Today marks the 20th anniversary of Dave and I meeting. Strictly speaking this isn't true I guess. Shall I say that I was oblivious to Dave's existence until today 20 years ago. It was the first time he spoke to me, and me to him, chatting me up in the staff swimming pool at the BRI. We've not stopped chatting ever since, apart from when I was giving him the cold shoulder for some minor disagreement according to him, and major row in my opinion!
20 years of laughter, blood, sweat and tears...in that order of quantity and importance. Well, maybe not the blood bit, more laughter, love and madness! For those who know me pretty well, the blood bit has a some meaning, but I shan't be explaining it here lol.
What has been happening over the last 2.5 months? Well, the kids spent most of the summer at home, on their own, whilst I worked 4 days a week, and had Friday off to be with them. We also had a week off when we went to Huntsville, Muskoka, to a resort by the Lake Peninsula, for 3 nights and 4 days after staying in Blue Mountains at the Georgian Manor resort, a points system time share joint that was freebie stay. Needless to say, we did not buy into the holiday club. The room they gave up was pretty poor, but on our orientation, they showed us a typical apartment that we would have and it was luxurious. The way I looked at it was, you pay an amount, let's say CAD 12K for 25,000 points per year, for 30 years. You also have to pay a maintenance charge, compulsory charge of CAD 500 a year. So, for 30 years, you pay another CAD15K on top of the 12K you already paid out. These points can then be traded for accommodation and flights, if you have enough points. Most of the accommodation may come in cheap if you book last minute, off peak and you may get a 4-5 * place for less than 10,000 per week. So far so good... you still have to get the flights out there, or drive there or get there by some other means. They have a travel agent who can help with getting the flights, and say their prices are competitive, usually lower than anywhere else. It all sounded so good, and if you do not use all your points in one year, you can carry it on to the next, but they can only last for 2 years. You could also get a points loan from your future years, shortening the term you initially paid into. And it's all fully transferable, so, if I had a stroke next year, and could no longer travel, I could transfer the plan to my kids or anyone I wished.
All very attractive, yes? Sounded such a good deal. too good to give up, so, what was the catch? None, they said, because of the member numbers that have signed up, they have great buying power and ability to provide these deals. Hmmm. Lets just consider our lifestyles at the moment...... Both Dave and I are living in a country that is not out birth country. If we were to have a major holiday expense, we would be going back to the UK or Malaysia to see our respective parents and family. Will we need 4-5* accommodation?? Probably not, as we would be staying with the folks. Would we be travelling off peak? No, we won't as kids have school to go to. Would we do a last minute holiday? Maybe, but only if we can get the time off work! So, all in all, it was beginning to look like we were unable to get the good deals and our points would not go a looong way. We were also restricted to using the points in 1-2 weeks per year, and if you booked for accom outside your resort, you paid a CAD 124 booking fee. Again, not so good.
Last but not least, did we have a spare CAD 12,000 sitting in the bank, not needed for anything?? This answer would be a definite NO! We don't have that kind of spare cash. Oh, but sir, that is not a problem, you could always take out a loan to pay for it.... A loan, you say, and what's the APR... well, it's high, at 22.9%, as we would rather have the payment in full. Ahhhh, said I. 22.9%? When a high interest savings account pays our 1.5%APR at the moment? You got to be kidding meh?? You serious?? The Trini in meh rearing my intelligent head. Or, or... oh yes, or? Or you could use get a line of credit from your bank, and the APR will be less. Ahhh, line of credit, another term from loan, but this time from your personal bank... I will still need to pay this back, and if I am paying this back, will I have any money left to pay for the flights for 4 people?? And be able to use my points? and still have some money to spend whilst on holiday?? See my dilemma? This was a no brainer, of course we would not be buying today, but thank you very much for inviting us. The timing is not right, not now, not ever! In my opinion, it did not make sense....it would be different I guess, if I had the spare cash and did a lot of travelling, with no priorities as to where we should go on holiday, but with aging parents, they will always come first.
Ok, now for the happy events...Deerhurst Resort was lovely and we had a brilliant time by the lakeside, swimming, kayaking, canoeing, tubing, Dave and Mitch played a bit of golf, Jas and I went horse riding, and we had wound down in amazing surroundings. The Canadians have a second home by the lakes, and as we paddle boarded and kayaked, we saw some of these 'cottages', set just above the water line, most looked like luxury homes. If you have visited Trinidad and the Bocas- Down D Islands, the cottages were a bit like the houses on the islands... amazing, with jetty's and boat parks, lake inflatables and the rest lol. Mitch and I had a little adventure when we rescued some people stranded on their tube, and they shouted out to us for help when we were paddle boarding. We towed them back to their cottage, made friends and they took us out on their boat, pulling Mitch behind on a tube...
Mitch and Jas went back to school in September, and seem more relaxed this year, going back to the same school has been a good thing for them. They are happy to be back and are settling in really well in their new classes. I have been working full time since they started back, and they return to an empty house most days, usually Jas on her own, if Mitch goes to a friend after school. It's working out ok, they are responsible enough to get their homework done as soon as they get back. On the days that I work till 6pm, Dave, tries to get home early.
Some friends of mine visited from Malaysia too this month! They were on a North American tour and had 2 nights in Toronto, so we met up and had dinner with them. It was really nice to see them after 4 years! Choy Yuen, Yit Ming and her daughter Natalie had just been to NYC, Boston, Quebec City, Montreal and Ottawa prior to coming to Toronto. We went to Swiss Chalet, which is a family type chain of restaurants that serve spit roast chicken and bbq pork ribs, as their speciality. We don't rate them that highly, but as our guests did not want Asian food, it was the next best bet. I hope they enjoyed their meals as much as they said they had lol.
Choy Yuen very kindly brought some things from me, from my mum, and will be bringing some things back for me. I am so lucky, I have friends that are willing to do me a favour. I guess I should count my blessings when things aren't going too well. It was a difficult end to my working week last week with me reduced to tears at work, but when I look back and see all that I have achieved, on my own initially, and then with Dave, I feel like the world can throw me anything, and we have the means to deal with it.
Peace and happy wishes to all, till the next posting....
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