Sal and I left paradise on the 30th. Headed south in anticipation of our first grandchild’s arrival. And, as a bonus, to help out with Sal’s elderly parents (90’s), one of whom just had surgery. Weather was good. The drive down island was easy……we were basically relaxed and ready for ‘family’.
We are very fortunate, the southern branch of our family is pretty sane and pleasant. Not all family is. Some are nuts (don’t get me started). But this was gonna be good. We were happy.
It is now Thursday and in less than a week I am already a nervous, bloody wreck. Sal is not 100% either. She contracted some kind of lethal cold on day one and, of course, I (the innocent bystander) am now congested collateral damage. Good weather did not translate into good health. We are a smidge under the weather but, really, we are not wusses and that alone did not do us in.
Grandchild is still pending, clinging like Velcro to comfort, warmth and regular dine-in meals – clearly not ready to jettison the pod just yet. Every day adds a bit of intensity. I am highly susceptible to all things obstetric and find myself vibrating at a higher frequency as the days go by. Sal and DIL (daughter-in-law) are fine but son is a bear. I don’t blame him. After all, it is all his fault. And he’s feeling responsible. That’s a good thing. Me? I’m just a nut!
I figured I would look around for a new boat while I was down here but an interesting phenomena is being revealed to me. Old people are slowly being eased out of the marketplace and, after awhile, inflation-creep and cost of living passes them by….they are ‘out of sync’ with the rest of the world. I am old and now out of sync. No longer hip.
What I think should cost $8.00 – I then adjust for the ‘creep’ to allow me to rationalize $10.00 – the ‘seller’ is asking $14.00 and is prepared to accept $12.00. But that $2.00 difference is a kind of generational/market/rat-race/different-era value-gap that makes both of us feel we can’t go further in the deal.
I feel as if I have stretched as far as my ego and wallet will allow and the younger seller (whose ego is always larger but who also has a huge debt load) feels that they have dropped as far as they can, too. So, shopping for big items is made more difficult. Small items, of course, are mostly absorbed/ignored/accepted even tho the percentage is the same. A $20.00 hamburger seems almost normal to me now. C’mon…..?! A TWENTY DOLLAR BURGER!!!
(Breathe, breathe, breathe……..drink heavily later……..)
And then some dickhead shoots 500 people in Las Vegas, Trump disses the hurricane-damaged victims of Puerto Rico, Kim Jong Un disses Trump and Trudeau continues to play silly-pants in Canada. Is it any wonder I am getting more tense?
Of course, this is the way it is now. The new way. Up is down, lies are different kinds of facts and the safest place to be in the city is on the ground and ON THE GROUND NOW! Politics is mad, the media is suspect, the cost of living is officially low when the real cost of living is obviously so high that most people under forty can’t even afford a modest home. Large numbers of people can’t afford their own cars or gasoline but still buy illicit drugs (and die) and that,too, is being touted as the new normal. No one can afford to live in Vancouver anymore unless they have shares in a money-laundering scheme and I left paradise for all this!
How crazy is that?
Our Off the Grid Home 
Yeah, but the good news is that you’re not stayin’!
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Good point. Staying citified is now an impossible-to-fathom situation for me. Mind you, there is enough traffic congestion to give one enough time to try to fathom it. Time to meditate on modern forms of incarceration. Ooooh, the zen of it. And one gets to sit a lot in traffic doin’ nothin’ but hating everyone around you.
“Why the hell aren’t these people at work?”
We may leave BEFORE the bambino releases his or her anxious grip on mom’s guts. Then come back later. The idea was to ‘be of help’. And we are NOT being that right now. I am thinking we may be a pain in the butt….looming….waiting……looking concerned….who needs that?
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your candor is superb, very refreshing
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Doesn’t it feel wonderful that you’re not one of THEM, and that you can always fade back into the shadows? And after Armageddon you can creep back out and pick up your boat for FREE!
Good luck with the grand kiddie. They do give you a sense of life and renewal, but I dread what’s in store for them.
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Found a boat. Bought it. All is good.
Baby coming one way or another by Monday, it seems. Decision made. But we will leave and return a few weeks from now. That will work out better.
I, too, dread what is in store for them. It’s gonna be weird and dangerous. I say that because it already is. We on the outskirts of the epicentre are somewhat removed but madness is creeping steadily into everyone’s life. The boat seller was in his 30’s and keeps an arsenal. Otherwise pretty sane. We know a 40 year old hairdresser who also keeps one and claims to be a ‘sovereign citizen’ and refuses to pay income tax and parking tickets. And on and on it goes. EVERYONE is feeling it.
“Feeling what?”
That’s the big question….what, exactly, are they feeling…..? They can’t tell you…..
