Is this happening to anybody else

greenspun.com : LUSENET : TimeBomb 2000 (Y2000) : One Thread

In the hopes of generating some more, and hopefully humorous, activity on our TP Chron forum, where I posted this earlier today, I present the following observation of my own brand-new, Y2K induced behavior. As the uneventful rollover begins to fade into the past, I have found myself reflecting upon some of the actions I took in order to be prepared for the worst. While I couldn't justify a massive investment in beans and rice, as many of my fellow preppers seem to have done, I did put a significant amount of thought and effort into the procurement and proper storage of that marvel of modern technology, toilet paper. You see, the decision against beans and rice, especially beans, other than the fact that I don't partake of either in "real" life, was largely driven by the perceived relationship between bean consumption and toilet paper depletion. I have been blessed/cursed? with a "rapid transit system" and the addition of a dietary item reputed to speed up that train just had no place in my repetoire(sp?). Especially in the absence of any effective way to collect and properly store the methane-like gas that I am lucky enough to produce almost at will.

Getting back to TP, however. Here we are in February now. I am still somewhat of a doomer, although Y2K as the driving force behind that doom is beginning to be replaced by the more mundane concerns of oil, bubble.com, corrupt .gov, etc. My new-found security, in the form of my Y2K preps, has morphed into my new way of life. I find myself continually descending to the basement to lovingly caress my impressive Tower of Rolls. I recently had to make a late-night emergency trip to the grocery store to restock as my wife (WHAT was she thinking??!!) nonchalantly, and seemingly without a full understanding of what she was doing, removed a 12-pack from the summit. Whew! Thank God the store was open! I replaced the Jewel at the top of my TP crown and all was again right with the world.

On a serious note, prepping was the right thing to do...and continues to be. It may seem a bit funny now, and some of us may feel a bit sheepish about it; I know I do. But now that I did it, whatever the reasons, dammit, it feels good! Embrace your preps! Build your own Towers! The world is still a dangerous place!

Love & Peace to All!

Jimmy

-- Jimmy Splinters (inthe@dark.com), February 10, 2000

Answers

Don't have time to write...have to get to the store 'cause tinned corned beef is on sale...

-- Mad Monk (madmonk@hawaiian.net), February 10, 2000.

Jimmy, I didn't have the time in 1999 to organize our prepartions well...it was difficult enough acquiring them and then storing them in somewhat of an organized manner...but, I too, find myself prudently replacing anything we use from the emergency supplies... I too, believe that y2k is more than just one day!

Already I see the rise in cost of these materials and it feels good to know that my family is secure in the storage we have at the prices we locked into back then... I don't find myself rebuying anything that has gone up in price too much...otherwords, if I use a package of "A' T.P. this week and the price is much more than what I paid for the original...I don't buy it now but put it on a list for things to buy when I see a bargain in the future...but I refuse to take from the supplies if it is taking because I am too lazy to go get it...I only take from them in emergency times...example: we ran out handiwipes for changing the baby... YOU GOT TO HAVE WIPES IN MESSY CASES and so it was 2am and I used from the stocks, the next day it was replaced.

One thing I am doing now that we are prepared is I am trying to take the time to better organize our supplies so that we can use them on a rotation basis...what we use each month...we replace each month at the back of the shelves,...always using the oldest stocks first and placing the newest the further poiunt from use.

Its a chore...but it feels good to know that this is our biggest worry! We have really learned in the past year to conserve in many areas and do things again as a family .... little things like walks and turning lights out when no one is in the room... its been a blessing to go back to a wood stove and cook coffee the old fashion way... we didn't throw the microwave out but I placed it in the garage where it is not convenient to use...this really caused us to as a family eat together...with a microwave it seem that no one has to eat at the same time because you can just warm up the food conveniently and eat it whenever you want...not if you want to eat hot food...you eat with everyone else...

A lot of neat things have occurred because of y2k...it is a positive experience... we use less the VCR and TV unit...we don't watch TV...only classic videos and childrens videos...but we have learned to turn off the TV and have family times to conserve on our battery bank... in good wind storms we can use more because our wind generators are producing continuously... It is a good thing that has happen...Your right about one thing... the world is still a dangerous place... and the elite who run it are dangerous people!

