Before the Apocalypse: Things to Do, Make and Know

Community

2010-09-15T16:20:00.000-07:00

Everyday I feel the ground swaying and quaking beneath me. Living in a town (different from the small city in my previous post from earlier this year) that has been struck by the economic downfall brings to light all the cracks in our system and it is apparent everywhere I look. Today I paid a visit to the local food bank. On a Wednesday morning the social scene at the food bank is better than that of Friday night at the hippest bar. While sitting and waiting for my number to be called I catch up with half of the former employees of a foreclosed restaurant that I worked at briefly last summer. We all talk about needing to find jobs as if it is a far off and distant dream and the lack of reality in it ends up grinds us down slowly. Someone says that they have an interview at two o'clock and we all wish him luck. This feels like community. I get my cans of vegetables, on-the-edge fruit and stale bread. I listen to someone's half-desperate plea for a ride home with her boxes of food, because her "friend" never showed to pick her up. We load up our food and I drop her off.

This is how I spend the beginning of my day. When I get home I start to think about the state of things and I even talk to my next-door-neighbor about the novel idea of never paying rent again. I say, "I always wonder what would happen if a whole city or town or neighborhood got together and decided not to pay rent anymore.." They respond, "Well, then the landlord would probably go into foreclosure and they'd come and kick us out".

I think, at least then the landlord wouldn't have to pay the mortgage anymore. And then I wonder, who is "they"?

And are there enough of them to take us all?

Maybe. But I'm not much of a conspiracy theorist.

I'm learning new things now and slowly tailoring it to fit my life and what I think I might need. It has been hard to keep up with the grandiose ideas of luxuries I'd like to have in a post-collapse scenario since I've given up trying to figure out exactly when it will happen and what it will be like. However, I still can't shake the idea that it might happen tomorrow or the next day. And sometimes I get to thinking that it might not even happen in my lifetime and that seems scarier to me.

For instance, I've been trying to integrate "family cloth" or cloth toilet paper into my every day life. It has been a hard sell for my husband. I have taken up sewing by hand and learning about raising chickens so that as soon as I have enough money to by the supplies I need, I can have my own supply of fresh eggs. I have also taken up archery.

But the ideas that I used to have about going to medical school or starting a business are all gone. It feels okay to let go of ideas like that and I don't think it involves failure of any kind. We have to be realistic about our world today.

What we need is community.

We desperately need each other to quiet the cries of our broken spirits and witness the outrage of our children as they inherit this corrupt system. We need friends to cook with and friends to help build houses for. We need to lend each other books and tools and knowledge.

Because without this we are lost in a world that no longer sees us as human.

Only two more years to 2012.

2009-12-28T13:40:00.000-08:00

So I've landed myself back in civilization after a valiant attempt at escape. I spent most of this year living in a tent, shed or cabin off the grid. I had no electricity or water in most situations and learned to make the best of candles and carboys. The occasional coin-operated shower became a welcomed luxury and I learned the truth about the myth that washing your hair too much causes your hair to be greasy - it isn't true. I rarely washed my hair and it was really, very greasy.

I also learned that going to the ocean makes me feel grounded and alive.

And that living in the middle of nowhere gives you no choice but to become friends with nature, because without acknowledging its presence, you will be very lonely.

Where there is no T.V., there are friends, board games and books.

I was beginning to feel human in a true sense.

Now that I'm living in a small city I am beginning to think about how I can make plans to get back to nowhere again. I'm thinking about buying land and how much that might cost me (not just money, but time and dedication to getting that money). Will our systems be in place long enough for me to buy and own land outright? I ask myself questions like this everyday.

I already decided that it would be best for me to pursue work in a trade or straight forward profession. I recently had a calling to midwifery and so I've spent a lot of time working in that direction. However, I've had some difficulties and I wouldn't exactly say that midwives are "flaky" as much as they are "busy". So I've decided that I will continue to pursue an education in midwifery at the same time that I pursue an education in medicine.

If I were to become a doctor, this would involve six more years of school.

That is a long time to bet on things in our world staying the same and sane.

But I've been asking another question a lot lately:

What else am I going to do?

So as I take on this monstrous goal and ease into "city" life, I am looking for other ways to connect with nature. This is where I come up with my new years resolutions:

- Quit sugar. It isn't as easy as it sounds, but I've come to realize that I, like many people, have a full blown white sugar addiction and that I should cut that shit out.

- Exercise. I want to pick a routine. Aikido, yoga, riding a bike, jogging, flamenco, belly dancing, kegels... I have yet to find out what works for me.

- Stop Stressing Out. It's true. Stress will probably kill me one day.

- Write More. Here, there, anywhere.

The Story (Part One)

2009-06-14T18:24:00.000-07:00

Once upon a time there was this girl who was a sort of social outcast. She was not wealthy by any means, but was not completely destitute either. She believed she saw things for what they were and to be quite frank, she did not like what she saw at all. Everyone around her was in complete denial that anything was ever wrong in the world, but the girl knew that everything had gone horribly wrong.

One day it dawned on her that she needed to tell people what she knew. She needed to let them know the truth.

"Our fish and our food are filled with dangerous poison!" she said to a passerby one day as she was on her way to the local printing press to have her truths told.

"Nonsense," said the passerby, "I eat fish everyday and I never get sick."

