Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with crisis

So how bad is the swine flu??

gttommy — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 05:13:34 -0800

How blown-up out-of-proportion is the swine flu scare relative to other life-threatening infections/diseases? Is it alarming enough that I need a swine flu shot if I'm going to SE Asia in DEC09/JAN10? Time is running out, and I am confused as to whether I should get a shot before leaving for a 3 week trek in SE Asia through a handful of countries.

From what I have been reading, vaccinations are the ultra-safe path for short-term protection and definitely should be taken during a crisis (e.g. epidemic). On the other hand, if it is not a crisis it would overall not be beneficial for someone my age (26), as I am likely to recover from a swine flu infection... and something to do with antibodies, mutating-dormant-virus and the overall corruption of my immune system. My microbiology-graduate friend confirms the negative effects of inoculations are part of the process, but also says if its a 'crisis' it should be taken.

So how bad is the swine flu??

Thanks!

I hate you. You hate me..

Anonymous — Sat, 05 Dec 2009 11:42:35 -0800

I woke up this morning hating everyone and everything. Help? I woke up this morning in a nastiest funk. I hate where I live, I hate where I work, I hate my friends and family, I hate myself and I hate my partner! I am fighting the urge to just walk out, buy a plane ticket across the country and leave forever. I know that this is not the right thing to do but every extra second that I stay here I am just upset and resentful.

I can usually run away until this feeling subsides but I am not able to sequester myself at the moment. Help me deal with this feeling until I can get in to see a counselor, I don't want to fight with my partner, I don't want to leave, I don't want to throw everything away. At least I don't think I do but every so often I wake up feeling incredibly dissatisfied with my life and those in my life. These bad funks have happened 2 or 3 times before and they have always in the past gone away after a day or so.

I am lucky to be alive, healthy and living in a country where I have more liberties than many can imagine. I am lucky. Right? Help me get this into my thick skull so I can stop being an ass and start be grateful.

Is this what a mid-life crisis is like, minus the cheating?

Toss-away email: getawaygetawayfromme@gmail.com

International impact of Great Depression

msk1985 — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 12:07:57 -0800

What was the extent of the international impact of the American Great Depression compared to the economic crisis today? What are (scholarly) resources that might help answer this question?

What do I do next?

!Jim — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 00:34:53 -0800

I feel like I really need to decide between pursuing two career paths that each have their own advantages. I feel like I could be happy or unhappy in either one. I've been putting off the decision essentially for 5+ years now, and it's finally coming to a head. I need advice, coin flips, anecdotes, flowcharts, whatever you've got. Hope me break this down, mefi. I've always had difficulty deciding "what I want to do with my life" (really, what I want to do with the next part of my life, I suppose). I graduated this past May with a bachelor's degree in aerospace engineering. I really enjoyed certain parts of this degree program. Orbital mechanics is an astonishingly beautiful field, and there's something deeply satisfying about understanding (some of) the crazy math that goes into fluid mechanics.

On the other hand, I've always really enjoyed programming and computers. I've been programming probably since I was 13 or 14 years old. I've enjoyed nearly every facet of it I've explored, and I've worked as a web application developer for over 3 years now, and done lower-level web development for quite a bit longer.

During my undergraduate years, I was able to work at my web development job while attending school, so I never really had to choose between software development and engineering. Because of this, going to graduate school essentially represented the path of least resistance for me.

The problem I'm facing now is that this "plan" basically consists of burying my head in the sand. Over the past summer, I experienced a new kind of life working full time at my web development job. I made a good amount of money, which I was able to put toward paying off some previous mistakes, and building a life for myself. In the evening, when I wanted to, I would sometimes go home and learn some things about computational fluid dynamics, but if I didn't want to, I could also get together with friends, or pursue other hobbies.

So now I'm in graduate school, and I'm hating it. I do enjoy the moments I'm in class much of the time, but I'm basically working 20 hours a week at my job, and 35 hours+ doing homework, in class, and in my professor's lab (I get to work at 8am and leave school at 7pm, so I'm not exaggerating.) The times I'm not working, I feel like I should be.

