The pavement crackles under my wheels. The salt, crushed into a soft talc, clings to my vehicle like sticky sand on wet feet. The clouds dissipate into a wonderous blue sky, the road ahead looks clear and unchallenging. It’s a rare day when the highway is clear enough to drive at the speed limit, without a blizzard causing havoc with travel plans.
As the kilometres pass by, the temperature slowly rises with every degree in latitude on my southbound trip. I wonder if this will be the trip of no hassles and no delays.
We notice that the further south we go, the more snow is on the ground, and I wonder if this is really winter in the south and that spring is just around the corner. A 1000 kilometres into my long drive south, the skies turn dark. I’m hoping that the investment in my high-performance winter tires will pay off, but I end up a little disappointed when raindrops appear, and the ice and snow disappear by the minute.
Eventually, we hit Habsville, and it’s clear that winter is slowly being ushered out with the rain and plus 10 temperatures.
At the entrance of the classy hotel, I step out and stretch my short legs and turn around to see my once glistening clean car is now covered in road salt and dirt. At least I can brag about how dirty it is and the time it took to get it that way.
After a few resounding whistles of appreciation from the doorman, who trades his white gloves for working mitts just to open my doors, we check in and find out that the hotel is a hotbed of Eeyou activity.
Finally, the room invites our tired bodies to relax in clean sheets and we settle in. We wonder if we should order in and find out that the time to get nourished with the usual chicken and rib combos is too long and costly. So, I head to the nearest sushi shop and order a smorgasbord of exotic foods, which I discover are very affordable.
Hmm, my economic mind, finely honed after 30 years of finance, perks up when I hear that there is a large discount if I use cash instead of electronic funds. Huh? Cash? I check my skinny wallet to search for any colourful paper with a face on it, but find only my plastic cards, so I have to pay the full price of $25 and some change.
I’m still satisfied with my purchase, as I could get some processed cheese slices and week-old bread with the usual meat in the can (comprised of who know what parts of the cow that was picked off the floor in the meat-processing plant) for about the same price back home.
Naw, I’ll go with the sushi, made from fine tasty ingredients and easy to swallow, without guzzling a gallon of tea to wash it down.
The need for food abated, we plan the days ahead. My family members talk all night about which stores they will visit while I attend some university courses at an internationally recognized education institution, to further finetune my analytical mind. Ahh, the mind loves this new injection of learning how the financial world works today.
Back in the day, cheques reigned supreme and credit card debt didn’t show up until 30 days later, unquestioned by the clerks who ground out a paper copy with a loud mechanical swipe of the card. Hopefully, the card won’t come back with insufficient credit notes to the vendor, who will berate you and warn the other vendors in the territory to stay clear of your scam.
Today, it takes seconds to get rejected and that cold but apologetic statement that you’ve been declined and seconds to get that nice smile from the hotel receptionist when it is cleared.
Yes, I learned a lot at that esteemed university. One was to respect your own financial situation and keep that credit rating high, high enough to satisfy the car dealer who has been hounding you to buy their latest pile of steel on wheels, even though they can see that you don’t need another vehicle as yours is only a few years old and in excellent condition. I graciously decline their offer, as I can say that new wheels can wait for another half decade.
I know I drive a family van that isn’t cool. But I also know that no one wants to steal it in order to avoid the embarrassment of having to return it and apologize that they really wanted that expensive Porsche parked next to mine. Blandness is my superpower.