"But over time..." she yelled as they walked past, "over time the poisons build up and they come out as cancer or disease!" They kept walking and would hear no more from the girl.

When she arrived at the printing press she was greeted by a room of busy looking men arranging letters to be stamped on parchment.

"Do you have the front page story for the latest press?" said one printer to another.

"Indeed, the story about the wealthy heiress, P. Hilton, and her diamond-studded dog?" he replied.

"No, no, no. The one about Obama the King and how he is saving all of the poor children in the world by giving them presents. Do you have that one?" He yelled over the bustling of the other men in the room.

"Presents?" the girl chimed in. "He is giving presents to the children of the world? Is this a joke?"

"No, my girl, it is only the latest and the greatest of the world's news!" The printer said as he waved his fist triumphantly in the air around his head. "Who are you anyway?" He narrowed his eyes at her through his tiny spectacles.

"I'm nobody really, but I would like to have a story printed," she said as she pushed a stack of papers toward him.

"You wrote this?" his eyes widened at her. "Well let me have a look." He began to pace back and forth before the girl while reading aloud in a quiet mumble. "...Overpopulation ...famine ...slavery ...genetically modified food ...peak oil ... resource wars ...fascism? What is this crap?!" he exclaimed as he threw the papers to the floor. "Do you expect me and my fellow countrymen to believe these hysterical stories? You must be joking. There is no fascism, girl! Only presents for the poor children and diamond studded dogs! Don't you want a diamond studded dog one day? That is what you should want! Don't ruin your poor little brain with these fictional ideas."

The other men in the room began laughing. "They would never let us print stories like that anyway. Could you imagine the reaction? People would stop living!" commented a younger man in the corner who was hard at work arranging letters.

"Get out, girl," said the printer as he kicked at her papers. "Get out, go home and make yourself a cake."

The girl was so appalled that she couldn't say anything. She quickly turned around and left. When she was outside she watched as hundreds of people walked past her in the dirty streets carrying their goods. She watched as they went on with their lives not knowing or caring about the world crumbling beneath them. She began to feel hot and irritated with the sun beating down on her. She felt her blood boiling.

"You'll all be sorry!" she screamed. "You'll all suffer and wish you would have listened when all the fish are dead, the forests are gone and you all die from a sickness carried on from our pigs. You'll see!!!" But only a few of the people passing by looked up and no one reacted at all.

"Fuck it," said the girl. "I'm leaving."

She decided that society could fend for itself while she would go off and make it on her own. She desired to find a place where she could grow her own food and make her own clothes. A place where she could bond with the land and the animals around her and leave all the silly expectations of society behind.

To be continued...

Much to learn about plants.

2009-05-01T21:44:00.000-07:00

I'm not sure what I was thinking when I decided to start a butt-load of seeds in doors without knowing exactly where the grown up plants would end up. I was so excited every time I went to the store to look over the seed packets and dream about all the things I'd love to grow. One thing that I do have a teensy bit of experience growing are tomatoes, but I've never started them from seed. I chose five different varieties of tomatoes and started all of the seeds. Now I have... oh, I'd say... 200 tiny tomato plants bursting forth. I've transplanted about half, but when I think about all the work I have to do it makes my head spin.

Homesteading is not a part-time job. I don't know how people manage to keep even backyard gardens and have day jobs. Keeping the slugs, the aphids, the rabbits, the elk, the pack rats and the fungus out. Direct seeds, transplanting, grow lights, low lights, sun, shade, fertilizer, organic soil, compost, kelp powder, cross-pollination, attracting bees, hummingbirds, bringing water from the creek... blah, blah blah. I can feel my blood pressure rising.

The hard part is that I'll have no idea what I've done wrong until after the growing season is in full heat. Then I'll know if I have food or not. I decided to go with easy things to grow: kale, cabbage, spinach, lettuce, leeks, onions, garlic, potatoes, chives, carrots.... But everything I've planted so far has been annihilated by small rodents.

Ugh. So frustrating. At least I'll have as many tomatoes as I can eat.

I'll try again in a few weeks. And I'll add a few hungry cats to the mix.

Computers don't live in the woods, but I do.

2009-04-24T01:23:00.000-07:00

Well, now I feel bad for not writing consistently. I have received a few comments that have urged me to continue even though it is hard to find motivation these days. It has been a little while and there are some important updates that must be noted:

1. I adopted a dog. He is not a Great Pyrenees, but he is fluffy and obedient.

2. I quit all my jobs and now hope that I will never have to work another crap-ass job again.

3. I am a no longer pursuing midwifery as a "career", but rather a life skill.

And last, but certainly not least...

4. I FOUND LAND!!!!!!!!!!! And have begun building a quaint cabin for myself and my husband.

This land is owned by a friend of ours and is a nice follow up to my previous post on the topic of searching for friendly land owners. It is 40 acres of second and third growth forest that is wedged in-between old growth forest and the ocean. Yes, the ocean is just two miles away from my soon-to-be-cabin and old growth cedar is a ten minute walk down the road. Thinking about it makes me feel all snuggly and warm.

And so we are breaking out from civilization and trying to make the transition as smooth as possible. It isn't easy. In fact, it is incredibly trying. Giving up money and convenience and toasters that burn the face of Hello Kitty into the bread... Not a walk in the park.

