Contrast of Importance

Being the ever practical person at times, I already have my one must buy Christmas present purchased and I will be handing it over tonight not to be opened until they wish of course.

As it is really breakable and with my schedule being crazy the next month, I didn't want to lug it to our annual Christmas dinner out in Dec.

Because my friend knows I do not place any emphasis on the commercial side of Christmas anymore nor am into the stresses the holiday seem to bring out, she'll chuckle at me and understand.

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I'm glad my work day doesn't start til the afternoon because I will be able to reflect on Remembrance Day Tomorrow morning. I am at the age of what parents whose sons went off to the war would have been. I cannot imagine the stresses and sorrow many of them went through.

Many of us are free to do whatever we'd like because of the sacrifices of our veterans. One of the most emotional points I've had in a museum occurred at the National War Museum in Ottawa. I would highly recommend it. We were there on a day where one of the veterans from WWII was present. I couldn't really talk to him because I was so emotional.

We had just come through the trenches and emerged into an area showing how it would have felt like for a veteran to come home to a modern (for the times), freshly done home. The contrasting silence just screamed at you. I know I'm not doing justice with the description so go and see it for yourself.

Bit of Trouble

Took a quick listen on Livemocha of some basic Croatian, Turkish and Greek and quickly realized I am in trouble. I'll be happy if I can remember hello, thank you, goodbye and how much?

I was fiddling around with changing my seats on my flight and managed to lose my seat completely and could not get it back. Great. Called the travel agent as I used points for this flight and was assured I didn't lose my seat but I'm not convinced.

She also told me I shouldn't be able to pull up stuff like that on a code share flight but I can...I'll have wait until check in to see if I've done any permanent damage.

In the fog that was jet lag a week ago, I made another mistake with my work deposit so I'll be dinged a couple of dollars in penalty fees. Not impressed with myself. I have D double check my counting now.

There appears to be a slow snow season out west so far this year. Last year our resort had quite a bit of snow. Opening day is supposed to be Dec 4th. We were talking about what we'd do if there weren't enough snow by Christmas. Would we still go out?

I'd like to but D would prefer to hold out til the new year. We'll just wait and see. Mid Dec will be here before we know it.

Happy Days

Never once in France have we seen anyone at a cafe using a laptop. At home, that seems to be all we see. People aren't people watching like they do in Europe. They are busy using the WIFI at their local coffee shop. It's kinda sad really, peoples' heads are down rather than up.

The last day we were in Nice, we witnessed a wedding in the courtyard below our apartment. The pictures don't do justice to the beauty of the flowers on the really nice car waiting outside of the old church. It's interesting that the guests dress in dark colours. Lots of rice was thrown.

Goals & Glitches

Neat Stat -- just short of 2 years ago, our total mortgage debt (for both places) was $190353. Today, it is $99454. In 2 years we are hoping/expecting it will be close enough to $0.

On days when I wonder if my math is accurate, it is nice to see big pictures numbers from where we've been to help assure we are heading along an accurate path.

The novel (I use the term loosely here) writing is coming along. As I have and will be missing time due to vacations, I started earlier to make up for it. Current word count in the low 20000s. Goal is 50000.

Two and a half weeks really isn't a long time. When I booked this whirlwind trip to Greece and Turkey I thought that 2 works weeks after coming home from France was alright.

Now that I am finishing week 1, I do feel rushed thinking of what I have to do next week before I leave again. I think next time, I'll give myself a month between trips.

I may have encountered another technology glitch with my phone as I think I am missing 7 voice messages.

I will be calling today to find out whether there was a glitch in the system while we were away or voice message unretrieved will get automatically deleted? I wouldn't think so but I'm going to ask anyway.

No Go

No go on Sweden. Didn't receive a response from the owner of the apartment I would like in time to take advantage of the seat sale. Maybe something else neat will come up.

I'd like to go to London as well. We connected via Heathrow on route to France so I have a bunch of change in pounds sterling left which beckons me to return for a proper trip to England.

D knows of a couple who works for 4 -5 years in a highly technical field making decent amounts of money and then sells everything. They take off and spend a year abroad living in different countries.

