Hit me like a ton of bricks!greenspun.com : LUSENET : TimeBomb 2000 (Y2000) : One Thread |
I have been researching and preparing for Y2K for almost a year now. I am convinced "something" very interesting is going to happen and have been trying to plan accordingly. I have been lurking on the forum for many months and have enjoyed the many different views and thoughts on this subject. But I have to admit to something that has just struck me very profoundly. I was just sitting here and had this sudden surge run through me. The possibilities of what lay in wait for us just hit me like a ton of Bricks! and If you think about it for a few moments your brain just wants to scream out..NO WAY, THIS JUST CANNOT HAPPEN!! Here I am sitting fat, dumb and happy, living my nice little life and WHAM... life wants to throw a major monkey wrench into the only lifestyle I know. That was very unsettling to me and caught me completely off guard. If you think about you presant life, take away the politics and your worldly views, and just think about your own personal day to day existence, all things considered, life is not all that bad. Surely it has to be much better than some of the predictions that have been offered on the forum. Then think about the different scenarios that one may encounter and it just seems so surreal. I can understand why someone would not want to listen about Y2K, or put any thought into it. I guess my question is, has any of you had this moment in time were you paused and thought about what you are doing and about the things that may come, and have it scare the c..p out of you?
-- oboy (oboy@oboy.com), June 16, 1999
You bet, boy oboy. That's the *normal* reaction. And it gets you into this fine little club here to talk about it and share your thoughts.
-- Gordon (gpconnolly@aol.com), June 16, 1999.
OBOY -Absolutely know what you mean - knocks your sock off.
And guess what? It will get better for a while, especially as you really start getting those preps done. Then, whammo - some new report will show up or some new thread will develop on this darn forum (bless you all!) and there go those socks again and again. It is a roller coaster ride of the first order. If, however, you have it firmly in your mind that all will not be well, you will know you are doing the right thing with your preps whatever they may be. Even when all the "good news" was coming out a few weeks ago, that litttle tag that TPTB kept putting on the end of their "all is well" lines - "..but nobody knows for sure" - kept me on track - my grain of salt so to speak.
I do worry about the people who do not have the psychological makeup to accept that there may be more than a bump in the road. I think that is more the problem for DGI's than the fact that they don't want to get it- their minds just won't let them get it.
Stay on track - and hope things turn out so that the world can laugh with us when we just hit a bump.
-- Valkyrie (anon@please.net), June 16, 1999.
Welcome to the rollercoaster : )Mike ====================================================================
-- Michael Taylor (mtdesign3@aol.com), June 16, 1999.
I recognize the experience of feeling like you just got hit by a ton of bricks. It came over me within only a few days of doing full time research on y2k last winter. Since, I have been in and out of "denial" which can come in many degrees.I think that denial tries to shield us from the full on impact of bad news, such as the death of a loved one or some other loss. Y2K is a huge loss of the relative certainty that our daily lives will continue as they have. For some people it is a complete denial. For others, it is a suspension of the full reality, the full emotional and mental impact, a separation of what we know intellectually from our bodies. This allows us to deal with it to some degree. But I think that it takes a full realization and the ability to let this in to give us the most realistic and therefore, accurate view of what we are learning about y2k. With this knowledge, this gut level knowledge, the ability to grasp the whole thing and not just the surface facts, we make our best decisions. Handling the resulting fear and anxiety and stress is just part of the deal.
This is my view after watching myself and others for all these months. I definitely can relate. Good luck on adjusting to your y2k sea legs. If things get too hard, you can go back to distancing yourself now in order to give yourself a rest, as long as you remember to come back and remember what you now know.
Take care, Lora
-- Lora Ereshan (artemis45@hotmail.com), June 16, 1999.