I'll be writing much more soon. So many topics to cover:

-Escaping from the metropolis
-Updates on the doula studies
-Water sources
-Gardening/Permaculture
-Keeping chickens/goats
-Spinning fiber
-Cars that will drive up trees and to the end of the earth

Etc!

Desperate Times

2009-01-26T16:34:00.000-08:00

It has become clear to myself and others who are in my same boat that not a lot can be done to change our immediate lifestyle until we have a place to call our own.

I may have mentioned previously on my blog my frustration with not being able to afford to buy land or pretending to hope that I might ever have the funds to do so. With impending collapse on the horizon, I realize that I will never have the chance to fulfill my hungry American desire to own property. And so, we have turned to a desperate attempt to find people who own land and who might be willing to let a couple of hardworking kids set up a community there. It is like the hippie, back-to-the-land movement of the past, but now the land is five times as expensive and we aren't able to buy our freedom from the "man" with less than $20,000.

My urge to abandon city life is growing stronger and I don't know how much more I can take. Sometimes I feel so angry that I was born into this life without being able to choose whether or not to I want to participate in the destructive system. It seems completely ludicrous. Every time I fork over half of my monthly income to pay for a room in a moldy house without heat, I feel angry. So angry that I want to leave. I want to pack up the necessities in a backpack and live in the woods.

But with a husband, three cats and a biological urge to have children someday, I know the feral life is not for me.

Land is the way to go.

Celebrity Cesareans and the Wave of Zombie Children Who Are Sure to Come

2009-01-02T12:59:00.000-08:00

As I start my research into the field of midwifery I am beginning to understand that midwives are both a thing of the past and a thing of future. For many thousands of years midwives were the authority on women's health and childbirth, but just within the last century westernized medicine took over by offering faster and less painful labor processes. On the extreme end, I recently learned that some wealthy women are planning the exact day that they want to give birth months in advance by choosing to have a cesarean section even though no complications have occurred. Cesarean sections may be more "convenient", but the risks outweigh the benefits when a healthy vaginal birth is still an option. Also, some women are paying their doctors to give them tummy tucks while they are out for cesarean. What kind of doctors are these people? Plastic surgeon/OBGYN?

It may be that women are taking a whole new approach to birth and viewing the process as alien and unnatural. Some women seem so unsure of themselves and their bodies that they purposefully avoid understanding how the natural systems works and put themselves at the mercy of over-paid doctors who don't bother to explain anything to them. We have lost touch with our bodies and we now fight the natural mechanisms our bodies have in place to keep us healthy and to warn us when we are not. An excellent film to watch on this matter is The Business of Being Born.

At the same time, however, there is a growing movement toward natural health care and midwifery. More and more women are choosing midwives in an at-home setting or even going so far as to have unattended births with only their partner present. But at-home births are still only 1% of births in the U.S. Which leads me to believe that very, very few of us are going to be ready for post-collapse birthing.

Just as I urged anyone who cares for themselves or a woman, whether partner, daughter, sister or friend, to learn about natural family planning and to educate others about it - I urge anyone who envisions building a community with people of childbearing age to learn about at-home birthing. Some great books are:

-The Birth Partner, by Penny Simkin
-Pregnancy, Childbirth and the Newborn: The Complete Guide, by Penny Simkin
-Ina May's Guide to Childbirth, by Ina May Gaskin
-Spiritual Midwifery, by Ina May Gaskin

These books have a large focus on at-home and natural births and are written for the perspective of the pregnant woman or anyone helping during the labor.

It may be just one more thing amongst a long list of ways to prepare for limited resources, but reproductive health is vital to any active community. It must not be overlooked.

On a follow-up note on the women's almanac... I've been considering taking the concept in a new direction and starting a women's health collective with a focus on education. More on this later.

What I want to be when I grow up.

2008-11-28T20:22:00.001-08:00

I've decided that I'd like to become a healer. I have this grand idea of being like the old witch in the woods that people go to when they need help and I'll make some concoction of toads feet and herbs and make them drink it...

Okay, not really like that, but I do have a growing interest of herbal medicine and I have (!) officially decided to pursue an eduction in Midwifery. First, I'm planning on getting my Doula certification and th

en I'll move onto midwifery school. This is how I plan to offer something to the community I hope to be a part of. I live with another woman who is also studying to become a midwife and it is great to have enco

uragement and support.

I'm feeling myself move toward my more spiritual side and I have to admit that the feeling I had all those years when I was a teenager fantasizing about being a 'real' witch haven't

faded much. I am a powerful dreamer - I often dream about having telekinesis and sometimes I want see if I have it when I'm not dreaming. I have also had psychic dreams since my childhood and have been reading tarot since I was 14-years-old.

I realize that this journey toward becoming a healer, both physically and spiritually, is a very personal one and I'm going to have to figure out how to balance my life so that I stay balanced myself.

I'm also trying to organize a local women's almanac and I'm going along with my original passion (filmmaking) to produce a documentary about a local group of doulas who work with incarcerated women.

There is a lot on my plate, but we have little time! If anyone is at all interested in submitting work to the women's almanac (even if you aren't from these parts) I'd be interested in having a look.

Ode to Cabbage

2008-11-07T18:38:00.000-08:00

Like everyone, I love soup when it starts to get cold outside. If I'm making a soup, it will most likely have a lot of cabbage in it. As far as I'm concerned - there can never be enough cabbage in soup. The way that it soaks up the spices and the juices in the soup... Delicious.

