>From: "Corwyn J. Alambar" <nettiger@best.com>
>Reply-To: extropians@extropy.org
>To: extropians@extropy.org
>Subject: Re: Greens
>Date: Wed, 15 Nov 2000 11:15:33 -0800 (PST)
>
I see parallels between your situation and what mine is (and probably most
other people as well). One thing might be that you haven't made enough
preparations for life. My "day job" (QA software tester) is not very
fullfilling either, and it's a 45 minute commute one way. I don't expect it
to be fullfilling. I've never thought that selling my labour to someone for
them to achieve their goals would be fullfilling. It's not as bad as it
could be. It's rarely over 40 hours, and by skipping lunch and working a
heavy Monday-Thursday, I can work just half a Friday. Having to work for
someone else is not fun, but I don't expect people to just give me money
they have earned so that I can do what I want.
Having some sort of fullfilling work is, I think, a requirement to be happy,
and I have that, it's just not my day job. I've decided that I wanted to
direct a movie so I bought the neccessary equipment and did it. I'm
currently editing, and this goal occupies much more of my creative thought
time then anything relating to testing of software. I don't expect to make a
profit on this one. If luck is on my side, I could break even, or make half
my money back. I will consider it successful if it becomes publicly
available in some way and I am contacted by people who enthusiastically
enjoyed it.
I'd recommend that you stop expecting your day job to bring you anything
expect money. Put all your energy at work into that which will bring you
more money. If it's not bringing you enough money, start looking for a new
job. You can set a very high salary requirement right now since you have
something secure already, then lower it to more reasonable levels over a
period of six months or so. In the meantime, find some "fullfilling work",
some project which is important to you. It sounds like living as a "techno
hermit" might be such a thing, if that's it then you could start researching
what you'll need to do to reach that goal. Get books on solar/wind power, or
whatever. My parents at one time were thinking of generating their own
power, so I know it's a thing that will take years of study. As for taxes,
you could find some way to make the land generate income for you and pay
them with that. I can't think of any off the top of my head, maybe grow
Christmas trees.
As for savings, just cut back on your living expenses. When you need to,
it's easy. Spend a month keeping track of every purchase you make, and then
at the end of the month look at your list and ask yourself how you could
trim 15% from it.
And why do you have a house you don't really want? Sell it and get an
apartment.
>Some specifics from this side:
>
>I have attained a fairly reasonable level in my career (sysadmin/CM) and
>I'm
>fairly well-paid. However, the work does very little for me other than
>bringing in money to pay for the things that I need, but can't provide for
>myself without the media for exchange.
>
>I've got some money in savings, and I've been working on investing it
>slowly
>to try and get a good nestegg going. However, it seems my savings are
>growing
>slower than the cost of living.
>
>I gre up rural - I know how to take care of things like animals and plants,
>and
>I wouldnt' mind returning to that sort of a life partially - not a Luddite
>hermit like the Unabomber, but a techno-hermit, with satellite uplink,
>computers, generating my own power, taking care of most of my needs without
>reliance on the outside.
>
>But in the end it comes down to the tyrany of money. There is no place I
>can live without either the fear of imminent confiscation by the latest
>banana republic despot in the name of "land reform", or the need to have
>some
>sort of steady income to pay the various property taxes.
>
>So here is the conundrum. The land that is inexpensive enough to afford is
>too far from the places I am capable of finding work (did I mention I'm a
>widely-read, hopefully well-spoken high school grad? No college diploma
>here, unfortunately - and that cuts my options down even more), and the
>land
>close enough to be able to work reasonably is very expensive now,
>especially
>for what would be needed for this sort of subsistence, and at the same time
>it's also prone to the "divide and conquer" property tax progression - one
>farmer sells out to a developer for 50 units, and they agree to add $5000
>per acre in property taxes for new schools - after all, they're only paying
>$500-$1250 at best for their share, but the farmer next door just got
>tagged
>for $500,000 more per year, and is forced to sell to a developer, and it
>goes on and on.
>
>And my work does very little toward allowing me to pursue the things I hold
>most dear - because I have to spend so much o my time dealing with traffic,
>and working most of my waking hours to pay for the house I don't really
>want
>and the gas I would like to not have to use to get to and from a job that
>doesn't really line up with my personal interests. But it's the trap of
>the
>moneyed system.
>
>Yes, I understand a true libertarian society would have a different set of
>problems, and I could find a place where I wouldn't have to pay property
>taxes - but if you can show me a true libertarian nation I could move to...
>
>There. Specific enough?
>
>-Corey
---------------------------------------------------
Zeb Haradon (zebharadon@hotmail.com)
My personal webpage:
http://www.inconnect.com/~zharadon/ubunix
A movie I'm directing:
http://www.elevatormovie.com
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