TV shows- Highway Thru Hell

This is the kind of show that has me wondering if I should get professional help, a lot of help!

This is like watching a train wreck but instead of a train, it's 18 wheelers, cars, and all sort of vehicles needing to be towed away.

Here what Wikipedia has to say about it:

Highway Thru Hell is a Canadian reality TV show that follows the operations of Jamie Davis Motor Trucking, a heavy vehicle rescue and recovery towing company based in Hope, British Columbia and Lac la Biche in Northern Alberta. The show focuses on the hardships of operating along the highways of the BC Interior, especially the Coquihalla Highway (Coq), and highways in Northern Alberta, around Fort McMurray, which are notorious for rapidly changing weather and big wrecks.

It's currently playing the fifth seasons and I can't stop watching it; Sometimes trucks has full load in their trailer and hang to a side of a cliff. Some other time, the trucks are only stuck in snow and need to be pull off. Spellbound!

To give a better and clearer idea of the show, I'll describe it for you: A truck loose control, it hit a snow bank and end up on its side. Jamie Davis' crews are call. When they arrived, they decided that just one towing truck will not be enough, they call a competitor. Both towing company work together and started to chain the truck and its trailer. The operator started slowly to pull on some levers on their equipment to move every thing back on its wheel. After about 2 times period of advertisement, the trucks is back on its wheel and drive away. Every one is happy. The end. 

Exciting, right? You are going to watch it from now on, right? WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU!

If you decide that this is a show for you, please let me know, we could trade names of health professional.

The picture of the kitten is a recommendation from my psychologist to fill my head with beautiful images instead of all the wrecks!

Life is Going to be so Easy

I have been 2 weeks without running water. Today it's really exciting, I will be getting running water IN MY home.

During those weeks, I went to a daily trip to the lake to pick up buckets of water to flush my toilet.

I had to get to the front gate and filled up Jerry cans of water for cleaning the dishes and brushing the teeth that I have left.

I bought bottle waters for drinking and using in the food preparation.

But for those 2 weeks, I didn't take one single shower... in my home. I had to go to the main building.

From now on, life is going to be so easy!

Do you have running water? Do you like it? 

 

Wealthy Thoughts

Some of you might be thinking about early retirement or are already retired but would love to supplement their pension. Is there a way to get there faster? Yes there is... Powerball! 

 

I don't know if it's the best way but hey who would say NO to the current amount. It is estimated to be 314 Millions US if you take an annuity that will be pay out in 30 installments. The first one, right away ($4,726,151), and then with a 5 % increase per year, you get your bank account yearly replenish 29 times.

Or you could take 204.7 Millions in cash. But if you do so, you better be in shape, you will have to run a lot!

So Saturday when I win, I'll take the annuity. I never managed 204.7 millions before and it would just complicate my life too much. I'm pretty sure I could manage 4.7 millions... With that amount...

I pay off my tax. Sadly, I will be in the upper tax bracket, lets round it to 50 %, so I will be down to 2.35 M.

I will pay off my debts. After this, I'll still have 2.35 M. in my bank account.

I will keep a third and give two third to the kids. Let them have the headache of managing that! My next bank statement will show ONLY 780 K. If I budget it per day it would be about $2000 every single day.

I buy a new car. It's going to be red. I limited that spending to 100 grand. (680 K. left)

I am going to travel, the whole year. I know it doesn't make sense to buy a car and leave it in the garage but I can afford it. I'll budget 280 K. for this once in a lifetime trip. (400 K left)

I just realized, I don't have a garage... I'll need to buy a house with a garage in a good neighborhood... I'll budget a Million on that. However, all is left in my bank account is 400 K so I won't pay cash, I'll have a mortgage. If I take into account the mortgage payment and all other cost of owning, it might be an other 150 K expenses per year. (250 K. Left)

I'll give to some charities, I'll even going to carry on me gift card for restaurant so that if I come upon a homeless, I can send him/her to get a good meal. (150 K. Left)

I will budget gifts for my family and friends (the one I had before winning) (100 K. Left)

I will get all kind of gadget like a smart phone, NO I can't give that number away... I am just going to walk in Best buy and get carts of stuff... (50 K. Left)

I will through a party where food is free, bar is open, with live music (I'll have to check if Adele is available) (1 K. Left)

I will get an accountant and layer and all kind of adviser. (- 15 K.)

I'm going to buy a boat, I can't swim, but that will be nice to invite people to the boat that is in dry docking. (- 215 K.)

Oh no, it doesn't seem like I have enough... I might have to pass the hat at some point, can any of you spare me a few grand? :(

What would you do if I don't win but you do?

Depressing Day in Canada

Today I'm doing my taxes. If I had a choice, I would rather go to my dentist to get a root canal. I would not even need anesthesia as the pain is much less than filling up forms after forms just to determine that I have too much money in my bank account and have to part with a huge chunks and send it to the governments!