The idea intrigues me. What a way to combat attachment in your life. I love it. I think I'd be a good candidate for it. D wouldn't be I think because he likes his stuff and he likes to have a home base. Renting out the main house for a year would be more his style.

The perennial subject of selling the cottage came up again while we were away. I think it is time to let go so that the next cool thing will have room to come in. D would like to keep it for a couple more years.

We have agreed that should I wish to list it on the market in the spring, he would not interfere. Second, he will head up while I'm away next to finish up all the odds and sods so as to be show ready for next year.

3 am

It is the 2nd day in a row I've awoken at around 3 am ready to go. Gotta love the time zone changes. Not sure our time change this weekend will help or not. I'm expecting to be fully integrated back by then.

I've gotten to the point where I can forgo sleep on an eastbound transatlantic flight and be pretty functional on arrival. I never sleep on the way home as I look forward to watching 3 in flight movies.

Plane food is hit or miss for me. We've gotten into the habit of eating before we get on a long flight and either forgoing the meal or just taking the dessert. Beats starving because of a particularly bad meal.

I'm tempted this morning because of a 2 day Lufthansa sale. The destination? Stockholm, for my birthday. Lucky for me it is only for 2 days so I'll have minimum time to stew on it.

My first day of work went smoothly with just a minor fluctuation of energy level. I was quite proud of myself for pulling it off well. The rest of the week will get easier. And no, I didn't buckle when I got extra requests beyond my maximum for the day. Small victories!

New Way to Work?

Back to work for me today. France was as great as we remembered. We chose to stay at the different location (Old Town) in Nice this time as the apartment in the area we usually stay in (Port) was unavailable.

As neat as it was being amongst all the old buildings (I guess technically they are all really old) it was much noisier than we were used to. After a couple of days, the novelty wears off and the music and young people singing started to get on our nerves.

Despite that, we were really happy to be back and away from work for a small while.

I'm reminded of the concept of enough whenever I go to France. Store keepers for example will sell all they have made that morning (I'm specifically thinking of the lady who I go to for fresh pasta, stew etc) and call it a day.

It is an adventure wondering what we are going to eat each day as there are no hours posted at our favourite butcher. Coming from North America we are used to "service at convenient hours" and lots of choice.

We have concluded shop keepers do close whenever they feel like it and do not feel obligated to tell anyone. Gives us an excuse to try another restaurant for lunch or dinner.

I am working on applying some of this thinking to my business as I know how much business I need to do each week to sustain my life well. Before I left for vacation, I already knew I was there for this week.

So the question is, do I stick to my guns and not add anymore appointments or do I try and do as much as I can? We'll see if I'm strong enough this week to resist.

Vacation Begins Soon

In a few hours my last work day of the week will begin and so will my weekend and week's holiday to France. Yeah, we made it!

D passed his exam yesterday! He is so relieved to wrap up 2 months worth of studying and review. This designation he has earned is recognized worldwide so who knows where it will take us someday?

A colleague of his has done that line of work in Greece, Brazil and Portugal. I say bring it on! I'm ready to give living elsewhere a go!

When we were in the States for D's marathon last weekend, I used my Blackberry to take some pictures. You probably know where I'm going with this. I saw a charge online for roaming. So I get on the phone to get some explanation about all that as I'm a neophyte.

Turns out I can turn off the roaming if I wanted and because my phone received a voice mail and some emails, I was charged for that. Then he proceeded to give me the prices for all the different data and voice options when I'm out of Canada.

This was an important phone call because I do not want to get charged just for using the camera on my phone. Now that I know how to disable it, we are good. The emails and voice mail that got loaded in the States will probably cost less than $1. Cheap enough lesson. I wouldn't have wanted to learn that lesson in Europe.

Back in a week and a bit! Have a great weekend Everyone!

Busy Week

I'm pretty decided I will not be taking my laptop with me on my upcoming trips to keep the over all travel weight down. I've started my novel writing early to make up for the 2 weeks I'll be away. It will be Carry On only for me.

The week leading up to time off seem to bring people out of the woodwork. Half of them didn't know I was going to be away, they just managed to have chosen this time to call or inquire about stuff. So work wise this week has already shown itself to be a bit of a zoo.

I'm not complaining. I'm not even drinking caffeine to get through though last night I wished I had because I could barely keep my eyes open at 9 pm so no writing for me.

