay healthier, waaay more grounded, waaaay more REAL. What I want to say is, perhaps we really didn't give up anything, but rather we gained by sacrificing. I can say this much, I can now put up a fence lickety split...a year ago I couldn't. What we've had to sacrifice more than anything, I hate to say it, is probably our selfish interests. But we're stronger more, IMHO.

Owl

-- owl (b@a.com), September 30, 1999.

I gave up retirement. I had planned to retire Jan.1st 1999, but decided to continue working another year for more food supplies and cash, silver etc. etc. 3 more months and that's it! Can't wait!

-- freddie (freddie@thefreeloader.com), September 30, 1999.

What's the BIGGEST sacrifice you've made for Y2K?

Placing my life on hold for the past year, to study and research Y2K, then to volunteer my time, to both post and Sysop here at the TimeBomb 2000 Forum. Hoped somehow, somewhere, it would make a difference... globally... in helping people... in encouraging them to take back responsibility for their own lives... in daring to create a new path of community and self-reliance because its the right thing to do for our combined future... in possibly indirectly saving some lives... and finally in joining with a wonderful digital community of concerned citizens, cooperatively placing more Y2K astute attention to TRUTHs multifaceted black... its not so pristine white... and its ever shifting shades of grey.

My choice... to let go of portions of my life... I know.

Oddly, I also gained more than words can express. Both the bitter and the sweet.

Its been a fascinating learning journey in How The World Turns. Or not. But I do admit, Im quite tired of it all. And more than saddened and disappointed in both our government and newsmedia. I will never again accept the surface story, but will ferret out the truth of the matter... if diggable. If I didnt have such an abhorance of running for public office, Id do it just to kick dot gov rears in gear. Alas... Id rather have all my teeth pulled.

Then, as we get closer to T-minus 10 and counting... theres that overwhelming feeling of not having prepared enough, even though my needs are simple. Oh well. Cest-ce la vie... or not.

At least we know... we are not alone.

And the flowers still bloom... and the sun shines on.

;-D

Diane

(BTW, Kurt... I can relate. It sure FEELS like Ive spent more time on Y2K than I did getting an M.B.A., even though its not so. *Sigh*)

-- Diane J. Squire (sacredspaces@yahoo.com), October 01, 1999.

I wouldn't say I've "sacrificed" anything really, but I sure have had to re-prioritize!! Since I found out about Y2K over 2 years ago, I've been able to accumulate things over a longer period than most of the folks I've talked to, so maybe it just doesn't seem so bad. I've been living out in the sticks for 15 years, so I didn't have to make that many adjustments. Mostly just putting off some "pet projects" for more meaningful stuff. I have a rebuilt 351 waiting to go into a 1981 Mustang, with all the suspension stuff and everything. It all sits in pieces while I build a chicken coop, put up a communications tower, put in a wood stove, that sort of thing.

I would also add that it's been the most rewarding learning experience of my life. I've met some really neat people, learned lots of how-to, and in general I think it's been a blessing to be honest with ya! Now if Y2K would just go away....

I commend "I awake now" for his/her post. That's a lot to learn in a short period of time. Don't dispair! There are more of "us" out there than you may think!

-- Don Wegner (donfmwyo@earthlink.net), October 01, 1999.

My family (everyone but my kids), home, glass blowing business, dozens of friends/acquantinces, several potential boyfriends, plans, hopes, dreams, goals, ambitions, reputation, sleep, time, and every penny I had. In short, it has been TEOMLAIKI (The End Of My Life As I Knew It).

-- R (riversoma@aol.com), October 01, 1999.

river..."The End Of My Life As I Knew It

How fitting.

Yes, all the above, it has affected us in the areas of career, finance, lifestyle and plans, but the very worst thing was leaving behind friends. It has taken me almost a year to process the grief to the point where I am ready to again build new friendships.

What will you do if Y2K is not 'too bad'? (And we aren't attacked etc.)

I want to buy a Leica and take a trip to see Europe.

-- Mumsie (Shezdremn@aol.com), October 01, 1999.

What is the biggest Sacrifice? Well, let's see... how can I rate them? If you mean giving up my life to research Y2K... or refocusing my business (I produce television)to create a Y2K TV show... and the fact that no sponsor will touch a Y2K show (which doesn't matter because I'm driven to to this like the characters in "Close Encounters" who have to sculpt or draw Devils Tower... because I can't stand the fact the government has created a nation of "sleeple")...)...

