iSurvival, Day 1

I've always been a 'city slicker'. I'm young, arrogant, and hard headed just like every other 25 year old out here, but there's one thing that I have over the rest of the herd. I've got experience. I was a Boy Scout all the way through the Life rank. I wish I had stayed in long enough to get that Eagle rank, but that wasn't my choice. I've spent time on the road with a good buddy of mine, and learned many lessons on those trips. I've even spent some time without a place to truely call home, even if I wasn't without shelter during that year. I've learned a lot of things. Now I've got a handle on my life, and I'm realizing that in the process of domesticating myself, I'm not nearly as prepared as I was long ago. I would like to personally thank http://theurbansurvivalist.blogspot.com/ for helping me come to this realize this. When I first turned my browser to this blog, I read straight from November 2008 to march of the same year, and intend to finish reading the entire blog Monday.

I'm no expert, nor do I intend to exhibit myself as such. What I will do, however, is give a detailed and accurate account of going from a 3rd generation quasi-professional to a (hopefully) 1st rate survivalist while still holding down a decent job and living a normal life. Much of what The Urban Survivalist points out is that the perhaps larger majority of survivalists, and concequently the public opinion of survivalists, find themselves living in a backwoods abandoned missile silo, or 100 acre plot of land, clutching their shotgun and rocking back and forth on the porch talking gibberish to their dog. (No insult intended.) This approach is widely unnecessary, and hopefully I will be able to show you exactly why in the process. If nothing else, I may be able to come up with some tricks that may benefit you, or give you some ideas of your own.

Now, most of my professional background is in computers, and there will be a strong technology focus in a lot of my content. I think in todays society, technology is more than a convenience, it is an asset. Even if TEOTWAWKI comes tomorrow, and instantly obliterates the grid, technology will still be around. Though I do not feel that you should rely heavily on it, it will still be useful for a minimum of 5 years, and in all likelyhood, will stick around for at least 20 more after that.

Like The Urban Survivalist, I did my term in the military. I joined November 6th 2001, and completed my term November 7th 2007. I joined as a network specialist, not to be in the rear with the gear, but because it was what I was good at, and was the greatest service I could do for my country.

Again, this is to be an account of my transition from city slicker to seasoned survivalist, and as my full time job currently pays me near poverty level wages, it may take a little while to get everything started, but I will get my survival setup back into shape, even if it is one piece at a time. If you would like to come along, I'd love to have you.

-DataPhreak