Today is one of those driving days where you end up using a lot of windshield washer fluid compared to the distance travelled.
Got an email from D a couple of days ago stating that our garage door opener has been officially declared dead. (I know what you are thinking -- Could she have possibly found a more boring topic??!! Uh, wait until you read what I have planned next!)
He called the company I had found earlier and booked an installation appointment. Oh well, it was going to happen sooner or later. The new one is supposed to be more powerful and they will do a check on all the other elements of the door track for a cost of about $350.
It has since been installed and it is awesome! So quiet and smooth as the main track was also replaced and springs cleaned and lubricated. The fellow apparently laughed out loud when he saw how old and rickety our old one was and even wondered if it was even attached to a stud... (it was)
My 2013 end of year numbers are in and I managed to net within $1200 of D last year. Can't imagine getting much closer than that. Our goal has been to be each other's "back up" income wise. D is within 2 years of finishing off the official bank mortgage -- Sum of his portion of main house, condo and car -- Total outstanding is around 38K. Unofficially he will require a few more years yet before he is a true 50:50 owner of everything. It is out of this that my travels for the last few years have been funded with.
Something funny occurred recently. Back story is that I never did get the email attachment for my tourist visa from Cambodia. Because I had been checking status of my application online and can print it from there, didn't really think much of it outside of wondering who might have gotten it.
So the last thing I expected was a pretty over the top birthday email and thank you for using their services exactly on the day of my birthday! That was hilarious.
When I put in for a cancellation of my intercity flight, I pretty much wrote off the idea of actually receiving a refund, having read the horror stories of people still trying to get money back from all sorts of places ranging from hotels to bus companies. I am pleased to say my flight refund has shown up on my online credit card statement.
Decided to move ahead with the rabies vaccination after some more reading/digging. Originally the discussion about pros and cons revolved around rural Vietnam but didn't realize it was potentially a much more significant issue in Cambodia.
I'm finding that under reporting is frequent as there are just so many more significant challenges and issues there and people from outside the cities never make it in to get treated. I decided to base my decision on a recent WHO report and what local treatment centers reportedly see.
Getting it doesn't prevent you from having to go to the hospital (treatment is still going to be 2 - 5 shots depending) but will buy you time should you be in the middle of nowhere or should the clinic not be open or the one you find yourself in doesn't have adequate supplies or sanitation....
I won't have time to receive all 3 before I go, so I am playing the odds that nothing untoward shall happen and I'll get my third shot upon my return and be set for Vietnam as well as what the next 2 years or so may hold.
Just got back from my first rabies shot. Starting to feel a bit strange. Didn't have any issues with my 2nd Japanese Encephalitis a couple of weeks ago. The group before (JE # 1, DKPT, MMR) came with alternating fever, chills and feeling like crap for about 4 days just before Christmas. Flu and typhoid shots were fine. Just mild arm soreness and maybe slight fever for a few hours. With cholera vaccine, maybe a bit of gut wrenching but I slept it off.
After each shot, I've gotten into the habit of keeping really warm as I've noticed my core temperature drops. Makes sense as you are freaking your body out by exposing it to things that cause it to start fighting. Building antibodies takes energy and protein so I've been making sure I don't miss any meals those days.
Rabies and Japanese Encephalitis are the priciest of the bunch so far, at $250 and $200 each and 3 and 2 shots respectively to complete the program. Ask the pharmacist to check your level of coverage if you are not sure. They swipe your extended benefits card and can enter it in as if you are buying and let you know before to avoid any surprises.
Most people this time of year are getting Hep A and B in preparation to go south (Caribbean, Mexico etc.) so you will turn a lot of heads when others hear what you have to pay. As someone who is not on any prescription drugs, this is as much as I have ever used of my extended drug benefits as an adult. Oh yeah, I'm also bringing along an Epipen in case of adverse bite reactions.
There was this young couple (so cute!) who are about to get married and was in today for a consult about their honeymoon location -- Overland trip through 2 countries in Africa. They were oh so excited but came out afterwards looking pretty defeated as they had found out what the recommendations were and the corresponding costs. I can tell they were overwhelmed and were frantically asking the Pharmacist to check out their coverage as I was leaving.
Thursday, January 30, 2014
Monday, January 27, 2014
Moving On
I don't have all the details but the real estate deal for my office building fell through. We are planning to still move ahead with researching alternatives because sooner or later it will happen. I'd rather us make a move on our terms and timing.
The garage door opener got stuck again but D is confident he has figured out what was going on this time. Our door is heavy because it is made of wood and I feel the opener is underpowered so hopefully it will hang on till the spring because I cannot imagine anyone wanting to do a replacement in our current temperatures.
Had to take a break from travel preparations as I finally hit a ceiling with all the details I have been trying to absorb. So the weekend was pleasantly spent tucked away at home due to snow storms. There are still outstanding news I'm waiting for but I'm slowly learning that seems to be the norm.
One of the things I've cancelled is my intercity flight after finding out the professionally advertised 5 flights a day don't actually run 80 - 90% of the time. Not good when someone is expecting to be meeting me bright and early the next morning. I found that out through scouting the daily departure charts of the airports.
Road travel is long due to poor conditions. I'm still trying to get my head around needing over 7 hours to travel 320 km. It's the same distance from our home to the cottage and we can do it in just over 3 hours on a "good" traffic night.
Then there is the issue of no mandatory driving licences or education, drunk driving, reports of 40 people dying on one day due to separate traffic accidents etc. There doesn't seem to be a middle ground with reviews of the various companies. Either it is awesome (lucky?) or complete disaster or heart attack worthy. And online booking systems are not reliable.
I'll have to sort it out once I arrive. And yes, I have figured out my travel medical insurance...
D's biggest worry (outside of me and my trip) on his trip (we fly out on the same day) is falling in love and wanting us to move to Revelstoke...
Finally, a link to a couple of touching videos...
The garage door opener got stuck again but D is confident he has figured out what was going on this time. Our door is heavy because it is made of wood and I feel the opener is underpowered so hopefully it will hang on till the spring because I cannot imagine anyone wanting to do a replacement in our current temperatures.
Had to take a break from travel preparations as I finally hit a ceiling with all the details I have been trying to absorb. So the weekend was pleasantly spent tucked away at home due to snow storms. There are still outstanding news I'm waiting for but I'm slowly learning that seems to be the norm.
One of the things I've cancelled is my intercity flight after finding out the professionally advertised 5 flights a day don't actually run 80 - 90% of the time. Not good when someone is expecting to be meeting me bright and early the next morning. I found that out through scouting the daily departure charts of the airports.
Road travel is long due to poor conditions. I'm still trying to get my head around needing over 7 hours to travel 320 km. It's the same distance from our home to the cottage and we can do it in just over 3 hours on a "good" traffic night.
Then there is the issue of no mandatory driving licences or education, drunk driving, reports of 40 people dying on one day due to separate traffic accidents etc. There doesn't seem to be a middle ground with reviews of the various companies. Either it is awesome (lucky?) or complete disaster or heart attack worthy. And online booking systems are not reliable.
I'll have to sort it out once I arrive. And yes, I have figured out my travel medical insurance...
D's biggest worry (outside of me and my trip) on his trip (we fly out on the same day) is falling in love and wanting us to move to Revelstoke...
Finally, a link to a couple of touching videos...
Thursday, January 23, 2014
Regular Life and Mini Travel Updates
How about some far less significant and heavy topics today?
Well, for us, the first has been our garage door opener. I thought the motor finally seized a couple of days ago due to the cold weather. Frankly I wouldn't have been surprised because it looked old when we bought the house 7 years ago and had made a mental note to upgrade it but decided to wait until it died.
Truth of the matter was I was so engrossed back then with all the landscape, fireplace, chimney and appliance improvements, I had no energy for yet another contractor at the house. Looking back, if we were new owners now, I wouldn't have bothered with as much stuff. I had spent way more money than was absolutely necessary.
It managed to open so I got my vehicle in, but it wouldn't close so I had to use the emergency pull to disconnect and manually closed it. That's after frantically calling D who calmly reminded me what to do. And no, he didn't need to come home early for this...That if I can handle all the logistics of my next trip, I can handle this no problem...Felt pretty silly, I must admit as I knew what to do!
D braved the cold that night and managed to get it working again. It wasn't the motor but the chain that somehow slid over a little? He will need to tighten it a bit more as I noticed it sagging when in operation. Dodged an expense there. I had already looked up a company to call.
Second topic relates to my office. The building was put up for sale in the fall and is in the midst of being sold and all the tenants have been verbally notified by the existing owners as to what the new owners are looking for with respect to rent. In our case, it will mean just over double. What we are currently paying is below market rate.
