I’m having some trouble staying upbeat lately.
Ok, so maybe I’m having some trouble not wallowing in the depths of a weird, nebulous depression.
The problem is, I like to read the news. I like to stay informed. I like to know what’s going on in the world around me. But right now, reading article after article about the crumbling economic situation; constantly hearing about things ‘hitting bottom’, and about how a year from now the situation could be even worse, is pretty frightening. Because I don’t think I completely understand the ramifications of the current situation, and therefore, if things get worse, I feel like I’m rapidly going to be learning a lot of unpleasant lessons and having many new and difficult experiences.
Living cheap is nothing really new for me. I have lived paycheck-to-paycheck before, so it’s not that big a deal to do it now. I’m happy to pull up my socks, smile bravely, cancel my Netflix account and stop eating out or purchasing new clothes. But really, all of that is pretty easy to do. And somehow I feel like that is just the beginning.
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Are you feeling more hopeful? Tell me I need to lighten up. A pie to the face might help, since Lent is over, and I am once again all about pie.
I Heard Tell 
Anne
I read an article where Ben Bernanke talked about “green shoots of recovery” and I’m pretty much clinging to that. http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5h0_BVHNrjlYOoncy63c6fZFuXLag
I know that it’s likely that a full turnaround will take a couple of years, but I’d be happy to just stop hearing about new layoffs.
britt
you can tell that things are bad when I thoguht the the fleck of chocolate icing on the white part of the cookie was a beetle.
but seriously, things are starting to look up slowly economically. and it is almost summer.
leanne
Don’t be glum! You can always come live in our coat closet if things get rough. Or, in our loft, although you’ll have to fight the cats for territory. And if things get rough all around, I’ve always wanted to start a roving band of pirates and, unless you have a problem with eye patches and scurvy, you’re in like flynn!
On a more serious note, Jon works for a financial publication company, and he says that in general, people in the industry are surprised at how soon the economic downturn is looking up. If the people who work with money all day are optimistic, I will cautiously take that as a good sign.