Friday, 30 October 2015

No Power Test

As it would happen Wanda’s batteries ran so low that my inverter wouldn’t work yesterday morning. That means that typically I run Jenny that night so I can use the inverter to power the laptop. 

I didn’t want to run Jenny last night as I always run her on Friday nights, for the weekend. I decided not to run her and just see how things would go last night. 

The first to pack it in was my fridge . . . it does this thing where it ties to light its pilot light then shuts down. It keeps doing this every two seconds, so you have to just shut it off. 

I lit candles in my tealight lamps as I mucked about on my iPad for the evening. I bundled up both last night and this morning in my warm clothes and I was fine. 

The furnace stuck it out most of the night but this morning just looked at me and laughed.  The trick of running the stove for heat worked, thankfully that doesn’t need electricity.  

This morning I worked with the laptop, using its own batteries. Well, the laptop didn’t last that long on its own batteries  . . . like an hour . . . AN HOUR!!!

Why did I do all this? Well, just to see if I could and just because I didn’t feel like running Jenny. As well, to remind myself that living in an RV in winter, or fall really, is not all that terrible. No matter what happens, I can and will survive. 

Thursday, 29 October 2015

My Private Christmas

I know it’s not Christmas and no I am not moving it up, because I’m bored. In fact this has nothing to do with Christmas but with my own personal “Christmas.” Yep, you guessed it . . . Credit Card Debt Freedom Day.

With CCDF Day, I and I alone get to celebrate (well, me and the well to do). I most certainly will be celebrating it, as this is a momentous occasion for me. So, to get me ready for it and in the spirit, I have started to count down the days on my small white board. 
   

I will keep my eye out for a chocolate or other “treat” based advent calendar, and start using that (snicker, snicker). The idea is to try to help pick my mood up down this last stretch. 

Why have I been a bit down lately? Well, as the weather turns colder and memories of last winter and what I endured comes back to me. 

I know what is in store and I am not looking forward to going through it again. I also know that I need to endure what I went through last winter, again this winter in order to get ahead. The reports of a warmer winter this year is encouraging and keeps me going. 

Perhaps by this time next year I can actually get a place to park and live in Wanda and be warm. In order to do that, I need to first get through this winter. So, I will count down the days to my CCDF Day!

Wednesday, 28 October 2015

All’s Quiet On The Western Front

Not much to say, still hunkering down, still trying to keep on keeping on. My goal is to not change a thing about my routine until Nov 22nd and my cards are finally paid off. 

As a result, I am still living a boring life. I am running Jenny more, now that the cold weather has arrived and I need to run the furnace more. 

I may have to actually buy fuel for Jenny between paydays, we shall see. Perhaps soon, but not this soon in the winter season, I hope. If I do, I will take that money out of the “Utilities” wallet. 

When I fill up the truck on each payday, I fill up the jerry can of fuel for Jenny. If for some reason I need to buy additional fuel in between paydays I will take it out of the Utilities Wallet. This is the same wallet that I buy my propane and pay for dumping fees out of. (Thus the name “Utilities.”)  

The weather is something to get used to, that’s for sure. During the day it is in the double-digits, yet it hovers around zero overnight, last night it dipped below and this morning it was -7. 

I am slowly starting to get into my cold weather routine yet not. I still pack shorts to work just in case I need to change into them during the day. I dress in warmer and warmer clothes the longer the evening wears on.

An odd dichotomy to adjust to, to be sure, but I will take the warmth during the day and the relatively mild overnight temps. As always, the only certainty in life is change. We can either adapt to it or be left behind. I will adapt and thrive, thank you very much.

Tuesday, 27 October 2015

First One, Then The Other

I looked at my budget last night after my latest projections for my upcoming paycheck on the 7th. The interesting thing is that it looks like I will be able to pay off Card #1 (again) with that paycheck. 

Even with doing that I will still be able to pay off Card #3 completely with the one on the 22nd and still have some money left over. 

I will then start to not only save for the trip to the coast for Christmas, but also to build up my main account to that one thousand dollar level.  

As I have said before, my next goal to first build up my main account to have no less than on thousand in it at all times. 

After that comes the building up of my contingency fund and yes consolidating of my loans to a manageable level yet with no balloon payment at the end.

