Back to school

I have been trying to figure out how this blog will evolve. School is about to start again and it promises to be rigorous. I started this blog precisely half way through last semester, with a full head of steam. The paradigm shift I was going through was intense. I was compelled to research, write, ponder and research some more, right in the middle of clinicals and exams; I could not help it.

Of late though, I am feeling that I have less to say. I do not feel that we are in for any less of a rough ride, it is just that it does not seems like such a bad thing anymore. Mentally at least, I am prepared for a variety of lifestyle change scenarios from mild to catastrophic. I have put aside a year's worth of food and 90 day's worth of water (less if I choose to share). In addition, I have been collecting implements and tools that would come in handy in a world without oil and only sporadic electricity. We will be heading back to basics to some degree and, as any musician or martial artist will tell you, getting back to basics is always good.

I think these things have helped me relax a little bit. I have noticed an interesting phenomenon – many of us peak oilers are slowing down; the intensity of the blogging has diminished. Even Jeremy over at fantastic planet was feeling a bit burnt out as of August 2. Perhaps we are all coming to similar conclusions.

Concurrently, witnessing the breathtaking incompetence of the current administrations efforts at, well, everything, has lead me to an interesting inner place. In a sad but reifying way, I have lost all faith. I trust no one in government at any level to watch out for me. In fact, there is no one watching over any of us. You are charged now with watching over yourselves and the small community around you that you really trust. It may just be you; it may include one or two others; it may include a small section of your neighborhood. This may be the most essential ingredient in the recipe for survival; not just survival in a post-petroleum Mad Max world, but survival in the here and now. If you can rely on yourself, you've got it made, if you can rely on just a few others, you have more than kings.

My blogging may be less frequent in the months ahead or I may get a second wind and keep it up. I do recall telling someone that blogging was an excellent creative outlet, sorely lacking in my nursing school studies. We will see.