By the time I'll be done, my blood pressure will be higher than my tax bracket, my blood sugar will be plunge lower than any tax exemption and my mood will be as depressing as my bottom line!

I'm sure that once I send my money, our national deficit will be still soaring, the programs we finance will be losing more money and the governments will manage to ask for more next year.

At least I'll feel good about sending one more drops in this out-of-control ocean!

Maybe I could start my own religion, they are not tax, right? Or claim I'm a non-profit organization, that would be true since I don't make profit!

Or what about buying an island and declaring it a country. I would be the absolute ruler, I would not tax myself. Anyone know where I could buy an island for no more than $100? I don't mind how small it is, as long I can have a pickelball court on it, I'll be happy!

Pickelball-R-Us

For a while now, I have been mentioning about pickelball but other than putting a few video, I haven't been describing it to its just value.

What do you need to play Pickelball?

A paddle, a ball, running shoes, a court and someone that is willing to be use as a target practice, I mean someone that want to play and have fun.

A good paddle will be around $ 80. (US or CDN) but you can buy one for $ 15. Most place I played at had spare paddles available.

You don't need to buy balls, but if you buy some it's about $ 15 for a dozen.

As you can see, it's not an expensive sport to practice. As a beginner, you probably going to have no cost. But as you get hook on, you might want to get your own paddle. I played at a center where they charged $ 3 to play all morning and you didn't need to buy a membership.

Who can play?

From the picture it's hard to tell but for comparison purpose, 4 pickelball courts can fit in one tennis court. So a lot of pickelball player are reformed tennis player that were tired of playing on an over-size court not able to play tennis anymore. I didn't play tennis so this was not my case.

I was introduce to the game by one of my neighbor. I can still remember the first few games, sometime I hit the ball... sometime the ball hit me. I was given all the rules at once and felt like I would never understand what I was doing there. But quickly, I got it! It was not that complicated.

During winter, I played a lot. I played against a man that had lung cancer. After a game, he had to sit down and get oxygen. But he was there and smiling.

One couple I met, the gentleman had both knees replace the year before and he was very good.

I played against people well in their seventies and got beat by them. Possibly even in their eighties, but if ask I'll denied everything!

I played with over-weight and thin people, women, man, slow and fast players, beginners, intermediate and advance skill players.

So really it's a game for every one (Kids pick it up so fast). You don't need to be an athlete, personally, I played to get in shape. I was not in shape before.

Where can I play?

All winter I played mostly inside gyms. In the summer, I'll played mostly outside on a paved court. A lot of tennis club has convert a few court for pickelball. The best thing to do is to check with your local sport facility.

Some people I talked to organized pickelball with their church. All you really need is a place where you can have the lines set up and you can buy a net (around $ 125) and voila you are ready! One of the place I played at was within a church complex. The person responsible was charging a dollar to each player to buy tape. Every week he had to remove the “lines”, I'm not sure why but that was not a big deal.

There are serious players and players that are there just for the fun of it. We all encourage each other, and I don't know how often I missed a shot because I was bend over laughing... it's so much fun. I'm not a very social kind of person but with this game, I get to meet so many great friends.

Do you play? Are you going to try it? 

Sunday Humor

“Whether it's the best of times or the worst of times, it's the only time we've got” - Art Buchwald

Another week is over, where did it go? I have no idea! If I had more time, I would take a course... Time Management 101!

Next week my intention is to be more serious, will see if I can manage that!

Any big plan for next week?

Meanwhile now it's time for a bit of humor...

Orange is the new black

Best show ever! If I was on my death bed and a new season was coming out... I would kick every one out to watch the whole thing. I would survive until the end... of the show.

Before talking about the show itself, I will give you a warning. If you take offense with words like: Bitches (or Poochie ), dykes, Plushious, Scissoring or Snatch; This show might not be for you.

If you have problem seeing women on women action or different ethnicity's sex; This show might not be for you. I almost quit the show but I had the remote control so I could fast-forward from those scenes. However some time, by mistake, I end up rewinding it instead. Just joking!

So for the show, it is base on the fictional life of Piper Chapman, a women that had a gay relationship with a drug smuggler. She get caught and sent to jail. I don't want to spoiled the show for you that's all I'm going to say about Piper. But her character was base on real event that happen to Piper Kerman.

If you close your eyes and think about what happen in a women prison you might get a glimpse of what it's about.

This is so outstanding, you get human stories lock with a lot of humor, with power control fight, manipulations. There is something for everyone I'm sure!

Yesterday I watched my recording of this week Survivor. In case you haven't watch, I'll just going to say... my jaws dropped, for a while I thought I would need surgery to get it to close again. Do you watch survivor? Have you watched this week show? Were you happy?