[Aimrehtopyh]

...and don't ever forget where your towel is.

Seriously, seeing the Hitchhikers Guide movie with peak oil in mind helped me to relax ALOT. I still drive my friends and family crazy with my anxiety and everpresent obsession with the subject, but much about that movie makes the fellings of loss and hopelessness more bearable.

Regardless, form here on out it will be a rollercoaster ride like garden-variety depression. The lows can last days or months and even the highs will be marred by your unshakable feeling that something just isn't right.

There is a slight possibility that your girlfriend will trust you or understand the problem well enough to tolerate the oddball behavior you will soon be exhibiting. If your survival strategy includes working out I'm sure she'll be thrilled. If your only response is hours of daily forum scanning and the stockpiling of ammo and canned goods she'll probably split. I was fortunate enough to have hooked up with the daughter of an Air Force cold warrior, so the paranoid survivalist mindset was second nature for her.

Remember that even a few tiny changes in your life will vastly increase your odds of survival during any crisis. (Having a fake canadian I.D. on hand in order to dodge the draft for example.) Those who relocate and make massive leveraged investments based on peak oil theory are rare even around here. Most of us do little more than adjust our lifestyles and find out who within our social network we can really trust when TSHTF.

Congratulations, just by understanding the problem you are miles ahead of 98% of your countrymen.

[rexxz]

ah, thanks y'all. You know, I am trying to inform friends and family about this, but I have a very verrry bad presumption that my parents(and their siblings) will be very un-open to this reality. It's something I don't want, but what can I do about it?

Oh also, what do you recommend is the best way for someone straight out of highschool to begin their plans for this? Because, as soon as I get over there I will be working, but I won't be making an unbelievably high amount of money(more like bare minimum or something). Jeeeze, just trying to figure all of this out is making me go crazy.

[Fergus]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('rexxz', 'a')h, thanks y'all. You know, I am trying to inform friends and family about this, but I have a very verrry bad presumption that my parents(and their siblings) will be very un-open to this reality. It's something I don't want, but what can I do about it?

Oh also, what do you recommend is the best way for someone straight out of highschool to begin their plans for this? Because, as soon as I get over there I will be working, but I won't be making an unbelievably high amount of money(more like bare minimum or something). Jeeeze, just trying to figure all of this out is making me go crazy.

[rexxz]

I don't want to invest much in the economical system here, I'll try to cut down on that as much as possible. What I WOULD like however, is to buy a house. That is something very important to me. I need to work out where I am going to buy one, how we can both work in the area that I DO buy one at, and then build my plans around that. It seems to be the wisest choice right now to decide a long term location to live, and to begin planning around that home as soon as possible.

[catbox]

If I may Chime in here for a few words.....I am down with what you are feeling. I started watching oil 3 years back and after about a year I started getting worried....I almost felt like Chicken Little! Once I would learn something new about PO or the price would go up, I would inform others. I was lucky to have been working with open minded folks at the time and they were willing to here my spiel, but there were also college kids working in our school that were like, "No way! Alternativ fuels will take care of everything!" Some were also pretty sure our government was going to make it all better if it gets bad enough.

Anyway, I simmered down after a bit and started to focus on what my little 3 person family could do at home to prepare for the onset of Peak Oil as well as any economic breakdown that would come with it. It took almost a year before we really got around to dumping the second car, expanding the garden to the point that we can actually harvest and can enough food this summer/fall to survive if need be also at the same time keeping our food costs down, upping our bicycle commuting (we were already avid cyclists thank goodness), put in rain barrels for watering purposes and have been utilizing our irrigation well too, and next will be taking down the skate ramp and recycling the wood and screws to build a fairly sizable green house. We can't afford solar at this point but maybe sooner than later.....that has been our year of prep and change.

It seems as if once we started to put our anxiety into action things got better mentally. I still go through times of anxiety over this...much having to do with the debt we have...and other ignorant humans continuing to go about business like nothings wrong. It's also hard being in the minority of folks who are aware and trying to do something. My own personal goal is to come out of my rather anti-social shell and meet other PO and Permaculture folks this year here in Eugene....this is the toughest one because even though we have the same worries and concerns...and goals...much of the crowed in Eugene's permaculture scene is rather hippy like....At 40, I've been a punk since I was 11 and hippies always bugged me! I know, grow up!
But that's the way I am and i'll have to change and become more community based!

I guess another thing for me as with others, where jobs are concerned...will my job be there? Our business is 80% internet sales (of snow/skate/surf related goods) and we depend on the shipping co's and postal service to get and deliver our goods. I often toy with going back into early childhood education but I left that from burnout. I do have the summer off to hang out with our daughter before kindergarten so I can watch things pretty closely before heading back to my position in the company. So many things!