-- S BRyan G III (sbrg3@juno.com), February 10, 2000.


You can never have enough toilet paper. What polly could say otherwise?

-- Mara (MaraWayne@aol.com), February 10, 2000.

Jimmy,

Thanks for the smiles :) True, you can never have too much TP. I don't do any 2 AM shopping trips, however...I use what I have so that I cana "hold out" for good prices. When I find the price I like, I re-stock.

Ya know, I agree with you, man. It feels GOOD to have some preps on hand. It is the right thing to do. It is the prudent thing to do.

-- No Polly (nopolly@hotmail.com), February 10, 2000.


Yeah! We have a TP Igloo, and we love our preps!
Roll Over & Over :-)

-- Ashton & Leska in Cascadia (allaha@earthlink.net), February 10, 2000.


A & L,

Hmmmmmm, an igloo.... Maybe I can get my kids involved in TP construction projects with me. Now that's what I'd call (2-ply) quality family time.

LOL! Thanks for the reply.

Jimmy

-- Jimmy Splinters (inthe@dark.com), February 10, 2000.


I bet none of you are old enough to remember corn cobs, out in the woods or behind the barn. T/P is as an important as is sliced bread. No more sears catalogues or corn cobs for me. Always keep plenty of TP around for such emergencies as blowing the nose, much better than kleenex and far cheaper. For spills in the kitchen. For stuffing in cracks in walls, for napkins at the table. MY my, there are numerous uses for it. Thank God no more corn cobs, in the outhouse at two am in when the temp is 2minus.

-- Notforlong (Fsur@aol.com), February 10, 2000.

Prefer oak leaves myself.

-- JB (noway@jose.com), February 10, 2000.

Oh yes, some of us certainly do recall the horrors of corn cobs. That's the reason we've got between five and six hundred rolls of TP stored in the garage. I'm sure that if the wife had to learn the truth first hand for herself, I wouldn't have any chance of survival.

WW

-- Wildweasel (vtmldm@epix.net), February 10, 2000.


the price is much more than what I paid for the original...I don't buy it now but put it on a list for things to buy when I see a bargain in the future...

Learning to shop this way can not only save you money, you can eat better! I have a large chest freezer and stock up dueing sales.

Meat is on sale right now, new yourk and T-bone and rib-eye steaks are $3.99 LB. If you look at chicken nuggets and figure out the price per LB you will see that it is almost as costly as the steak is now and half of it the breading. I will buy a lot of steaks and stick them in the freezer, to be used sparingly for the next few months. That way if we have the taste for a good steak, I go to the freezer rather than go to the store and buy it at the normal $6. - $7. per lb. With the money I save I can buy more of something else.I even try to barter when shopping, a few years ago I went to Fred Meyers and saw some screen doors. They were last years models so I made a deal to by 6 of them at half the posted price. They probably would not have sold them anyway, some had little flaws that were easy to fix, I sold 4 of them to my neighbors. It is surprising how many places will barter when selling something. I figure it won't hurt to try-buying my computer I asked for and got a lot of extra CD's and extra's.

When I buy in bulk I always ask for an extra or two, sometimes I get it some times not, but never hurts to ask. The only problem is that my teenage daughter is totally humiliated when I do this in front of her... wait, thats not a problem, thats what Mom's are supposed to do!:o)

-- Cherri (sams@brigadoon.com), February 10, 2000.



Sycamore leaves work pretty good ( they have a soft, fuzzy side). :]

-- grannyclampett (notress@pass.ing), February 10, 2000.

Strange but true. I find my self continually replacing used preps. Keep on preppin`

-- NoJo (RSKeiper@aol.com), February 10, 2000.

If the midwest continues to have such a severe drout, and food prices go sky high, you might be real glad you have that extra food!

-- suzy (HAYSandCO@aol.com), February 11, 2000.

Rice has the opposite effect. It's an old fashioned anti-diarheah treatment.

Rice and beans provide complete protein, which helps prevent the bean problem. Incomplete proteins in legumes are what causes the unique venting situation. Rice or other grains consumed with legumes work to prevent that problem.

-- Dung A. Ree (poop@scoop.er), February 11, 2000.


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