His and Hers
My bike and Ethel's bike.
Hims bohunkus motromocyclical, and hers wuddle pink bicicycle.
I got Ethel this bike for Xmas - it's an Electra Classic Cruiser. She wanted it. I got it.
That's an easy one - it's a bicycle. We could afford it, it was Christmas, Ethel really
wanted it. And if we couldn't have afforded it, Ethel wouldn't have wanted it - she would
have redirected her wants to something reasonable. I wish they were all that easy.
This "move closer to work to get rid of the commute, or not" decision is nothing like the
"buy Ethel an expensive, useless, but pretty bicycle" decision. If Ethel didn't have the
bicycle, we have another four or five bicycles that she could ride. And there are lots of
alternatives - walking. Running. The car. Mass transit. Putting a saddle on the Malamute.
But the "move or don't move" decision is much weightier, and there aren't any alteratives
that have yet presented themselves. I've already been informed that Go Daddy doesn't do
remote work as a policy - we have a VPN, but it's for use to supplement what we do at the
office, not to replace it. So it's either keep commuting, or move closer to the office.
Well, we have explored alternatives. A friend in Ireland pointed out the possibility of
renting - something that I hadn't seriously considered, but in an inflated real estate
market, that is actually quite a smart move, financially.
Ethel came up with a pretty good idea - she said that we could go ahead and sell the house,
and buy a camping trailer - the one she wants to retire in - and park it at an RV park in
Scottsdale. We could claim that as our residence, Silas could go to school in Scottsdale,
and we would have our vacation home with us when we took time off. No mortgage, no commute,
and we could retire in place. With luck, I could park it in the Go Daddy parking lot.
There's the little issue of "what do we do about the dogs", of course. But do I want to let
something like that keep me from the easy life - a life with no driving, no debt, no worries?
But there are some other possibilities that presented themselves this weekend. Those of you
who read Dilbert have no doubt seen Dilbert's mother - but do you know where his father is?
It came out in a strip a few years back. It seems that Dilbert's dad has been at an all-you-
can-eat buffet for the last several years. He didn't want to leave until he had really eaten
all he could eat.
So we got to thinking about that, as an alternative. We could live at a 24-hour buffet restaurant.
Since Ethel telecommutes, she could stay there so we wouldn't lose our booth. Silas could go to
school and I could go to the office, and we'd always have hot meals. And as long as Ethel stayed
there, we wouldn't have to settle our bill until we finally left, for good, and went to the cashier.
The possibilities are amazing. We could even use the little trays of hot water underneath the entrees
as little hot tubs - of course, we'd have to move around while other customers filled their plates.
But in the last analysis, this is only wishful thinking - Scottsdale doesn't HAVE a 24 hour buffet.
So we're back to the question - move or don't move. I think "I wanna move" until I see what the real
estate market has to offer, and I realize that the difference between my house in Anthem and a house
in Scottsdale is the same as the cost of my first two houses, put together. So then I think "No, I'll
just keep commuting" until I have to get back on my motorcycle and commute again, and then I think
"I wanna move...". Flip and flop, back and forth, no resolution, no solution.
From the first chapter of James....
[
5] If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men
liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.
[
6] But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth
is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed.
[
7] For let not that man think that he shall receive any thing of the Lord.
[
8] A double minded man is unstable in all his ways.
That's me - a double-minded man, and unstable in all my ways.
But the buffet idea sounds good :)
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