D is off on his course until tonight. It'll be great to have him home again. He has a big exam to write on Thurs and from what I hear, he is feeling pretty positive about it. It has been a big week for both of us.

Shocking Situation

One of my friend's friends works in banking and told me a shocking story. Back around when unemployment in our area was really high, they would routinely get 3 -4 people come into the bank each day to try and re-negotiate terms on their mortgage and other loans.

It was very common to see people with $200000 to $400000 in consumer debt (not including mortgage)!

I would have a hard time trying to spend that much money on non real estate stuff. Maybe a lot of that is compounding interest. Either way, we were shocked at the numbers. Considering I stress out and tired with owing $100000 or so in mortgages.

A lot of those people did end up losing their homes, declaring bankruptcy or negotiating a consumer proposal. The average age of those folks were in their high 30's to mid 40's.

Busy Weekend

A couple of sets of tires got bought and sold lately. D found a set of used snow tires and rims for his wagon online and bought them. D sold his snow tires and rims for the Civic online yesterday. He made money on the sale and and overall spent $25 more in his buy.

We are both glad to be rid of the tires. I feel it is always tougher selling than it is buying. Thus the need to think before buying so you wouldn't be stuck selling or worse, selling at a huge loss.

I have been asked to do a work presentation next week. My first one in a long time. The handouts are done and I think it will turn out to be more of a question and answer hour. That ought to go by fast and I'm happy to do it. It is a change of pace.

D did great at his marathon this weekend. It wasn't his fastest time but he had the most fun and walked away after barely sore. He is really pleased with the whole experience.

We had a chance to sample a few new restaurants while we were there and I'm pretty sure I've gained a pound. Next time we are going to take another day off so we don't feel so rushed.

Don't Use This!

The office photocopier for all intents and purposes is "done". It needs a couple of parts when you add in labour isn't completely worth it. What's holding me back is a couple of new toners and it is a shame to me to not use them. Maybe they can be sold, I'm not sure.

Those of you who also own an old house where the wooden windows open, you'd likely know all about weatherstripping. We decided to use a caulking like product this year that is supposed to peel off easily once it is dry.

What it didn't say was how much it would stink. Holey smokes, it nearly burned a hole in my throat and nose. Vanilla smell my behind! I had D tear that stuff off after midnight because I couldn't breath. We are going back to using foam tape and returning the remaining 2 tubes.

Yeah! Another Trip!

Life is about to get a lot more fun.

I've decided to take another week off for health purposes (I mentally and physically ache when I don't get enough time off) and for exploratory purposes (I have some travel ambitions waiting).

I'm going on a quick 1 week jaunt to Greece, Turkey and Croatia. It will be a whirlwind tour but I see it as reconnaissance for future longer term travel. Plus I'm aching to see new beautiful places even if it is in the off season.

Not sure just how much language I'm going to able to learn. Maybe a few phrases. I leave in a month. France in a 1 1/2 weeks. It's going to be great.

I'm reminded that no matter how I push myself, I cannot seem to be able to completely cheat myself out of time off even though my left brain believes it would be best I stay put and wait til next year. With this I've made up 2 of the 3 weeks I didn't take in the summer.

Wanting More

I spoke to a couple of frustrated people recently who are frustrated because they want so much to help others but haven't gotten the reception or participation they were hoping for.

They see the potential in their friends/clients/family members/spouses and believe if the right support could be provided, those people would see the light and good things will happen.

Their hearts are in the right place. It is hard when you get emotionally involved with someone and want the best for them. The recipient of all the good thoughts must want it too.

All the wishing in the world won't make someone eat better, work less, exercise more etc. etc. They have to be in a place to want to take action.

It just causes undue hardship wanting more than the other can give. Be there when they are ready and you'll have more peace of mind in the meantime.

Stream of Consciousness

The month is clipping along. Hoping the roofer will be stopping by to give us a quote today. I'd like to get it done before we leave for France.

We saw The Social Network yesterday. I really liked it. It also brought back some deep desires I had for going to Harvard. Didn't realize I felt so strongly sad about not having an opportunity to go.

