[I_Like_Plants]

Sales are WAY down. I'm bouncing checks all over the place. It turns out my best year was 2005, 2006 was considerably worse, and as for 2007 .... well, this is the year it all falls down for me.

I'm liquidating all my "stuff" except for what will fit in a large suitcase and will be moving in about 6 weeks. Surviving will be interesting, I have to assume my bank account can be siezed, and my credit will be crap.

I'll probably do street musician'ing, face-drawing, odd jobs, and anything else that works. Yes this will be back in hawaii, my older sis is there and it's not quite the "fuck you" society the mainland US is.

It will be an interesting change to say the least. My carbon footprint will go way down, as I won't have a car, and like local foods.

Up until the end I'll be able to post here regularly, after I leave it will be sporadic at best.

[jboogy]

This news sucks big time plants,What you need to do now is switch to" it's probably all for the best "mode.I bet in a year or two from now you'll look back and say that making the switch was the best thing that coulda happened.Things that initially look bad have a way of turning out to be better in the long run. I learned this thru personal experience .hey ,your moving to hawaii fer chrissakes, I know it's not like moving to camden or hackensack N.J. but it's not that bad.You actually will probably be able to weather the coming apocolypse better there!I suspect CA. will not be treated kindly by what's coming.What doesn't kill you will only make you stronger,right?While I know your going to be busy in the coming months please try to maintain contact with us.If things really do start to get ugly in this country I'm starting to seriousely think that tight-knit groups of like-minded people who can somehow band together in a good location will not only survive but perhaps even prosper.Believe it or not but these "rednecks" down here have turned out to be some of the best people I've ever met.Just today I got another flat and the guys at the garage charged me zilch to put in a new valvestem,and they even balanced it and mounted it.And this is typical of the people I've met here!Georgia has opened my eyes about "rednecks".course I'm white so your milage may vary if your a little darker.who knows?

[Prince]

Plants, out of curiosity, what kind of work are/were you involved with? Real estate?

[I_Like_Plants]

Boogy, thanks, very nice post.

I'm part Indian or something, a lil' brown but not too much for Georgia really. And yeah, them "rednecks" out there in the hinterlands can be awfully nice people, anywhere where social networking is alive you'll find nice people.

I could move to Youngstown OH or Colorado Springs CO or Santa Cruz CA or just try to make it here, stick the "stuff" in a storage locker and use a bike to get around, find a place to sleep .....

But none of those places or situations are any cheaper than Hawaii and can be fairly much more expensive.

I have the advantage of family, familiarity, etc in Hawaii. Kinda like being from New Orleans or from any area that's kinda depressed and not all that American, but you know the ropes. I know the ropes there. And have family and friends there, sad to say there's not a lot in the way of real friends on the mainland US in areas I'm familiar with.

I think I WILL be glad I did this, I am so sick of ebay and hustling all the time to make immense amounts of money for the credit card companies. I could do this shit for 20 years and have nothing to show for it. Wheras, being a street artist in Hawaii for 20 years gets you established, a following, social capital.

[I_Like_Plants]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Prince', 'P')lants, out of curiosity, what kind of work are/were you involved with? Real estate?

[snowshoegal]

I've sensed your anger and frustration in your posts. Tis no way to live. Sometimes letting go is the way to happiness. (Been there myself after a high-stress, corporate stint. No regrets.) You can always check in with us from the library, most have free internet access computers.

Good luck to you, Planty. I hope you find contentment and creativity.

[Aaron]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'H')igh-tech is not a good field to be in right now.

[PrairieMule]

I'm selling my house next month and will rent a much smaller town house. By the end of this summer I'll be debt free and no longer chained to a mortgage.

[Eli]

Godspeed plants.

This is going to be the best move that you could make. It sounds like where you are at now you have now support network. I lived like that for awhile myself and it was awful.

Well, Ebay in particular has gotten bad. I think the level of scammers just got too high. I have been burned a couple of times on there. They tried to set up rules to protect people but the scammers would just use them to screw people over.

[frankthetank]

Good luck.

I've always liked your posts.

[I_Like_Plants]

And Ebay keeps changing things, and raising the fees. They've also been trying to really downplay the auction aspect, driving people into using Stores - the only problem being, you need to have about 800-1000 items in your Store and I don't think you save any money over the old auction format. Auctions are what differentiated Ebay from any other internet mall, and they're taking away that distinction.

[eastbay]

I suspect you'll end up just fine and remember this episode as one of the unfortunate speed-bumps we all experience from time to time.

Just being here puts you ahead of most.

[Madpaddy]

Plants,

May the road rise up to meet you, may the wind be ever at your back. May the sun shine warm upon your face and the rain fall softly on your fields. And may all your future ups and downs be in bed.

May you have the hindsight to know where you've been, The foresight to know where you are going, And the insight to know when you have gone too far.

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'H')ealth and long life to you
Land without rent to you
The woman of your choice to you
A child every year to you
A long life, and may you die in Ireland!

[Roccland]

Plant

PM me at

roccman2003@yahoo.com.

R.

[smallpoxgirl]

Sorry to hear that plants.

[I_Like_Plants]

The problem is, I don't know ANYONE on the mainland US who'd give me a cheap place to stay. This is truly the "fuck you, I've got mine" culture. A few would rent me a room, but for 3X what one costs in hawaii. No real place of refuge here and I want to avoid becoming homeless if I can.

[smallpoxgirl]

Strikes me that you live in one of the worst places on earth for cheap housing. There are places in North Dakota where you can get a house and a couple of acres of land for $10000. My rent is $375 a month.

[I_Like_Plants]

Smallpoxgirl how do you make a living out where you are, wherever that is?

I should be able to get a room to rent for $300 a month, maybe a bit less, maybe a bit more, and I should be able to make that much money doing various things, have to assume my bank account will be siezed and of course my credit will be awful, but at least I should not end up homeless.

[smallpoxgirl]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('I_Like_Plants', 'S')mallpoxgirl how do you make a living out where you are, wherever that is?

[seahorse2]

Empty out your bank accounts now! "Don't leave nothin for the dinks" Platoon