The main reason I went back to graduate school was that I didn't really like my job prospects as an engineer with a bachelor's degree. From what I've seen of most aerospace engineering jobs, they consist of doing large amounts of paperwork, and very very small, if any, amounts of engineering. My thought was to go back to graduate school to get a masters, and then hopefully I could find work doing computational fluid dynamics (a mix of programming and engineering) afterward, but the idea of living like this for the next 3-4 years doesn't make me very happy. Not only that, but I don't even know if that job will exist when I do graduate, or that I will like it. It's so much time to spend doing something that I'm not even sure will lead somewhere I want to go, and at the end of it, I'm even more specialized than I already am. I am also not funded right now (although that can change), so I'm looking at cutting back on my expenses so I can pay out of pocket, or taking out more student loans. Tuition isn't insane, but after 3 or 4 years, it would be above $20,000. That being said, I would expect to make $60,000-$70,000/year coming out of school.

The other alternative would of course be to go the programming route. The problem there is that I feel like it would be slamming the door on engineering. I've never been very good at retention, and I figure with just a little bit of time out of school, I'd basically forget my entire degree. Then, if at some point I decided to get back into it, it would be basically impossible. Following this career path has other advantages, though. Everyone needs programmers these days, so I could live anywhere, and I've always wanted to live in as many places as possible during my life. As a programmer, I have more opportunities to start a business or work at a small company or startup. I could even freelance, which I've done in the past, which would provide me a great deal of flexibility.

When I first started writing this question, I was sure I wanted to pursue the master's degree. Now, at the end of the question, I'm convinced that that's based on false assumptions about where it will lead, and that I should make the choice for the here and now, which is to quit grad school tomorrow and start my full time job as web developer the day after. I will likely feel differently in a few minutes.

What the hell do I do? I would be happy with nearly any advice here, whether it's seeing some kind of person, or just telling me how it sounds to you, or telling me how I might break this down into its parts, or whatever.

spritual awakening turns to self-indulgence? or just "normal"

Anonymous — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 07:17:51 -0800

I turn 40 soon, married. A few years ago I had what I believe to be a major spiritual awakening, but it really hasn't "stuck", to the core anyway. I have since found the pendulum swing far the other way to where I'm a surprised to find i'm now inclined to: drink to excess, flirt with women (some pretty young), smoke marijuana/ tobacco, listen to stuff like Kid Rock and relishing the vulgarity/attitude, watch porn - (this is mostly all "private" behavior) is this all indicative a midlife crisis situation? or "spiritual backlash"? or do i need to come to terms that i've taken a road down towards creepville?

Trying to better myself and feeling thwarted at every turn?

Anonymous — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 13:47:49 -0800

How do I get out of a career trap of my own making? I'll try and make a long story short: In my teens and early 20s, I was an emotionally troubled young man who didn't buy into the traditional life model of higher education, career etc. Once my mid-twenties hit, I re-evaluated and tried to turn my life around onto a more traditional trajectory.

I graduated from a state school in California with B.A. in Public Administration in 2007. My cumulative GPA was brought to a 3.52 (my lowest grade once I returned to school and applied myself was an A-).

I have been unable to find a career in my field and with the budget crisis of the state and most municipalities, I don't see that changing soon. I've been working jobs to pay the bills, but nothing that is particularly rewarding in any sense of the word (including financially).

I feel like I'm going to snap unless I do something soon. So my question is this: At my age (35) is it worth it going to school to pursue a Master's? Is it feasible to do in California given the impacts on student assistance? Is it feasible to contemplate schooling at an out-of-state school given non-resident tuitions?

Is there any other solution I may be missing? Right now I'm stuck in an industry that is one step away from buggywhips and my boss is squat little troll who berates its employees when at all possible. I'd quit, but then I'd be ineligible for unemployment. (Right?) I can't take much more of this.. HELP.