My name isn't on the lease so I've spoken to my colleague who isn't happy about it but because he's a bit of a pushover, doesn't want to negotiate. So what that will mean is that increase cost will obviously trickle down to me unless I can help it.
The commercial mls search and assertiveness coaching has started as I've found that the proposed rate is above market. The timing for the takeover is end of Feb if the deal gets firmed up so we are checking into all the legal stuff too. As I will be gone most of that month, we need to get a move on now. Of course I would like an idea of what the next steps will be before I depart.
I believe I am not as stressed about the office news because of my trip planning. All the work I've done has broadened my stress reaction range. I'm chuckling at what I just typed because it obviously didn't stop my garage door reaction. It's the dealing with other people as moving parts that I seem more patient and better with.
As well as with money. If my rent does go up (and I'm pretty certain that it will), then I'm confident that what I accept will be because I can and will accept it. See the difference? It's still my choice. I'm not and far from being backed into an impossible corner, like a lot of people I've been reading and learning about.
I'm also at the stage where random Khmer phrases will pop into my head and I'll say it and not immediately (or ever) remember what that means without looking it up. D's like, "What did you just say???". My accent's not bad, if I do say so myself. The problem has been it has been popping up when I ought to be concentrating on other things, like playing my pieces during violin class. Makes for a far more difficult lesson than it already is.
Well, for us, the first has been our garage door opener. I thought the motor finally seized a couple of days ago due to the cold weather. Frankly I wouldn't have been surprised because it looked old when we bought the house 7 years ago and had made a mental note to upgrade it but decided to wait until it died.
Truth of the matter was I was so engrossed back then with all the landscape, fireplace, chimney and appliance improvements, I had no energy for yet another contractor at the house. Looking back, if we were new owners now, I wouldn't have bothered with as much stuff. I had spent way more money than was absolutely necessary.
It managed to open so I got my vehicle in, but it wouldn't close so I had to use the emergency pull to disconnect and manually closed it. That's after frantically calling D who calmly reminded me what to do. And no, he didn't need to come home early for this...That if I can handle all the logistics of my next trip, I can handle this no problem...Felt pretty silly, I must admit as I knew what to do!
D braved the cold that night and managed to get it working again. It wasn't the motor but the chain that somehow slid over a little? He will need to tighten it a bit more as I noticed it sagging when in operation. Dodged an expense there. I had already looked up a company to call.
Second topic relates to my office. The building was put up for sale in the fall and is in the midst of being sold and all the tenants have been verbally notified by the existing owners as to what the new owners are looking for with respect to rent. In our case, it will mean just over double. What we are currently paying is below market rate.
My name isn't on the lease so I've spoken to my colleague who isn't happy about it but because he's a bit of a pushover, doesn't want to negotiate. So what that will mean is that increase cost will obviously trickle down to me unless I can help it.
The commercial mls search and assertiveness coaching has started as I've found that the proposed rate is above market. The timing for the takeover is end of Feb if the deal gets firmed up so we are checking into all the legal stuff too. As I will be gone most of that month, we need to get a move on now. Of course I would like an idea of what the next steps will be before I depart.
I believe I am not as stressed about the office news because of my trip planning. All the work I've done has broadened my stress reaction range. I'm chuckling at what I just typed because it obviously didn't stop my garage door reaction. It's the dealing with other people as moving parts that I seem more patient and better with.
As well as with money. If my rent does go up (and I'm pretty certain that it will), then I'm confident that what I accept will be because I can and will accept it. See the difference? It's still my choice. I'm not and far from being backed into an impossible corner, like a lot of people I've been reading and learning about.
I'm also at the stage where random Khmer phrases will pop into my head and I'll say it and not immediately (or ever) remember what that means without looking it up. D's like, "What did you just say???". My accent's not bad, if I do say so myself. The problem has been it has been popping up when I ought to be concentrating on other things, like playing my pieces during violin class. Makes for a far more difficult lesson than it already is.
Sunday, January 19, 2014
Warning: Heavy Sunday Viewing
This short documentary is definitely not for the faint of heart nor is the language G - rated. But it is an eye opening look into the darkness that exists in Cambodia and throughout Southeast Asia. There is still a lot to do to protect our vulnerable children and young people.
Friday, January 17, 2014
Housekeeping
I'm happy to report I now possess (hopefully valid) travel visas for Cambodia and Vietnam. I've been reading reports of e-visas not working upon arrival at Phnom Penh airport.
Don't really want to be in line with the other 200+ people on my flight dealing with it at 11 pm at night after travelling for 30 hours...Will be bringing an extra passport photo just in case.
Yes, you'll read it can be quite quick but when you consider the volume of people, it might not be (I checked how many flights are regularly scheduled to land in and around that time). I won't have any checked luggage as usual so I want to move and get to my hotel asap. So the extra dollars for the e-visa will be worth it if it all works according to plan... ha ha, famous last words...
While I've been putting full time job hours preparing for my next trips, getting my 2nd shot for Japanese Encephalitis, scrambling to change hotels (just found out that one of the ones I am booked at allows sex tourism...) regular life stuff continues on whether I take notice or not. I'm grateful D is patient with me while I go through these heavy research cycles.
He sent me a spreadsheet documenting year to year changes in our fixed cost of living expenses and I finally took a look at it because I needed a break from hunting down adequate travel insurance and trying to learn Khmer!
2010: $12923
2011: $13689
2012: $13977
2013: $14105
The above totals reflects the sum of:
If I were to use 2013 as the ratio example of House (2880 sq ft) : Cottage (700 sq ft) : Ski condo/studio (300 sq ft),
I would get this -- $9544 : $2050 : $2510. Yup, our tiny spot out west costs more than up north, even before flights.
The only amount I would add to his spreadsheet to make it a more complete picture would be gasoline at about $250 a month and maybe food at about $400 a month (budget amount but we currently have over $400 sitting there with a full fridge and freezer). But we would then be starting to border on all the variable costs in our lives.
When you start adding things like minimum travel out west to use the ski condo, ski passes etc., I feel it ceases to be helpful as those wants can be eliminated. That property isn't necessary for basic shelter reasons. Same with the cottage. Guess that is one reason why mortgage interest rates are higher for recreation properties because they know it will be the first to get dropped when there is a financial crisis.
A change this year has been the dropping of our home landline. I don't use it and we've kept it because D works from home and until recently, he hadn't been able to find a good enough alternative for internet without a landline.
He decided to switch us to Ooma. So far so good. We now have a dry loop for internet as we opted to not go with cable internet. I believe we pay maybe $3/month in fees. We used to pay $35/month for a basic landline. Now we have much faster internet for less with this company.
The upfront costs for the system was about $120 plus a new modem. I like how you can log in online to check calls, messages etc. and not have to use Skype to call within Canada. The pain in the behind parts have been coordinating the end of existing phone line, coordinating the service person's arrival after the fact, having some dead time without services (luckily we have the Turbo Hub) and changing phone numbers with companies that had your old number.
What have I got to complain about? D took care of everything. Thank goodness as I have been a bit useless at home lately.
Don't really want to be in line with the other 200+ people on my flight dealing with it at 11 pm at night after travelling for 30 hours...Will be bringing an extra passport photo just in case.
Yes, you'll read it can be quite quick but when you consider the volume of people, it might not be (I checked how many flights are regularly scheduled to land in and around that time). I won't have any checked luggage as usual so I want to move and get to my hotel asap. So the extra dollars for the e-visa will be worth it if it all works according to plan... ha ha, famous last words...
While I've been putting full time job hours preparing for my next trips, getting my 2nd shot for Japanese Encephalitis, scrambling to change hotels (just found out that one of the ones I am booked at allows sex tourism...) regular life stuff continues on whether I take notice or not. I'm grateful D is patient with me while I go through these heavy research cycles.
He sent me a spreadsheet documenting year to year changes in our fixed cost of living expenses and I finally took a look at it because I needed a break from hunting down adequate travel insurance and trying to learn Khmer!
2010: $12923
2011: $13689
2012: $13977
2013: $14105
The above totals reflects the sum of:
- Main house (hydro, water, heat, phone & Internet, property tax, insurance, car insurance)
- Cottage (hydro, highway tolls, heat, water heater rental, property tax)
- Ski Condo (Strata -- Covers all utilities, Internet, property tax, cable -- No longer, insurance)
If I were to use 2013 as the ratio example of House (2880 sq ft) : Cottage (700 sq ft) : Ski condo/studio (300 sq ft),
I would get this -- $9544 : $2050 : $2510. Yup, our tiny spot out west costs more than up north, even before flights.
The only amount I would add to his spreadsheet to make it a more complete picture would be gasoline at about $250 a month and maybe food at about $400 a month (budget amount but we currently have over $400 sitting there with a full fridge and freezer). But we would then be starting to border on all the variable costs in our lives.