One thing at a time, one paycheck at a time, first lay low and ensure that my first goal is reached: credit card debt freedom.

Monday, 26 October 2015

Dumping Dues

So, I was grumbling and slightly afraid that I would have to pay through the nose to dump. I stopped dumping here ever since they didn’t turn their water back on. 

I was offended as they were charging the same price as before, in order to dump as they were when they also gave you water. I looked around and found that other place to dump and get water for free. 

Now that the free place is closed up, back here I go. I grumbled but got ready to pay to dump and pay I did . . . fifty cents. That’s it, half a dollar to dump . . . works for me. I still don’t get any water and they won’t have any, any time soon. 

There is a chance that the other free place won’t turn their water on in the spring. That is yet another challenge to be faced later on, no sense worrying about it now. For now, I can get water from the grocery store and dump when I need to. 

I also know that I can go for about a month without dumping. So, unless there is a massive freeze coming, I will be okay for dumping when I need to this winter. 

The weekend was relaxing but on the whole unproductive. I did make a batch of stuff to cook up for dinner. So my freezer is stocked full with food, one batch for lunch and another for dinner. 

The other thing I did was confirm my balances on the credit cards that I paid down and I am now officially within one paycheque to pay them off. 

What I mean is that if I didn’t have other bills to pay, I could pay off my credit cards completely on the seventh. I do have other bills to pay so the 22nd it is. 

This is huge and just leaves me salivating over finally killing them off completely, especially the dreaded and dastardly Card #3! 

All in all, things are going okay, and on schedule.  That too is huge and each time I think about it, it makes me smile. 

Friday, 23 October 2015

How Cheap Do You Have To Be?

. . . in order to do this . . . 
   

More specifically, this . . . 
   

This is the sewer connection that I have been using the past few months in order to dump. During the summer they also had their water on so I was getting my fresh water from them too. A few weeks ago, they shut their water off. 

I had dumped that one time when I discovered that the water was shut off and thought that it would be open all winter. I found out this morning how wrong I was. They put a padlock on it, that’s right somebody bothered to put a padlock on their toilet connection. 

I understand the concept of private property. I fully accept and defend the rights of private citizens and corporations to do whatever they are legally entitled to do, to/on their own property. 

I scratch my head at this one, as it makes no sense other than to be a jerk. With regards to turning the water off, I understand that one, as there is a risk of the pipes freezing in winter. 

The real reason that the water is turned off is a business one. With the driving season now over, there is little incentive for them to incur the cost of giving away water that the city charges them for. So, on that count, with regards to the water, I get it.

With regards to your sewer connection, there is no cost involved. To my knowledge no meter exists to measure the amount of sewage that each home or business generates. In other words you are charged each time you poop.

As far as freezing is concerned, well this is a wide, vertical pipe that goes straight down to connect with the city’s sewer system. What could possibly freeze or cause damage? 

Ah well, I still have the other place to dump, this one will cost me $3.00 to dump each time. Failing that, I can still run out to McLean Creek campground and dump there. I just hope that it doesn’t come to that, as I don’t want to incur the cost of a weekend camping. 

I will now stop using my grey water tank and just use my black water tank. Most of my grey water I will just toss out the door (or rather, find a thirsty tree). Some of the grey water I will pour down the toilet to ensure that things stay, shall we say, liquid in my black water tank. 

This is yet another sign that the colder weather is coming and so I too must adjust my ways to it. I grumble, but I adapt and move on. 

Thursday, 22 October 2015

The Waiting IS the Hardest Part

These days, all I can think about is the glorious day that will be the 22nd of November. It is exactly one month away and yes two paydays away (not including today) and I will have completed the first phase of my journey.

There are many things that I could and should be doing but I just can’t seem to do them. I go to work, I go home, relax and above all, try to spend as little as possible. I keep thinking and focussing on making sure that I don’t screw up and make me miss that deadline. 

I know that I shouldn’t dwell on it, but this day has been five long years in coming, so forgive me if in this last stretch that I take great joy in finally reaching it. The anticipation is almost killing me. I can’t really put into words how eager I am to sprint down the last stretch and just finish this.  

I know that before long, the day will finally arrive . . . after that comes “Funtime!” Funtime is the time of saving, and having control of my paycheque again, at least a part of it. It will be an adjustment to have control over a portion of my income that is not spoken for, a first in many years, let me tell you. 