I agree it seems like everyday I wake up like a goose in a new world. I have gone through all the stages in a short period of time. The first one being denial. But that did not last more than a day. Then my interest peaked and awareness was on me. Then the panic stage hit and I went into turbo psycho mode. Then anger was consuming me because no one would listen to me and not to mention that we should not have this problem in the first place. Right now I guess I am just in the worried stage. I am sure more stages are yet to come. I am not sure the DGI's will have the chance to deal with all these emotions with the time running so short. I am afraid they may go straight into panic mode and stay there. Here's wishing you good mental health. Take care.
-- shellie (shellie01@hotmail.com), June 16, 1999.
Valkyrie said, "Welcome to the rollercoaster" -- I'd suggest calling it the "rollovercoaster". [g]
-- Ron Schwarz (rs@clubvb.com.delete.this), June 16, 1999.
"Roll-overcoaster" I love that, Ron!! The rollercoaster of emotions makes me just want to scream! It's a beautiful day outside, warm and sunny; got enough of everything in my life; beautiful husband and son; enough food and clothes, shelter, etc. Seems sometimes like I must be delusional to believe that anything so drastic could happen. I say, trust your instincts. I read on a message board somewhere, "Call On God but row away from the rocks"
-- NSmith (nitnat3@aol.com), June 16, 1999.
It strikes me that the term "rollercoaster" has hidden depth, and I recommend its usage regarding the Y2K issue as seen by many on this board.In that the rollercoaster experience is one where . .
1. You dont know what its going to be like until youre on it, but have the conviction that you'll most likely be scared and/or excited.
2. Despite the sensory stimulus which creates feelings of intense disorientation, fear, excitement and speed, everything is controlled and must inexorably lead to a fixed conclusion (the ride ends, life goes on).
3. The only "true" risk is a massive failure of a series of expert systems and failsafes, which are overseen by qualified and technically specialist personnel. (very unusual)
The original posting to this thread is also a superb example, I think, of the true "human dilemma" of the Y2K problem.
It's akin to an experience I had recently. I was asleep, and dreamt that my house was on fire, and that I had to rush to collect my family members and escape the blaze. (I think there had been a TV programme earlier that evening, or a day or two before concerning house fires). I woke in a cold sweat, and lay there worrying for a while and going through a sequence of "disaster scenarios" in my mind. When the immediate fear had subsided, and my mind had calmed, I simply spent 3 minutes walking around the house, checking that the gas was off on the stove, testing the smoke detectors, and generally putting my mind at ease. Then, with a cursory check on my daughter (who was blissfully asleep), I went back to bed. I consider my family, whilst in the house, to be reasonably well protected from this particular hazard. (we have smoke alarms, an alternate escape route, and extinguishers installed).
The truth is, the Y2K issue CAN engender a great deal of fear, as can any situation which we feel is "beyond our control". The temptation to postulate "worst case" scenarios, and debate their outcome, is a normal human response to these fears. Because of the seemingly enormous and almost imppossibly complex nature of the Y2K issue, our reactions to any kind of reassurance will vary, and in many cases will be similar to those present in many "phobic" situations. Try telling someone whos afraid of flying that "The pilot must be happy that were going to be safe, otherwise we wouldnt be going anywhere, because if we go down, so does he". It doesnt avert the phobia, but it has a ring of truth nonetheless. The broad spectrum of information on Y2K work seems to be "we've got lots still to do, and some wont make it, but most will, and we're working hardest on the most important stuff". Of course, (before someone slams me for the omission) nobody will know for sure until 1/1/00. If you wish to avoid the conspiracy theory route, it may be worth stating that there are countless hundreds of thousands of individual specialists working on the tiny cogs and wheels of the problem across the globe. Progress will vary, as will optimism, but the work goes on.