So, I do understand where you are coming from and it's rough at first but as I said, turning that anxiety into action helped me a whole lot!
This board has helped too. I may not post as much as others but it does feel like a community here and I feel welcome. As someone also mentioned, having a partner who understands PO as well as what is going on in the world is an asset! I have that, it took a while but my wife knows there are hard times on the way.

Overall, I believe where I live is key...Eugene, Oregon. Many folks are progressive people here. Organic farming is part of the culture of this area as well. You can cycle anywhere, housing is still affordable.

Sorry about this being so much about us...but we were where you are today....!

Good luck!

catbox

[SeasonOfPain]

Good replies all around.

If I were to offer a single piece of advice, it would be "stay flexible."

There is no surety whatsoever how this is going to shake out. If you keep looking for "The Sign" you're going to drive yourself nuts. I can't count the number of times I thought "this is it, now the excrement will hit the turbine," and found that the system stretched even further.

There's absolutely no doubt in my mind that a massive economic depression is coming (which may make the actual problem of oil supply a moot point). It will not get better; it will get steadily worse.

To survive through this, you need to be quick on your feet, and not indebted, either monetarily or emotionally to a specific outcome.

Try to get yourself in a situation where you could roll with either a sudden catastrophe (note that there will be lots of local catastrophes as the infrastructure falls apart... think of New Orleans) or a slow spiral of economic hardship (a more classic Great Depression scenario).

It's also okay to occasionally stop and enjoy this lifestyle before it's gone. Stop and recharge. This is best done with a feeling of detachment, of enjoying the moment, rather than becoming attached to what's around you (and trying to preserve it). The less attachment you have to things that cannot last, the less overwhelmed you will be.

[rexxz]

Oh, thank you all for the advice and warm words. I'll take each thing said into consideration! HOwever, what seems to be tourbling me more than anything else about this, is exactly how long it will take for me to even be able to do anything about it. In a month or so, I will be moving to Houston. There I will look for a job. I had originally planned to go to school for audio engineering, now I am thinking it won't be that great of an idea. It's a shame too because that is what I do, it's my life.

I talked to my girlfriend briefly today and she says that her father owns some land in Illinois, and that he has lived on farms his whole life. I am thinking of possibly moving up there, and seeing what we can do. I have absolutely zero idea on how to run an agricultural lifestyle, really. I need to learn as much as I can about doing things like growing my own food, having some live stock, and such.

Also on the subject of buying a house... I have no money! As pathetic as it sounds, I am absolutely clueless on how I would go about even purchasing one, I'm not very practical when it comes to money; I don't know much about it. I know how to spend it, and conserve it but that's about it.

I have hope for good things, and I am constantly thinking on ways to make our future better. But my main issue is; Will I be able to?

[Wednesday]

I was born and raised in Houston. I do not believe that the Houston I know will survive the effects of Peak Oil.

I'd find a safer place to live. Marry your sweetheart and live a simple and happy life in a safer place. I've been slowly convincing my family to move back to central Texas where our mother was raised.

[rexxz]

Ah yeah, the move there will be temporary. I am only going there because she has a stable job there, and I WAS going to go to college there. But now, looks like that ain't happenin'. I desperately need to find somewhere else to relocate.

[catbox]

Maybe these can be of help in the connection dept. up in Houston?
I am not sure that you will find anything, but maybe some networking
could take place for you.

http://www.relocalize.net/
http://houstonpeakoil.org/

As a music nut and novice recording engineer, I was thinking about doing the audio thing back in the day and decided to get into an early childhood education program. My friend went for the horticulture degree and uses it... and will use it in the future for sure, now I wish I would have done the same.

catbox

[clueless]

rexxz -

Figuring out what to do and how to do it in the new paradigm (which is really not new at all), we are facing is much more simple than you think...

It is really quite easy...Just look at the rest of our twisted society and do exactly the opposite they are doing...

The Masses are:

Borrowing

Spending

Consuming

Assuming the future will hold more

If you avoid thinking like the above mentioned people you will avoid the misery they will heap on themselves.

I would suggest studying how our previous generations lived , turn off the TV (which is nothing more than a giant infomercial) and study history. Even watch Little House on the Prarie, or rent some educational videos from Netflix (PBS has some good ones on "Lewis and Clarke" the Civil War etc.....

There is not a whole lot we can do, but to try to make the right decisions.

P.O. will grow on you once you accept it...It's really not that bad.

[Pops]

Steady Boy!


I agree with clueless, stay out of the way of the train.

