January Deep Freeze

Anybody have an extra layer?

One can take that more than one way, but firstly it has to do with the weather across Canada. We started at +10C and dropped to -25C in a day and that lasted this entire week. Every province got nailed with snow then rain then fog than sun but then ohh sooo cooold!

I work near the Halifax Stanfield International Airport and I have to tell you there was no way I could keep my shuttle warm - every time I opened the door to let a person in and then open the back door to load up luggage what little heat I had was sucked out. It took the whole trip back to the airport or hotel to get it back to comfortable. But I do have to say I was more acclimatized to it than those poor folk arriving from such places as Maui, a Florida Cruise, or Cancun. There was no temperature in any van that could compare to the 75-85 degrees they were coming back from. I remember telling them they had just lost 85 degrees - welcome back to Nova Scotia.

But enough of that. How thick is your skin? How many layers do you have emotionally? How much can you take before you really need to crack down and do something about the problem or the decision?

Let me give you some personal stuff here. I was paying almost $800 a month on a car I purchased for $23000 3 years ago that was worth $5000 now maybe. I still had three years of those payments to go. It added up to almost $50,000. My loan was still at $30,000. Okay, that was ridiculous - I had to do something. I kept putting it off, and in the process missed payments.. after the third I got a call from the bank and not long after that the car was taken away to pay for the loan.

I have two feelings here - I'll miss that car - worked well.. never needed servicing, only had 90,000 kilos on it and was a great machine. But, I'll never miss the payment! It was a mortgage on a condo fee for crying out loud. So my layer was thick when I waved goodbye and sighed with relief at the loss of the payment. Was I irresponsible for missing payments? Nope! My kids nourishment comes first.. I can replace the car. The interest was killing me!

Another decision is on the go too. Do I get a job at a call centre and make more money than a shuttle driver? Do I take a job as a Superintendent of an apartment complex (apartment provided) with a salary or is it too much for me? Do I follow up with a local courier company for a job that would allow me to stick close to home and be home evenings? These decisions I need to make this week. Throwing off one layer to add another. All I need to do is follow through on each fantasy and see where it goes. Besides I am working - that makes it a lot easier to look I guess.

A new year, new decisions, and a resolve to grasp the moment and set myself up for retirement in style.

Happy New Year all. Paul