On the job

I know I threw the glued to the news post into the everyday dangers, but I thought it fit as a general disaster that could happen everyday.

This next everyday danger, your job. Now I cant cover every profession, I wont even go far into my own lowly demeaning job, but there is something all jobs deal with, people. Now your Office, your restaurant, store, construction site, farm, etc. Every single job deals with more than one person. People can panic in any crisis or disaster making it worse. These people in japan, them not panicking, not looting, not killing each other, that is part of their core values. other countries aren't like that, I know america isn't. If or when something happens, we arm up and wait for someone to break in or are the person breaking in. This everyday danger is about people, your neighbors, people down the street, your co-workers. Do you know where their loyalties lie? How much have you told them about yourselves, have they been in your house, do they know if you prep, own a gun, have valuables?

I know its wrong to think so ill of other people around me, that was just my upbringing, I have always seen the worst in people. I see what wrong they can do, and my thinking has rarely been wrong, and there are so many sayings from it. Perhaps you will say that its my lack of Christian character, I wasn't a church going child, nor am I as an adult, I do, do on to others how I would want others to do on to me, normally it just brings them to stab me when the area is open.

No good deed goes unpunished.

I am Cynical, uptight and slightly hostel toward others, but like so many others, I was made this way, by living in this time, in this country. I bare no ill will to anyone, and I can be your best most forgiving friend, however for my troubles, please do not just shit on me later.

QOTD
How many times can you be open and trusting, and be dealt a blow before you stop trusting the world?

Poor Man is Poor

You better believe I am the poor man. Prepping for me consists of food, mostly what I get from a local food bank, the government says I make too much money at my job currently for food stamps, but I was receiving them, and at my job even in a manager position, I make minimum wage, federal minimum wage, seven dollars and twenty-five cents an hour. I work about 36 hours a week, kept from ever getting overtime, and do odd jobs for my bosses, and where ever I can find, including attempting to scrape money out of this blog and other writing ventures.

Perhaps saying I am poor is wrong, I pay all my bills on time, I am not behind on bills, I have a few credit cards between me and my wife, but we eat every night, have food on backlog, and I keep a roof over our head.

I get my food from a place called Christian ministries, do not know if they have them anywhere, being Christian isn't required. In our town, it is near the soup kitchen, I have not been in there. Perhaps it is wrong of me to obtain food from places like this, we consider I do have a job, I live paycheck to paycheck yes, but I also afford myself a few luxuries, like television, cellphones, internet. I will not and do not pay subscription internet games. 

I have many expenses at my house, laundry is one of the big oppressors considering  I do not have a washer and drier, I recall days long past with my mother going to a laundromat when the washer had broken and it being 50 cents or so to wash clothes, not with todays inflation.

The food I get, I keep, powered milk, canned soups, frozen meats, breads, not all are long lasting, but we use it.  

Speaking of the roof over our heads, I live in an apartment, not the first choice of course, I would love living out of this small city, out in the country, I miss my childhood home but I would not move there again because of how close it is to a nuclear power plant, and even closer to a steam power plant.

My apartment is full brick housing, small, one story, the entire complex is one story, and it is on high ground. I would take this apartment over any trailer double or single wide any day, beyond that the double-wide I was living in before was at the bottom of a hill and flooded out constantly. 

What I think I am trying to say is that even as someone on minimum wage, living paycheck to paycheck, if you swallow your pride, much like I had to, and ask for help from places like Christian ministries, or food stamps, you can be a prepper too, and if you get food stamps and use them wisely, they can stretch a long way. Buying pre-made food is quick and costly, buying supplies takes long to fix meals but is always cheaper, also another helpful hint, you can buy seeds, so vegetables, herbs, fruit, anything you can grow small, even in an apartment is more useful than not having any food.

QOTD: do you live paycheck to paycheck?

Returnith

I really do not feel as if I have missed much, so that means my good people, you have not missed much from my own comments.