Also, if I'm making soup - It probably contains few ingredients, because 1.) I'm vegan and 2.) I'm poor.

I would like to share a simple, poor(wo)mans soup recipe with all of you. So that on a cold, post-apocalyptic winters day, you can cook a tasty soup without a trip to the supermarket.

I call it the:

~Old Ireland Soup for Poor Half-Irish Americans~

For this recipe you will need:

-A large pot (so you can share with all your friends)
-A bunch of water (about 3/4 pot full of water)
-A whole head of cabbage or two (the bigger the better!)
- A bunch of potatoes (yukon and red tend to be best, but russet will do fine if your life depends on it)
- Vegetable stock (2-5 bullion cubes until the apocalypse, after the apocalypse, sub some of the water for scrap vegetable stock)
-Salt, pepper, various spices you may have (fresh rosemary is excellent)
-An Onion or Two (white or yellow will do) I rhyme!

Directions:
Chop and throw everything in the pot. Cover and cook for about 40 minutes.

-------

Yep. You may be thinking "Hey, that soup is so simple that I could have thought of that."

Very true. But you didn't think to post it in your blog, now did you?

Something To Be Said For Punk-Ass Kids

2008-11-03T11:52:00.000-08:00

So the yurt thing didn't work out. Oh well, maybe one day.

Instead my husband and I moved into a house shared with several other people. It is a cooperative style house and there really is something to be said for the punk-ass kids that live here. Though political discussions happen a little more than I'm used to in everyday life, the general respect toward others doled out on a daily basis is quite refreshing. We share food expenses and there is always a hot meal waiting for you at night. All of our books have been combined to form a pretty interesting community library (with at least 4 copies of Derrick Jensen's Endgame). And there is a functioning bike shop being run out of the garage.

My latest endevour has been started a knitting circle at school and organizing a small herb garden that will sit in the front window at the house. If anyone has any suggestions on special medicinal herbs that I should grow, please let me know. I am also looking forward to making gifts for everyone this holiday season.

My current gift list:

-Cookies
-Candles
-Soap
-Tea
-Scarves
-Hats
-Paintings
-Blankets

I don't want to buy any new or packages products this year.

Crap.

2008-10-20T10:06:00.000-07:00

So we may have found a plot of land to build a yurt on. It's not for sure and I don't want to get my hopes up - people seem to be really flakey out here in the NW, but the initial excitement has spurred lots of research on what we'd like to do. The plan would be to build a 20ft yurt with solid walls, a loft for storage and a wood stove for heating/cooking. We would use electricity from the house next store and get water from the well head outside.

One of the big questions we had was about sewage (aka. the crapper). But after doing a few minutes of research we found there to be quite a few choices.

You can go with the traditional outhouse style john.

You can buy a fancy new $2000 composting toilet.

Or you can make you own compostable toilet for $25.

A really good resource is this book here:

Which can be downloaded for FREE. (Free!) The book is an extremely detailed account of what happens to crap during the natural process of composting. It also has information on how to build and install compostable toilets.

We'll definiteley be going the cheapest route. Which may allow us to afford some solar panels.

Yarn & Fire

2008-10-09T17:14:00.000-07:00

This week my heart desires these few things:

1. An old wood stove.

2. A place to put an old wood stove.

3. To learn to knit more than just a scarf.

Only one of those things is possible and so I've started a knitting circle at my school. I plan on knitting everyone things for the holidays. My great aunt Eileen would be so proud.

Maverick

2008-10-05T11:09:00.000-07:00

Maverick.

Maverick.... Maverick.

Maverick. Maverick. Maverick.

Maverick.

The use of this word in politics is nonsensical to me. Suddenly everyone is a maverick.

Hope For The Future

2008-10-01T13:21:00.000-07:00

I moved away from the metropolis to attend school in a small community. A school that prides itself on being free-thinking and liberal. A school that would have been perfect for me in some parallel universe. In that parallel universe I would be allowed to seek the opportunities that my biological and cultural parents promised me. Freedom from destitution. Freedom from the cage that keeps me locked inside the crumbling tower.

It happens to be terribly distracting during class to think about the stock market crash and what the implications of that are for you.

Will I finish out the school year? I often wonder.

Will I ever be able to pay back my student loans?

Will I have to pay them back?

Is it fair to say that I've been lied to?

I feel like my life is an illusion of goals and achievements that might one day mean nothing. Nothing but a good story.

Have I come to school to learn practical skills?

Do I have time to learn practical skills?

How much time do we even have?

I feel quite alone in these thoughts, because not many people will openly discuss this with me. I don't understand how so many people can ignore it. When the papers say the outcome will be devastating, why is it that no one asks what that means exactly? When the papers say that we're in a financial crisis, why is it that no one looks beyond the recent "housing bubble" and "credit crunch" for the cause?

I wonder if I'll be able to pay my rent next month or if I'll have a job. I wonder if I will ever graduate from school or if I'll have to drop out by the end of the year.

Being young in this world is hard. Especially when you begin to question the purpose of your efforts and life before it has really gotten going. We've been pushed out into a horrible world that has been set up (or deconstructed) for us by our parents and grandparents generations. It will be too late for us to change the course of the collapse of capitalism. I just hope we can come up with something better to replace it.