How has the process of renting an apartment in Brooklyn changed because of the economic crisis?

airguitar2 — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 09:36:52 -0800

How has the process of renting an apartment in Brooklyn changed because of the current economic crisis? I'm moving to Brooklyn at the end of the summer and planning to visit in mid-July to hunt for apartments. How will the process be different now that rents are falling all over the Big Apple? What do I need to know?

I've been reading metafilter posts on the seemingly insane (to this Midwesterner) process of finding housing in NYC. (Bring your passport! ID! First born child! Be ready to light thousands of dollars on fire-- on the spot!) I'm hoping that the current economic situation will make finding an apartment a bit more pleasant, so I ask ye Brooklyn MeFites: has anyone rented in the last couple of months, or is moving now and noticing a chance in the process? Should I still plan to hunt 4-6 weeks before my move-in date? Anything I should be prepared for? How can I maximize my pennies?

How Do I Stop Burning Up?

Anonymous — Sun, 12 Apr 2009 19:21:21 -0800

CrisisFilter: when I'm in a meeting and there's a question that everyone looks at me to answer, I burn up - I feel my face redden, my ears start to glow and my back heats up and starts to sweat. Why is this a crisis? I've just been made Training Manager. All this started about 4 years ago when I was casually introduced to some clients and I just burnt up red. I'd been introduced to clients numerous times before so I don't know why this began happening then.

And then recently I've been attending meetings (this is a pretty new job requirement for me) and noticed the same thing was happening when I "took the floor" so to speak. Contributing thoughts, observations or whatever isn't a problem, but when all eyes are on me then burn up happens. I have to stop in my tracks and stare at the table and pretend that I've lost my train of thought. So I manage it by lying low in meetings, not taking the floor if possible/ perhaps contributing later by email, and using very concise answers to direct questions (maybe not such a bad thing!).

But now I've been made Training Manager which means I'm really going to be the focus of attention. What's going to happen when I take a training session and I start to burn? Why did this start happening? And what will make it stop!!!

If it helps any, I been taking a very low dose of Remeron/ Mirtazipine for the past 6 months for anxiety related depression, but it doesn't help at all with the burn up - it's as bad as it was pre-meds. I guess I could try taking Xanax before every meeting/ training session, but I'm not sure if that'd work. I mean, I don't feel anxiety about the meeting itself; the reaction is more like a fight or flight stress response.

I'm also wondering right now if hypnotherapy might be a possibility?

What responsibility does the Bush administration bear for the current financial crisis?

Lownotes — Wed, 25 Mar 2009 07:27:28 -0800

What responsibility does the Bush administration bear for the current financial crisis? When I visit my father, we usually argue about politics.

He's a big Fox News fan, and I think it's drivel. He tends to parrot what he sees there, and I often find myself explaining how things really work to him.

Since Obama was elected, these arguments have been far less frequent - until the last two weeks when suddenly the Republican spin machine began to pound Obama's budget plans in light of our financial crisis.

I keep telling him, "Bush was president for the last eight years."

He keeps saying, "This is not Bush's fault."

So, hivemind, what sort of responsibility does the Bush administration really bear in all of this mess?

Links to source material are welcome.

end midlife crisis w/out accompanying fallout

Anonymous — Thu, 19 Mar 2009 07:24:38 -0800

How do you get out of a midlife crisis without destroying your life? 40 year old male - by objective standards successful - beautiful family, home, life, and so on. But overwhelming sense of dissatisfaction and boredom. Also, feelings of regret over career choices and other things, even though all of those things are objectively desirable.

How do you end these irrational and troubling thoughts and feelings? Also, is this common? How common?

Hypothesis: X[giving] is directly correlated to Y[financial success]

drea — Sun, 15 Mar 2009 08:12:29 -0800

How has the financial crisis affected the nonprofit sector? Is there anyone here belonging to a nonprofit with a personal experience to share? What's the general climate at the workplace: loss of morale? No difference? Have there been job losses, budget cuts? Maybe funding has increased, unexpectedly? Would like to hear your stories and find out if the crisis has increased a sense of cynicism/idealism in people. I'd also like to know if the crisis keeps people from contributing or fuels them to help out more in whatever way possible. I'm asking this as a person looking to start "a career" in the nonprofit field. Thanks a lot.