When you start adding things like minimum travel out west to use the ski condo, ski passes etc., I feel it ceases to be helpful as those wants can be eliminated. That property isn't necessary for basic shelter reasons. Same with the cottage. Guess that is one reason why mortgage interest rates are higher for recreation properties because they know it will be the first to get dropped when there is a financial crisis.
A change this year has been the dropping of our home landline. I don't use it and we've kept it because D works from home and until recently, he hadn't been able to find a good enough alternative for internet without a landline.
He decided to switch us to Ooma. So far so good. We now have a dry loop for internet as we opted to not go with cable internet. I believe we pay maybe $3/month in fees. We used to pay $35/month for a basic landline. Now we have much faster internet for less with this company.
The upfront costs for the system was about $120 plus a new modem. I like how you can log in online to check calls, messages etc. and not have to use Skype to call within Canada. The pain in the behind parts have been coordinating the end of existing phone line, coordinating the service person's arrival after the fact, having some dead time without services (luckily we have the Turbo Hub) and changing phone numbers with companies that had your old number.
What have I got to complain about? D took care of everything. Thank goodness as I have been a bit useless at home lately.
Monday, January 13, 2014
Mental Update
I've been overdoing it. So much for keeping my mental/emotional rpms at the 5K range... It feels like I only have a week left when I still have about 4. Ridiculous, I know.
Due to some new discoveries, my itinerary, which I was so pleased with being "set" a month ago, has had to change, for the better. Re-doing prior plans take work, waiting, ongoing communication but it will be worth it. In order to participate in some real immersive opportunities, I've had to go outside my comfort zone and participate in forums and reach out to people with my true identity in a leap of faith.
D isn't thrilled with my trip. I know he has come close to asking me not to go because of the turmoil in the city, the demonstrations and recent violence. I've even asked myself a few times why didn't I just join a group and be done with it???
Because I wanted to create a more unique itinerary, that's why. I didn't want my time there to be mostly spent on seeing sights. That wasn't the sole purpose. And in order to see more, learn more and help, you do need to do some work, a lot of work in some cases. There are literally 1000's of NGOs in Cambodia and sifting through legit and not so legit ones takes time. I'm still waiting for replies.
I've not had to expend this much energy on a journey since my very first solo trip to France. Laughable now, how nervous, excited and apprehensive I was. But this current one I feel is happening now because I personally needed a certain level of travel experience and maturity to be ready for it. What I want to see and do presently wasn't even on the radar back then. Guess I'm a late bloomer that way.
It is going to be phenomenal, not necessarily all in the blow your mind nature sense (I'm sure Angkor will be) but rather in the blow your mind humanity sense (obviously not all positive either). I haven't felt this proud of what I've been able to piece together in a long time. Pretty certain there will be a lot of holding back tears and outright crying. I feel already altered by what I've read up to now and more recently, the bios of the people and organizations I will be privileged enough to get to spend time with.
Due to some new discoveries, my itinerary, which I was so pleased with being "set" a month ago, has had to change, for the better. Re-doing prior plans take work, waiting, ongoing communication but it will be worth it. In order to participate in some real immersive opportunities, I've had to go outside my comfort zone and participate in forums and reach out to people with my true identity in a leap of faith.
D isn't thrilled with my trip. I know he has come close to asking me not to go because of the turmoil in the city, the demonstrations and recent violence. I've even asked myself a few times why didn't I just join a group and be done with it???
Because I wanted to create a more unique itinerary, that's why. I didn't want my time there to be mostly spent on seeing sights. That wasn't the sole purpose. And in order to see more, learn more and help, you do need to do some work, a lot of work in some cases. There are literally 1000's of NGOs in Cambodia and sifting through legit and not so legit ones takes time. I'm still waiting for replies.
I've not had to expend this much energy on a journey since my very first solo trip to France. Laughable now, how nervous, excited and apprehensive I was. But this current one I feel is happening now because I personally needed a certain level of travel experience and maturity to be ready for it. What I want to see and do presently wasn't even on the radar back then. Guess I'm a late bloomer that way.
It is going to be phenomenal, not necessarily all in the blow your mind nature sense (I'm sure Angkor will be) but rather in the blow your mind humanity sense (obviously not all positive either). I haven't felt this proud of what I've been able to piece together in a long time. Pretty certain there will be a lot of holding back tears and outright crying. I feel already altered by what I've read up to now and more recently, the bios of the people and organizations I will be privileged enough to get to spend time with.
Thursday, January 9, 2014
Night & Day
A recently stumbled upon new to me quote I like very much:
“It doesn’t interest me what you do for a living, I want to know what you ache for. It doesn’t interest me how old you are, I want to know if you are willing to risk looking like a fool for love, for your dreams, for the adventure of being alive. I want to know if you can live with failure, yours and mine. It doesn’t interest me where you live or how rich you are, I want to know if you can get up after a night of grief and despair, weary and bruised to the bone, and be sweet to the ones you love. I want to know if you can be alone with yourself and truly like the company you keep in the empty moments of your life.” -Jon Blais
Despite spending the evening of Jan 1, 2014 scrambling for alternate flights home, we started the first day of the new year on a Ferris wheel. Why not right?
New Year's Eve brought multiple grand fireworks displays over the Mediterranean. And New Year's day surprised us with the number of shops that opened. We expected a ghost town but were not going to complain about being able to buy morning pastries from our favourite boulangerie.
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“It doesn’t interest me what you do for a living, I want to know what you ache for. It doesn’t interest me how old you are, I want to know if you are willing to risk looking like a fool for love, for your dreams, for the adventure of being alive. I want to know if you can live with failure, yours and mine. It doesn’t interest me where you live or how rich you are, I want to know if you can get up after a night of grief and despair, weary and bruised to the bone, and be sweet to the ones you love. I want to know if you can be alone with yourself and truly like the company you keep in the empty moments of your life.” -Jon Blais
Despite spending the evening of Jan 1, 2014 scrambling for alternate flights home, we started the first day of the new year on a Ferris wheel. Why not right?
New Year's Eve brought multiple grand fireworks displays over the Mediterranean. And New Year's day surprised us with the number of shops that opened. We expected a ghost town but were not going to complain about being able to buy morning pastries from our favourite boulangerie.
Tuesday, January 7, 2014
Facades of Nice, Fr
After a 2 year absence (felt like 6),
we arrived in Nice, an old favourite, on Boxing Day.
Both of us experienced such relief to be back in a place where
we stood a chance of understanding and being understood.
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Sunday, January 5, 2014
Years
I don't have any particularly in-depth year end reviews to share. It kind of came and went like most days the only difference being we were in another country. Guess that might mean the gap between the life I'm living and where I would like to be is getting smaller.
Overall I am pleased with 2013 and how it turned out. I ended my 3rd year of part time work focused, satisfied and strong. My health and vitality have been predominantly high. It was no coincidence I ended up with a cold right at the end of our trips to Munich and Nice when I hadn't been sick all year.
Food plays a much larger role in my immunity than I would have ever thought and I need to respect it or pay the price (don't do even a little bit of sick well), even though it might not seem "fair" that my tolerances can be so slim anymore. Will tighten things up further the next I return as feeling great outweighs a lot of deliciously tasting things.
I have 2 main goals for 2014:
To get physically stronger (i.e. number of pull ups etc. I can do) while maintaining my current level of body fat -- 19%.
To stop myself from revving so high mentally and emotionally. I can function under an incredible level of stress/pressure for hours, days, weeks, months and have done so for years but it isn't healthy. Force stopping hasn't been my style. I'm known to be relentless with myself and my pursuits.
Now that I am paying focused attention, I am finding that it happens multiple times in a day and I don't want it to anymore. There are no real "fires" anymore and no real need for such ongoing urgent/critical intensity. Believe it or not, it occurs most when I'm not at work as I'm "attacking" the planning part of the rest of my life (organization of home, health, finances, travel etc.) with too much gusto.
Staying at the 5000 vs 8000+ rpm range makes me feel "lazy" but I'm working on proving to myself I can still be ultra productive without burning my nervous system out. It just isn't worth it. I want to live long and be able to continue enjoying the fruits of all this planning.
Overall I am pleased with 2013 and how it turned out. I ended my 3rd year of part time work focused, satisfied and strong. My health and vitality have been predominantly high. It was no coincidence I ended up with a cold right at the end of our trips to Munich and Nice when I hadn't been sick all year.
Food plays a much larger role in my immunity than I would have ever thought and I need to respect it or pay the price (don't do even a little bit of sick well), even though it might not seem "fair" that my tolerances can be so slim anymore. Will tighten things up further the next I return as feeling great outweighs a lot of deliciously tasting things.