Winter Crops

2008-09-25T11:02:00.000-07:00

Something I've never considered growing are winter crops. We've all taken for granted (and still do) that food is available all year round. We can get exotic foods like avocados and limes whenever we want it.. this makes me ponder what people in my neck of the woods ate in the winter before there was a grocery store. There isn't a lot you can grow in the winter, but it is probably enough. Then carry over the foods from the summer that you canned and you might have a balanced diet.

Even though I hear that I'm a few weeks late, I'm about to start planting my crops. I'm not a huge fan of beets, turnips, and radishes - but I'd like to get what I can out of the winter growing season. I'll be planting more things like garlic, broccoli, spinach, carrots, peas, and cabbage... Everyday has been a google-search-fest for me on when and how to plant these crops. I've also been pulling ripe food from the garden and trying to save their seeds so I can grow them again next year. In addition to food from my garden, I save seed from organic fruits I get from the local co-op. I have several containers on my window sill with fermenting tomato seeds in them.

A few days ago I ordered a shipment of seeds from SeedsofChange.com. They have a lot of options to choose from and all the packets I ordered were organic and less than $3. While browsing on their website I got some good ideas for starting a pretty extensive medicinal herb garden. They offer some unusual herbs like Hopi peace pipe tobacco and penny royal, an herb that can be used to induce miscarriage, but is really dangerous in most forms.

Sometimes I wish that I had a seasoned gardener around to help me, but I learn more and more everyday just by doing. My life has changed a lot in the past few weeks and I feel as if the world is turning on a faster pace than usual. I take one step at a time and hope that the stock market holds out a little bit longer so I can stock pile some more things. Whenever I visit the thrift store I have a list of things I pick up:

-Spare bicycle parts
-Candles
-Mason Jars (What is this canning lid shortage I'm hearing of?)

My husband and I have also been buying a bulk box of these tasty noodles whenever we are at the co-op and tucking them away. It isn't much, but it is more than what most are doing right? We are also planning a trip to Costco as soon as money allows.

I also really want to get a dog. I have my heart set on a Great Pyrenees. They are farm dogs that have been bred to guard livestock, but they also make great family dogs. They are very, very large dogs with a sweet temper, but protective of property and people.

Puppies!

Home Sweet Home

2008-09-09T15:49:00.000-07:00

It has been a little while since I've made a post, because I'm settling in at my new home. A place where I can see the stars - a place where I can grow food among other things.

Topics which I hope to cover in the near future:
Medicinal Herb Gardens
Sewing
Knitting
Bees
Chickens
Winter Crops
Candle Making
and more!

I just need to unpack my bags first.

On The Rag

2008-08-31T21:01:00.000-07:00

Mmhmm. "Who needs that?!"

Tampax, this is what I think about you:

One day Tampax and their cheesy commercials will be gone. Most women I know visit the drug store every month when their period comes along. I did too up until a few years ago. Playtex with the braided string and Always (with wings) were my favorites. But then I started reading about how gross the average feminine hygiene product is for your body - environmentally as well. First, I switched to using unbleached, organic tampons and pads, but I decided if I really wanted to make a difference I should give up disposable products altogether.

I bought a few reusable cloth pads to see if I liked them and then started making my own. They're comfortable, soft and absorbent. I really like them, plus they're easy to make. You can sew them by hand or with a machine. Good sources for ready-made pads are Luna Pad and Glad Rags. I really like the Glad Rag design. You can also find lots of patterns on the internet, but it is fairly simple to figure out how to make your own. Here is a source for patterns, but there are about a zillion other ones - just google it.

I also tried sea sponge tampons. They only last for a few months, but they worked pretty well for me. Some women complain that they aren't absorbent enough if your period is too heavy. I have decided that sea sponge tampons are probably not very practical for my cause because they don't last forever (that's my criteria). I mean, unless you live by the ocean and plan to wade in it twice a year to harvest some sponges... in that case, you're good. But I don't think sea sponges grow in my part of the ocean.

And then a few months ago I got a Diva Cup. I really like it - even though it is temperamental sometimes and decides it doesn't want to fit right. I'm determined to make it work and get used to it. When it does fit well it's great. There are a couple other brands like the Keeper/Moon Cup. The good thing about these little cuppy things is that they last forever. Yep. Just don't let you dog chew it up.

It's not a bad idea to start using these things exclusively. Just so you get used to it. I've also discussed with my female survivalist friends that saving a few boxes of tampons might be a wise decision... not to use, but to trade for some chickens or a gun or something.

Also, it's good to think ahead about other things. For examples, if one day I want to have a child I'll have to be prepared for my postpartum cervix being a bit bigger. There are two sizes of Diva Cups and I'm considering getting the larger cup, because I might want it one day.

But we don't really want to get started on taking care of babies during the shit storm. Nu-uh, not yet.

Not yet.

Next post: Herbal Abortificants.

Free Speech in the Media is like a Magical Unicorn...

2008-08-30T15:13:00.000-07:00

It's illusive. And when it is found, it is quickly caged and taken away from the public eye so that no one sees it.

In the next few days both the Saint Paul police and the RNC Welcoming Committee will be preparing for the massive protest that will undoubtedly take place outside of the convention.