Or realizing I have to get my wife and three young kids away from the New York City area, but it's impossible to sell a house in the northeast and the only way I can afford to do any of it is to refinance my house to get my equity out, then walk away from it and let the bank take it... I say goodbye to my clients, my employees, my friends and family and I move my family to a safe place in Hawaii while continuing to spending over 100k creating our Y2K tv series getting more doors slammed in our face because people think Y2K is a non-issue... Or how about planning a homesite in Hawaii with the idea that other family members can join us to escape the horrors of city life during Y2K... and then everyone of them saying "Y2K will not be so bad" and declining even a long visit to "celebrate" "01/01/Oh-Oh"... after we spent a year printing, sending, emailing, educating, etc. Only to get more denial.

This country reminds me of JonesTown... "now every one just drink the koolaid and everything will be just fine..."

Sacrifices?

These aren't really sacrifices. These are just what we had to do to increase our chances of survival. If I had a chance to do it all over again, I'd probably make the same choices because I really believe in the researh and the knowledge I've gained about Y2K, the world and how it works (or doesn't work). I believe in the assumptions we've made about the changes that are ahead. I believe in our TV show and will keep fighting to get it aired because the people have a right to know the truth. And they need to know that they are responsible for their future and the only way they are going to survive is to take control of their own destiny and do what's necessary to prepare, because nobody is looking out for them.

Sacrifices?

In the words of the great Dustin Hoffman's character in "Wag the Dog" where he played a Hollywood producer creating a phoney war for the President, he would recount daily tragedies that befel his past productions by laughing. And then he would compare them to the current setbacks in their phoney war movie scheme by saying...

"This? This is naaathing!"

Sacrifices? Ask people this time next year what the biggest sacrifices were. The people of this world will have redefined the word "sacrifice".

And Diane...

Your sacrifices have not gone unappreciated. You have been a guiding light for a long time now. A steadfast, voice of reason with a sense of perspective and humor that is always a joy to read. Your dedication and ability to research and analyze is unmatched. You made a big difference with my family and have always been a touchstone of sanity in this insane world of Y2K madness.

Many people "tune in" to this board the same way people watch "ER". Everyday the "regulars" research, analyze, argue, mud wrestle, throw intellectual quips at each other, and take the time to welcome the newbies on the "Lurkers" thread the other day, like you did so beautifully. You are definately one of the "stars" here... a real performer with talent, intelligence, and heart.

Thank you for all your sacrifices. You have made a difference.

Sincerely,

Keith

-- Keith Nealy (keithn@aloha.net), October 01, 1999.

yes, thanks to all who give constructive info!

-- Betty Alice (Barn266@aol.com), October 01, 1999.

Sacrifice?

I actually went into a kitchen and learned how to can with a pressure cooker/canner! This is power!!

-- eubie (eubie@canning.com), October 01, 1999.

Not being able to publish the memoir about my personal TEOTWAWKI and subsequent triumph - at least not for awhile.

Life is great!

-- Not Again! (seenit@ww2.com), October 01, 1999.

I haven't really sacrificed too much other than the friggin money I spent preparing. But you know what? I'm more relaxed about the future than I ever was before.

It used to be that if I was out of work for more than a month or two things would get tight and I'd have to scramble to find something else. No more. I have at least 6 months worth of cash, food, heating oil, etc. Even if Y2K turns out to be *just* a severe economic downturn and I find myself out of a job, it'll be a problem, but it won't be a catastrophy.

Never again will I be 'unprepared' for life...

-TECH32-

-- TECH32 (TECH32@NOMAIL.COM), October 01, 1999.

Two and one half years of exactly what each of you have said, rearrange ,delete a few items, the same. Worried so much got breast cancer and treatment. Prayed so much that God did take the worry .Now I feel such a profound sence of sorrow for others. I am a different, better, stronger person, as others responders have said also. Here is to us! Little Red Hen

-- Maggie Germann (maggiem@nehp.net), October 01, 1999.

In hindsight, I wish all of what I did last year was done this year. I sold the house, business and cashed it all in for the money. Maxed out the cards for cash. I thought the sh-- would hit the fan for the banks in february, I underestimated the ability of the PR folks. Spent alot of money on preps. Now that I dont have to buy anything for adleast a year, my cash is not as fat as I wanted it to be at this time. So unfortunately I had to start-up another business to make cash, and now that it is doing well I want to become a poly! But that will never happen. Cant talk to anyone anymore, after all Im the local Y2K nut, the ultimate party pooper. However this may be for the best, I would after all need them to forget about me as of Jan. but I dont think that will happen, I will probably at that time have more freinds and relatives then any-one would want. I have maintained my sanity by visiting this forum Good luck...---...

