We The People
The Constitution of the United States of America does not grant us our rights as individuals, it protects them!!
The term “inalienable” means unable to be taken away from, or given away by, the possessor.
OPT OUT
02/01/13
Secede as an individual. Quit supporting the corporate mindset that you so despise and which is stealing your wealth, free time, family time, and quality of life. Disempower the systems that are oppressing you. Empower yourself. Be resilient, not dependant. Without even realizing it we support and enforce our own slavery/oppression. We actively participate in keeping the systems that make us miserable going. We are miserable and we facilitate it. Lead your own life! Don’t get me wrong, I think you should absolutely support those advancing the causes you believe in, but don’t stop there. Use some of that support to make a difference yourself. Think about the kind of person it took to shape and tame this country. You are born of that stock, those were your ancestors. You have that same blood in you.
We need to support things that matter. We need to support things that add value to our lives on the individual (personal) level. We need to support things that will support us.
02/01/13 ACTION
– Bought 5 ounces of silver from the TSPMint which just came online. I didn’t really need more silver at this point, but they are working in conjunction with AOCS and I wanted to show my support for both TSP and AOCS. I want to enable them to keep getting the message out.
09/27/12
It looks like I have gone on a bit of a spending spree, but I feel it is necessary. I have not been as focused as I have needed to be recently so I feel like I have some catching up to do. I haven’t been getting the OT I need, but since my wife is anything but “gazelle intense” (for instance, she is willing to keep paying ATT $100 per month so she can dvr “The Voice” and “Xfactor”), and I haven’t been taking any money from her paycheck to pay bills, I am going to use any extra to become more resilient so I can break free from my dependence on the system. I have started listing the things I am intent upon buying with the hours of OT required to do so. As long as I stick to the schedule things should be ok. Jack at TSP has said (and of course it makes sense) that QE3 (ha) will probably put off the inevitable economic hardship for 18-24 months, so that is the time frame I am giving myself to become as resilient as possible. Sustainable living is the goal. I believe that what is going to happen in the economic meltdown is that the govt will began taxing the crap out of us, making it harder and harder to survive on what we make. They may make credit easier to obtain, at least for a while, so that people are even more enslaved by their debt. I have to be prepared for the heavy taxation and resist the urge to continue the status quo by using credit. That means being able to provide some things that we normally spend money on – like food – so we will have money for the things we can’t provide for ourselves, like medicine.
I am reading the series 299 days and it has really made me more committed to getting in better health. I had my blood work done on Tuesday, and my numbers are great. My total cholesterol is 177 (could be better but), my LDL is 85 and my HDL is 85, triglycerides are at 37, and my A1C was <6 (5.6?). I splurged on raw milk because I figure it has a lot of nutrients that are missing in our diet so if my youngest and I get them once in a while it is better than nothing. Plus, while we are getting them from the raw milk we are getting a break the skim milk at the same time.
09/27/12 ACTION
– Bought 4 bags raised bed garden mix $64.00 (ouch)
– Bought 300 rounds 9mm bulk for $71.18 (again ouch, but needed for target practice). Need to break in my Steyr and get comfortable using it.
– Bought some raw milk $10. (the price has gone up $2/gallon because the local gov’t is making it harder for them to be in business)
09/26/12
It’s been a while since last I wrote. One thing I am going to start doing is including the price of the things I purchase, this will be especially useful to the blog – or more specifically the people that may use my blog for its intended purpose.
My 15 year old has gotten a learners permit (or whatever they call it these days) and we are doing a lot more driving in order to get as much experience as possible. This is actually a type of prepping/sustainable living. Another driver is another resource. It means we are more mobile, if someone hurts themselves there is another person now capable of driving them to the hospital. If there are multiple stores that need to be visited, we can now split them up and that frees up more time. You get the idea. Of course to maximize this we need another car. Right now I could drive the truck leaving my car free, but both of those vehicles are pretty long in the tooth.
I can’t remember how long it’s been, but I did buy 5 more bonsai trees at $7 each! I am thinking I can transplant them and then try selling them at a garage sale. If successful, that could be another source of revenue.
09/26/12 ACTION
– Bought a pick axe for $25 – 9/17/12 Now I can break up that layer of limestone that sits about 15” below the surface when I want to plant.
– Bought a 15gal drum to store gas from HomebrewersOutpost.com $26.98 – 9/20/12
– Bought 8 pack AAA eneloop batteries $16.35 – 9/20/12
– Bought tray of Romaine lettuce (8 heads I think?), head of garlic and bunch of onion bulbs to try in fall garden $7.86 – 9/26/12
BACKLOG UPDATES
Ok, I am going to submit several posts that will be titled with a date so I can get this blog caught up with where I actually am in my life, and the day to day events and actions that have gotten me there. My purpose (as always) is to show that taking small but consistent steps will eventually give me the resilience I am after, even if it takes a while. My hope is that others who desire to become resilient but feel overwhelmed by the financial and time restraints will take the same small steps and set themselves free as well.
08/29/12 ACTION
– Since the last update, I have replaced my S&W 9mm with a Steyr 9mm for $379 that I really like. I haven’t shot it yet, but it fits my hand like a glove. Also bought a small ammo case for $10.
– Yesterday I bought a 16 pack of rechargeable Sanyo Eneloop AA batteries, bringing my total to 24. I no longer have to spend money on replacement batteries, so they will reduce my cash outflow, and they can be charged using an inverter in an extended power loss scenario.
– I have ramped up my job search. I’ve reached out to a few more people, gotten my resume in really good shape and have 2 versions of it, I have one ok 30 second resume, I have done a lot of research on my personality type and am more knowledgeable about my strengths, talents and preferences.
– Bought permethrin to try and control mosquito explosion in back yard (I consider this a prep because the last thing I need to deal with is west nile virus, plus working on my garden will be more bearable if I’m not getting covered in bites).
SuburbanResilience 