Last night the SPPD raided the RNC warehouse and forced the 50 occupants inside to lay face down on the floor (including a 5-year-old child). The police told the occupants that they had a warrant to search the premises, but no warrant was ever read or presented. The occupants were handcuffed and taken outside. After the police finished their search the RNC Welcoming Committee was charged with simple fire code violations.

The police are asserting authorities that they should not legally have. "That's illegal!" - We can say it all we want, but after a while we all come to the realization that we're under the thumb of the police. There isn't anything we can do to make sure the system is legal and fair. If a group of people want to peacefully protest and are met with rubber bullets and pepper spray, we've reached a point in this nation that closely resembles martial law. How are we to protest what we do not believe in if we are silenced with violence? How are we to protest the very laws that threaten our lives and our freedoms?

I'm going to be watching the news closely over the next few days to see what is going on outside of the convention. There will be daily updates at Submedia.tv.

On a semi-related note, yesterday I participated in an act of freedom of speech that takes place every month: Critical Mass. Critical Mass is a parade of cyclists who take over the streets of the city for one afternoon out of the month to show that cycling should be recognized and respected as a growing form of transportation. I have several friends (myself included) that have been hit by cars while cycling in the city. Some of my friends are still involved in messy legal settlements where they are receiving much less than they deserve after suffering serious injuries.

Attention was brought to Critical Mass after last months ride ended with cyclists being intentionally hit by a motorist. The motorist was waiting to leave a parking space when he got a little impatient (or murderous?) and decided to ram his car into a group of cyclists, sending a few to the hospital. When the cyclists who had witnessed the attack approached the car, the driver attempted to exit his car and leave the scene. The cyclists then proceeded to smash in his car windows, slash his tires and even go so far to hit the driver with a bike lock. The driver later apologized, but not until serious media attention was drawn to the "mob of crazed cyclists who cause the whole thing".

So this month the whole ride was swarming with police officers. Motorcycle cops escorted the whole parade from beginning to end. Two patty wagons and several police cars closely followed behind and along the way we were met with unmarked, black SUVs lining the intersections. The eerie sound of a helicopter echoed between the buildings.

This did not stop the cyclists from riding like normal. Unlike the news reported, we corked (blocked) intersections when there was a red light to keep the parade from being broken up. Essentially the police were present in order to reassure the angry, uptight motorists that we were being kept under control. Even though the presence of Critical Mass in Seattle has been peaceful and supported throughout its history.

The police flexed their muscle and not-so-subtly told us that without their permission (which they were so graciously granting us) Critical Mass could be squashed easily. Half of the riders expected arrests to take place. We've been warned to comply. Who knows what next month has in store.

Here is a clip from the local mind-numbing news (featuring me!)

Gender Equality Doesn't Exist

2008-08-29T22:27:00.001-07:00

No matter how much you argue that gender equality exists in this day in age, you cannot convince me that it is true. Women and other (non-male) genders cannot live without the constant reminder of the restraints their gender description puts on them. I often debate whether or not gender specific publications, forums and other gathering of minds should exist. I don't believe that it is contrary to "what feminists are working toward" to not specifically include men in their doings. Though I have never been a part of a womens group that would tell a man not to join up with them. I guess where I'm going with this is to say that today I changed the description of this blog.

This blog is now written for the purpose of sharing information that is female-survivalist theme, but for the reading pleasure of men and women (and any other gender!).

I decided to change it to be more woman-specific, because there just aren't enough women talking about what to do about the collapse of civilization.

So don't keep quiet, ladies. I need to know you're out there.

Worried About Death? What About Life?

2008-08-27T01:07:00.000-07:00

Something that has been on my mind lately is the future of reproduction. Most people I know are concerned about staying alive through disasters - important, I know - but what about life after and during the storm? People will still be having babies. People will probably seek the comfort of another human body during times of stress and worry. What are you to do about "safe sex" or does that all get thrown out the window when the supply of condoms and birth control stops?

Male survivalists can talk all they want about it, but really, it comes down to what the women in their lives think. What will women do to protect themselves from getting pregnant? And if they do get pregnant, will they or someone else in their community have the knowledge to deliver a child?

Why do I feel like this issue is taboo?

Sex happens. All the time. From the beginning of time and into the future. I know I'm not the only person who is thinking about the future of safe sex, but I'm hard pressed to find other people talking about it openly. Let's begin with birth control:

When I started college I decided I wanted to take reproductive matters into my own hands. I had been on birth control since my teens and had always had negative side effects from it. The emotional and physical side effects were enough to make me stop taking the pill in the middle of a cycle. A few days after I had stopped I began bleeding. This persisted for two weeks. Freaked out, I decided I was not going to leave my body up to the health and prescription drug industry. I desired to find out how my body worked naturally and what the drugs did exactly. I found out that I bled for two weeks because my body was having a reaction to the lack of artificial hormones in my system.

Hormonal birth control tricks your body into behaving like it is pregnant by thickening the uterine wall and keeping you from ovulating. Because pharmaceutical companies want the pill to seem natural and socially acceptable, doctors created the week of placebo pills to imitate the normal menstrual cycle. During that week your body bleeds as the lack of hormones allows your uterine wall to weaken - then when the placebo week is over and you start taking hormones again, your body goes on thinking it's pregnant.

