What Did You Do To Prepare This Week?

Yeah, I failed in that I am doing this regularly weekly post on Thursday which is just about end of the next week. I might skip doing it in 4 days and get back on track. This week I started doing some afternoon workouts in addition to the usual M-F PT in the morning. I got 2 afternoon workouts in this week  (since monday) and am going to shoot for 3 next week.

Last week was a deload (a very light week to rest or get back into training) and this week I got back into it for reals. On the downside I had to decrease the weights I am working with more than would be ideal. Really what happened I was pretty strong since I was sticking with a solid program and just lifting like a beast so I adjusted my maxes upward towards the end of the deployment. Shortly therafter training wasn't consistent for a couple months or so and then I got really sick and didn't touch weights for about a month and a half. Anyway I am where I am today. Next month I will be a little bit stronger and in 6 months I will be stronger still. I am incorporating power cleans into my routine for the first time in more than a year. I hate them but darn it they work.

We got Wifey a free bike. It is missing a pedal and has 2 flat tires. I got some pedals for $7 and will figure out the tires this weekend. Last week we saw a bunch of Germans with kiddo seats on bikes and thought it was pretty cool. Wifey got onto the used boards and found one for $30. I will put it onto my eco friendly 2 wheeled transport.

I sort of stumbled into some really good stuff today. A set of multicam wet weather gear, a softshell jacket and a winter "michaline man suit" as well as some boots and random multicam stuff. I don't know if the boots are quite the right size for me. However worst case they will be held onto just in case or given to friends. I was seriously blessed by getting this great gear.

We talked about plate carriers earlier this week. I am pretty sure that a Condor plate carrier and some plates will be ordered this weekend. I have the case but just have to sit down and do the registering for the site and that ordering hassle.

Anyway unless I forgot some stuff that is what I did to prepare this week.

What Did You Do To Prepare This Week?

Some weeks you end up buying a bunch of stuff and this was sure one of them. Prices seemed right so we bought silver and gold. I got a bunch of stuff to finish off the get home bag which I am pretty psyched about. I ordered a Nalgene bottle  with matching steel cup, another knife sharpener, some more water purification tablets, one of those heavy duty emergency blankets, too much stuff to remember or list. I will probably talk about it at some point once things arrive.

Also  we seem to be fiddling some with alternative transportation. I got a bike, though sadly not a sweet Harley. Also I found a small wagon, like to pull the kid around in. It is pretty cool. It has little seats and a place for him to put a sippy cup. We took it out this weekend and he really liked it. Being able to move him and a bit of stuff in a way that he is happy with is significant. Also the wagon led to a slew of Oregon Trails jokes which was big fun. These little steps may just take us somewhere.

Anyway that is what we were up to this week. I hope you all did some good stuff. Remember it isn't just about buying things. Exercise, learn and practice new skills, network and build relationships, work on your tribe. Just do something that makes you more prepared than you were last week.

I Can Haz Bicycle

We had a pretty good day today. The weather was nice and we got out and did some stuff. A very nice family day. I ended up getting a bike for about a hundred bucks. It is a pretty basic generic 7 speed. It is probably closer to a cruiser than a mountain bike in that it has a comfortable seat and moderately treaded tires but without that whole annoying psuedo vintage hipster vibe.
My plans for it are as alternate transportation. Since my old car got scrapped we have 1 vehicle here and I haven't been doing a great job of sharing during the work week. Walking is fine but it takes time which is pretty valuable. A bike will let me buy back some time and is also kind of fun in nice weather. I did a test ride and can conservatively get to work in about 1/4 of the time the walk takes.

The bike is pretty low speed/ high drag. We try not to spend a bunch of money on stuff we aren't sure is going to get used and the cost was just right. Worst case we are out $100 bucks. The goal is to have a bike for me to use not to get the best bike ever. I have no delusions about it being TEOTWAWKI or Tour De France ready so that is OK. You can always put more money into stuff later.

So Elmo's Riding! Yes, I have a toddler so we watch the same kid cartoons over and over again and they gets stuck in my head. Also lets be honest that Elmo is actually pretty awesome.

Anyway I got a bike today. I may do some shopping for a rack or basket down the road.

Blah, Life and Sickness

Well I have pneumonia. It wasn't a huge suprise as I have had a wickedly nasty cough for almost 3 weeks. It has been sort of a weird thing because aside from a wicked cough (with the caviate that I have done next to nothing physically straining since being sick) and being kind of physically and mentally tired all the time but overall I pretty decent. Turns out it is kind of an odd strain so it was hard to diagnose but eventually they figured it out. So now I am on some drugs to treat it and they seem to be working.

When I had double pneumonia back in Fall 2010 our medical folks were moderately concerned I was going to die. I was the sickest I have been in my entire life. I was barely coherant and weak as could be. Maybe I am somehow weak in the lungs or something. Who knows. Anyway.