I have 2 main goals for 2014:
To get physically stronger (i.e. number of pull ups etc. I can do) while maintaining my current level of body fat -- 19%.
To stop myself from revving so high mentally and emotionally. I can function under an incredible level of stress/pressure for hours, days, weeks, months and have done so for years but it isn't healthy. Force stopping hasn't been my style. I'm known to be relentless with myself and my pursuits.
Now that I am paying focused attention, I am finding that it happens multiple times in a day and I don't want it to anymore. There are no real "fires" anymore and no real need for such ongoing urgent/critical intensity. Believe it or not, it occurs most when I'm not at work as I'm "attacking" the planning part of the rest of my life (organization of home, health, finances, travel etc.) with too much gusto.
Staying at the 5000 vs 8000+ rpm range makes me feel "lazy" but I'm working on proving to myself I can still be ultra productive without burning my nervous system out. It just isn't worth it. I want to live long and be able to continue enjoying the fruits of all this planning.
Friday, January 3, 2014
Jet Lagged Ramblings
Has the makings of a bad song title, don't you think?
We are incredibly grateful to Delta for switching our flights without fee (!) thus avoiding having to spend last night frantically looking for a hotel room from JFK and again today as both flights home had been cancelled due to the impending snow storm.
Trip interruption insurance would have covered it and our food etc. but if you've ever had a flight cancelled, you know about the pandemonium that occurs shortly after the news gets around. And this is just one flight. Many other flights full of people were also in the same boat, all vying for the same things.
I had been keeping an eye on the development of the storm the last couple of days and here is what I would recommend doing should you find yourself in the same situation. With world weather seemingly getting more erratic and unpredictable, I do expect sooner or later, it will happen to you.
At first sign of an official travel alert, call them! The process of getting you on a different flight would be easier if you hadn't checked in already. If you have status with the airline, don't use the general line. Speak to someone who knows you are loyal. And if you are using Skype, change the country to your home country and call the 1 800 number from there so that you won't be charged.
We would like to think D would have gotten the same results but neither of us were willing to take the risk. Remember that you may be competing against the other 400+ people on the plane for limited seats. In our case, the alert was issued less than 24 hours from our flight. And this is still holiday time. And I knew our only options were to connect either via CDG or AMS.
Normally there is a $300 change fee that accompanies a change for an international flight. When an alert is posted by the airline allowing you to change, they will waive it. However, there are a myriad of other fees that make up a flight segment as well as a difference in price depending on the class of the flight. I'm not talking about the broad classes of first, business, economy, but within economy there are a dozen or so classes that determine not only price but the amount of qualification miles and bonuses one earns. Confused yet? We are.
So the goal becomes trying to find you the same class of flight segment in order to get a handle on costs. It is handy to check in advance what flights are selling for. Because it was so last minute, I was seeing outrageous prices -- 3200 Euro for the one way home. With credit card in hand and speaking with a second agent (as international flight changes via computer aren't "automatic") I made up my mind how much I'd be willing to pay to avoid the hassle at JFK.
I don't know who my agent spoke to behind the scenes but to my amazement I got both my flights changed to better, much more expensive segments for free. The next step was to get D's flight moved. He booked separately because he paid for it with points. Again she went away for a while and his change did incur a fee but it was also waived. I couldn't thank her enough.
She wasn't able to get us confirmed seat numbers as it was too close to the flight time but we saw that we were assigned seats upon check in. The important thing was that we were on the flight. There were only 8 seats left on the flight yesterday from Paris to Toronto.
We are incredibly grateful to Delta for switching our flights without fee (!) thus avoiding having to spend last night frantically looking for a hotel room from JFK and again today as both flights home had been cancelled due to the impending snow storm.
Trip interruption insurance would have covered it and our food etc. but if you've ever had a flight cancelled, you know about the pandemonium that occurs shortly after the news gets around. And this is just one flight. Many other flights full of people were also in the same boat, all vying for the same things.
I had been keeping an eye on the development of the storm the last couple of days and here is what I would recommend doing should you find yourself in the same situation. With world weather seemingly getting more erratic and unpredictable, I do expect sooner or later, it will happen to you.
At first sign of an official travel alert, call them! The process of getting you on a different flight would be easier if you hadn't checked in already. If you have status with the airline, don't use the general line. Speak to someone who knows you are loyal. And if you are using Skype, change the country to your home country and call the 1 800 number from there so that you won't be charged.
We would like to think D would have gotten the same results but neither of us were willing to take the risk. Remember that you may be competing against the other 400+ people on the plane for limited seats. In our case, the alert was issued less than 24 hours from our flight. And this is still holiday time. And I knew our only options were to connect either via CDG or AMS.
Normally there is a $300 change fee that accompanies a change for an international flight. When an alert is posted by the airline allowing you to change, they will waive it. However, there are a myriad of other fees that make up a flight segment as well as a difference in price depending on the class of the flight. I'm not talking about the broad classes of first, business, economy, but within economy there are a dozen or so classes that determine not only price but the amount of qualification miles and bonuses one earns. Confused yet? We are.
So the goal becomes trying to find you the same class of flight segment in order to get a handle on costs. It is handy to check in advance what flights are selling for. Because it was so last minute, I was seeing outrageous prices -- 3200 Euro for the one way home. With credit card in hand and speaking with a second agent (as international flight changes via computer aren't "automatic") I made up my mind how much I'd be willing to pay to avoid the hassle at JFK.
I don't know who my agent spoke to behind the scenes but to my amazement I got both my flights changed to better, much more expensive segments for free. The next step was to get D's flight moved. He booked separately because he paid for it with points. Again she went away for a while and his change did incur a fee but it was also waived. I couldn't thank her enough.
She wasn't able to get us confirmed seat numbers as it was too close to the flight time but we saw that we were assigned seats upon check in. The important thing was that we were on the flight. There were only 8 seats left on the flight yesterday from Paris to Toronto.
Saturday, December 28, 2013
Travel Medical
My right upper deltoid is sore because I've just gone through another round of travel immunizations with my new travel doctor. I wanted a second opinion because I found conflicting advice and didn't feel I received adequate explanations. So I searched for someone who has had experience "in the field" and hit the jackpot.
Even though you assume all doctors ought to have the same book knowledge, real experience does stand out. She was able to list all the recent travel health notices, anticipate my questions, understand my concerns right away and could help me anticipate for the future. Having recently returned from a 3 month mission in Asia was just the bonus. That alone was worth many times the second consult fee. Outside of the rabies vaccines, I am now ready for the developing world!
You'll read a lot of varying opinions on the merits and costs of travel medication and immunization. A lot of people complain about the cost. My tally so far is around $500. And surprisingly our extended health insurance covered about 2/3rd of it. Wasn't expecting that. Last time I went for shots (Yellow Fever and Typhoid), I hadn't even bothered to submit a claim as I assumed it fell in the category of elective procedures. A lot of other people complain about potentially disastrous side effects. Friends of ours feel so strongly against it, they won't immunize their children. It can be a touchy subject, that's for sure.
I think of it this way: Drugs and immunization has helped more people than not. Considering the flight alone cost more than our new washer and dryer, what's $500? How much is my life worth to me? How much risk do I want to take on physically and mentally? How keen am I to want to be looking around for a qualified doctor and clinic solo in a country where I don't speak the language and where I may be hundreds of miles away from anything? Some countries will require proof for entry. Yes, you can choose to not go. That's where D stands and it works for him. No hassle then.
You can apply the above thinking to the topic of travel insurance. We have coverage through our travel credit cards and through D's work which we've paid extra for. And silly me has been travelling without really knowing the absolute direct number to call as I've been complacent with the places I've gone to. Even when I knew I was going to Greenland I felt secure that I would receive good care should something happen. Having gone, I would say -- Know your policy and make sure it covers the activities you plan on undertaking as well as emergency evacuation for the country you are visiting. Plans often have their own definition of what a "risky" activity is (ie. dogsledding, camel riding).
Levels of medical facilities and care in the developing world can be real scary. In the "I would not allow them to put an IV in me" (and hopefully I'd be lucid enough to say that) sense because of incidences of re-using needles even in hospitals and prevalence of HIV etc. For example in Cambodia, the level of care is basic enough that should anything moderately serious happens, you will want/need to be medically evacuated to Bangkok. And seriously, the Only Thing remotely exciting about that would be the potential helicopter ride...and even that isn't always as straightforward as described in your policy. Have a read of this post.
