Dave and I met three months after Bush took office in 2001. During these past almost-eight years, we’ve weathered job losses, personal losses, bankruptcy, health issues, and the bad luck that comes of making desperate choices because the alternatives are either worse, or not viable at all.
Now, finally, despite the miserable economy – far worse here in Oregon than in many places across the country, and even worse in Dave’s chosen industry – we look ahead with a glimmer of optimism and hope. But as our new president has reminded us time and again, this isn’t about sitting back and letting our government bail us out (at least not us as individual citizens), this is about dusting ourselves off, rolling up our sleeves, and tackling the hard work.
Some of you already know about our recent struggles including my run-in with a tardy and callous book publisher that left me sick from the stress with a unfinished manuscript and a demand for the return of all (woefully-late) advance monies. That $3400 bill is now due. I have till February 15th to pay back the first thousand, till April 15th for the second, and till June 15th for the final $1400 installment. Add to that the medical bills I’ve accumulated over the past few months, the friends I owe who helped me during last year’s difficulties, and our own household bills and we’ve got nearly $8,000 of catching up to do.
This isn’t something we can do on Dave’s current wages, nor on mine, nor if we continue to live the way we live now, even with the massive cutbacks we’ve already made in monthly expenses.
But this is something we can do if we buckle down and work harder than we’ve ever worked before – take on extra jobs where we can, sell what we can, barter what we can, and save even more than we do now by making ourselves as self-sufficient as possible.
This is our task for our own First 100 Days.
We began our personal 100 Days Project, fittingly, on the first full day of the new Obama administration. Tuesday’s inaugural address was a call to service for Americans and also a call for all of us to get our houses in order. We share the responsibility for the mess we’re in and we need to pick up the pieces before we can truly move on. For us, in this house, it means climbing out of our immediate debt crisis first and foremost. After that, comes the rebuilding, the gathering of community, and ultimately, the creation of a life and home that is economically, ecologically, and socially sustainable.
One Hundred Days…
…begins January 21st and ends on May Day. That’s 14 weeks with an extra Thursday and Friday tacked onto the end. Considering what we have to accomplish, it’s not a lot of time. We won’t attempt to tackle everything at once – that’s a surefire way to lose faith and give up – but we will set ourselves a schedule that we share with our friends and family. Our hope is that it will be a surefire way to keep us on track and honest.
- Monday is Community day. We’ve got amazing friends doing amazing things. They deserve your attention as well.
- Tuesday is Craft Day This will be the day we put something out for sale. Look for digital art, handmade crafts, and culinary items from Chef Chopper’s kitchen.
- Wednesday is Weekly Report Day. I’ll post what we’ve accomplished, what setbacks we’ve had, and what our plans are for the following week. If we launch new aspects of our 100 Days Project, those launches will most likely be on Wednesdays.
- Friday is Freebie Day. Because sometimes we just like to share our goodies.
Where will be posting all of this?
Here, primarily, but also… well that’s another part of the project.
Stay tuned.