-- Les (yoyo@tolate.com), October 01, 1999.

I've given plenty to this sleigh ride from hell... quit a good job, moved from a nice house near the beach in Florida to the badlands of a cold western state... angered my 3 teen age kids, alienated my DWGI wife to the breaking point....silently endured a hundred lectures on how stupid I am and how I have ruined my family's life... been called an asshole in front of my sons for buying 6 plastic gas cans... been laughed at and ridiculed by family and friends, lost a year of my life fixing and selling a home, finding another job and "starting over" with no vacations, no free time. Forget the doctoral degree I was working on...no time. I've cashed in my retirement and bought things I never would have bought--a ton of food, a generator, guns for my children to use on fellow Americans... or Russians... if things really go to hell. Worst of all I have given up my ignorance. I pass people on the street and wonder what they are going to do next spring...will they be dead...will I be dead... I walk through the grocery stores with their shelves bursting with so many exotic things I may never see again...I watch TV shows and commercials and see how shallow most people's lives are...how shallow mine is... I've given up restful nights--exchanged them for sleepless hours filled with relentless mental checklists of what still needs to be done. My brain revolves around contingencies and ever changing scenarios to plan for. I've learned how to be deceitful and argue a dozen ways around a problem... why we need to buy this house further out in the country even though it is a farther commute...

Finally, I've given up the dream. You know... the retirement dream... where there was a span of years ahead in which I went fishing with my grandkids and slept in every day. It was a modest dream but it kept me plodding along... now all I see is pushing hard against a stream of endless troubles and hoping I can push hard enough to give my kids a fighting chance.

I feel like someone who has been robbed and left to die in the desert. It makes me angry and determined to survive. It makes me edgy and impatient with fools. I guess it makes me someone else. How much more can one sacrifice?

-- weasel (weasel@outofthe.net), October 01, 1999.

My sanity for the first year, now I'm just kicking back and relaxing and waiting for the hatchet to fall. Going on trips to Lake Tahoe, Monterey, camping, and enjoying the freedom of moving about, these are luxuries I probably won't have this time next year.

-- bardou (bardou@baloney.com), October 01, 1999.

Hey Mumsie I'm selling my Leica, got any gold in exchange :)

Biggest sacrifice? Letting Decker and Chicken Little get to me. Losing my patience too much - which is not like me, really, but too many people (ddecker, chicken etc.) are just treating this all like a game, a debating society intellectual excercise, which as Milne will tell you in no uncertain terms it is not.. - I moved half way across the country to get my hands on my 401k savings, changing jobs. Uprooting. Selling my car and motorbike. Just basically getting very liquid, very mobile, getting rid of "stuff". Foregoing lifes luxuries (vacations, travel) - in order to get prepared in all ways.

As I've said many many times before I fervently hope that we can all get through this with minimal loss of life and suffering - we live in hope. Whatever happens, in a perverse sort of way, I'm sure that most genuine folks on thsi forum, despite the ups and downs, the trolls and shills, will have been enriched by this process we have all undertaken to approach this singularity en masse and freely and most kindly sharing knowlege, experience, HUMOUR and attitude with each other.

GO Timebomb 2000! (not literally you understand...)

-- Andy (2000EOD@prodigy.net), October 01, 1999.

I'd have to say theres been little sacrifice, but much awakening.

I gave up an 18 yr relationship, 16 yrs of marriage-it would have ended soon anyway, but the knowledge I gained made me end it sooner, which all in all is much for the best-for me, anyway. But going it alone, with 2 young teens, -well, its real scary.

I gave up sticking my head in the sand. I gave up saying that I didnt count, and made the commitment and became a registered voter again. I gave up many hours of leisure and not a few of sleep. Ive worked every hour of overtime I could just to fill those boxes ever higher with cans and bags of stuff to eat. I gave up some peace, to gain some time to prepare. I gave up the personal gratification for a little spirituality, and a lot of hope. I like me a little more, or the me I can be and am working at becoming, and like my current life a little less. I gave up old goals and set exciting but tenuous new ones.

I'm learning.

How to milk a goat. How to say no, and not feel guilty. How to give but not give up myself. What sweet potatoes look like when you pull them from the dirt. That a hard day makes for a soft pillow. The simple thrill of starting a fire with just one match. The beauty of a row of green beans poking their heads up into the sun. That weeds are more tenacious then they look. That the new wrinkles and the grey hair probably arent as scary as I think still think they are. That I dont need someone else to be happy. How to cook on cast iron. How to be cast iron.