It snowed on Christmas, the first white Christmas in North Carolina since 1947, and honestly first white Christmas for many states and cities for a good many years, I hear for Atlanta this is a first in 128 years. With all this snow I far too realize that people in North Carolina do not know how to drive in any condition, I worked all day today out driving, and the roads were quite clear, you see the snow was a fine powered snow, it sticks to the ground and did also to the roads, but it did nothing to make them slick, that is ice. We have not seen ice yet this year and maybe tonight the melted snow will bring ice, but I doubt it.  It baphles me that someone seemingly prepared for the weather driving a hummer or a large SUV would be driving slow to the point it annoys me, knowing they can handle the road at a higher speed when I am only in a front wheel drive sports car.

enough about the weather, I have enjoyed my holiday, I didn't really see much in the way of presents, thats fine,  I was given money, money is always good, it can be put forth useful things. I enjoyed giving presents to my new inlaws and watching them play.

During my break I believe some may have noticed my presence on twitter, I have an auto post for my blog, however I can access it from my phone, so I put a twitter feed on the blog to display. follow and comment and such, here there and everywhere, also take some time and rewatch the walking dead, I did.

QOTD What prepper stock should I get with the money?

to Survive

What would you be willing to do?

Now I am not referring to the end of the world, Perhaps just the end of your world. You find yourself homeless your family dead, what do you do now? Do you live on the streets clam-mering on clinging to what you may still own squandered away from what is left of your own life? Will you sell those last possessions to get a bit further a grain of food in your stomach? What job would you be willing to do, what would be beyond what your pride would allow?

I know in my own mind, my capabilities I can and would do anything to promote my wellbeing, and in my slight heartless nature no longer having anyone would lead me to the point of no worries in my own actions. If you have no one to look down on you that you know, there is nothing to low for you to stoop to. This is probably too drastic for someone who living comfortably to think about, you have a home, internet service Television most likely, a family pet you pay to take care of, children, these are all luxuries that most do not find as such. Television seems to be thought as a god given right anymore, and I find it to be the least necessary thing I pay for, it only adds to the time I waste spending it retaining information that has no suiting to my everyday lifestyle.

would you turn a trick as my mother says to obtain money? meaning towards prostitution, be a servant of some other sort, clean what others will not. anymore these are not even jobs that lower class people seem to be able to obtain, they go to foreigns that are now in the country, yet thought to be good job in england, working for noble being given room and food for service, but that is an era far past.
Now what most people stoop to is food service jobs, fast food, Mc Donald's is a low job for most, Walmart mostly unthinkable, just yet, obtainable if you look and ask.
so why I ask are there so many homeless? because if you do not try before the world falls out from under you, if you do not lie just slightly while you are already damned. If you say you do not have a home, no job will hire you anywhere. so what would you do to obtain a home? or would you lie.

The Walking dead has ended

It was a good show, and I know this is a bit late even more so doing a daily blog, but I get to things in my own time, probably even writing important things. (jk) they don't mind killing off people I see, I never read the comic, probably still will not. I have enjoyed the first season and will plan to watch the next.
 I am glad its on basic cable for me to cheaply watch.
They have a well established camp even as they move around now, I was yelling quite a lot at people at the end of the show for them to get moving, the dramatic pauses while they had to stop and watch the explosions of the building were a bit of wasted time to me, all I could think of was that the noise would attract the walkers.
Watching such a situation makes my mind put me in it, and I don't know with the way I am I would ever be in those exact situations because of how avoidant I am from people or how cautious I am when I am around them. I would probably keep myself held up in a nice small quiet place with plenty of stuff for me and my family away from any people alive or dead. it bothers me still how much they do not work more towards getting away from people.

so QOTD in Zombie Apocalypse mode what would you do? ideally most likely? pessimistically... well I think dead is pessimistic.

also I have been vastly thinking of redoing the schedule of my posts, give myself a day off from it, IE Sunday, Saturday be the big news day post. then we will see about the rest of the week as of now, perhaps take one day from the blog for a video.