Those people given the nasty job of ensuring that each and every technical system under their control is able to survive what is (after all) a well-publicised, often duplicated, and finite problem, are armed with the knowledge that they MUST achieve compliance, or risk THEIR OWN FUTURE as well as yours and mine, (just like the pilot). Just as in everyday life, some will succeed and some will fail in their attempt to fulfil their duties. The free-market will dictate that "The more critical the system, the more priority will be placed upon those tasked to ensure continuity". It stands to reason that a vital utility will be monitored and checked far more than will be a factory which produces lollypops. This explains why pilots are higher paid, more thorough, better trained, and have a far lower failure rate than do bus drivers. (no disrespect for bus drivers, my point is that if a mistake has less serious consequences, it is by definition more likely to happen because its not economically viable to spend a fortune ensuring that it doesn't happen).
But this process is at work every day NOW. People work to avoid problems. Some succeed and some fail, to varying extents. The market relies on it.
All this leads me to base MY OWN estimates of "the need to prepare" on a situation where . .
1. There are reasonably few failures of vital infrastructure, and those that do occur are brief and quickly worked-around. (Business continuity planning is an insurance requirement in many cases, and fall back plans are mandatory).
2. There is a sustained period of "glitch management", in which some entities cease to exist, with their market share being snapped up by competitors. I am not sufficiently confident of my skills as an economic analyst to hypothesize whether this would create a "boom" or a recession. Perhaps Mr Decker or others can comment.
3. The social management systems in place (government, police, fire service, hospitals) are more or less prepared and trained to deal with a variety of problems, locally and nationally, and steps are taken to ensure continuity. NOTE: These are, I believe, unlikely to be draconian. (To believe otherwise indicates a willingness to assume, even a delight in assuming, THE ABSOLUTE WORST of people in positions of authority. Personally, my belief is that whilst in many cases our elected representatives may exhibit incompetence, bad judgement, self-interest and in some cases outright dishonesty, as with the pilot, ultimately it is in their interest that things dont fall to pieces. Thats our insurance policy.)
This said, I AM preparing to some extent, based on my opinions stated above. I would not, and do not discourage ANYONE from preparing to the extent that they believe prudent when local differences are taken into consideration. I would also take this line if the Y2K problem did not exist.
Finally, I do NOT think anyone has cause to panic, and would further suggest that those people who ENCOURAGE others to believe that a shadowy NWO conspiracy is waiting in the wings to enslave us all, or wipe us out in a nuclear cloud, would do so whether or not Y2K was the theme, and seek only to further that particular agenda.
I hope my opinions are of some use for discussion purposes, and that nobody manages to take offence to anything said. I am prepared to be labelled a "polly", but if youre planning on accusing me of having hidden agendas, being a paid "operative" of the NWO, or placing my head in the sand, please be assured that (whilst in doing so you may be vocal and agressive), you will certainly NOT be exhibiting behaviour deserving of the accolades "original" or "accurate".
Kindest Regards to all.
-- W0lv3r1n3 (W0lv3r1n3@yahoo.com), June 16, 1999.
Oboy, just hang in there. Do you preps, dedicate time, effort AND money. Do your thing, all hard choices, never easy. Develop thick skin, big radar screen, on your tip-toes all the time, ready to act, run, change, etc. Oboy, not everyone will make it, including your dear friends and family. But you may, specially the more you prepare.Wellcome to the club, oboy!
And just as a note of humor:
"There was a man from Perz /// Who dreamed he was eating a shoe /// "He woke in the night /// with a terrible fright /// and found it was perfectly true!!
Take care
-- George (jvilches@sminter.com.ar), June 16, 1999.
I have come to accept the fact that I am a kook.I am a focused kook who will survive whatever happens because I will be prepared.
Water, water, food...
Water, water, food...
Water, water, food...
-- nothere nothere (nothere@nothere.com), June 16, 1999.
Last year I had a surreal moment in a Vegas casino... thinking "Someday all this will be gone, as though it never even happened." But then, Vegas is surreal anyway; 60 years ago it little more than rocks & scorpions. Ashes to ashes, etc.As for disasters, well, I grew up hearing Catholic prophesies of a coming chastisement (Fatima, Akita, Garanbandal) so for me it's mostly a question of "WHEN will this happen?" & also "Will I live to see it?" ...I don't much want to, but it looks like I might.