Funny, the way things happen. You have your plans, and your dreams, and the expectation of how things will go-for years they lurk there, unstated, just part of you and everyday life. Then something happens to shift your view, make you scrutinize everything-wether its your life, or the state of the world and what you can depend on. With a little luck, and some sweat, tears and prayer, you get the chance to rebuild on a stronger and safer foundation-and be proud of what you create. Ive found alot of bricks; good strong solid ones, here.

Thanks.

-- LauraA (Laadedah@aol.com), October 01, 1999.

My eyes are filled with tears from reading all of you courageous, wonderful people's testimonials to your sacrifices and your achievements. (It's good it's lunch hour!) I felt as if I would just like to hug each one of you personally. Consider this your hug XXXX

I only learned of the Y2K problem sometime in spring of this year, and got Ed Yourdon's book on 5/1/99 (according to receipt, which I'd like to frame). God bless him...and each of you for what you have been teaching me, so that I hopefully will survive along with you all. And that I will have helped a few others to do so as well.

Having begun late and living from paycheck to paycheck, I have not sacrificed the huge things you others have, but because of my limitations and late start, the few losses have been big to me. I had to choose whether to put aside time and money for preps or to buy plane tickets and little gifts to go visit my children's families, and my aunt in a nursing home...all of whom I do not know if I will see again this side of eternity. This was more painful to me than the monetary setback of prepping all at once in a hurry. I just wish we all had more TIME...

God bless each and every one of you for the knowledge, courage and wisdom you have imparted to me. You are my extended family, and I will always be grateful to you.

-- Elaine Seavey (Gods1sheep@aol.com), October 01, 1999.

I actually went into a kitchen and learned how to can with a pressure cooker/canner! This is power!!

-- eubie (eubie@canning.com

Thanks eubie! I dread my first time a little less now.

weasel...I felt like crying when I read your post, but I already cried once today. I truly hope all turns out well for you and your family.

I know I will be wondering about so many of you, and hoping and praying that you are safe and well at rollover.

Andrew...you torturer!

-- Mumsie (Shezdremn@aol.com), October 01, 1999.

Sacrifice? Sure, we've sacrificed.

Sold our much beloved pro football season tickets (primo seats, too) along with the ultimate 'tailgating' vehicle -- one of our motorhomes -- because in doing so, we were able to completely pay off all of our debt and make a huge dent in the mortgage. Might even be able to have the mortgage paid completely off by the end of the year; don't know for sure. It took us years to get those tickets, we truly enjoyed going to the games, yet why in the world would we pass up an opportunity to put our family in a better position (no matter what happens) just for something with only 'entertainment' value?

We've stopped going to auctions and estate sales, where we would pick through the boxes looking for pieces of the Russel Wright china I love to collect, and instead look for more practical, useful items such as thermos bottles, camping equipment, extra blankets, etc. Have stumbled across as many thrilling 'finds' as before; they're just different. Instead of uncovering a boxful of dishes for a song, I was fortunate enough to find perfectly good canning jars for a penny piece -- more than 200 in all.

Since I've turned down employment contracts, and the money stream has diminished somewhat, I've learned that it's just as thrilling to manage the money we 'do' have and find ways to make it work for us even harder. It's quite satisfying to see that we're actually ahead of the game without my income when I can run our family 'business' the same fiscally prudent way I've run 'other' businesses.

We haven't given up friendships or relationships, but we have given up on having unrealistic expectations about people we care about. Even family. Especially family.

I've remembered that 'stuff' -- material objects and such -- comes and goes; it's just 'stuff'.

We've given up some things, only to find that what we've 'given up' isn't nearly as important as what we've been 'given'.

I can't even really say that I regret the 'loss of time' I've invested in researching and 'prepping'. I've become much more aware of things I should have been paying attention to all along, and I'm grateful for that 'wake-up call'. I've spent time thinking about a lot of things that needed thinking about, and I'm better for it. I was given time for reflection -- something that is sometimes hard to find when one is working pell-mell every day to maintain the status quo.

Sacrifice? Nah, I'm not so sure I'd even call them sacrifices any more. Perhaps a trade-off; perhaps a re-aligment of priorities.

No regrets here. We've gained far more than we've 'given up'.

-- Wilferd (WilferdW@aol.com), October 01, 1999.