On the writing front, I haven’t written anything on the book in weeks, and that is frustrating.  I am half way through a chapter with an idea on how to finish it. I just can’t seem to get down to it. I keep telling myself to get to it, but each morning I just fritter away the time. 

Perhaps tomorrow will be the day when I can put things aside and get back to writing. Until then, here is your sunrise shot.
  

Wednesday, 21 October 2015

So Far, So Good

I sit here, on the eve of the third payday before my credit card debt will be paid off. As I usually do, I look over my finances yet again to see how I am doing. All in all I’m doing well. 

There are always things that I could be doing better, but all in all, I’m on track. I still grumble about things and my situation in life, yet I force myself to ponder how good I have it. 

I read somewhere that your life will not get better until you learn to appreciate what you already have. So with that in mind I will try to focus on the good aspects of my life and build from there.

I am almost about to do what many people wish they could. I don’t say this to rub it in anyone’s face or brag, but to remind myself of an impending very positive achievement. 

Trust me when I say that without that non-stop, ever consuming, debt that is credit card debt, your cash flow will greatly improve. 

Once your cash flow improves, so too will the rest of your financial situation. Everyone knows this, sometimes we need to be reminded of it, of how important it is. 

Yet to get to this point I have done what most people wouldn’t do, and dare I say shouldn’t to . . . more specifically, shouldn’t have to do. (but I digress).

I am one month away from being credit card debt free and two to three years away from being totally debt free . . . think about that. I will then own my home and be able to live anywhere on $500.00 a month. Not so crazy now, am I . . . (Don’t answer that.)

Tuesday, 20 October 2015

Meet the New Boss

Okay, unless you have been living under a rock, we had an election here in Canada. Today we have a new federal government, yet not quite, it’s made up of the same guys that we had before the guys we just tossed out. 

I for one remember feeling a great rush of relief and exhilaration when the previous prime minister was sworn in. I remember hoping for change and that things would be better, different . . . that the government would be more transparent, open and accountable. Yeah, that happened.

So, here we have the new guy who promised to bring change along with a whole raft of things that sounded kinda like what the last guy promised when he was sworn in. 

Don’t get me wrong, this country was due for a change in leadership and government. I might have felt b better with a minority government which would have forced the parties to talk and work together to get things done.

My distrust of the last guy came from not necessarily what he did (okay, there were a list of things), but the way he did it. The last guy had a complete disregard for Parliament altogether and if he could have run the country without it, he would have, I’m sure of it. 

For little old me though, nothing has changed. Nothing changed under the last bunch, or the bunch before them or the bunch before them. I’m not on anyone’s radar, so I don’t ever look for help to come from politicians or the government. 

I will wait and see how these guys handle things and keep a smidgen of hope that things will be better, that actual change will come. Above all, I just hope that we won’t get fooled again . . . (cue The Who).

Monday, 19 October 2015

Phone Demoted

So, on the weekend I looked around to buy a new battery for my phone. I went to two different stores and both told me that they didn’t stock them in the store but I could buy them online. 

I drolly informed them that if I was going to buy them online I would do so from Amazon and pay a third of what they were asking. They didn’t respond.

So that was what I did, I bought two new batteries for the phone along with a wall charger. All this for less than what the stores were asking! I might have paid their price if they had it in the store, but not if I had to wait to get it. 

Sure, I have to wait until early next month, but this way I will never have to charge the battery while plugged the phone in again. This way I can charge one battery out of the phone while another battery is in the phone being used. 

The other thing I did was to demote my smart phone to just a phone. I removed:  Facebook, Facebook Messenger and email from the phone. Why? Well I have the iPad to do all that and it has become annoying to hear a notification beep from two devices for the same message. 

This will reduce my data usage as I don’t need two devices checking my email and Facebook for messages. I usually have my iPad with me but if I don’t, then I don’t really care about missing an email for a bit.  I can live without seeing that promotional flyer sent to my inbox until I get back to my iPad. 

If you want to get a hold of me when I am out, just text me or, here’s a crazy thought . . . phone me. 

Friday, 16 October 2015

Shorts and Warm Clothes

I have said it before . . . I hate the cold. I have also said it before that I know that it is coming. 