The very next time I went to visit my doctor I asked her about non-hormonal birth controls and she kept suggesting that I just try another brand of pill. She told me that it is normal to bleed if you stop in the middle of a pill cycle and then told me about a type of pill that would help regulate my menstrual cycle. I scoffed at her and asked, "If the 'period' I experience when I'm on the pill is a reaction my body has to the lack of hormones during the week I take the placebo pill, then how can you say it's regulating my cycle? Isn't it true that I'm not having a real period at all?" She looked defensive and said only "Yeah" before changing the subject.

Hormonal birth control is a joke. In my opinion, the industry is more focused on pharmaceutical companies making money educating women about their bodies and their choices. And anyway, it may not be accessible in the future so we ought to start learning about the other options.

Care to start stockpiling condoms? Well, that's one option, but what about when you run out? Abstinence? Hah, I don't think so.

How about we teach ourselves the most suitable method of birth control for survivalists... natural family planning. Put down your copy of Garden & Gun (yeah, I know, wtf?) and start taking notes.

Now, men may think this is where they stop paying attention, but if they care about any woman - sister, daughter, girlfriend, wife - they'll want to know about this.

It is best to invest in a book that will detail it better than I can in my blog. This is the book that I used, but there are many others out there:

The basic method includes taking your temperature every morning and charting it along with monitoring your vaginal discharge and position of cervix. After a few months of charting you should be able to get the general idea of what day you ovulate (some women know the exact hour they ovulate). Then based on that info you know which days are safe to have sex and which days you should keep your pants on.

It is best to start doing this now so you have more time to get comfortable with your body and understand your cycle. I realize that it may not be possible to take your temperature digitally in the future, as the full method requires, but I think if you are familiar enough with your cycle after charting it for years you can forgo the thermometer and still know when you're ovulating.

The method can easily be combined with condom use, but cannot be done while taking hormonal birth control. It also (obviously) doesn't prevent the spread of STDs, so you'll just have to be more selective about who you shack up with. Natural family planning works best when you have regular menstrual cycles.

Natural family planning methods have been used for thousands of years and should be re-learned by people today and passed on through generations.

This blog is just one part of my concern for the future of women's health care. I anticipate that I'll be writing more about this topic in my upcoming blogs. Look for information about reusable menstrual products, herbal remedies and re-learning from past generations.

What FEMA Has To Do With The Election

2008-08-24T15:29:00.000-07:00

We're just a few short months away from the 2008 presidential elections and everyone is wondering just how things will change with the new president. Surely things will be better when Obama wins, right? Well. I'm not so sure. First of all, I gave up believing in the power of presidents a long time ago, but I have been continually reminded in these last eight years how corporations control the government. With all the shady backroom deals that have been made by the current administration, how can one maintain hope in the system? Corruption spreads from the core of it and has ultimately affected everyone alive today. The most terrifying affect has been the silent passing of the patriot act that has completely obliterated our rights in the most horrifying ways. Most liberals, radicals and paranoid conservatives are aware of the true intentions of the patriot act - not as a patriotic testament, but as a free pass to declare war on the people of the U.S. and squash dissent against the ever-growing-money-grubbing-oil-guzzling monster in D.C.

So the atmosphere amongst the aware is one of pause, as we each hold our breath and wait for the election. If Obama is elected, will he reaffirm the patriot act as necessary? Will he really redirect power from the corporations to the middle class as his television campaign ads say?

If there is an election at all?

Now, I guess you're wondering what I mean by that. The patriot act is full of goodies for the regime. So many wonderful treats, that I question their self-control to willfully leave their position before exercising all acts that the patriot act would excuse. One of these acts is the declaration of martial law in a state of emergency... that if timed with the election, would prolong the vote until the president deems necessary.

In this hypothetical situation, martial law could mean anything. And in order to declare martial law over the entire country, a large scale attack (much larger than 9/11) would have to take place. It is hard to guess what it would be, but just let your imagination run and you can get a picture of all that is possible.

And whether or not martial law is declared before the election, it is hard to ignore the FEMA prisons that have been built and made operational (staffed, but with the absence of prisoners) around the country. What would be the purpose of ready prisons and concentration camps around the U.S.?

Scary, scary stuff. I'm not interested in making a case about it - I'm just expressing my fears. If you are interested in learning more about FEMA camps, just google it. Sure, there are a lot of nuts talking up conspiracy theories, but there is a lot of true information out there about it. So you may decide for yourself if it's about NWO or just a misunderstanding.

Now a word from our president (back in 1961):

Drinkable Water Is A Luxury

2008-08-23T16:27:00.000-07:00

It is impossible to consider everything when preparing for emergencies. It has taken me a long time to start considering the basic necessities over worrying about the silly luxuries that I'd ideally like to secured for myself in the future. It finally hit me one day when I was more concerned about stock piling typewriter ribbons than figuring out my sources for drinkable water.

Water is something we take for granted in the U.S. and anyone who has traveled to a third world country can tell you that drinkable water pouring endlessly through every household tap is a serious luxury. It wasn't even until a few months ago that I began to look into the best ways to find and purify water. My research was frustrating and I found myself looking for the most permanent and sturdy water purification system. I read reviews of all sorts of water purifiers and found the MSR Miniworks EX, Katadyn Hiker Pro, and the SteriPEN to be the most commonly reviewed.

The obvious problem with the SteriPEN, the electronic UV bacteria zapper, is that it requires batteries to work and unless you know you're going to have a supply of charged batteries, the SteriPEN can't be relied on.