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You are correct in your comments about a certain intensity in traffic and pace of life. I was listening to a discussion on the radio about the division of labour on the domestic front with one side claiming a 90% vs 10% split in favour of one point of view. I learned that this figure included thinking and planning time. So if your better half is awake at three o’clock in the morning mulling over deficiencies on the home front, this sleepless thinking time is contributing to the inequality of shared work load. I had not though of such thinking as work. Shallow me! So next time you are in the Land of Nod, the easy defence is you are doing your share of domestic work. Plus try to sleep with your eyes open.
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You must think me a fool…..do you NOT think I haven’t used that very same excuse to get out of dishes? “Sweetie! I worry enough for the both of us and that takes a lot of energy. Ergo, you should do all the dishes. I’m exhausted.”
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Like a fox.
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Yep the flu IS going around.
School started a month ago and all the little petrie dishes have brought home the endless school yard variations of bubonic plague to their parents….and they have two friends and they have two MORE friends…….
And you get the added stress of traffic, baby day, noise , pollution, bad News on 500 channels…..
“Civilization”…….Whats not to love?
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It is a vicious bug. For the first time in years I caught it.
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As I write this in the fancy, expensive, downtown hotel, the sirens are screaming. Last night they also screamed a lot but twice after midnight – once at 1:45 and the next time at 3:33. Think about that…..there must have been few, if any, vehicles at that time but the ‘government policy followers’ felt obliged to keep us safe and scream sirens. What bloody nincompoops.
The washing and drying machine also failed and so the hotel sent up THREE guys to roll a half-washer/dryer into the suite. I’m Ok with that (overkill) but then they felt obliged to read us the safety rules. That was enough to put me over the top. I kept silent. I wanted to kill.
Ya want ‘stupid hospital policy’ stories….? Huh…..well, do ya punk…?
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Yep. I live around the corner from an old folks home and a Fire station.
Gotta love the 2am firetruck wail that gets the coyotes howling in unison. The fire truck pulls up after its half block drive and then….5 minutes later we are serenaded by the ambulance siren approaching from 20-30 blocks away. usually takes 3- 4 mins to arrive with much coyote cheering……
Then…. I pray a police car wont be needed……..
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sirens, half a dozen years ago, A visiting couple from Amsterdam or thereabouts wrote a letter to the Times Colonist , sayin that even in war time there were less sirens then now in this crazed town.
Our self described heroworkers want the word spread 24/7 ‘we’ve got your back’
I believe a public logue should be kept and made available, for every instance these things are used, but that would make too much sense.
So are you home with boat by now,?
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Halfway home. Feeling better as we go. Left boat in Victoria. Hafta return in November anyway. Need more baby time. Little guy si great. More on grand tyke next blog.
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Have you checked out Craigslist? Boats often are listed for free, along with campers and various other goods. The question of the day is what is it worth? The answer: what the market will bare.
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I’ve lived on Craigslist and Used Victoria for a while. It’s an obsession. But today I lucked out. Found a new ad. Responded. Guy called back. We were there within the hour. Inspected, purchased and paid for all within the hour. DONE! Now we are a good position. We have a working boat, a half-finished second boat and a new one….PLUS Sal’s little Whaler (skateboard). We run the old one for a bit, finish the repairs to boat #2, do some improvements to the new one and then swap the new one for the old one a month from now. The little navy will consist of two good runabouts and a little dinko skateboard. The old Wasabi will be retired or given away. We’ll be good-to-go in all situations. We are good.
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I assume you got the boat in the States (when you said down south). Have you ever imported a boat? Easy but not fun, or so it has been for us the two times we did it. The last time Wayne goofed on filling out the import form at Customs at the border. Left out a digit and then we couldn’t register and insure it back in Powell River. Went through lots of hoops and threats we had to drive it back to the same crossing, but the Campbell River let us finally just bring the paperwork over and they took care of issuing a new form. At first they wanted us to tow the trailer over from Powell River but took pity on us and the cost of two more ferry rides (not cheap towing an empty trailer for a 22-foot boat). I have the cold from hell but can’t blame it on the States this time. Got it here in town on a shopping trip. At least Wayne has survived not getting it from me. Who knows how but I’m glad. I’m finishing up week four and still have a nasty cough. – Margy
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No. Not a USA boat. Next time, maybe. Better selection there. This one is from Victoria. Easier.
Sal rarely gets ill but I always catch whatever’s going around. Not so much this time. She was worse. But we’re both almost back from it now. Almost.
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I drink a lot of alcohol and rarely get sick…….coincidence?
I think not.
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CONGRATULATIONS! Why am I congratulating YOU? Did you get to see him? Did Sal get to hold him? Eagerly awaiting your next blog!
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Yes. Held the little guy. Ten hours old. Blog today
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