P.S. I've checked out Alltop prior to this. And that Nancy Lublin article.

Am I a jerk for wanting my Dad to find his own place, six months after his house burned down?

likeSoy — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 06:36:03 -0800

My father lost his wife and home to a fire. He's been living with us for six months and now I need to nudge him toward finding his own place. Am I a heartless bastard? In my defense, there are just a number of factors that make the living situation a bit strained. We (wife, 5yo boy, 2 big elderly dogs and myself) live in an 1100 sq ft cape cod. My wife works from home, so one of the bedrooms is her office (used to be *my* home office). My Dad is retired and fairly anti-social so he's ALWAYS home.

My Mom had been very sick for years, so her passing is somewhat of a blessing, but I feel for my Dad's impending loneliness. However, his constant presence is starting to wear on us.

Am I being selfish? I'm shamelessly looking for re-assurance that I'm not, but sincerely want to know if I am.

Culture drove us apart?

AMP583 — Sun, 08 Feb 2009 14:18:56 -0800

Will cultural differences always matter? I met a woman in college that i became instantly enourmed with - but during the time we didn't date because i was involved in a relationship, and she didnt seem interested. We were friend for years, to the point where i drove her to the ER after a bad night of drinking and OD'ing on medication. The event was somewhat traumatic and was engrained in my mind. Years past with little contact and one night we ran into each other at the bar and started dating from that moment on. For 2 years we dated, we did have some issues at first as seen on my other posts on Ask.metaftiler.

There was a time when we both believed we'd marry one another and whatever obstacles existed would be challenges. Well that changed completely one evening...Long story short, after various bouts, she seemingly decided the cultural differences are enough for her to not only fall out of love but break up. The event has been traumatic for me none the less.

I've always felt like the whitest indian kid around with no real attachment to my native culture though i was always respectful of my parents. At the same time, i by no means have a complete "American" family/culture.

Not only am i broken hearted, im starting to become very jaded that my differences will chase me my entire life and though i have great friends and have dated women outside of my race, i am starting to believe i'll eventually have to settle based on race/skin color. I've always been attracted to and have only dated caucasian women - at maybe a time in our lives when culture didnt matter...but now i am starting to become discouraged that ill ever find one that would want to marry me.

In the recent years, i've felt lost completely - i was born Hindu but have no desire to practice it, im also not interested in other religions out there. Im also becomming slowly detached to my native culture.

I'm starting to lose hope that people are able to fall in love despite these differences. I'm starting to think my "differences" will chase me my entire life. And though im young, i feel like i'll never fall in love the same as i did with this woman.

And there aren't questions in this post, but does anyone have similar life stories or suggestions?

How are the Icelanders doing?

borkingchikapa — Tue, 27 Jan 2009 21:24:55 -0800

So, what does the financial and political collapse in Iceland mean for the average citizen? Can anyone give me some anecdotes about how daily life has changed in the past few months? Are people struggling with basic things like food, rent and utilities? Are middle class families being forced onto the street?

Here in the US, it doesn't seem like life has really changed that much. I know people are losing their jobs and houses, but all I see on the street is everyone spending a little less money and bitching about how poor they are. Iceland is a small, homogeneous country, so are the consequences are more widespread?

What happened here?

sixcolors — Mon, 12 Jan 2009 10:51:37 -0800

My grandma (who I am very close to) recently went into a diabetic coma, had to have a leg amputated, and almost died. Obviously this has been a tough time for me. But, with the support of my family and many of my friends I am okay. What I find quite alarming was/is the absense of support from two of my closest friends. Grandma is doing better. She's gained consciousness, and is in less pain, but she still isn't completely well. When she was sicker, I was pretty freaked out. As a result, I notified people by phone, text, and myspace/facebook to pray for her. I got replies back from all sorts of people, telling me that they were praying for her, keeping her in their thoughts, asking me and my father (his mother) if we needed anything, and few of my friends and relatives took me out for coffee or whatever to calm my anxiety. And it is worth mentioning, that some of those people were people I forgot or for some reason chose not to notify, yet I still heard from them.