The Hiker Pro, by Katadyn (formerly Pur), is a more traditional hand-pump-style filtration system. In my opinion, this filter received better ratings in reliability and performance than the MSR Miniworks, but it has a disposable fiberglass filter that can be cleaned, but must be replace after a few months of constant use.

The MSR filter is also hand-pump-style, but I read a few reviews about this filter failing to work in the backcountry (due to lots of silt) and that scared me enough to cross this one off my list. However, it uses a ceramic filter that can be cleaned repeatedly and could potentially (with lots of care) last for years without replacing any parts.

Just one of these filters alone wasn't enough to make me feel prepared for fast-crash emergencies and so I decided to keep looking. A couple of things I took into consideration were the elimination of bacteria, viruses and chemical waste. Water filters were the only things I could find that would eliminate both bacteria and (in some cases) chemical waste, but they are not effective against viruses. Iodine and chlorine tablets are effective against viruses, but don't always eliminate bacteria completely and are useless against pollutants. Also, purification tablets are limited in supply, like food.

Short of digging a well in my imaginary backyard (I currently live in an urban apartment), I couldn't find anything that would last for as long as I needed it to (Is forever too much to ask for?). If I couldn't guarantee that I'd have the position to boil my water everyday, then I'd be limited in choices and resources.

Then I read a review for this mysterious product called Polar Pure. The product was receiving rave reviews from the few who wrote about it. Hikers were saying that it was sometimes the only water purification system they had for weeks in the backcountry. And what made it so appealing to me is that it has an indefinite shelf-life, lasts forever, and costs $13. What?! I wondered when I first read this. Well, the way it works is - it comes in a little glass bottle with iodine crystals in the bottle and a built in reservoir to prevent the crystals from evaporating. You simply fill the bottle with water and it creates a strong iodine solution that when dosed into your own water bottle, kills bacteria and viruses. On the side of the bottle is a thermometer that tells you how much to mix in (it requires more solution and more time depending on the temperature). The only downside to this product is that it kills giardia, but doesn't always kill cryptosporidium. Crypto is more common now than it used to be and is larger organism than most other bacteria. In a tough situation I'd probably go with the iodine treatment and filtering the water through a bandana or coffee filter (this method may not be backed by a doctor, but it is better than nothing).

I finally decided on buying a few bottles of Polar Pure in case of emergencies and backing it up with the Katadyn Hike Pro. I'm pretty confident that these products will get me by for the short periods of time that I may be away from freshwater wells and the resources for boiling water.

Of course, my ultimate goal is to find a place with enough resources (including a well) that I won't have to travel away. My plan to find the best water purification systems was inspired by the potential reality that I may not be in a safe place when disaster strikes and I'll have to travel to a new destination.

I know it sounds like a scary sci-fi story now, but it has happened before and will happen again. On the note of scary sci-fi stories, I'd like to recommend the book Parable of the Sower by Octavia E. Butler. This book scared the bajeebus out of me, but I found it to be the closest fictional representation of the fears I have about the future of the suburbs. It's a good one and it's also on the Apocalypse book list.

Let's Get Down To Business

2008-08-22T16:01:00.000-07:00

Things are not doing so well. I mean, in the scheme of things. I have a hard time keeping up with all of the terrifying events going on in the world right now. Everyday seems to get a little harder and there are fewer and fewer things that keep me getting out of bed in the morning (Ok, early afternoon). One of the things that gives me hope is talking with and meeting other people (especially other young women) who are on the same page as I am. This blog is an effort to reach out and meet like-minded individuals who have something to say about what is happening to us and the world. On a semi-regular basis I will attempt to update this blog with things I find and would like to share that cover a broad spectrum of topics, but all relating to what I call the "apocalypse".

Submedia.tv is a provider of relevant and witty entertainment that has definitely gotten me through some rainy days. Submedia's online news show It's the End of the World As We Know it and I Feel Fine (appropriately titled, but better shortened to ITEOTWAWKIAIFF) is well into it's second season and still hitting the mark. Their new casts feature intelligent guest speakers and important current events that you aren't likely see on the front page of any newspaper. Some the guest speakers include: Derrick Jensen, James Howard Kunstler, The Coup, Brother Ali, and Matt Savinar.

I usually can't stand waiting two weeks for the next episode to come out, but I can easily pass the time by mindlessly watching random youtube videos (Spaghetti Cat).

Here is the most current episode of ITEOTWAWKIAIFF.

Second, it has been an interest of mine to start or contribute to a list of books and/or films that are relevant to the "apocalypse" (but not in a Kirk Cameron sort of way). I have been trying to keep up with all the books on my to-read list by using the website GoodReads.com. For those who don't know what this website is - it's a website for both literary nerds and non-literary nerds alike. You create a list of books you've read, books you're reading and books that you'd like to read. Then further divide them up into lists such as "Sci-Fi Flavored Adult Fiction", "Books My Dad Would Like" or "My Favorites". Well, since I am mostly interested in reading about the "apocalypse" right now, I've created a list of my own titled (you guessed it!) Apocalypse. I hope that along with adding my own books that other people will contribute and we can create a go-to guide about peak oil topic and other related topic books. I've included books about nuclear war and once considered famous sci-fi novels that I refer to as "Oh shit, that could happen" scenario novels. Apocalypse the List (say that ten times fast).