As to the recent video and talk about 1911's and the comment on snubbies that seems to have gotten folks all bent out of shape. I have a post basically written in my head that will explain my opinions on a lot of background and conceptual stuff but just don't feel like writing it today. I am mentally just too tired to bother. My desire to argue is minimal and my desire to argue with people who aren't talking about actual facts or data is nonexistent.

I am coming to wonder if guns are a topic that cannot be talked about rationally. If I even mention that a gun is anything less than absolutely perfect folks get seriously bent out of shape. It sort of makes sense why gun rags write that every gun is just completely awesome. Then again it sort of makes sense that I think their reviews and articles are complete shite and I haven't bought a gun rag in years.

I may have called a good time to buy a couple days back but last night I finally bought PM's. Silver was at about $28.09 and Gold at about $1570. They had been slipping back up and it seemed like a good time. Who knows anyway. Tomorrow I am probably going to go bike shopping. Not sure I will get anything but I do want to see what is available here in the $300-400 price range.

For awhile I was listening to the news online at work. I listened to some Dave Ramsey too but I think I am good for that once a week or month at the most. I love his stuff but it is aweful repetetive. Over the last couple days I have stopped that and started listening to rock music instead. I read or at least skim the drudge every day and if I have time check out the BBC but music lets me drone out and be productive which is a good thing. Also the news has been making me mad lately and music gets me going so the decision is easy.

Anyway I hope you all have a good day and maybe I will put together something more on point tomorrow.

Later,

Stop Backing Yourself Into a Corner

One of the wonderful things about America is that it is a very free country. Maybe not quite as free as it was at some other point but people living in the good ole USA have more rights, protections and freedom to do what they please than in just about every other country in the world.

So often people back themselves into a corner in terms of lifestyle and the resulting debt/ expenses. They have to live in this kind of house, drive this type of vehicle (or even a vehicle at all), charge stuff they can't afford and whatever. The result is that they are in an uncomfortable situation. These folks often turn around and blame everybody but themselves for their circumstances. It is a big picture version of eating a big mac and extra jumbo fries with a large milkshake for lunch every day and blaming other people for why you are fat.

If you don't like the amount of money you can make then get a degree or some certification or skill to become more valuable to an employer or customer. It is a lot more productive than whining. If you do not want a mortgage then find some kind of alternate housing you can afford to pay cash for. Maybe get a little piece of land paid for free and clear. Hate the idea of an HOA then don't buy a house in one. If zoning restrictions in your current location prevent this kind of action and you really still want to do it then MOVE to somewhere you can do what you want. If you want to home school your kids then move to a home school friendly area. Don't like the tax laws in your state? Move to a different one. Don't like your city/ states gun laws? Vote with your feet. If you want to be able to shoot an AK-47 from the front porch naked at 3 in the morning then start in a state that is cool with the AK-47 and then find a place with no nearby neighbors. If you don't want to deal with car insurance, registration and such then don't have a car. Live within biking/ walking range or public transport routes to the places you need to go. Maybe arrange to go to Costco with a cool neighbor who has a big van every month or two. If you don't want a credit card then don't have one. Don't like debt; too easy simply do not borrow money from anybody. If you hate paying taxes then make conscious (legal of course) choices to limit your tax liability.  This is checkers, not chess. Simply make choices to not be involved in things you don't want to be involved with and to be in the situation you want to be in. 

Of course because this is simple doesn't mean it is easy. Just like dieting or household budgets knowing what you should do and easy implimentation are very different things. Every decision has second and third order effects. You might like some parts of an area (family, work, recreation, etc) and hate the restrictive laws. Not having a vehicle sucks but you don't need insurance or vehicle inspections. Living in a nice house is more spacious and comfortable than a travel trailer or a shack/ tent. Generally places where you can buy a piece of land for the price of a decent pistol and do whatever you want on it kind of suck. They are far from jobs, may not have water or are otherwise undesirable. Hence the name junk land.

The thing is that you have to make a choice as to what is more important. Often nice places to live where there are plenty of good jobs and fun things to do have expensive housing costs. So either move to a place where you can afford to live comfortably or stay where you are and gripe about the rent/ mortgage/ taxes.

The old saying about construction comes to mind; a job can be done fast, cheap and right but you only get to pick two of them. Inevitably there are difficult choices and compromises to be made on all fronts (housing, location, work, vehicles, debt, tax and gun laws, zoning, etc).

The important word in that last paragraph is CHOICES. I'm not telling you that you must do anything (though it would be nice if you clicked on one of our ads and suggested the blog to a friend;) but am telling you that you can choose. The real interesting part is that this stuff can snowball big time. If you don't need to make a big rent/ mortgage payment then maybe you can quit that horrible job. You could then try a business idea that has been in your head for awhile. If you don't need to impress people at that fancy job then maybe an older paid off vehicle (or no vehicle at all) will work just fine. With all that time you aren't at work all kinds of things could be done.

Take some responsibility and ownership over your life. Figure out what is really important to you. Think outside the box and focus on what is important to you and your family, not the Johnson's, or anybody else. Make the inevitable hard choices and create the kind of life that you really want to have.