Also, comment, in a video rate, give me feed back of some kind okay?

horders or preppers

Whats the difference? I would like to think organisation and the lack of a tv show. From what I have seen on the Tv show, I am not a frequent watcher of the show, the people on the show are older, and sit at home normally never leaving the house at all, and have bought too much stuff out of mail order or shopping from tv, obtaining stuff spending money I wish I had for things they don't need, nor possibly even know the use for.  if you buy a bunch of cooking things on QVC leave them in boxes, never leave the house, are filling up your home removing even a walking pathway because of stuff you are a horder, if you have animals in your home and have too much stuff in there to clean up after them, you are a horder, and normally by that tv show, their houses are being condemned from the health department stated as being unfit to live in.
 preppers do probably buy too much stuff, and possibly from QVC however, from what I can tell, at least online the ones who advertise they are preppers do so with order, if you have 20 5 gallon buckets of food, you kinda want to know which bucket has what in it, so labels are your friend, I can't imagine it would be a good day if the health department did get a call on you and they enter your house to find a wall of buckets, or other food storage, and they think you are a horder of buckets. remember to make yourself able to walk through your home.
 honestly the worse thing I see in all of these is having animals in your house, this I am not a fan of, animals have adapted to live outside, if they aren't they are a useless animal to me. so your designer dog might be nice, but has no place with me, sorry wifey, your shih-tzu stays with your parents.


QOTD What are the TV shows you watch, do they relate to your ideas of prepping or survival?

Car Carry

This post is brought on by a question from me to a customer at my day job, me stating, your not really dressed for the weather are you? her answer " Yeah, I don't like wearing a jacket in the car." and she was wearing a light jacket for early spring maybe, and its suppose to be 19 degrees F tonight. I have a thermal suit I brought inside work with me tonight, I've had it in my car since it got cold, with her answer all I could think of was what if her car broke down. her other answer was that she had left her car running so it would be warm still, what if she locked her keys in her car? I know its a lot of 'what ifs' but thats the idea behind preppers, to prepare for any situation that could happen no matter how unlikely.

 I have locked me keys in my car so often that I carry a spare car key in my wallet, and I have a spare to my wifes car, in the first 3 days she locked her keys in her new car and tore up a lot of the rubber seal getting back inside. I knew how to break in my car, and did it a few times, but it wont work for me now, but I have that key, and I locked my keys in my car on my honey moon even, wasn't a problem I had the spare.  thats just one situation.

Where I work we deliver food, I don't always deliver but I have before and keep a lot of things in my car, food, water, first aid kit, roadside kit, normal car stuff for me, I even have a jumper box in the back of my car, its been the best 100 dollars I ever spent, with it having a tire pump, av inverter, and car jumper, it is one all around handy tool. its one of those things I have everyday in my car that I don't think about, like the camp shovel, I left it in my car, do not know why I would ever need it, but I do not know thats why its there.

QOTD whats something that you think is odd, that you carry in your car?

also please dress warm in the winter do not rely on your cars heater.

OK I am Back, married honeymooned and rested? hardly

Ok For the news, 4 stories, quite interesting to me, two of them about wikileaks, I cant say I have read much on this website, but I have watched some of the videos, and they are interesting to say the least. It's a website that is letting out secrets of the US government, however I think, if they were so important secrets we still wouldn't know them, I would still like to know who shot jfk, was 9/11 an inside job, something of that nature. There are long past secrets of the government that could change the views of the world on our own government. but right now, they are just releasing batches of documents the common public is hearing the names of the batches of documents, not what they contain or their importance only that they could damaging to to the government, or cost people jobs, and that last statement is the only one hitting home for people, thats the eye catcher statement because everyone is already out of a job.
http://www.cnn.com/2010/US/12/04/wikileaks.pay.pal/index.html?hpt=T2

wikileaks looses its paypal account, they cant accept donations from them now, honestly it was coming since all american companies are backing away from them quickly.

http://www.cnn.com/2010/US/12/03/wikileaks.access.warning/index.html?hpt=T2

and this one is forbidding all federal employees to Not look at wikileaks, at work, at home, on your mobile phone. because you shouldn't know whats there. thats it in a nut shell, I wonder though, will they know? really? will you get fired if you do look?

