Waiting Casually

I moved to Michigan from California a little over two years ago without ever having stepped foot in the Midwest prior to that. My knowledge of Michigan encompassed various makes and models from the ‘Big 3′ auto makers (for they were actually the ‘Big 3′ at the time as opposed to the current ‘Detroit 3′ since Toyota knocked Chrysler out of that position), Motown records, the acronym H.O.M.E.S., and little else.

My first impression of Michiganders was that these people are tough. They had been through 30+ years of economic and social decline and they stuck with it. They were made fun of by either-coasters and they stuck with it. They were tough and they were here to work.

Now it seems like they, along with a whole mess of people in the rest of the country, can’t work even though they want to. Everywhere you turn, more and more data becomes available that illustrates just how dire our situation is. If there’s any confusion, allow me to clear it up: it’s really bad. We are not flattening out on the job loss curve, but still plummeting downward. Our GDP? Down 40% in Q4 last year. Businesses are doing anything and everything to stay afloat (especially in luxury markets like travel, dining, etc.), but many won’t. This is serious, duck-your-head-and-do-your-best time. There are ‘how to eat like we did in the Depression’ videos on YouTube for chrissakes!

And it’s not just us.  Europe and Asia (freaking all of Asia) are getting nailed by the fallout of this mess too. Iceland as a country went bankrupt and can’t scrape its way out since no bank will touch them.

I’m fortunate enough to have a stable job at a successful company, but I can’t help but worry about the possibility that that may end and what my family will do should that happen. My wife has asked me a dozen times in the past few weeks how we’re set and what we’ll do if we lose our jobs. We’ll be OK for a while, but we have a mortgage and live in a place where the housing market isn’t moving so well if you’re a seller.

And that’s why I have this trapped feeling. Even though I know that we’re in a much better situation than many others, it still feels like impending doom. It’s miserable to think about. We have supportive families and all of that, but that’s about all the comfort we have  with that prospect.

Ever the optimist I’m trying to think of ways to make the most of all of this and maybe invest in property or something, but rule #1 in a shit economy is ‘hold on to your cash’ and given the fact that I don’t really much cash to spend, it sure just seems like a lot of wishful thinking. But wishful thinking never solved any problems, now did it.

Yes, I’d love to return to California and live on the coast and this may be my only chance in my lifetime to afford something like that in the Bay Area. Not gonna happen I’m afraid.

You ask me, I’m just keeping my head down and doing my best.