And someone else said:
Things will happen pains-takingly slow and many pple wont even realize PO is upon them, they wont know why they cant get to work anymore cause they cant fill up their car.

This is going to be an economic problem at least in the medium term so don’t expect Mad Max or Conan the Barbarian to come down the street for a while.

The folks that have to worry right now IMHO are the ones so invested (literally and figuratively) in the current economy that it is hard to get out of the way. You don’t have 30 years invested in a job that may evaporate, a mortgage that should have been paid off but now refied so many times that the slightest glitch or rate increase will put you in the street and an addiction to credit cards that might be your end.

You DO have the knowledge that in your life the petroleum based economy will probably pass and you can make decisions with that in mind. Right now that means get a small car or bike, get a job close to your girlfriends house, and if at all possible continue your education in a viable direction.

Can’t really steer you to a long term job but I will say it has been mentioned several times by oil company insiders that the workforce there has gotten pretty old with young smart people leaving during the oil glut of the last 20 years.

[rexxz]

Ah, thank you so much for your reassurance! Well, I see what you mean now, but I just want to know if there is anything I should actually be "doing" instead of just thinking about it. I mean when I get to Houston, I will find a low paying job... hell I don't even know what sort of education I should get now, because my former plan seems to not be so great now.

It seems like a lot of smart people are trying to get land and start up a small garden close to a town. Seems like that's something I'd enjoy doing. But how would I even begin to put that plan into motion, given my current financial status?

[clueless]

Hi rexxz,

I try not to sound condescending, but you are just going through what all of us went through when the veil was lifted. Take some time, try to relax a bit...This, most likely, is a "Long Emergency" (which is a good book by JH Kunstler).

We, most likely, will hit a plateau where oil prices will spike up and down and will paralyze the economy. Iran closing the straits of Hormuz or some other event has always been a possibility and not one we can prepare for outside of the obvious..learn to have a few weeks supply of food, some water and get out of the habbit of going to the grocery store every other day.

Just stay out of debt, save some money, and don't be afraid NOT to get in debt up to your eyeballs in order to put two or three letters on your resume. I am in the employment side of the high tech business and the ROI (return on investment) on degrees has never been lower. How about learning something like a trade ? Learn how to install solar panels , or solar water heaters etc...There are alot of things you can even teach yourself.

Once you work through things you will see "living off the grid" is not really a practical or viable option. Many civilations have collapsed..The US will incur more pain, but will collapse first, giving us more time to rebuild. so it could be a blessing for those who have lived wisely...

[Aimrehtopyh]

The return on investment for degrees is about to get worse. There was some talk on the news about hiking the crap out of student loan interest rates. They were speculating that they could go over six percent.

This is supposed to take place in early july.

http://www.wsbtv.com/money/9442557/detail.html

[clueless]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Aimrehtopyh', 'T')he return on investment for degrees is about to get worse. There was some talk on the news about hiking the crap out of student loan interest rates. They were speculating that they could go over six percent.

[Aimrehtopyh]

I mean the return on investment for students. i.e. Incurring debt to get your degree is less lucrative than ever.

Of course those who lend money to students stand to profit nicely.

[Doly]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Aimrehtopyh', 'I') mean the return on investment for students. i.e. Incurring debt to get your degree is less lucrative than ever.

[Waterthrush]

Re: staying flexible - that is the key right now. You have some real assets: 1) a girlfriend who is on your wavelength; 2) no debt; 3) the possibility of some land in Illinois; and 4) awareness.

If I were you .... I'd move to Houston and enroll as you originally planned and, if you are sure about your girlfriend, marry sooner rather than later to start enjoying the benefits of marriage. If you are looking for any kind of low-paying job, take one in horticultural work or assisting some home repair guy.

Make some deal with the father in law about the land in Illinois, not financial, but some sort of agreement that you will shape it during the summers in some way. How depends on whether there is any housing on it. If there is housing, you will work to repair and clean it for possible use as a retreat. If it is already partly agricultural, you will see if there is some kind of low-maintenance crop that could be sown on the agricultural part (nuts?). If it is "wild" right now, certainly leave it that way, but research easement agreements or maybe research agreements (e.g. the American Chestnut Foundation is slowly developing chestnut research plots). If you are learning this kind of stuff right now, just do it in exchange for getting to play around there, but once you are making a real contribution, you would probably want to draw up something more official with him that recognizes your sweat equity.

OK, I know it's easier to give advice to others than oneself. But it appears to me that you have more assets than many and should not despair.

[Ancien_Opus]

Not exactly career advice but you may want to pick up home beer brewing as a hobby.

After peak this skill could make you some spending money as well as the most popular guy on the block.