Next story ! Land up for sale, nice secluded, out in perfect prepper country, one hitch it belonged to the uni-bomber
http://www.cnn.com/2010/US/12/04/montana.unabomber.property/index.html?hpt=T2

and a stranded boat off the coast of alaska.. ok I am jumping bail off this one for thinking it was interesting, but it was for a second. stranded crew, no one can get out to them yet. What would you do? QOTD
http://www.cnn.com/2010/US/12/04/alaska.stranded.freighter/index.html?hpt=T1

can I keep it up?

Its apparently as I am noticing quite a challenge to keep a blog going daily while still doing a day job, it does so get into the way.
heres a few questions to everyone, are you a casual camper, when you camp what is your idea of camping? in an RV, bringing a tent, constructing a shelter.
 I know if you want to prepare for a survival situation, you can just start camping normally and each time just leave out bringing one item of comfort. the first thing always to go for me would be the tent, and since my last shelter idea bombed.
 I wouldn't attempt making a group shelter, I would make a small personal one, and when you make one of those mainly in the winter, you want it as small and close to you as possible, because the more air that is in there with you the more cold air you have in there with you. trust me cold is bad.
 I've also had a few friends, war re-en-actors tell me that you should always change clothes before sleeping, stating that no matter what you try you will sweat and be wet while attempting to sleep, this does work I know, but in attempts to travel with as little as possible.. that is hard.
 Just bringing what I did with me, my bag was overly heavy and I felt tremendously loaded down. and I do not know what will be the next thing I decide to remove from my camping, always will take a first aid kit, I like my ground tarps, and I like taking tarps for water proofing. something in that will probably be gone. In the summer, when next I will camp, it will be just me and the hammock and I hope the people that were suppose to come then will come this time for sure.

QOTD- When ( season ) do you plan camping trips?

drop a few cents in

well I am still thinking back on my camping trip on the things I could have accomplished had I stayed out there video wise, and I keep telling myself I will do something that will make up the things I didn't complete like the product reviews, and I do want to at least do a proper review of that hammock, and I want to stand by the fact that you do not have to buy name brand things, or things you see as over priced, for me that hammock was an impulse buy. something I wanted, I like how compact it is and how easy it is for me to set up, but I saw a hammock a few weeks later at a major mall store for 20 bucks, thats a stark difference from the 70 I paid.

I am going to do a video review of the hammock AND show you how make a cheap tarp like the one I made out in the woods, and even make it better since I will be making it in the comfort of my mothers house.

One thing I dislike about the world anymore is the fact of how much this nation is a consumer nation, made in the USA is a joke, even if something is branded that, the materials aren't, its like thinking back through how food is made, well a loaf of bread, what made it, flour and water, yeast, where did you get that? did you make it or buy it, yes there is a Simplicity to buying it but its so much easier later on knowing how to make something when you don't have the ability to buy it.

even todays news story today I found, he had no knowledge of his own, relied on information obtained at the point of tragedy, he had an iphone, and a first aid app, rather funny, but it did save his life, now he is writing a book
http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/living/2010/11/27/nr.baldwin.woolley.cnn?hpt=C2

Now question of the day, lets start a new thing to get people commenting. What is one thing you can make without buying something, anything, to make it? it can be anything, food, a charm, neckless, weapon. and I'll make it easy, you can scavenge garbage. show me, don't just say you can make it, do it and post a picture.