I'm Miserable, You're Miserable, We're All Miserable

Les Misérables 2025.

Photo by Annie Spratt on Unsplash

“People label themselves with all sorts of adjectives. I can only pronounce myself as 'nauseatingly miserable beyond repair'.”
― Franz Kafka, Diaries, 1910-1923

There are more miserable people per capita, or MPPC’s, than ever before, and if misery loves company then misery is pretty happy right now.

Our misery is a function of being awake. It’s not possible to be awake and happy at the same time. Those two states are diametrically opposed.

Becoming less miserable can be achieved in short bursts by going out in nature or contemplating beauty, but after those bursts you are usually left more miserable than before as you realize what we are losing.

Everyone breaks.

When Hollywood deals with the training of spies in movies, there is always a scene where the candidate is tested to see how they will hold up under torture. The contention is that no one can hold out for long, and everyone breaks.

I’m pretty sure almost every thinking person is getting close to the breaking point. We’re just not cut out to deal with loss and destruction on this level and come out of it.

Will a community help?

I think it will, but is it even possible anymore.

I am currently involved with a group here that wants to form some sort of community. I will stay involved for the duration because I think it’s a noble effort, but I’m already noticing a flagging interest. I’ve asked several times for people to get together IRL, but so far have no takers. There is an understandable fear of actual contact, but it would seem that, on a sinking boat, you might want to grab onto something that will keep you afloat.

There are so many things that could be done immediately, like examining local sources of food and supplies, finding and securing water and resources for keeping people safe, working on skills that will be needed, securing a source of medical aid, securing a way to stay in touch when current systems go offline, and starting to walk and bike more and drive less.

I will maintain interest for a little longer, but if I have to devote an inordinate amount of time just to get someone to meet for coffee, the task may become daunting.

A note on food.

It is getting hard to eat cheap. There used to be a lot of videos on how to feed yourself and your family and not break the bank to do it, and some of those videos, released as recently as a few years ago, are now hopelessly out of date.

Here’s my plan:
Breakfast is, oatmeal (still cheap) or toaster waffles (2.99 at Trader Joe’s) with Greek yogurt (.99 cents at Trader Joe’s) and blueberries (3.99 at Trader Joe’s) and between that and the oatmeal you can have seven days of breakfasts for about $12.00.

Lunch is usually whatever soup is on sale at Safeway. I can usually get cans for about $1.25 each.

Dinner is Spanish rice with roasted peppers and onions and black beans. My recipe is made in an Instant Pot, that I got for $18.00 at a thrift store, and consists of the rice, vegetable broth, tomato sauce and taco seasoning, with the black beans and the peppers and onions added after the rice mixture has cooked. Sometimes I will add shredded Mexican style cheese when I warm it up. This makes 5–6 dinners and costs about 10–15 dollars.

I will also buy a $5.00 frozen pizza for a treat and maybe some ice cream.

All told, I can eat for a week on about 40–50 dollars per week.

That’s not too bad at today’s prices, and it’s healthy, and the good thing about being poor is you don’t have to worry too much about putting on weight.

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