So make sure your policy really will get you out of there if need be. Know where your home country's Embassy is (There isn't one in Cambodia for us Canadians -- We have to go to the Australian Embassy). And talking to agents at an insurance call centre isn't all that fruitful as they aren't always able to tell you much outside of what you are able to read anyways. And being told "You'll be covered..." when they can't get over the concept why you'd go to places where there is no running water, cell phone coverage or a hospital hasn't been all that confidence boosting. Talk to someone in the actual claims department if you can. Or buy extra insurance from a company that does lay it all out and have experience in certain types of travel. Unless I get better answers, that's what I'm going to do.
On a real positive note about travel, my flights in April have been changed by the airline fairly significantly. It wasn't such a great itinerary to begin with (3 hops each way with an 11 hour layover in Seoul on the way home) but I was making the best of it -- 5 hour free transit tour and time at what is supposed to be an incredible airport! The email came barely 2 weeks after I purchased the ticket. I panicked because it made things even more uncomfortable on the way there and back, increasing my average layover to 4 hours and the one return layover in Seoul to 13+ hours.
So I called and got someone right away. He was fantastic. Didn't explain any rules or anything to me when I asked what my options were. Just asked me if I had to connect through Seoul? When I said 'no', he proceeded to find me flights that were so good, I almost giggled out loud.
Not only do I no longer have to make 3 hops each way, I am now able to make it home on the same day I left. It's still going to take about 30 hours but psychologically it feels better, like I've cheated time or something. And the kicker? When D called (because it wasn't available to be purchased online and having seen what I've come up with for that trip, has decided he might want to join me after all...) to see how much it would cost to take the same flight? $4200..... Score!!! And that's for economy....
Even though you assume all doctors ought to have the same book knowledge, real experience does stand out. She was able to list all the recent travel health notices, anticipate my questions, understand my concerns right away and could help me anticipate for the future. Having recently returned from a 3 month mission in Asia was just the bonus. That alone was worth many times the second consult fee. Outside of the rabies vaccines, I am now ready for the developing world!
You'll read a lot of varying opinions on the merits and costs of travel medication and immunization. A lot of people complain about the cost. My tally so far is around $500. And surprisingly our extended health insurance covered about 2/3rd of it. Wasn't expecting that. Last time I went for shots (Yellow Fever and Typhoid), I hadn't even bothered to submit a claim as I assumed it fell in the category of elective procedures. A lot of other people complain about potentially disastrous side effects. Friends of ours feel so strongly against it, they won't immunize their children. It can be a touchy subject, that's for sure.
I think of it this way: Drugs and immunization has helped more people than not. Considering the flight alone cost more than our new washer and dryer, what's $500? How much is my life worth to me? How much risk do I want to take on physically and mentally? How keen am I to want to be looking around for a qualified doctor and clinic solo in a country where I don't speak the language and where I may be hundreds of miles away from anything? Some countries will require proof for entry. Yes, you can choose to not go. That's where D stands and it works for him. No hassle then.
You can apply the above thinking to the topic of travel insurance. We have coverage through our travel credit cards and through D's work which we've paid extra for. And silly me has been travelling without really knowing the absolute direct number to call as I've been complacent with the places I've gone to. Even when I knew I was going to Greenland I felt secure that I would receive good care should something happen. Having gone, I would say -- Know your policy and make sure it covers the activities you plan on undertaking as well as emergency evacuation for the country you are visiting. Plans often have their own definition of what a "risky" activity is (ie. dogsledding, camel riding).
Levels of medical facilities and care in the developing world can be real scary. In the "I would not allow them to put an IV in me" (and hopefully I'd be lucid enough to say that) sense because of incidences of re-using needles even in hospitals and prevalence of HIV etc. For example in Cambodia, the level of care is basic enough that should anything moderately serious happens, you will want/need to be medically evacuated to Bangkok. And seriously, the Only Thing remotely exciting about that would be the potential helicopter ride...and even that isn't always as straightforward as described in your policy. Have a read of this post.
So make sure your policy really will get you out of there if need be. Know where your home country's Embassy is (There isn't one in Cambodia for us Canadians -- We have to go to the Australian Embassy). And talking to agents at an insurance call centre isn't all that fruitful as they aren't always able to tell you much outside of what you are able to read anyways. And being told "You'll be covered..." when they can't get over the concept why you'd go to places where there is no running water, cell phone coverage or a hospital hasn't been all that confidence boosting. Talk to someone in the actual claims department if you can. Or buy extra insurance from a company that does lay it all out and have experience in certain types of travel. Unless I get better answers, that's what I'm going to do.
On a real positive note about travel, my flights in April have been changed by the airline fairly significantly. It wasn't such a great itinerary to begin with (3 hops each way with an 11 hour layover in Seoul on the way home) but I was making the best of it -- 5 hour free transit tour and time at what is supposed to be an incredible airport! The email came barely 2 weeks after I purchased the ticket. I panicked because it made things even more uncomfortable on the way there and back, increasing my average layover to 4 hours and the one return layover in Seoul to 13+ hours.
So I called and got someone right away. He was fantastic. Didn't explain any rules or anything to me when I asked what my options were. Just asked me if I had to connect through Seoul? When I said 'no', he proceeded to find me flights that were so good, I almost giggled out loud.
Not only do I no longer have to make 3 hops each way, I am now able to make it home on the same day I left. It's still going to take about 30 hours but psychologically it feels better, like I've cheated time or something. And the kicker? When D called (because it wasn't available to be purchased online and having seen what I've come up with for that trip, has decided he might want to join me after all...) to see how much it would cost to take the same flight? $4200..... Score!!! And that's for economy....
Tuesday, December 17, 2013
Munich x 3
This was our 3rd time visiting Munich. Twice to take in their Christmas markets and once at the start of Biergarten season (May).
Here are some of our observations this time around:
Here are some of our observations this time around:
- Increased numbers of people (especially young adults) smoking -- Disturbing considering all we know.
- Road rage from Audi drivers! Not sure what is going on there. Normal vehicular experience is quite quiet due to the type of cars on the road (mostly luxury sedans vs scooters and small cylinder vehicles in say, Paris or Rome) so honking really stands out.
- Increased numbers of beggars -- Non German.
- We found it overall to be busier than last year.
- Popular street food trends this year include the crepe and flatbreads with various toppings. We stuck with the traditional German selections such as Reiberdatschi, lebkuchen, spatzle, knodel, schupfnudeln, leberkase etc. etc. We were surprised to see a plethora of places offering Currywurst as well.
- Noticed prices have gone up slightly compared to last year. Each snack/item/alcoholic drink costs in the 4 - 5 Euro range this year. A plate/entrée (still talking street food portions here) will be in the 8 - 10 Euro range. Small bottle of water 2 Euro+ depending on where you are. And you won't find people drinking water either, which is totally opposite from Canada.
- We continued to stand out amongst everyone else because we shared dishes and drinks. People just don't do that. I can't imagine eating or drinking one of everything on my own as there is just too much food to choose from and to do so would mean gaining many pounds. Considering how many hours of walking we did each day, I still managed to gain a pound.
- It took us a couple of days of visiting and tasting various markets treats to develop a list of favourites (and about 3 days before we were thinking in basic German -- pretty pathetic, I know). I can't imagine being there for 2 weeks. Just too much food! Temptation is everywhere! I think 4 - 5 days is the ideal length of time to hit all the highlights and to go nuts trying everything.
- From a food allergy perspective, this was my best trip. No nasal congestion or itchy eyes post wheat/egg/sugar/dairy exposure as I didn't hold back. Just noticed a drop in energy. I will take it as a sign I am healing. Good thing as we will be spending New Years in France (last minute bonus trip courtesy of sheer luck with finding decent flights and Skymiles).
- Did you know their Ice Tea is sparkling?
- Few things help complete a meal laden with meat (mostly pork) better than a skewer of dark chocolate covered strawberries. D really took to the chocolate covered grapes (yuck -- not for me). Tasted so refreshing. I also enjoyed the dark chocolate covered hazel and macadamia nuts. Most people walked around snacking on candied nuts of one sort or another.
- If you enjoy looking at and buying beautifully displayed gourmet food, head to Dalmayr -- Simply gorgeous store. Reminded us of the food floor at KaDeWe in Berlin.
- If you like riding style leather boots, you will find a lot to chose from -- Won't come cheap.
- We loved how if you order a fresh waffle with chocolate, one side is actually dipped in a chocolate that dries/hardens so when the cherries and whipped cream is added on top, it prevents the warm waffle from becoming soggy in a hurry -- So Smart!
- It still hasn't failed to surprise us just how quiet the Munich airport is. It is literally almost silent. People are so respectful. Love it!
- Speaking of airports, AMS and MUC are offering real food for "good" prices. Airports are notorious for bad quality food at high prices. I actually had an organic hamburger made fresh with salad and fries for 10 Euro in Amsterdam! Usually I am paying 17 Euro for about 8 pieces of sorry looking sashimi and a bad green tea or 6 Euro for a small freshly squeezed fruit juice. That was just earlier this year too. And in MUC, you can get a plate of leberkase, potato salad and a Weissbier for 10 Euro!