I remember sitting with the secretary in admissions at Radcliffe talking about requirements and application procedures. I remember studying for SATs.

Alas, my dream never did materialize and I never got the experience I longed for. I surprised myself and D with the level of disappointment that came out of me.

Something good did come out of that emotion. I started writing my submission for the novel writing month I'm participating in. I figure it is as good a place to start as any and has turned into a stream of consciousness piece.

Can Still Learn

I did 2 things new yesterday. I finally discovered the benefits of the search bar at the top of my Windows Live Mail. I cannot believe how much time I've wasted scrolling down my email list looking for a particular note.

The second new thing was an online crossword puzzle. I don't usually do cross words but who know why I felt inclined but it was great and a lot of fun. Didn't get through it all but enough to want to play again sometime.

I had an opportunity to see "Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps" last night. It was much better than I expected. Made D and I want to cash out everything and opt out of the investment game though...

Our Thanksgiving long weekend is here. Back on Tues.

Boundaries

It has been amusing to see how people/clients' perceptions have changed since we moved our work to our own place.

The assumption has been we would be willing to work extra hours extra days all of a sudden. Why would that be?

My work hours and days have been relatively unchanged (give or take a few hours) for the past 3 yr - 4 yrs now. When I tell people that now, they seemed surprised.

Maybe it is because I am handling all the administrative stuff it is easy for people to think that I would be willing to go all out and do some extra work, while I was at it anyways. After all I would be getting paid.

The concept of work boundaries comes to play here. I can see the slippery slope that would ensue if I said "sure, come on by".

If anything I have to work harder to maintain my down time more than ever because it is in danger of getting phased out.

Stats

My office photocopier is on the fritz. I'm hoping D will be able to get it going again. We have an ink jet all in one fax, scanner, copier machine for home use that can handle things for the time being but not a sustainable option long term as it is not built for volume.

I really don't want to buy a new one as I have lots of toner left but I have been looking online just to get some ideas on pricing in case it turns out my machine is not worth fixing. I bought it used from an engineering firm 4 years ago for $300.

With my increased administrative duties at work, I've found I have less energy to do the paid part of my work. I'm sure that is no revelation to most of you out there.

Technically I am getting paid some for the admin part, not nearly as much as my paid part but you can't have one without the other.

This week after a too busy last week, I am taking a count of how many clients I see weekly and start tracking how I feel by the end of the week. I already know one thing. I don't wish to feel like I did at the end of last week. It was too much. And making more money didn't make me happier about it.

We'll see what the stats say in the coming weeks.

Crazy Rule

D ran into a weird quirk with our local gasoline station when he brought our cars in for some gas. It was one of those automated pumps where you pay by credit card.

When it came to the second fill up, the machine rejected his card. After a few attempts he went into the station and asked what was going on.

Apparently there is some rule that you cannot use the same credit twice in one day at the same filling station.

What type of craziness is that? The fellow didn't explain further. D just used another credit card to pay.

We were trying to come up with reason why that would make sense and could not think of many. Was that supposed to help reduce fraud? I don't know.

Can you imagine if department stores enacted that rule? They would lose so much business.

That happened to me this weekend. I was at Chapters buying gift cards for my clients and realized just as I was leaving, I needed one more. Imagine my surprise if I wasn't allowed to use my credit card?

I know people who only have 1 credit card. What a crazy rule. If anyone has any idea or understanding as to why this exists, I'd like to know.

Happy Weekend!

Yeah Friday! We are home this weekend and have some house and office errands to run. And some books to read as they are close to being due back at the library. And a movie to see as we have a coupon getting close to expiry. All good stuff.

The cottage roof is starting to show its age at 11 yrs old and we noticed a small leak in one of the bedrooms last week. Not enough to drip but a stain. D got up there and patched suspicious spots so when we are up next, we'll be able to see if the stained area is still damp or not. While he was up, he saw some other areas that he will patch, just in case.

We have the money put aside for a replacement roof. I just don't want to be interviewing roofers right now. Ditto for the tree in front of the cottage that is dying. That one is easier because it can be taken down quite quickly and with literally one phone call. Will likely cost $500 - $600 though.

Glancing at my calendar for Oct, this month is shaping up to be a lot of fun socially. I'm looking forward to it.