I keep waiting to hear that the first snowfall of the season is about to happen. I also know that once that happens, there will be snow on the ground till May! 

I also have this fear of waking up to twenty feet of snow all around . . . but at least I will still able to walk to work. So there is that. 

Lately I have been taking shorts to work, as it gets warm during the day, warm enough that I change to shorts to run around at work to keep cool.

Then in the evening as darkness falls, I change into my warmer clothes (sweatpants and sweatshirt) to lounge about in. 

Not long before bed I change into my warm clothes (3 layers of thermal undies) to go to sleep in. Yes, for the last couple of nights I have even slept in my sleeping toque. (How Canadian is that?)

I do this so that I stay warm, sure, but even without the thermal undies I am warm enough in bed. I do this so that I will be warm when I get out of bed, as these mornings I can just about see my breath inside Wanda. 

I have also said it before that it takes an extra bit of motivation to get out of a warm bed when you can see your breath inside your house. 

Such is life this fall in Wanda, as things are warm during the day, yet chilly at night. I still have use of my Grey and Black water tanks, and that is something. 

I try to see the positive in things and yes in a month or two I will look back to now as “the warm spell” . . . le sigh. 

I am, however about to turn the corner on my finances and finally get some traction on my future. That, my friends is something worth donning my warmest warm clothes and braving -30C in Wanda again this year, yes indeed. 

Thursday, 15 October 2015

Hurtin’ Phone Options

Okay, it’s official . . . my phone sucks. Well, it won’t hold a charge anymore to save its life, I have to leave it plugged in for at least eight hours at work and it still dies overnight. This leaves me with another problem to solve, one that we all have faced. 

Okay, my first option would be to buy a new phone. I have had my eye on the new iPhone, but to do so now would blow my schedule to pay off my credit cards by Nov 22. So, that’s out. 

The next option would be to buy an iPhone through my mobile carrier. If I do that, these days they only finance half to two thirds of the phone, leaving you to pay for the rest up front. Then they charge you interest charges each month while tying you to them for the next two plus years. 

No thanks, I just finished paying off the last of this phone. I like not having a fixed contract and the lower bills of not paying those hardware charges each month. 

Another option would be to buy a cheap (as in dirt cheap) phone and just use that for the time being. That is possible and another idea I am considering is buying the cheap phone and using that to just be my phone. After all I have my IPad so I don’t need the iPhone for the nifty features . . . I have an iPad.

Another crazy idea is to just use my iPad as my phone, on speaker phone modem but then I realized that I would have to carry that large thing everywhere . . . so, not practical.

Most likely what I will do is buy a new battery for $20 – $30 and just limp this phone along until next year. This one may be: large, slow, with no battery life to save its life (literally) but it is already paid for and the cheapest option is to keep it going. 

Early next year I will most likely buy that new iPhone and do so with cash. That will feel nice, and be a reward for going through all this. My advice with regards to mobile carriers is, (if at all possible) to buy your phone up front.  

If you can do that, it will lower your monthly bills, and therefore help your cash flow. Remember, those “free” phones are not free, you are paying for them every month as well as signing away your choice for the next two years.

Well, I had better go plug in my dead phone . . . before I smash it into oblivion out of frustration. 

Wednesday, 14 October 2015

I Voted! . . . and Made Lunch For Two and a Half Months

I got my voter’s registration card last week, but it had my old address on it. I called up Elections Canada on the weekend in hopes of changing the address to my new address so I could vote next Monday. 

After a bit of a conversation it was determined exactly what riding I was in and where the local Elections Canada temporary office was. I was quietly relieved to know that the office and my riding did include the area where I work and not just where my address is. 

What this means is that no matter what it was the right riding for me, as let’s face it, the neighbourhood where I work is my neighbourhood. I am pretty sure that I am the only resident within this industrial area.  

Elections Canada told me that I had to come down and sign a few papers in order to do so, but that I could vote that weekend. I had already decided that I wasn’t going anywhere last weekend so I said I would do it after work on Tuesday. 

So, after work off to the Elections Canada office I went, and happily I was able to not only change my address but vote as well. It felt good to actually be able to vote after being turned away at the polling station in the provincial election. I wanted to avoid the embarrassment of such an occurrence.

