Today, I woke up early (6:11 am) and noticed that
Brent’s car was still here. He’d slept
in and didn’t go to work, so I knocked on his bedroom door to wake him and tell
him the time, then went back to bed and slept until 10:30 am – not surprising
since I was up watching “Forensic Files” until 1:30 am.
I got up, brushed my teeth and washed up and went
downstairs. Brent was up and so was
James. They were eating breakfast. I did last night’s dinner dishes as well as
the breakfast dishes. Then I made myself
a coffee and a bagel and played Solitaire on my laptop computer. I usually try to win three games before
quitting, but at this moment, I could only win two. Then, I took a shower.
After showering, I went outside to finish reading my
novel “Memories of Midnight” and then brought my computer outside to type up my
journal notes from Sunday to Wednesday.
Just as I was finishing up, my computer’s battery was starting to run
low on power, so I logged off and brought it back inside to plug it in and
re-charge it. Today is the first time in
a very long time that I’ve worked on my computer outside.
Brent and James went out somewhere this afternoon –
probably to run some errands, but they didn’t tell me where exactly – so I am
here alone for a while. I applied online
to activate some computer maintenance software “System Healer” that had expired
and was having some trouble doing so.
After I checked my email and got the correct activation code, I wrote it
down so I could insert this code into the new software I’d just purchased.
I started handwriting my journal notes again for
today, which I plan to type up tomorrow.
Friday is my last day here – I will check into the Holiday Inn Express
in Scarborough tomorrow night. I might
need to call them if there is going to be a late check in, but I don’t think
that’s going to happen. Brent's leaving
work early Friday so that we can get out of here early enough for him to drive
me to my hotel. He and James are then
going to spend Friday night at John and Steph’s place in Whitby so that he
doesn’t have to drive all the way back here again. Last time I was here in early July, he drove
me home (because I was still living at 10 Billingsgate in Ajax) and we’d
stopped for dinner in Whitby along the way.
But, it’s an incredible amount of driving for Brent to do in one day, so
we’re doing it the way he plans this Friday instead.
My Afterthoughts: After paying off every single bill I had
except for my RBC overdraft, I still have LOTS of money to myself AND I AM NOW
DEBT FREE! WOW!
Also, Brent suggested that I save the $7,500 I’m
getting from Reimax and put it towards the trip we want to make early next year
to the Dominican Republic. Great
idea! I have agreed to pay the whole
cost of this trip for Dave, Brent, James and me because neither Dave nor Brent
has any extra money for travelling. I, by contrast, DO have the money!
However, I’m still going to have to be careful and
protect at least HALF of that leftover money in order to have a nest egg that I
can draw from in the future when needed.
I can use it to buy new living room furniture and a desk when I find a
new place of my own to live in January 2017, for example.
Of course, I am going to Europe first. That is a must. I’m planning on doing my European trip as
cheaply as possible, using bed-and-breakfast places to stay at and signing up
for economical guided tours of the UK and continental Europe. But, I don’t expect it to be cheap. After all, it wasn’t all that cheap back in
1981 when I went to Europe the first time, and it’ll be maybe three times more
expensive now, say, ten to fifteen thousand dollars? That’s why I am going to go to a travel agent
to book my trip and get the best prices possible. In fact, I can start planning my trip any
time now that my bills are paid. I’ll
aim for an early-to-mid-September departure, for three months, minimum. I’m also planning on a brief trip to
Helsinki, Finland. If a tour is possible
of the Scandinavian countries, I will consider it as well.
I think I should probably trade my current old Bell
cell phone in for a new, more modern one (maybe a Koodo phone?). I may need to book some parts of my European
trip on my own and I definitely need to be able to take a LOT of pictures using
my cell phone! However, I will be
bringing my NOTEBOOK computer along with me – it’s a lot more portable than my
LAPTOP. A good cell phone will help a
lot though.
I have to remember to change my last hotel
reservation at Homewood Suites in late August to depart on September 7th
or later. But, I’ve been having problems
making the change online. Expedia keeps
sending me an error message saying that they are having problems with my change
and to try again later. Well, I did try
several times this afternoon with no success.
I will have to try again on Friday.
copyright 2016 - Anne Shier
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