-- just (musing@about.stuff), June 16, 1999.
Since I've just about experienced the full gamut of TEOTWAKI, I'm not worried about y2k!!!!My 5 foot stepladder has 6 warning labels on it. My beer and wine bottles have warning labels on it. My bucket and platic grocery bags have warning labels on them. My ...
I'm only worried about the most common hazard.
Strangely, the biggest and most prevelant hazards in my life never had warning labels on them even though they almost killed me numerous times. Either slowly. Or suddenly. These hazards:
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People.
-- Not Again! (Seenit@ww2.com), June 16, 1999.
When I have those moments, I buy some more food, wood or ammo. Then I grill a good steak, drink a good bottle of wine and take a long hot shower. It helps.
-- Bill (y2khippo@yahoo.com), June 16, 1999.
As a child I was always taught to never trust people, and when confronting nature know that it will give you a fair chance. Y2k is only one of many happenings in a persons life. Years ago I prepared for inflationary crash of our economy, did I waste money? Some may think so. At the time it cost me about $1500 which would be about $4000.00 today. But I have added to the survival gear, and even made some money at it. I was very calm when Mount St Helen's went up, knowning I was ready. When the oil price crashed in the 80's I was prepared for the hard economic life in our area that lasted about 5 years. (I slept easy). We didn't have the big house others had and lost. As a family we did manage to travel to 13 countries, but I had to drive and old car for many years after. Ya life is full of choices, but preparing for disasters makes you stronger and gives you very different prespectives. Prepare, help others, and the money comes back via new opportunities and a richness some will never know. I'm a student of economic history, and the fact is that the last twenty years are very rare indeed, they have represented a great economic time in the history of man, but the truth is that this is not the norm, the norm was more of what people went through in the 30's and 40's. So prepare for hard times, work and prepare for tomorrow and live as if today is your last day. Living in Canada we are reminded hard times every fall. When November hits we know that -30 and -40 will hit, that the summer wages might be all that you have and stocking up the beans, rice and pasta is a good idea. That your neighbors and friends will be needed and that they will need you, winter has that effect on people, were forced to like each other and help each other. Did you know that in Canadian cities in the dead of winter -35 sometines there are entire nights of no crime. zero!! Police have nothing to do. It anit easy but with God's help we will prevail.Justthinkin
-- justthinkin com (y2k@justthink.com), June 16, 1999.
I don't have time for denial or perhaps if, or wishing, or hoping, or pondering or fluffy spin......I have children.
-- Will continue (farming@home.com), June 16, 1999.
oboy,Sure does scare the heck out of one doesn't it? But thank goodness you have had the foresight to work on your preparation and learn all along. Personally, I wrestled with the acceptance that y2k could cause (the end of our world as we know it) for many weeks. Realizing the possibilities puts a whole new meaning on that phrase doesn't it oboy! :-). My e-mail is real if you need links or anything.
It felt like someone pulled the rug out from under our comfortable life and forced us to examine scenerios we had pushed out of our minds since we where young and our teachers had taught us to "duck and cover"...tomarrow may not be just like today, farily predictable.
And what have I learned? My husband's job may be in jeapordy soon due to a forced transfer...to an area of a military base no less which is totally unexceptable. When he told us this a couple of weeks ago, we thought, so what? We won't even notice a few weeks break between jobs (and of course my first thought was think of all the work he can get done :-)
Preparations against the unknowns of life is never bad. Becoming more self relient for y2k can only prepare us for any thing life has to offer.
-- Lilly (homesteader145@yahoo.com), June 16, 1999.
oboy - for me it is this: y2k had better be a bump in the road because collectively we aren't ready for anything worse.Have to add that it is very easy to prep for a 9 or 10. Much harder to prep for a 4-8. I'm having to really work with the newly GI's in the neighborhood, tough questions so they will think about their neighbors and community rather than just their own asses and bunkers.
-- Mitchell Barnes (spanda@inreach.com), June 16, 1999.