I am REALLY REALLY thankful for their support, I think their prayers have helped to heal my grandma. And it is good to know that we have people thinking of my grandma, my father and me during these tough times. But, why not from two specific people, who I consider to be good friends? Friend #1 sent me a text asking how she was doing I think two days after my grandma got ill. I haven't heard from her since (my grandma got ill a day after Christmas, and is still in the hospital). Friend #2 asked about my grandma when I saw her in person a day or two before new years, and I haven't heard from her since. On the other hand, I am still hearing from less close friends constantly, checking on my grandma's status and how me and my dad are coping.

I find this all pretty strange, it is not like these two friends are selfish or unsympathetic or anything. We've had two other friends who went through crisis within the last few years. Friend #3 was homeless for two years in San Francisco. Friend #1 and #2 routinely checked on this friend by phone, sent him stuff, and bought his plane tickets when he visited. Friend #4's grandpa was suffering from Leukemia and needed a bone marrow transplant. They volunteered their time going around very poor and rough neighborhoods to hand out flyers to recruit potential donors. They were very uncomfortable, but was happy to do it anyway. And they always checked with friend #4 to see how her grandpa was doing.

Well, I do NOT want anything from my friends like gifts or anything. I want to make that clear! Since I have I job I can buy my own things. I just want to know why I have not heard from them and what I can do about it...or if I should do anything about it. There has to be some sort of explanation. I mean I'm kind of at the point I am contemplating on terminating these two friendships. What's the point of having friends if they will not be by your side in the time of crisis?

My question is how should I handle these two people? Has anyone been in a similar situation? What would cause friends to fall off the face of the earth during rough times?

How do I find a job with my college resume?

Team of Scientists — Sun, 14 Dec 2008 21:21:28 -0800

I'm about to graduate with a BS in electrical engineering. I never had an internship, co-op, etc., and I have a kinda crappy GPA. Where do I begin my job search? OK, lemme try to sum up my undergrad experience as concisely as I can:

I enrolled at the University of Michigan back in 2002. My first few years went well; my GPA through five semesters was just under a 3.5. Right about then (Winter 2005), everything kinda came off the rails.

It's hard to describe what was going on in my head at that time. The best I can offer is immaturity and habitual procrastination snowballed into a period of extreme anxiety. I came out 4 semesters later with a D and three E's scattered amongst B's and C's. My GPA plunged.

After failing to climb out of academic probation for three straight semesters, the college of engineering said I had to take a semester off. So I did. Then all my friends graduated. And then I took another semester off. And another. I awoke in 2008, twenty credits away from graduating and with $30,000 of student loans (out-of-state tuition at U of M is steep, especially after 3 junior years).

Anyway, I took a summer course and some more engineering coursework this fall, and now I'm on the verge of graduation. I'm working much harder now, but my GPA will probably be somewhere between a 2.7 and 2.8 when I'm done.

I admit that I've never really put any effort into finding any kind of EE-related work. I've always felt a little detached from the field. My peers have always seemed more immersed in the subject matter than me, so I fear that I'll be overshadowed by the really passionate kids at job fairs/in interviews. Now I realize that I just gotta get over that fear and apply for these jobs anyway. The problem is that I feel a little late to the party now that I'm about to graduate in the spring with no work experience.

My coursework is kind of a grab-bag assortment of EE classes (a little communications, some DSP, some control systems). I don't have time to tailor it to any particular EE subfield. This seems like it will probably limit my prospects.

It seems that every internship posted online says something to the effect of "Must be graduating later than May 2009 for consideration." Meanwhile, entry-level positions often list GPA requirements of 3.0+.

So, where do I begin? Should I go for an internship or full-time, entry level job? How hire-able am I? Is my case hopeless? Will I be ok provided I put in the necessary leg-work? Are there any alternative options that I've overlooked?

Retails sales are down, so where are the bargains?

abdulf — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 18:06:34 -0800

If retailers are being hit hard with a recession, then why am I not finding bargains? If retail sales are falling, and businesses are posting losses or cutting forecasts, then why am I not finding great bargains?