I know that since this is Alberta the outcome of this province is pretty much a foregone conclusion, but I voted nonetheless. It is important that we participate, despite how sure we are that they guy we don’t want will get voted in. I actively encourage everyone who is eligible to vote, to get out there and vote, despite who you are going to vote for.

After that I processed my lunches for the next two and a half months. Seriously, I made another one of my large batches on the weekend, so last night I finally portioned them up and froze them. Don’t worry I won’t show you yet another shot of bags on a table or stacked in my freezer. If you’ve seen one, you’ve seen them all.

These are portioned out to be my lunch, not to be cooked in my frying pan a little at a time. I hate sandwiches and prefer a hot lunch, I always have. 

This is a little trick that I have done many times before: 

Make a large batch of something
Scoop some of it into a Ziploc sandwich bag
Weigh each bag to a certain weight
Smoosh each bag down to make it flat and get the air out. 
Stack them flat in the freezer and 

Voila! Frozen lunch, ready to go!

Simply take one out in the morning, rip the bag off while frozen, stuff it into a Tupperware container and take it to work. At lunch, stuff it in the microwave and instant hot lunch for less than a dollar. If work had a fridge I would be tempted to stuff them all in there, so as to always have lunch at work.

The weather has been unseasonably warm and I have yet to have a night were it dips below zero . . . well, enough to cause me concern. I know that the cold weather is coming, but I will just enjoy this warmth while it lasts. 

Tuesday, 13 October 2015

Met a New Urban Nomad

I had a relaxing weekend yet I constantly felt like I should be doing something more productive. The rest and relaxation did me good though, and I just about feel like I am back to my usual self.

I didn’t park in my usual spot in my western home as that was taken up by an older fifth wheel being pulled by a much older truck (as in from the seventies). I parked in front of it with enough room for them to maneuver (I am not a jerk). 

After I got setup I noticed that the hood was up and the guy was looking at the engine. I walked over, introduced myself and offered to help. He said that he needed a boost and was waiting for a friend to come by.

Well, I brought out Ace (my portable battery pack) and my jumper cables and we tried to start the truck. There was a steady click but nothing else. 

Well, out came my multi-meter and I measured his batteries (he had two) . . . he had a full charge in his batteries. That meant that something was wrong with the starter. 

He thanked me and I left him to wait for his friend. It turned out that there was a loose wire on the starter. Ah the joys of old vehicles. 

During a different time on the weekend and after he borrowed my phone to make a call, he told me a bit of his story. He looked to be in his mid-twenties, but I’m not sure, never asked. 

He came out here from Quebec and ended up sleeping under a bridge, from there he got a job and bought a truck, then he was sleeping in that truck and then he bought this old fifth wheel trailer. 

I gave him a few pointers on what had worked for me and it felt good to be the old hand in this. I don’t know what if any advice he took to heart, but it felt good to give it anyways.

He is steadily improving his life by doing the whole Urban Nomad thing, while I have taken a step down in my lifestyle while doing the Urban Nomad thing. 

I found it interesting that we have both come to this same place in life from different angles. Both of us looking to get ahead, both of us determined to improve our lives and optimistic for the future. 

He is staying permanently in my western home and confirmed my suspicions about one of the motorhomes there . . . it hasn’t moved in months and doesn’t plan to either. 

While I don’t talk to more people out here, there is one thing I know. If they are out there at this time of year, they are most likely not passing travelers. 

As the days and weeks tick by, just remember that the RV’s you see out there on the streets and parking lots are in fact Urban Nomads, just trying to get ahead and not be noticed.

Friday, 9 October 2015

Doing Better Than I Thought!

Okay, I know that I have talked about this a lot this week, but last night I found out exactly how close that I am to being credit card debt free. 

It started when I got my statement for the dreaded and dastardly Card #3 last week. I looked at it and found that my bulk payment was not on there, and so I was a little miffed as I the balance was much higher than expected.

I pushed off calling for a balance for a few reasons. The first was I was slightly afraid that the statement was right. The other was that I dreaded talking to the “Hubots” that Card #3 employs on the customer service line. 

Well, call I did and found out that not only did that payment go through but also the one I made a few days ago. Well, all told that means that Card #3 is now below 2K! For the first time in a very long time it is this low. 