- Another point about European airports -- WiFi has improved in AMS and MUC. If you do not have a data plan for outside of your home country, be cautious as roaming fees can be exorbitant. Check with your provider as to how to disable roaming on your phone. Case at point -- My new android phone uses more data than my old BB. I was able to email D from Hawaii over the 2 weeks I was there and incurred only about a $4 charge (no package). In Sept, when I was in Bar Harbor, I noticed a "R" by the bandwidth strength sign up top but not before getting charged for roaming -- $7.03 for 2.34 MB (think I just managed to receive 2 emails and was starting to check the weather)! My new phone needs to be in flight mode as well as disabling the data while roaming and mobile data settings in order to be able to use WiFi without roaming. Found this out in AMS after a few minutes of surfing...We'll see if I'm dinged anything shortly. I had time to burn as we got there 1 hour ahead of schedule (due to high winds). Add to it our usual 1 hr 40 min layover between flights and 1 hour subsequent delay as the winds were wrecking havoc for other planes.
- Starbucks is serving up an Orange Mocha coffee this season in Europe...Too sweet for me but I had to try.
- We discovered a really fun store -- Manufactum. There is this toy horse I wanted for myself -- Video below. (Turn your sound on)
- Should you find yourself with extra stomach room and energy to burn after regular market hours, head to Tollwood as the fun there goes till 1 am daily.
- I'm going to take this opportunity to Wish You All a Merry Christmas & A Happy New Year!!! May your lives continue to be better than you imagined.
Sunday, December 15, 2013
Friday, December 6, 2013
It's Time
For the last decade and a half, especially the last 2 years, I've been travelling to explore some of my dream places.
Now that my work schedule is comfortable and my psyche has had a chance to decompress from what feels like decades of "torture", it's time to start travelling for a larger purpose than myself. I'll still incorporate some fun stuff but there is something I've wanted to do since I was a teenager:
To give back in a more personal way than money. I want to experience viscerally what it is like in true adversity, not the "first world problems" that I contend with here.
Here's what's been on my reading list lately and the subject matter has made my gut feel very uneasy and has negatively affected my sleep.
I have to be able to brave heat, bugs, potential disease, cultural shock, mental angst, emotional overload, safety concerns, long transit hours, disease, delays, frustration, potentially appalling levels of hygiene and public health standards, overwhelming sadness and despair...To rise above discomfort and still be productively helpful.
Will I be able to do it? I honestly don't know but I would like to give myself an opportunity to find out. To go beyond my current limitations and open myself to be changed forever. I know I would have lots to offer if I can manage all the noise that comes with a more extreme environment.
Should I discover I don't have what it takes or am truly not cut out for this line of work, then I'll be satisfied with continuing to donate money. But if there is a chance I can adapt and participate with my own hands, I will.
This is the focus of my initial travels for 2014. I'm seeking first to understand so haven't signed up for a solid commitment of any sort, as tempting as it is -- I don't want to let anyone down should I have a "breakdown". I would like time to acclimatize literally and mentally/emotionally.
It will be a challenge as I currently exist in a pretty controlled, clean, safe and manageable environment and it has taken a long time before finally feeling ready to take this on. D will be the first to tell you that I'm not a huge fan of change in my everyday routine. Not to mention mosquitos love me and heat and I have not traditionally gotten along too well.
He'll also add that he simply choses to not go to places where there is so much to deal with but has been surprised with my persistence and how much I've been putting into my preparations. I'm hoping a strong enough purpose will make all the difference.
Until then, I will allow myself to revel in the safety of a country that is at the opposite end of the spectrum. A place where I'm free to wander at my leisure, where spirits will be high. We're returning to Munich to bask in their Christmas Market culture. Back in about 1 1/2 wk.
Now that my work schedule is comfortable and my psyche has had a chance to decompress from what feels like decades of "torture", it's time to start travelling for a larger purpose than myself. I'll still incorporate some fun stuff but there is something I've wanted to do since I was a teenager:
To give back in a more personal way than money. I want to experience viscerally what it is like in true adversity, not the "first world problems" that I contend with here.
Here's what's been on my reading list lately and the subject matter has made my gut feel very uneasy and has negatively affected my sleep.
- Notes From My Travels: Visits with Refugees in Africa, Cambodia, Pakistan and Ecuador -- Angelina Jolie
- I Have Seen The World Begin: Travels Through China, Cambodia and Vietnam -- Carsten Jensen
- First They Killed My Father: A Daughter of Cambodia Remembers -- Loung Ung
- Cambodia Calling: A Memoir From the Frontlines of Humanitarian Aid -- Richard Heinzl
I have to be able to brave heat, bugs, potential disease, cultural shock, mental angst, emotional overload, safety concerns, long transit hours, disease, delays, frustration, potentially appalling levels of hygiene and public health standards, overwhelming sadness and despair...To rise above discomfort and still be productively helpful.
Will I be able to do it? I honestly don't know but I would like to give myself an opportunity to find out. To go beyond my current limitations and open myself to be changed forever. I know I would have lots to offer if I can manage all the noise that comes with a more extreme environment.
Should I discover I don't have what it takes or am truly not cut out for this line of work, then I'll be satisfied with continuing to donate money. But if there is a chance I can adapt and participate with my own hands, I will.
This is the focus of my initial travels for 2014. I'm seeking first to understand so haven't signed up for a solid commitment of any sort, as tempting as it is -- I don't want to let anyone down should I have a "breakdown". I would like time to acclimatize literally and mentally/emotionally.
It will be a challenge as I currently exist in a pretty controlled, clean, safe and manageable environment and it has taken a long time before finally feeling ready to take this on. D will be the first to tell you that I'm not a huge fan of change in my everyday routine. Not to mention mosquitos love me and heat and I have not traditionally gotten along too well.
He'll also add that he simply choses to not go to places where there is so much to deal with but has been surprised with my persistence and how much I've been putting into my preparations. I'm hoping a strong enough purpose will make all the difference.
Until then, I will allow myself to revel in the safety of a country that is at the opposite end of the spectrum. A place where I'm free to wander at my leisure, where spirits will be high. We're returning to Munich to bask in their Christmas Market culture. Back in about 1 1/2 wk.
Saturday, November 30, 2013
Working With Friends Pt 2
Negotiation is too strong a word. All I wanted was some facts from R -- Timing, schedule, costs, procedures -- Really, what "is". Nothing earth shattering. Stuff that a business owner ought to know off the top of their heads. A starting point.
When the straightforward answers didn't arrive as expected, it caused some confusion on my end. At first I thought maybe there was some stuff going on at home with his wife's health. And indeed there was, so I waited as obviously what we were talking about wasn't important compared to that.
So when the answers still didn't come, I began to be suspicious. Maybe our easy communication wasn't going to apply to this topic? I consider myself a fairly clear communicator. And when you are dealing with schedules, rent and utilities, how far can you go off track?
The experience was like pulling teeth and I began to lose patience.
In order for me to adequately assess my interest in a option, I need to know what the facts are. Then I can compare it to the other options on the table and get a gut feel. Pretty basic stuff. I could ring off my monthly expenses for the office without much hesitation. And if the offer was a 50:50 split, then I need to know what 100% is. Simple, right?
Turns out R has issues with talking money and business with me. He was really nervous. It was like I was speaking to a totally different person! And he came across "wishy washy" with respect to time slots that were really available. If I don't know what is open, how can I decide if they will work for me?
However, he was confident that we would be able to work it out...
What??! As much as I like R, that doesn't fly with me. I can't blindly jump into something with just his confidence that "it will work out". Aren't we a ways too old for that??? He's a few years older than me and I thought he was a control freak too so to me, that meant easy to get details from, so why the about face?
I don't really know. All I know is that it is difficult for some people to talk about money. I'm so used to it at home, on this blog, it feels natural. He really surprised me by not being comfortable. And how could he expect I could go for that? This is the kind of thing that will wreck friendships.
So that is why it would not have worked out. We never got to first base in our "discussions". There wasn't enough for me to even say a maybe to, much less a resounding yes. It needs to be resounding yes if I am going to pick up and move across country.
And I got tired trying to squeeze answers out of him. I am not able to commit to him as a person and count on everything sorting itself out later. Too pragmatic for that and I feel, disrespectful to our history. We are not compatible in business handling. He is way better off keeping his office solo.
Being the "helpful" person I am, I did leave him with some advice (fairly long bullet list of points) should he ever decide to try again with someone else. He took it well but still came across slightly confused why I was moving on. I chose not to bite. Best to stay with what we know works -- Just friends.
