FIRE IN THE HOLE!

[tonyreptiles]

Evening all.

I'm in the rare position that I have little more compelling to do this evening than write some whistful ramblings on the Fool.

The reason I'm so spare this evening is that, just before Xmas, I set fire to 90% of our business. While that's causing occasional clenched buttocks and a few sleepless nights, I'm convinced we've done the right thing and it will all work out in the end. I hope so anyway!

For over three years I've been working on a project which, in my youth, was a position which I would have considered my dream job - running a reptile magazine I was working with nice people, earned a decent living, doing something I enjoy in a field which I would consider both my hobby and my super-power. Unfortunately, the first criteria changed with a new hire at the client's company, and I simply can't work with plonkers. I just don't have it in me to tolerate them long term.

Second, the magazine has expanded to the point where I just don't have a life. I work, I go to the gym, I eat and I sleep - and that's it! It's not sustainable. Life has stopped being fun.

I'm in a lucky position that my partner and I have no kids. a decent emergency fund and low fixed expenditure, so we're in a much better position than most, who might have mortgages, kids, expensive cars and the like to finance. Still, it's a bit nerve-wracking to quit a project which brings in most of the money. But I've always had a great aversion to chronic problems, and I've always done my best to eliminate them from my life.

Acute problems, like a broken leg, crashed car, failed relationship or job loss - all of these are pretty painful But, in a few months, they are past, gone, and not a problem any more. Acute problems are crap, but I can deal with them.

Chronic problems fill me with dread. Chronic problems suck out my very soul. Poor health, nightmare neighbours, mental girlfriends, obnoxious bosses and unfulfilling lifestyles - these will destroy the magic that makes life worth living. I've routinely negated, mitigated or quit any situation which I felt would chronically ruin my quality of life. It's a principle which has served me well for decades. I wasn't going to let a job ruin my life, no matter how easy or profitable it was.

So, here we are, with our final invoice paid. What now?

We'll, here's the interesting thing.

Two days after we made the fateful call to quit the magazine I got an email from an old client who wanted us to work on a small project. We'd not heard from him for four years and, out of the blue, up he pops. I don't believe in fate, but I'll take what I can get.

A few days after that I got a call from an old mate who runs a reptile zoo in the Canary Islands. Could we possibly relocate ourselves and look after his zoo for a few months? Given that there are few people in the world who can care for Komodo dragons, King cobras and Nile crocodiles, he was hoping we could help. MsTR and I have long lamented that we've spent too many years enduring British winters when we could run our business over the internet from Nicaragua, if we so wished. And then, like a dream came true, we get the phone call from the buddy at the zoo.

It seems like life is conspiring with us to make things work out for the best. Just a few weeks ago we would have had to turn down both of these opportunities because of our workload. Now, free from the chronic problems the magazine caused, we seem to be getting lucky.

While we were concentrated on the magazine we'd neglected a different part of our business in a different sector. We'd kept it trickling along, but hadn't jumped at the chances we'd had along the way to expand it out, blinded by the pleasure and the income of the mag. I'm quite excited to have a challenge again, to see if we have what it takes to fire up this part of the business and prove to ourselves that we have what it takes to make it work. To be honest, the easy monthly income from the mag was starting to feel a bit worthless, like it was too easy and I hadn't earned it. It wasn't a challenge and it was getting tedious.

But, and it's a big but, I don't think the resurrection of this stream of income is going to keep me occupied for long either. I've already been active in this sector prevously and done OK in it. I'm pretty sure we can crank out a living by just putting in the effort that we'd previously neglected. I don't think we need to try too hard, if the truth be told. It won't be much of a challenge, and it is beset with other chronic problems which will make it unsustainable too.

Instead, I intend to spend the time when we're in the Canaries pondering what might be my purpose in life might be. I've spent many years chasing fun, living on the edge and trying new things just for the hell of it. And it's pretty much always turned out alright. Every time I've taken a risk or put serious effort into a project, it's all worked out for the best. I can't help wondering how far I can push my luck. I can't help wondering if there's a perfect 'TR-shaped' jigsaw piece that would be the ultimate purpose, the reason why I'm on this planet - the thing that I can do that could change the world for the better. I know it sounds grandiose, and I'm not stupid enough to think I can cure cancer or create world peace. I'm just looking for a TR shaped problem that I can apply myself to solving - one where my skills and knowledge would have a tangible positive effect.

I don't know what it will look like yet, but I think I can smell it in the distance. I just need enough time to think it through and let the pot of soup that is my brain boil away on the backburner for a while. I'm sure it'll all come out nicely in the end. Now is the perfect time to apply myself. I have a nest egg, low expenses and a few useful skills and talents. I have my health, a fabulous partner who complements my skills and counterbalances my weaknesses. I have little to lose and everything to gain.

