Probably quite nice out today. Low 50s when I went to bed, and forecast is for sun and moderate temps.
Sunday was very nice out after late morning. I ended up doing inside stuff, and not much of that before I headed out to my secondary location. Once there, I went through some stuff and made some plans for today. Kids are still home from school until tomorrow, but my wife’s office went back to everyone working from home due to the upswing expected in wuflu cases. They can work from home so why take the chance? She’ll be watching the flock from home today while I’m out.
Anyway, I’ll be headed over to clear out some more stuff. So much stuff. A lot piles up over 17 years. This is going to be the longest I’ve ever lived in one place, including my childhood if we make it another year. If you move every few years, you get a chance to go through all your stuff and cull. I’ve been too busy/lazy/preoccupied to do the culling on my own, so now it’s a daunting task. The reward is there at the end. If I can make enough room to run my own online auction sales, I get to keep 40% more of the money. I’ll be doing 80% more of the work, but them’s the breaks. TANSTAAFL after all.
With the new year, it’s traditional to make some goals. I’m not big on Resolutions ™ but I do have things I want to work toward, if the universe is headed in the same direction. If it’s not, no amount of work on my part will overcome that. So, what goals?
Broadly, improve our living situation. Improve our physical and mental condition. Improve our future.
I’m starting by getting all the superfluous stuff out of here. That is number one. Congruent with that is turning a bunch of it back into cash. Then get somewhere to go, if it becomes wise to go somewhere else. That goal has a large input from my wife, so compromise is the name of the game. It will be an escape hatch, not a primary residence. We are tied to this area for the foreseeable future with work. If that changes, then other possibilities open up.
We’ll also continue improving what we already have here. That means secondary power system up and running, and maybe a tertiary system as well. It means doing upgrades to the house and grounds like finishing some remodel stuff, possibly doing some security upgrades, and doing some other projects that improve our current lifestyle and harden us against future problems. We’ll be proactively doing some maintenance and upgrades to infrastructure too. And I’ll be working on the gardens in the spring because hope springs eternal…
It also means working on myself and the family. My wife is anxious to do more physical activities with the kids. I’m realizing that I have to WORK at maintaining my physical self, or I will lose abilities. I can’t afford to lose much 🙂 A bit more biking, hiking, boating, and certainly STRETCHING is in my future. It means staying healthy. It means working on new skills. This is a good year to introduce the kids to firearms and to other defensive pursuits. Both have expressed the interest, it’s just a matter of doing it now. I’m no spec ops ninja but I can get them started with the basics. If we can get some bushcraft/camping/fishing/hunting in, that will be even better.
All of those things can be applied to ‘working for the future’ too. My planning horizon expanded dramatically once we had the kids. I went from being a guy who wouldn’t commit to a multi-year magazine subscription to being a homeowner with college savings plans for the kids. 11 years has gone by in an eye blink.
GET STARTED by the way. Whatever it is, in 5 years you’ll be well along the way if you just GET STARTED. Continuing to accumulate stuff, skills, friends, and options is what I believe will give us the best chance of getting through what’s coming. YMMV.
Seriously. If you’re single, turning everything into cash (or equivalent) and becoming a modern nomad might be a better choice than digging in harder. Or the two of you buy a boat and start the endless cruise…or RV… or get into politics and join the parasite class. If the rise of islam is inevitable, converting early and wholeheartedly makes the most sense- so there are other approaches than mine.
Whatever is coming it won’t be the end of THE world. It might be the end of my world or your world, but there will be someone on the other side of it, just like the Civil War, WWI & II, the rise of the Soviet Union, and whatever happens here next. Stick it out. Get through. Look for opportunities to thrive. And keep stacking.
nick