When the straightforward answers didn't arrive as expected, it caused some confusion on my end. At first I thought maybe there was some stuff going on at home with his wife's health. And indeed there was, so I waited as obviously what we were talking about wasn't important compared to that.
So when the answers still didn't come, I began to be suspicious. Maybe our easy communication wasn't going to apply to this topic? I consider myself a fairly clear communicator. And when you are dealing with schedules, rent and utilities, how far can you go off track?
The experience was like pulling teeth and I began to lose patience.
In order for me to adequately assess my interest in a option, I need to know what the facts are. Then I can compare it to the other options on the table and get a gut feel. Pretty basic stuff. I could ring off my monthly expenses for the office without much hesitation. And if the offer was a 50:50 split, then I need to know what 100% is. Simple, right?
Turns out R has issues with talking money and business with me. He was really nervous. It was like I was speaking to a totally different person! And he came across "wishy washy" with respect to time slots that were really available. If I don't know what is open, how can I decide if they will work for me?
However, he was confident that we would be able to work it out...
What??! As much as I like R, that doesn't fly with me. I can't blindly jump into something with just his confidence that "it will work out". Aren't we a ways too old for that??? He's a few years older than me and I thought he was a control freak too so to me, that meant easy to get details from, so why the about face?
I don't really know. All I know is that it is difficult for some people to talk about money. I'm so used to it at home, on this blog, it feels natural. He really surprised me by not being comfortable. And how could he expect I could go for that? This is the kind of thing that will wreck friendships.
So that is why it would not have worked out. We never got to first base in our "discussions". There wasn't enough for me to even say a maybe to, much less a resounding yes. It needs to be resounding yes if I am going to pick up and move across country.
And I got tired trying to squeeze answers out of him. I am not able to commit to him as a person and count on everything sorting itself out later. Too pragmatic for that and I feel, disrespectful to our history. We are not compatible in business handling. He is way better off keeping his office solo.
Being the "helpful" person I am, I did leave him with some advice (fairly long bullet list of points) should he ever decide to try again with someone else. He took it well but still came across slightly confused why I was moving on. I chose not to bite. Best to stay with what we know works -- Just friends.
Tuesday, November 26, 2013
Welcome To Canada
Even I thought this was a bit too much to wake up to...
We were all laughing in disbelief and grimacing at the impending amount of work.
The snow unfortunately wasn't light and fluffy but instead packed some weight.
We have the largest snow blower on the block and the amounts almost overwhelmed it.
This morning the plows came by and the overflow made our sidewalks knee deep.
Oh Canada...
 |
| That lump is our BBQ. |
 |
| As seen from inside the garage. |
 |
| There are 2 steps that lead up to our side deck. |
 |
| Snow changes depth and distance perception. So does sand, I guess. There's at least 8 feet between the car and the red brick house. |
Sunday, November 24, 2013
Normally
Normally it would have gone like this:
MW!!! It is so good to see you...(followed by hug and kiss on cheek)
-- I smile a bit nervously because I know what I will be in for in the next hour.
What are we doing today?
-- Well, my dance classes are completed, so...
We can do something more interesting and beautiful?
-- Ah, OK...with maybe 2 - 3 inches off and I still have to be able to put it up...
OK!!! Tell me your news. Where have you gone?
***45 min later, after all the washing, conditioning, drying, setting, tugging, coaching on how to style it (which he knows will fall on deaf ears because I'm just not into it), I emerge with Victoria's Secret model hair (with instructions to go out that night). One of 2 times a year that I get my hair cut.***
Instead, it went like this:
MW!!! It is so good to see you...(followed by extra long hug) as I asked him softly,
-- How is your family?
My sister got swept away and my other sister has her 2 and 5 year old now...They are worried about looters...I feel so helpless...They are not allowed back there yet so what can we do?...We are angry at how many people died but my sister said so many died because there was no warning in her area...China got warned but not them...In Sept they already had flooding, enough to reach the ceiling of the main floor (9 ft) and it took 2 weeks for the water level to come back down. That is why their main living areas are built on the second floor...I don't know how long it will take this time... They have been through so much already...It is so difficult being so far away...And they have not found her body...How do you grieve? [Typhoon Haiyan]
MW!!! It is so good to see you...(followed by hug and kiss on cheek)
-- I smile a bit nervously because I know what I will be in for in the next hour.
What are we doing today?
-- Well, my dance classes are completed, so...
We can do something more interesting and beautiful?
-- Ah, OK...with maybe 2 - 3 inches off and I still have to be able to put it up...
OK!!! Tell me your news. Where have you gone?
***45 min later, after all the washing, conditioning, drying, setting, tugging, coaching on how to style it (which he knows will fall on deaf ears because I'm just not into it), I emerge with Victoria's Secret model hair (with instructions to go out that night). One of 2 times a year that I get my hair cut.***
Instead, it went like this:
MW!!! It is so good to see you...(followed by extra long hug) as I asked him softly,
-- How is your family?
My sister got swept away and my other sister has her 2 and 5 year old now...They are worried about looters...I feel so helpless...They are not allowed back there yet so what can we do?...We are angry at how many people died but my sister said so many died because there was no warning in her area...China got warned but not them...In Sept they already had flooding, enough to reach the ceiling of the main floor (9 ft) and it took 2 weeks for the water level to come back down. That is why their main living areas are built on the second floor...I don't know how long it will take this time... They have been through so much already...It is so difficult being so far away...And they have not found her body...How do you grieve? [Typhoon Haiyan]
Thursday, November 21, 2013
Working With Friends Pt 1
Even if we had decided to move out west, I wouldn't have been working in the same office as my buddy R. I had decided long before we met in person the second trip, after having gone through a number of email exchanges.
Our friendship spans almost 20 years. Right from the start, it was easy to spend time together. Even 14 hour days wouldn't seem long. When D saw us together for the first time, he even said "you guys are crazy together", meant in a good way. He got to see a different side of me. When I met R's wife for the first time, I could tell she was initially looking at us a little harder.
R is very detailed oriented and a very thorough (occasionally too much so) communicator. Which normally really works for me because I hate having to ask for clarification. And he "gets" me. He speaks in a way I understand immediately. We don't agree on a lot of major topics but we can usually calmly and technically talk/work it out, him with loads more patience than I. I've been known to be abrupt when I've made up my mind to drop something.
Communication is the number one thing D and I work on because of my need for detail. Yes, I can be exceedingly difficult to live with. It's getting there but certainly didn't come naturally to us as a couple. I firmly believe a part of that for D comes from his upbringing. Not being encouraged or inspired to communicate clearly and D also not being the type to self motivate back in the day. Different story now.
There was never ever anything romantic with R, not even a hug until the last few years (hug that is, which initially freaked me out because it was so uncharacteristic of him -- Whereas he knows I am a hugger). He always kept his private thoughts and feelings hidden quite well and I never pushed. Occasionally I'd get to hear about some girl trouble but that was about it.
We had lots of other things to occupy our conversations and time. If anything, I always thought he was too much of a gentleman. I might have tried to consul him on showing more passion once and it got a bit awkward so that was that.
So he really was the perfect guy friend when we were in school. His enthusiasm for life is contagious. Someone I could go dancing with and feel safe walking home with at 4 am. Someone I can count on to tell it to me straight. In my experience, that is truly hard to find and I cherish anyone around me who is capable of such frankness.
Not even D can do that consistently. He will edit things in efforts to "let me down easier" or "tell me what he thinks I want to hear", which will make me mad and offended because I feel I can handle it. Just tell it to me straight. I hate trying to second guess things.
So when R suggested we share office space, it was the first time money, future planning, work logistics, need for control entered into our communication arena. He was quite nervous and likened it to "getting married". I didn't see it that way at all even though the idea carried a certain weight because of our history. To me it was a straight up business negotiation.
Our friendship spans almost 20 years. Right from the start, it was easy to spend time together. Even 14 hour days wouldn't seem long. When D saw us together for the first time, he even said "you guys are crazy together", meant in a good way. He got to see a different side of me. When I met R's wife for the first time, I could tell she was initially looking at us a little harder.
R is very detailed oriented and a very thorough (occasionally too much so) communicator. Which normally really works for me because I hate having to ask for clarification. And he "gets" me. He speaks in a way I understand immediately. We don't agree on a lot of major topics but we can usually calmly and technically talk/work it out, him with loads more patience than I. I've been known to be abrupt when I've made up my mind to drop something.
Communication is the number one thing D and I work on because of my need for detail. Yes, I can be exceedingly difficult to live with. It's getting there but certainly didn't come naturally to us as a couple. I firmly believe a part of that for D comes from his upbringing. Not being encouraged or inspired to communicate clearly and D also not being the type to self motivate back in the day. Different story now.
