Warning: the following is a rant.

As a single dad with a household to maintain, and very limited resources, it is so very apparent – and constantly so – that no man is an island. When money is limited and time is as well, any single person out there struggling at the 9 to 5, in a world they don’t really belong in, can’t achieve the level of independence that someone with a supportive spouse can. There is just too much work and too many moving parts for the paltry two days you get for doing everything that needs attention. Not only do we have to take care of things that every one of the sheeple have to deal with – paying bills, grocery shopping, oil changes, laundry, mowing, changing light bulbs, cleaning the bathrooms, cleaning the kitchen, etc… – but we must also find time for putting systems in place that will allow us a more sustainable and healthier lifestyle.

It seems to me that the powers of this world are more than glad to allow things to go smoothly for those who just keep buying in to the status quo – the “Amerikan Dream” (easy credit, big ag GMO foods, consumerism, etc), but if you are trying to change the dynamic and live a life of sustainability and resilience then those same powers make a concerted effort to stop you. In this case the powers to which I am referring are not the people who depend upon our dependence on the systems, but the supernatural – the spiritual – powers that exist in this world. If that concept is to unscientific for you, then just think of it as a reference to Murphy’s Law.

Every weekend I have so much to do on the two days I am not required to be in my shackles at the cubicle gulag, and rarely does it all get accomplished. Add to the mix the fact that it is now planting season and the workload increases even more. It starts to become overwhelming.

Point in case: I have some trees that arrived this week (after an extremely suck week of work in which the politics of the place have the high muckety mucks flipping out) and they need to go into the ground. My youngest was very sick this week and I was sleep deprived, so no holes have yet been dug to get the trees into the ground. I have a couple of quick errands that need to be run so I threw a load of laundry in the wash so that they would be ready for the drier when I return. One of the few examples in which I think multitasking is actually beneficial. Well lo and behold, there is no water coming into the washer from the hot side. I just absolutely cannot afford a plumber or washer repair technician right now. I guess Murphy’s Law doesn’t like the fact that my stove crapping out a few weeks ago didn’t slow me down a bit, since I have a workaround (a Coleman camp stove, electric skillet, and toaster over) in my preps.

So now rather than planting trees (and every other crop I need to buy and get into the ground) I have to figure out what I am going to do about this situation. I’ll do some research and try to fix it myself, and hope that it doesn’t take all day. As I sit here typing it occurs to me that I guess I could just wash everything in cold. IDK,  I hope this doesn’t mean my washer is about to join my stove in the land of obsolescence.

Screw the biker zombie apocalypse, screw TEOTWAWKI, TS is HTF right now! Campbell’s chicken noodle soup is selling for 1.50/ can right now!  That’s ridiculous.   It’s not an anomaly either.  Don’t be thinking that the price is coming down….ever. So here’s what I did today. Bought 4 regular size cans of soup for 1.50 ea., and one giant can of Tomato basil. I plan to eat one of them tomorrow or the next day, but rest assured I will buy 3 more to replace it the next time I grocery shop, not because I’m afraid that the food supply will be cut off but because I may not be able to afford food in the future!

But seriously, even though I will be able to pay 2.50/can – or 4.50/can – in the future, it’s going to take its toll. If I buy those cans now at 1.50/can (when they were .99/can 18 months ago), I’ll be able to afford car repairs in the future. Buying canned goods now is like buying stock. Anything that you will want or need in the future and can be bought right now with the relative assurance that it will last until you need or want it, should be bought now. Nothing related to the survival of you and yours is going to get cheaper. Oh sure, the inflation index might remain steady, but how often do you replace your flat screen tv, and if you couldn’t replace it, would your family still be able to survive without it?

I’ve mentioned this before: the real threat to prepare for is the double headed hydra of inflation and taxation.