The Apocalypse is Expensive

“What will you do with your stimulus check?”

I see the question floating around everywhere on social media.

“Support something with the check. When the calamity is all done and over with, eat at your favorite restaurant again.” They may suggest. “Buy stock in a company. Invest in a dying business.”

I have big plans for my check (regardless of the amount), and I’m super excited. Heart’s pounding against my chest just thinking about it.

I’m going to log into my account, click the buttons, then enter the credentials…

… And pay my power bill, cause… boy howdy… lock-down has resulted in every light being on in the house at all times. Washer and dryer running double time. Cooking multiple meals a day, and then washing new piles of dirty dishes. All devices, electronics, TVs, game consoles on for hours, and left on long after the user(s) have fallen asleep. Random lengthy bubble baths to decompress, relax and kill time. My water heater and furnace are always rumbling down in the basement, at crazy hours of the day, and night.

(Looking for ways to be productive while meandering through strange sleeping patterns within the fog of the seemingly non-existent perception of conventional time)

Two teenagers, myself, and my wife, in our little quarantine cage, doing our part to help save the world…

“Treat yourself to something nice with the check,” they’ll say. “When everything is done, and they release us into the wild again, take a fun trip somewhere,” they’ll say.

Nope… its quite possible the whole damn thing will go straight to my power company. Cause if there’s one thing I’ve learned over the last few weeks–preparing for the apocalypse is expensive as all get out.

The moment the schools in my area began their extensive talks about what to do at the onset of this mess, before the random school “workshops” started popping up and the online wildfires erupted left and right, is the moment my Spidey-Sense started tingling, urging me to flip the switch, and I began my isolation process. I started preparing for this lock-down at least a week before it became a real “thing”.

I brought my work equipment home and set up the office space. I told my boss(es), “this is where I’ll be until further notice.”

And here I have remained. I’ve actually lost track of how long its been now. The clock and the calendar mean nothing to me anymore. Trash day is Tuesday… that’s all I need to remember.

I go out and do the essential shopping when necessary. However, my errands and priorities are more expedient now, and completed on very specific times of the day. I have distinct routes inside the stores mapped out, and mastered to a science, averaging roughly 12 minutes of shopping with each visit including check-out.

I won’t shop much of anywhere else, other than a local convenience store which averages two customers inside the building at any one time. You’ll probably never see me step foot inside a super store ever again.

This ongoing experience, thus-far, has taught me some valuable lessons: 1) I’ll do anything I can for my family, and my circle of people. Anything.

I go shopping sometimes and I’m so ultra focused on the needs of the many, I’ll completely forget to purchase for myself. I’m always thinking about them, and I accidentally disregard my own needs or ignore the things I like to buy. To include my dog, and her needs.

I only consume food between noon and five pm, 7 days a week (incremental fasting if you want to call it that), and I try to limit the daily consumption to one meal. I’ve trained myself so one meal can be the fuel I need to get through the day (for the time being). Hunger pains are no more. It was tough at first, and at times I cheat(ed), but eating three meals a day, is now a thing of the past.

I find I have more energy on one meal. I think a little clearer. My head feels less cloudy and scatterbrained. I feel less “heavy” when I move around.

I obviously don’t include coffee with cream and sugar, in my caloric intake. Coffee is the elixir of life and without it’s sweet, sweet ingredients, I can’t function. Coffee is an all day affair. I could easily say coffee is my second and third meal of the day.

2) My brain tells me to ignore my gut, all the time. An ongoing battle. My gut has gotten me this far in the adventure. Its helped me read between the proverbial lines, and during this (down) time, I’ll continue to rely on those gut instincts. They have served me well and have provided a road map to follow in this darkness. If my gut whispers, “Do ‘this’,” while my brain is trying to convince me otherwise, I’ll always be satisfied after listening to my gut. Without question.

3) Living in the “what if” reality teaches me facets of life, I would’ve never considered before. Alternate skills. Different perspectives. Never be completely comfortable. I always hover around the thinking, ‘things may get better. They may remain the same. They could get slightly worse, or much worse. Or slightly better, or much better. Regardless of those potential outcomes… what do you need to do?’

Everything I can.

The ‘what if’ mentality is, and has always been, an anchor for me. A hyper-focused mindset. A second brain activates when the moment demands it, and has been active more often, as of late. It has yet to steer me astray.

4) Unfortunately, living paycheck-to-paycheck, results in an expensive apocalypse preparation. We can only live within our means and while heating fuel and gas has dropped, food and other essentials remain expensive. Oh well. We have to do what we have to do.

I suppose when all is said and done, I’ll have my tribe close by when it all dips south, and that’s all that truly matters. Since goal setting is paramount and essential in times of uncertainty and potential chaos, I’ll continue to try and achieve my goals in life. Learning new skills. Moving forward with alternate perspectives, and unorthodox ideas.

In your future travels, if you see a four door crimson Prius, decked out with armored plating, slotted steel windows, long spikes protruding from the exterior, bulky off-road tires, and a pirate flag sticking out of the top, with my crew hooting and hollering and raising Hell in a barren empty, dust coated field, or doing donuts in the rubble of an abandoned city, you’ll know it was me and my clan roaming the wasteland for supplies and goods.

We’re decent people, so just wave if you want to chat.

Thank you for reading and joining me on my journey. Please subscribe in the provided area to receive a notification of new posts by email or feel free to follow me on Twitter @jeremymorang. Please give this a like if you like it, share with others, or leave a comment if you wish. See you at the next one.