living the test

LIVING THE TEST
Again, sorry about yesterday. When I went to post, I got the "unable to complete task" message and had to wait a half hour until that cleared up. When I did post the article it hadn't been saved in full and only a quarter of it got posted. So since I was working by then I had to grab the easiest thing I had on hand to post. Which was the last movie review I had done. Two weeks ago I started back up my Netflix subscription and am starting back up with the planned Post Apocalypse Movie Review book. With the extra solar panel I can watch two hours of a DVD and then write for an hour without draining the battery. It is direct from the sun. Of course, I'm watching a seven inch TV so it isn't exactly class A entertainment. I thought, hey, a perfect time to do this- I should be done before winter starts. So what happens? Two weeks of storms and clouds. The last weekend I barely squeezed enough sunshine in to watch the movies. I swear Mother Nature hates me.
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This is something a few of you have already mentioned. I'm half way to living the post collapse lifestyle. Some of you think it's because I'm off grid and have drastically cut back on my energy consumption ( such as trying to use more solar that propane heat in the winter ). To some extent that is true. But I also try to lead as miserable a life as possible to get used to what is coming. Oh, I enjoy the peace and quiet too much to go back to town living. But transportation there and back sucks. And I make sure to be poor enough to scare off all female companionship. So in general I sit around, all mopey and bitter and feel sorry for myself. Remember the series of lines in "Airplane"? I picked a hell of a time to give up... ( alcohol, drugs, etc. ). So, when I come across something to make myself feel better about my self imposed idiocy, I have to share it with you, dance around doing a victory dance and so on. The book "Shoestring Survivalism" by Andy James was recommended by a loyal minion. Of course, I have to get it just to see if it is as good as my "The Frugal Survivalist". Luckily, it doesn't come close.
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It is a pretty darn good book, don't get me wrong. It is great for beginners and doesn't scare off anyone with naked fear or paranoia. I would highly recommend it as a loaner book or gift for fence sitters or newbies. It is a well thought out presentation and program. I just don't think it presents as cheap of an alternative as my book. So I'm still secure in my self crowned title of Master Frugal Survival Dude. It takes you step by step through planning and identifying threats, etc. The part I'm referring to in this article is when he was outlining the steps you need to take to survive service disruptions. You know, stuff like water supply, an alternate toilet, alternate cooking fuel, the whole enchilada for when FEMA pulls another New Orleans and doesn't show up for three weeks ( although they send in Blackwater in only three days to kill all gun owners ). I went through that section with a smug and superior attitude. I didn't need to work out alternatives, I was already living them.
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So, I guess the main point here is that there are different rationals for living on junk land. One, no need to worry about bugging out. For the price of one months monster diesel truck in four wheel drive with extra fuel tanks payment, you are already at your retreat. Now you don't need a big city job because you don't have a land or truck payment. Two, if things collapse tomorrow you have a place to stay. A legal squat that they can't kick you off of. Three, a real retirement plan. Unlike the fantasyland Social Security that is merely an empty promise, paid for land means you need only one half to one quarter of the money most people need to retire on ( I'm ignoring medical needs and am talking about rent, food and fuel ). Four, you won't notice an infrastructure collapse other than a loss of TV and Internet and you don't need them then anyway. Right now, you are worried about a water supply. How to flush the crapper. What to do if the lights go out. How you are going to get to work. How you are going to keep your food from spoiling and how you are going to cook.
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Living off grid drastically lowers your land cost. Living off grid forces you to invest in alternate energy now. And you get experience in what does and doesn't work and have time to adjust. If you stay on grid and wait for a disruption then you don't have that option. I don't have to take weekend tests of self sufficiency by turning off my power. Which is a great idea but I wonder how many actually do it and if that is really long enough. Now, I know, you know and I'm pretty sure Ross Perot knows that I just keep harping on you to live primitive. And we all know you don't listen because you don't won't to wake up one January morning with the inside temperature eight degrees, have the wife leave you as soon as the road thaws out, and talk out loud to the cats for companionship like the crazy cat lady on the Simpson's that defends herself by power throwing her felines from a sack like a ninja Shurikan. So, I'm not trying to talk you into dropping out of the rat race before it implodes. I'm just patting myself on the back, saying what a great job I've done and that I'm going to survive the cannibal stew pot just a little longer than you so all this is well worth it.
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Guest article tomorrow.