I guess a "bargain" is a subjective term. But surely there are deals to be had in this economic environment for the people who can spend?

For example - I am looking to buy/rent the following:
1. winter coat, boots (anything suitable an icy/windy winter)
2. point and shoot digital camera (Canon SD 750 or similar)
3. blackberry/smartphone/new cell service (currently with Sprint)
4. new apartment (Amarillo, TX)
5. car maintenance (timing belt/waterpump for 2000 Camry)

None of these good or services seem significantly discounted compared to when I saw them years ago. I've casually looked through sites like slickdeals.net and Black Friday ads. It looks like the same kind of stuff I've seen before.

So maybe I'm not buying the right kinds of goods and services in this economy?

Perhaps the discounts I seek don't come from business cycles but from events like seasonal changes and clearing old inventory.

Or maybe the items I'm buying have prices built in from before the financial crisis?

Borrower seeks Lender (of costume ideas)

cazoo — Thu, 09 Oct 2008 10:26:58 -0800

Costume Filter: I'm going as the subprime mortgage crisis this year. Need some help figuring how to pull this off. So how would I go this Halloween as the subprime mortgage crisis? Any ideas?

To regulate or not to regulate?

murphy slaw — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 11:32:36 -0800

Are there any non-regulatory policies that could have prevented the economic meltdown? When discussing current economic conditions, a statement I frequently hear from conservatives and libertarians is that the current problems are "not a failure of deregulation." I'm wondering what policies those who support continued deregulation of the financial and housing sectors believe would have prevented these problems, or will prevent recurrences.

(I'm asking this out of honest ignorance - economics has never been my strong suit, and at the moment there's a lot of blame and rhetoric flying around from all over the political spectrum, but I'm not hearing a lot of concrete policy proposals.)

How did these banking crises affect their stock markets?

storybored — Sat, 04 Oct 2008 18:32:05 -0800

I'm trying to find out how much stock prices fell in their respective stock markets during three of the following "Big Five" financial crises: Spain(c.1977), Norway(c.1987), Finland(c.1991). Harvard's Rogoff claims a 20% average decline but this seems wrong given that the declines in the other Big Two crises, Japan and Sweden alone were 80% and 45% respectively.

Financial crisis: Government intervention or free-market-pain?

chefscotticus — Tue, 30 Sep 2008 19:03:32 -0800

Current_financial _crisisFilter: Where can I read the single best arguments for government intervention to rescue the financial markets and economy, and the single best argument for zero/minimal government intervention in this current financial crisis? (Looking for links to articles, blog posts, etc -- not opinions -- from MeFites...)

To bail or buy?

Crotalus — Sat, 27 Sep 2008 12:12:34 -0800

If the credit crisis is caused by falling housing prices and excess housing inventory, why doesn't the government just buy up 2,000,000 houses at an average of $350,000 each ($700,000,000) and hold them until housing values rebound. If you're going to artificially prop up home prices, this seems just as efficient as handing the cash to banks.

Yep, another economy question!

Chris4d — Fri, 26 Sep 2008 12:30:12 -0800

Is the credit crunch (and every other economic crisis) an inevitable result of selfish attitudes? Say the continued health of the economy is (gross oversimplification) about future expectations. When reality doesn't meet expectations, there's bad news for somebody (or everybody), but it's generally temporary: lower-than-expected earnings, unhappy stockholders, smaller bonues, but still minor in the grand scheme. People still have jobs, they still contribute to GDP, trade still occurs, etc. etc.

This time, a big chunk of the economy has failed to meet expectations. But that's not a big deal. I mean, really, it shouldn't be. In my head, the investment banks and the lenders and all the other players collectively say "hey, these mortgages aren't the sure-fire investment we thought they were. Sorry! We're going to suffer for a while and we are waaaay overleveraged, but we'll clean up the mess and then we'll be fine!"

Instead, everyone is running for the door and nobody wants to get stuck cleaning up the mess they're leaving behind. Is this really a "feature" of the system, that nobody is willing to lose a little money, and so everyone now stands to lose a lot more?