This means that even with Card #1 and if I have bad paychecks between now and Nov 22 I am still on track to being done on that date. I will look at the positive of this and know that I can and will get this done before my 2 year anniversary. 

This is a big relief to know that finally my total credit card debt is actually and really being knocked down to a manageable size.  I have been stressing a bit wondering if things are actually as on track as I had hoped. 

It is no secret that this journey has not gone according to plan, but I will still achieve my goal of credit card debt freedom. That is something indeed, at least to me.

We all know that it is possible that life could toss me another curve ball . . . after all, it does seem to like to do such things. While I cannot control what happens to me in life, I can control how I react to it. 

Your attitude is a large factor in how you approach and react to situations. It has often been a struggle for me to keep myself positive, on this journey. What I find helpful is checking and seeing how far that I have come and what I have accomplished is one way to do this. 

I for one will just roll with it and keep on keeping on, and of course . . . keep moving forward.

Thursday, 8 October 2015

Another Bite Outa Debt

I usually get a chance to budget first what I will do with my paycheque before I have to head to the bank. You see, I usually get the check either the night before or it is waiting on my desk for me on the morning of payday.  

This way, either the night before or that morning of payday I can at least spend a bit of time doing a bit of budgeting. Yesterday I got it half way through the day. 

So, I just looked at my wallets and did the basic budgeting, as in what cash I was going to put in each wallet (Groceries, Utilities, Spends). I filled up Trea’s tank and then went to my western home to figure out what I was going to do with the rest of the cash. 

The nice thing was the fact that I was able to put aside just about a double debt payment. I set aside almost twice as much as I usually set aside for credit card Debt. One chunk went on Card #3 and the other chuck went on Card #1. 

This means that things are still on track for my Nov 22 deadline for credit card Debt elimination. That bite that I took out of Card #1 took almost half of it away, so a few more paydays like this one and I will have it done before the Nov 22. 

Now that I am so close to finally finishing this first Chapter of my journey, you would think that all I wold see is the end and the happy journey after that. The trouble is that sometimes, I still feel that I have accomplished nothing of worth, despite my forty-five years of existence. 

I still get bothered by the bumps in the road and the uncomfortablliltiy of the journey. I sometimes second guess why I did this and if it was necessary to do so drastic a measure. 

It is during those times that I pause and reflect on where I have come and where I was two years ago . . . five years ago . . . ten years ago. Often times I lament not starting this journey years sooner, as I know that I am on the right track. 

This next picture is one of those which showed up in my Facebook feed, (original source/artist unknown). For me it explains perfectly one of what I would term as one of the key skills to success on any hard journey, such as mine.
  

I do consider a nice cabin somewhere, on a bit of land where I can live simply and cheaply as I write. I have a lot of ideas, a lot of things that I would like to do. I know that I must not jump at anything, unless it is a cheap piece of land on which to park Wanda. Still live cheaply but without a mortgage. 

Wednesday, 7 October 2015

Rested Up, Back At It

I plopped down and did very little yesterday. It was a day that I needed to stop, pause and let myself and my body work through that bad cold. 

I don’t know what it was but I am officially declaring it a bad cold. Sitting in the hot tub for an hour or so Monday afternoon did help, I don’t know why, but it did.

I still feel a bit weak but thankfully I don’t lift: drywall, move explosives, or handle fine china, so generally I will be okay. I will take it easy yet keep moving forward. 

Since this weekend is a long weekend, I would usually go camping for the long weekend. This time I will stay here in town and hunker down and save cash. 

Today is payday and after today there are only three paydays to go before credit card Debt elimination! I need to conserve as much as I can in this last stretch to make this work.

Today after work I will take yet another bite, one of the four final bites out of my credit card debt.

Tuesday, 6 October 2015

Sick Day

I started feeling under the weather mid to late last week. In true British style I decided to just ignore it, keep my upper lip stiff and keep on keeping on. 

I tried to relax this weekend and that helped but I hit the wall 3/4 through the day yesterday. I am taking today off to rest and get better. 

I am in my western home and settling down to relax and get through this. Above all, I am okay . . . or I will be.

Monday, 5 October 2015

Winterize and Shoved Out

Okay, so I was able to get Wanda Winterized this weekend. This means that I have antifreeze running through her fresh water pipes. So, I don’t need to worry about my water pump freezing. But I will also not be able to have a shower, use the taps or even flush the toilet “normally.” 