There was never ever anything romantic with R, not even a hug until the last few years (hug that is, which initially freaked me out because it was so uncharacteristic of him -- Whereas he knows I am a hugger). He always kept his private thoughts and feelings hidden quite well and I never pushed. Occasionally I'd get to hear about some girl trouble but that was about it.
We had lots of other things to occupy our conversations and time. If anything, I always thought he was too much of a gentleman. I might have tried to consul him on showing more passion once and it got a bit awkward so that was that.
So he really was the perfect guy friend when we were in school. His enthusiasm for life is contagious. Someone I could go dancing with and feel safe walking home with at 4 am. Someone I can count on to tell it to me straight. In my experience, that is truly hard to find and I cherish anyone around me who is capable of such frankness.
Not even D can do that consistently. He will edit things in efforts to "let me down easier" or "tell me what he thinks I want to hear", which will make me mad and offended because I feel I can handle it. Just tell it to me straight. I hate trying to second guess things.
So when R suggested we share office space, it was the first time money, future planning, work logistics, need for control entered into our communication arena. He was quite nervous and likened it to "getting married". I didn't see it that way at all even though the idea carried a certain weight because of our history. To me it was a straight up business negotiation.
Tuesday, November 19, 2013
Travel Plan Update & Misc.
The appointment with my local travel medical doctor has been made. Visa applications printed and the timing of them kind of figured out. This will be my first time sending away my passport and required extra passport pictures for travel visa use. The thought of being separated from it makes me nervous as the timing may be tight. I have to remind myself to suck it up as people do it all the time and there is nothing special with my case. Can you tell I'm a tad protective of my passport?
Two of the three trips next year are mostly planned and am feeling pretty good about it. It wasn't my intention to organize both at once but once I started calling and emailing about info, availability etc. and happened upon people who were exceptionally great at responding, things just fell into place.
Have gone back and forth about 20 times with representatives for each country so it made sense just to commit rather than wait and get back to them in a couple of months. Some aspects of the trips required advance deposits to secure spots. And because the people I corresponded with also assumed a certain amount of knowledge, it challenged me to get my Learning On quick in order to respond properly.
I'm making this sound far more involved than it really was. When your knowledge base is pretty much zero, anything new is a big deal. Good thing I like maps as most of this was logistic planning. Other aspects were variations of what I already know such as train, bus, ferry scheduling, albeit in a different language and some I cannot buy without an agent, but there is lots of support out there.
I find myself in the strange position of knowing where I'm going and big picture of what I will be doing once I arrive but with no flights (yet) to get there or for once I'm there. Completely opposite from how I normally approach things. Usually I am seat sale driven as it is commonly the single largest expenditure for me. Already started buying appropriate clothing and supplies.
However there are no current flight sales to where I'll be heading. Not expecting there to be much give in price as I'll be travelling during high season (unusual for me). Same for trip number three if I get my way. In fact, I'm giving up skiing this year just to go.
The saga has ended with the purchase of a new set after all. The part came on time but when D removed the back part of the motor, a crack was discovered in the actual basket/drum. Normally a warranty issue (25 year coverage on the part) but because the washer came with the house, we don't have a receipt to prove it. To purchase it will cost in the $400 range, so we opted to just replace the set.
The manufacturer gave us a refund on all the parts once he heard what we discovered, which was awesome. And D found a local fellow who will take away our washer for free and will give us $50 for the dryer.
Poor D felt completely defeated. He wanted so badly to be able to fix it (be the hero) and save us the cost but it just didn't make sense. We tried hard. That's good enough for me. Currently the washer is back ordered so it won't be here until next week. We are going with Samsung this time.
Moving on, D is trying to talk me into letting him change the brake pads on our cars. Yeah... I don't know about that... Washing machines are not in the same league as brakes -- A Safety Issue. Apparently it is "ridiculously easy" and there are tons of videos on it... Admittedly I haven't done any research on it but the idea makes me even more nervous than not getting my passport back in time.
Two of the three trips next year are mostly planned and am feeling pretty good about it. It wasn't my intention to organize both at once but once I started calling and emailing about info, availability etc. and happened upon people who were exceptionally great at responding, things just fell into place.
Have gone back and forth about 20 times with representatives for each country so it made sense just to commit rather than wait and get back to them in a couple of months. Some aspects of the trips required advance deposits to secure spots. And because the people I corresponded with also assumed a certain amount of knowledge, it challenged me to get my Learning On quick in order to respond properly.
I'm making this sound far more involved than it really was. When your knowledge base is pretty much zero, anything new is a big deal. Good thing I like maps as most of this was logistic planning. Other aspects were variations of what I already know such as train, bus, ferry scheduling, albeit in a different language and some I cannot buy without an agent, but there is lots of support out there.
I find myself in the strange position of knowing where I'm going and big picture of what I will be doing once I arrive but with no flights (yet) to get there or for once I'm there. Completely opposite from how I normally approach things. Usually I am seat sale driven as it is commonly the single largest expenditure for me. Already started buying appropriate clothing and supplies.
However there are no current flight sales to where I'll be heading. Not expecting there to be much give in price as I'll be travelling during high season (unusual for me). Same for trip number three if I get my way. In fact, I'm giving up skiing this year just to go.
************************************
I know you have all been sitting on the edge of your seats awaiting the riveting conclusion to our washing machine woes, so here it is... : )The saga has ended with the purchase of a new set after all. The part came on time but when D removed the back part of the motor, a crack was discovered in the actual basket/drum. Normally a warranty issue (25 year coverage on the part) but because the washer came with the house, we don't have a receipt to prove it. To purchase it will cost in the $400 range, so we opted to just replace the set.
The manufacturer gave us a refund on all the parts once he heard what we discovered, which was awesome. And D found a local fellow who will take away our washer for free and will give us $50 for the dryer.
Poor D felt completely defeated. He wanted so badly to be able to fix it (be the hero) and save us the cost but it just didn't make sense. We tried hard. That's good enough for me. Currently the washer is back ordered so it won't be here until next week. We are going with Samsung this time.
Moving on, D is trying to talk me into letting him change the brake pads on our cars. Yeah... I don't know about that... Washing machines are not in the same league as brakes -- A Safety Issue. Apparently it is "ridiculously easy" and there are tons of videos on it... Admittedly I haven't done any research on it but the idea makes me even more nervous than not getting my passport back in time.
************************************
Because I've been actively avoiding dairy when I'm in North America, I've not had any of Starbuck's signature festive coffees for the last couple of years. I used to enjoy their peppermint mochas a lot. They were like dessert to me.
For those out there who are also on the dairy free, soy free bandwagon and don't mind indulging in a little liqueur, D has come up with a fantastic substitute. It's basically 1/2 cup of dark roast coffee or espresso shot, 1/2 cup of dairy free creamer (I use rice milk. Coconut creamer works too) frothed up using espresso machine, 1/2 shot crème de menthe and 1/2 shot of crème de cacao. Voila! A grown up substitute. (modify the volume amounts according to your tastes)
**************************************
And in case you have been wondering just what to do with your no-longer-pumping detergent dispenser that is part of your kitchen faucet? And you've tried to dilute your detergent, clean it out and put it together again etc.?
Know that you don't have to replace the entire thing (meaning the brush nickel part, in our case), for about $40 no matter what they say. You can just buy the plastic pump part on its own, at a plumbing supply store for $12 and pop your existing pump head on it.
You will probably want to find the part number from the manufacturer in advance to make the transaction easier. In our case, it was a "special order" and took 3 weeks but we finally got it. In hindsight, probably should have ordered 2 of them.
Friday, November 15, 2013
ephemera
ephemera: what a beautiful word.
also known as:
the various assorted suddenly found again surprise reminders
of places past that put a big smile on my face.
How's that for a run on sentence?
 |
| Last minute decision and it turned out to be a great one. Otherwise not much to do in Charlottetown on a Sunday. Not normally a fan of musicals but it won me over and blew me away. Highly recommended. |
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| Monod Sports, Banff AB. They send a Thank You card signed by everyone at the store with each order. The store has a long history with supporting mountain rescue programs. |
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| Yummy reminders of Reykjavik. Swiss Mocha and a couple of "Laki" cookies to enjoy on the trip back to the airport. |
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| If you want to eat here (The Clam Shack), be prepared to line up in what seems to be a perpetual line of a dozen or so people -- Moves fast and gives you time to study the menu! Their "lunch boxes" are quite filling (to me) and their lobster roll won again this year. Preferred the covered benches facing the water vs the picnic tables facing the line up / street. Chatted with a lovely couple from Boston who just decided to drive out that morning for some clams. |
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