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December 30, 1999

The First Morning Coffee

Attila took the old and empty propane tank to the propane supplier and had it filled. We have considered ourselves a little on the extreme side as far as preparing for Y2K. We have batteries and a radio; we have some empty juice jugs to fill with water. The gas tank in our car is full. A generator sits silently in a corner of the spare room and a spare gas can is full and stored safely outside. Apparently, the propane jockey had a very busy day today. Perhaps a new tradition has emerged, the New Year's BBQ in the snow. The person pumping propane thought the whole thing was funny.

Attila was at the supermarket today. It was quiet, the usual number of customers for a Thursday afternoon. All the shelves were well stocked. No visible signs of anxiety there. The drugstore was the same. Friends of ours are vacationing in Cuba over the New Year; neighbors down the street are planning a holiday next week.

Y2K is on my mind; I have to admit it. While I am busy, I do not think about it at all. When I pause, my awareness surfaces into one of two spaces. The first space is the one where I do not believe there will be much of a problem; any problems will be small and barely noticeable. The second space is the one where I wonder if things will change drastically; I wonder what our lives will be like. It is a bit like being in two places at once; neither are real and both are plausible. Only another day or so of this and then we will see what happens.

So how am I handling this time of not knowing, this waiting? I am thinking about Saturday morning coffee, I'm looking forward to Saturday morning coffee. My first cup of coffee in the 21st Century.