Thank you for letting me display my ignorance publicly. Begin the flogging!

Help me take care of my family if it hits the fan.

damiano99 — Thu, 25 Sep 2008 22:48:25 -0800

I've tried to be a boyscout in preparations for everything. Oil and water in the car. First Aid and fire retardant in every room. Etc, etc. I've also tried to be prepared for what many call EOTWAWKI, the End of the World as We Know It. Not in a survivalist way by more in line with common sense. Now, I'm trying to figure out how much further to dive in. We live in Tornado Alley, so we have all the usual. Flashlights, 30 days worth of MRE's per person. Extra clothes and needed docs, gear, etc in a go-bag for each person. I could go on forever. However, lately I've been hearing so many dire warnings from people both qualified and un-qualified that I wonder if common sense shouldn't give way to a little healthy paranoia. I'm not a neophyte financially, but I am certainly not an accountant or a broker. Should I stock up on precious metals, and liquify my assets? Should I maintain a diverse portfolio or consolidate in an overseas market?

On the home front ... should I stock up on the home front as well? Extra water, ammo, more food, etc. (Lots of etc, here.)

I know that sounds kooky and I'm not prone to that but I don't like to get caught flatfooted. I've been through enough tornados and enough junk while living overseas in disaster areas that I'm always trying to keep a "Keep-Life-Going-Kit." Should I expand that as well? To what degree should I be worried? Some of the people who are giving "warnings" seem to know what they're talking about while others are certainly the type who border on the edge of normalcy, so I'm having a hard time separating baseless rumors from solid advice.

In short, do basically just need to make sure we're divested of anything risky (we're not heavily invested, mostly 401k and some odd stocks) and keep cash around more often ... OR ... do I need to start stocking up on more food, start an ammo crate and start learning to tan my own leather? (Ok, poetic license but you get my drift.)

How to keep a recovering alcoholic occupied?

Anonymous — Mon, 22 Sep 2008 10:11:21 -0800

How to keep a recovering alcoholic (going through his quarter-life crisis) occupied? My boyfriend made the decision several months ago to stop drinking. He'll go for weeks without wanting a drink until he gets bored. Once the boredom sets in, he'll get frustrated and depressed. He'll start talking about how pointless life is and drink until he can't think straight anymore.

We live in Iowa, so there isn't enough creative stimulation to keep him happy. We're planning on moving, but until we get to that point, he needs several different hobbies to keep himself occupied.

For a while, he was writing every day. This was what stopped his drinking initially. He would get off work and immediately start writing all his thoughts and ideas. He would write well into the night, every night. During this time he started drawing and sketched out some ideas for a graphic novel. Both of these projects ended after about a month or two.

I bought him the Orange Box for PC, and he filled his evenings with Team Fortress 2 for about a month. His latest hobby has been World of Warcraft, but I can feel it's pull starting to wear away.

He's always been into standup comedy and has recently been looking to that as a creative outlet. He also plays guitar, but can't find like-minded musicians in this area.

I believe he's going through his "quarter-life crisis." Just years ago he was touring Europe with his old band, feeling on top of the world. Then he crashed, his life feel apart, and I met him as he was trying to pick up the pieces. He has come so far, and I know he's really happy with his progress, he just can't seem to find anything that keeps him happy in the long run. Once it hits him that he hasn't gone as far as he was hoping, or that he's not "good enough" at a particular hobby, he gets depressed and drinks.

He's not the kind of person to read a self-help books, so I'm just looking for more ideas to keep him busy. He'd prefer to have a group of intellectually stimulating people to surround himself with, to bounce ideas off, to work on creative projects with. Any ideas on where to find something like that, or get a group started, in Iowa? He's open to any ideas for new projects or hobbies. He really wants to keep away from drinking and being in the state of mind it brings, but once he gets bored it's inevitable.

What do recovering alcoholics do when they get the urge to go out to the bar? How do you find creative stimulation in the middle of nowhere? What's a good hobby that takes up a significant amount of time and is still rewarding in the end?