That's Bloody Expensive!

You're probably wondering what's gone on at chez moi for the last three weeks or so...

Early days mean I've been up at six and gone by half past seven, putting in a good hour three times
per week with the trainer, doing thirty to forty minutes of sprints in my chair for cardio and then spending 45 minutes in the pool. I haven't gotten home before 2 in the afternoon, which is a huge chunk of the day. Two evenings per week I leave about 6:45 PM and return after ten, once for choir practice, the other for services.  Much of this time is spent waiting for public transport. Another chunk is spent on laundry, cleaning and cooking, from which there is no escape unless one is wealthy enough to hire a cleaner. I do utilize my neighbor, but only on an as needed basis and he charges a fraction of what a professional would in terms of expense.

This morning I had a builder in to assess the cost of making this flat more accessible. Unlike others who have looked, measured, scratched heads and slunk away with nary an estimate, this one was personable and quite candid regarding the potential problems and costs associated with re-doing doorways and the bathroom, which is small and narrow. He would have to move walls, pipes and drains, loosing a foot or two in the bedroom, re-tile. The cost might be higher than the unit is worth in the current housing market and would leave me with no cushion at all, financially speaking. He took photographs and promised to call again after consulting colleagues at the local remodeler's association. In the interim, I'm attempting to contact realty agents to see what is available that was built after 1990 that should have wider doors and a more open layout. Of the three persons recommended by friends, none have returned my calls while another has sent a form e-mail with her contact information.

I'll see what happens...

Until Next Time...

Reflections...What Would You Change?

Someone asked me recently whether there was anything about my life  that I would change. Short of a snappy comeback meant to intrigue, this is not a question I can answer easily or adequately in two minutes or less.

Regular readers to this blog know that the last couple of years have been life-altering. I have had to adapt to living the larger portion of my life from a chair. Number one on my list would be stronger enforcement of access and accessibility standards in public places. Number two would be better transportation options for persons with disabilities. We do have a paratransit service here, but some cities actually run the service 24/7, making it easier for those who can to work or take part in community life. I would point out that a job or regular participation in one's community are not luxuries. These are vital economic and psychological functions.

On a more personal note, I've seen more friends loose jobs to downsizing. The crash of housing markets which were once highly inflated have left people "upside down" as they pay more in mortgage balances than these properties are worth while others can barely keep the rent covered. Admittedly, this is not my maternal grandparents' Depression, but a malaise that appears farther reaching with consequences many are apparently at a loss to understand.

I am not optimistic that things will somehow shift, returning us to more affluent circumstances. I do, however, believe that all of us had better learn to live within current limits because it does not appear that those limitations, from clueless self serving politicians to corporate bosses and bean counters, are not going anywhere.

What this means in practical terms to me is a lot of "no," as in no television, no cable bill, no car or car insurance, no far-flung holidays or travel, no high priced entertainment, no clothing budget, no job, no big phone bills, no expensive flat renovations to make my small piece of home more wheelchair friendly.
I am fortunate that the little suburban box I inhabit is paid off, though the monthly maintenance fees continue to climb. While I am not elderly, I now must live on a fixed income and worry about the future of Social Security. This isn't the life I aspired to, nor is it one most highly educated professionals, a group which includes me and most of those with whom I associate, would find themselves living but for factors largely beyond our control.

That said, there are still many things for which I am grateful: Educating myself by reading every book on personal finance for women in my local library, finding the right people when a particular problem needs seeing to, hearing from my congress person, my cats, friends and friends of friends, cookbooks since I eat in more often than out, bloggers from around the globe, and strangers on the bus who pass along tidbits of information about community events or resources, the drivers who get me where I need to go and my favourite cabby as well as librarian friends and colleagues. These I would not change for all the money on the planet.

Until Next Time...

Lightning, Thunder and Rain...

It was almost five and I was just out the door of a neighbourhood market when the sky exploded. It has been raining buckets here ever since, with the occasional roll of thunder thrown in for good measure. This is supposed to last through the weekend and will literally put a damper on some plans made earlier in the week with a friend, although a bit of water is hardly likely to stop us having an enjoyable evening.

This weather keeps me indoors more often than not, giving my wandering mind a workout. I've started to feel that my posts have gone a little stale, and although it is my intent to learn how to do photos on this iMac, the issue is that my cheap digital camera hasn't held up under regular use over the last three years and that having spent a packet on the iMac, a new camera simply isn't in the cards for the moment.

That said, this blog is likely to be more print-intensive for the foreseeable future, so those of you who like photos have my apologies. I will remedy the situation as I can. My last experience taking the camera around town  resulted in someone attempting to snatch it. Though they were foiled in the effort, I was left shaken. No blog is worth that. Happily, I can still say I have never been robbed.

Until Next Time...

Life Is About Choices...Or So I've Heard...

Scanning the thin list of jobs over a cup of tea, I realise that I am either out of the running because I can't climb ladders or lift 50 pounds, I'm without the required experience, I have too much experience and a degree which means to an employer that I will cost them more in salary and benefits, the town in which a single, but otherwise perfect position exists is small, lacks a hospital and has no discernible public transport beyond a snow plow...

Here are my choices...
~Laugh...Tomorrow is another day!
~Cry...Tomorrow is another day...
~Talk to an immigration attorney and really learn why other countries don't want people who literally roll through life as I must these days...
~Resume my former career despite the fact that most of my clients have either gone bankrupt, moved on or died...(I was not a call girl, a thief or a disaffected mortuary attendant)...
~Marry someone from another country...The odds of this are nil since I do not engage in Internet dating, most of my friends are happily divorced, gay or determined to remain single.
~Find a job in Canada or Israel, learn both French and Hebrew, adjust to snow or the sounds of gunfire or rockets in the distance, and hope for the best...
~Reprise my former status as a pundit, a situation likely to lead to raucous comments, fits of pique or uncontrolled laughter...

Until Next Time...