I've taken many risks in my life and I have rarely face-planted. Maybe I'm due a fall? Who knows. But I'm going to give it a go.

Yes, setting fire to our business has been pretty scary, but it's been quite exciting too. Watch this space. I'll keep you posted.

Hopefully the crocs in the Canaries won't nail me in the meantime!

TR

[kiloran]

Great post, TR. Go for it (as long as you report back from time to time)

Will your boat be OK for the trip to the Canaries

--kiloran

[tonyreptiles]

Great post, TR. Go for it (as long as you report back from time to time)

Will your boat be OK for the trip to the Canaries

--kiloran

That's an interesting challenge with many things to consider.

We need to find a secure mooring, but we're awaiting a small repair to the boat and also might be scuppered by both Covid lockdowns and the winter canal repair schedule. We have between now and the end of March to get the planets to align!

TR

[tonyreptiles]

Great post, TR. Go for it (as long as you report back from time to time)

Will your boat be OK for the trip to the Canaries

--kiloran

That's an interesting challenge with many things to consider.

We need to find a secure mooring, but we're awaiting a small repair to the boat and also might be scuppered by both Covi lockdowns and the winter lock repair schedule. We have between now and the end of March to get the planets to align!

TR

Bugger!

I missed your smiley!

I don't think we nor the boat have the Jacobs for sea crossings.

[Mike4]

Jeez Tony, and there was me thinking you'd had a conflagration in yer engine 'ole!

[bungeejumper]

Jeez Tony, and there was me thinking you'd had a conflagration in yer engine 'ole!

I think you can get some cream for that.

BJ

[tonyreptiles]

Jeez Tony, and there was me thinking you'd had a conflagration in yer engine 'ole!

Hey - you should see our engine hole since MsTR got to work in there. Not a spot of rust, no bilge water, not a single drip from the engine, and all painted a lovely light grey colour so we can spot any leaks.

It's a joy to behold and the envy of the boatyard! I'm very proud, even though I can take none of the credit for it. MsTR did it all.

You really should come and see the old tub since all the work has been done. You'll be amazed at the transformation.

TR

[bungeejumper]

Bugger!

I missed your smiley!

I don't think we nor the boat have the Jacobs for sea crossings.

A long, long time ago, I knew somebody who brought a narrowboat across the Bristol Channel from south Wales so that he could berth it on the river Avon in Bath. Which, of course, has some of the highest tides in Europe, and some quite devious currents. (The Bristol Channel, I mean, not Bath. )

It took him two months of waiting before he finally got the OK from both the coastguard and the Met Office. A flat calm summer night (yes, night!), with the coastguard hand-holding him all the way on the radio. Took him six or seven hours, IIRC. Singing For Those in Peril On The Sea all the way.

BJ

[swill453]

I dimly remember someone on TMF describing some kind of "adventurous" sea/estuary crossing in a narrowboat. Not sure if it was any of our incumbent cruisers.

Scott.

[stevensfo]

Evening all.

I'm in the rare position that I have little more compelling to do this evening than write some whistful ramblings on the Fool.

The reason I'm so spare this evening is that, just before Xmas, I set fire to 90% of our business. While that's causing occasional clenched buttocks and a few sleepless nights, I'm convinced we've done the right thing and it will all work out in the end. I hope so anyway!

For over three years I've been working on a project which, in my youth, was a position which I would have considered my dream job - running a reptile magazine I was working with nice people, earned a decent living, doing something I enjoy in a field which I would consider both my hobby and my super-power. Unfortunately, the first criteria changed with a new hire at the client's company, and I simply can't work with plonkers. I just don't have it in me to tolerate them long term.

Second, the magazine has expanded to the point where I just don't have a life. I work, I go to the gym, I eat and I sleep - and that's it! It's not sustainable. Life has stopped being fun.

I'm in a lucky position that my partner and I have no kids. a decent emergency fund and low fixed expenditure, so we're in a much better position than most, who might have mortgages, kids, expensive cars and the like to finance. Still, it's a bit nerve-wracking to quit a project which brings in most of the money. But I've always had a great aversion to chronic problems, and I've always done my best to eliminate them from my life.

Acute problems, like a broken leg, crashed car, failed relationship or job loss - all of these are pretty painful But, in a few months, they are past, gone, and not a problem any more. Acute problems are crap, but I can deal with them.