I will, however, have to worry about my grey and black water tanks freezing up. More specifically I will have to worry about the valves at the end to dump the water out freezing up. I will dump (during the day) when it looks to get below -10C overnight.

I had a bit of an inkling of how things were going to go this weekend when I got to my western home to find that the usual places were taken up. I ended up in a spot on the other side of the parking lot. 

This is next to where a guy sets up his hot dog stand, on the weekends. He doesn’t like me there as I block his potential customers. He hasn’t figured out that it isn’t me that blocks him out but the trees. Seriously dude, move to somewhere without trees blocking you from the road.

Anyways, I left Saturday morning to go up to the RV Dealership for the winterizing special. I wandered about and looked at the new units, talked to a few people as I waited. I was able to buy the roof vent that I needed to replace that had been damaged in the hail storm.

When I got back I found a different place to park and settled in for the rest of the weekend. That was when the RV dealership called and said that the tech had removed a few bins and that I had to come down and get them. He had forgotten to put them back in. So, off I went to collect my: Electrical umbilical cord, water hose, and my sewer connection accessories. All are vital to me. 

I went back to my western home only to find that there was nothing available, all of the spots were taken up. So unless I wanted to be a jerk and take up spots reserved for actual customers coming and going, I had to leave.

I ended going back to my usual place that I park during the week. I gotta tell you, this place is seriously dead on the weekends. I think I saw five cars from Saturday evening to Monday morning. 

What parking here meant was that I couldn’t put the slide-out, out or put down my stabilizer jacks. For me, those are the niceties that I look forward to on the weekends: a bit more space and no shaking when I move about. 

I was frustrated by having to move, but I am mobile so I have to be ready to move elsewhere if I have to. I need to widen my list of parking lots that I am comfortable parking at, so I don’t have to do this again. 

Friday, 2 October 2015

The Cold Weather Cometh

As if on cue and to reinforce my decision to winterize tomorrow, the weather is looking like it will turn cold tonight and into tomorrow. Not that cold, but still dipping below zero for the first time this fall/ winter season. It looks like it may snow too . . . sorta. 

So, I do feel better that I am winterizing and thereby not have to worry about my water pump freezing. I may dump for the last time very soon too, who knows, once again, the cold weather is coming and I must adapt what I am doing to handle it.

Ah well, this is the cycle of life and I will keep in mind that every day that I am out here, every payday that I make it to, I am improving my situation.  I grumble and I fuss, but I always do what I must. I still have my warm clothes tucked away, so I can wear them and be okay. 

Here is hoping that this cold snap is not that bad and doesn’t last that long. I still have more writing to do and other things to keep me occupied as I hibernate this winter. I will emerge next spring in a much better position financially with less stress on me, the next time I can use my shower once again.

For my favourite reason of all . . . none . . . here is your sunrise shot.


Thursday, 1 October 2015

Bookkeeping Success

I did two things differently last night, both turned out okay.

The first thing was that I did sit down and do my books last night. Just as I thought, I was able to get my books up to date and even found where my one credit card went awry, (January). So that was good. As I had surmised, enough time had passed since the weekend so that all of my charges had been updated to the various accounts. 

One idea would be to wait until Friday night to do the books, but let’s get serious, who wants to do work on a Friday night? That is a plan destined to fail, and why set yourself up for failure? The middle of the week is good because you are still in that “work mode.” It is then easier to force yourself to buckle down and work when you’re still in that work mode.

The other thing I did was move back to my favourite parking spot, that block by the dump. I know that the truckers hate me but one thing has changed. The building that has been being built for the past few months is finished now. This means that there are no construction people arriving there early in the morning. So, I can park back down the block from the “Trucker’s Territory.” I like this spot as it is a bit darker and quieter during the night. 

The people who work in the building across from where I had been parking were getting a bit antsy and curious. I knew that the time had come to move on, literally. So I will park by the dump again and see how it goes. If I steer clear of the truckers we should be able to cohabitate.

I have started to walk back to Wanda for lunch each day, so I can cook up a hot lunch. This is a nice thing and something I will do while the weather is warm. Walking back to cook in an icebox does not sound like a nice way to spend lunch. For now though, this is what I am doing, because I can.