Chronic problems fill me with dread. Chronic problems suck out my very soul. Poor health, nightmare neighbours, mental girlfriends, obnoxious bosses and unfulfilling lifestyles - these will destroy the magic that makes life worth living. I've routinely negated, mitigated or quit any situation which I felt would chronically ruin my quality of life. It's a principle which has served me well for decades. I wasn't going to let a job ruin my life, no matter how easy or profitable it was.

So, here we are, with our final invoice paid. What now?

We'll, here's the interesting thing.

Two days after we made the fateful call to quit the magazine I got an email from an old client who wanted us to work on a small project. We'd not heard from him for four years and, out of the blue, up he pops. I don't believe in fate, but I'll take what I can get.

A few days after that I got a call from an old mate who runs a reptile zoo in the Canary Islands. Could we possibly relocate ourselves and look after his zoo for a few months? Given that there are few people in the world who can care for Komodo dragons, King cobras and Nile crocodiles, he was hoping we could help. MsTR and I have long lamented that we've spent too many years enduring British winters when we could run our business over the internet from Nicaragua, if we so wished. And then, like a dream came true, we get the phone call from the buddy at the zoo.

It seems like life is conspiring with us to make things work out for the best. Just a few weeks ago we would have had to turn down both of these opportunities because of our workload. Now, free from the chronic problems the magazine caused, we seem to be getting lucky.

While we were concentrated on the magazine we'd neglected a different part of our business in a different sector. We'd kept it trickling along, but hadn't jumped at the chances we'd had along the way to expand it out, blinded by the pleasure and the income of the mag. I'm quite excited to have a challenge again, to see if we have what it takes to fire up this part of the business and prove to ourselves that we have what it takes to make it work. To be honest, the easy monthly income from the mag was starting to feel a bit worthless, like it was too easy and I hadn't earned it. It wasn't a challenge and it was getting tedious.

But, and it's a big but, I don't think the resurrection of this stream of income is going to keep me occupied for long either. I've already been active in this sector prevously and done OK in it. I'm pretty sure we can crank out a living by just putting in the effort that we'd previously neglected. I don't think we need to try too hard, if the truth be told. It won't be much of a challenge, and it is beset with other chronic problems which will make it unsustainable too.

Instead, I intend to spend the time when we're in the Canaries pondering what might be my purpose in life might be. I've spent many years chasing fun, living on the edge and trying new things just for the hell of it. And it's pretty much always turned out alright. Every time I've taken a risk or put serious effort into a project, it's all worked out for the best. I can't help wondering how far I can push my luck. I can't help wondering if there's a perfect 'TR-shaped' jigsaw piece that would be the ultimate purpose, the reason why I'm on this planet - the thing that I can do that could change the world for the better. I know it sounds grandiose, and I'm not stupid enough to think I can cure cancer or create world peace. I'm just looking for a TR shaped problem that I can apply myself to solving - one where my skills and knowledge would have a tangible positive effect.

I don't know what it will look like yet, but I think I can smell it in the distance. I just need enough time to think it through and let the pot of soup that is my brain boil away on the backburner for a while. I'm sure it'll all come out nicely in the end. Now is the perfect time to apply myself. I have a nest egg, low expenses and a few useful skills and talents. I have my health, a fabulous partner who complements my skills and counterbalances my weaknesses. I have little to lose and everything to gain.

I've taken many risks in my life and I have rarely face-planted. Maybe I'm due a fall? Who knows. But I'm going to give it a go.

Yes, setting fire to our business has been pretty scary, but it's been quite exciting too. Watch this space. I'll keep you posted.

Hopefully the crocs in the Canaries won't nail me in the meantime!

TR

Which island? A colleague has just buggered off for two weeks to Cran Canaria where they have a time-share in a very posh apartment complex and I have the feeling that the whole family would like to move there when they retire. Apparently, very little problem with Covid so far. I would say definitely go for it. I've worked in Germany, France and Italy and, despite my modest salary you'd have to offer me an absolute fortune to come back to the UK, though I may be tempted if it were on the coast somewhere. I have a weakness for beaches and sea crashing on rocks. I would love to come out there but my wife wants to stay in Italy and our eldest too, despite dating a Spanish girl.

Steve

PS If things get dodgy, you can also earn quite a bit teaching English online.

[bungeejumper]

I dimly remember someone on TMF describing some kind of "adventurous" sea/estuary crossing in a narrowboat. Not sure if it was any of our incumbent cruisers.

Could well have been me. Apparently it's not unknown - one couple allegedly sailed their narrowboat from Staffordshire to the Mediterranean - but hardly recommended. Flat bottomed boats with not that much above the waterline can be a bit tricky in open water. https://canalboatuk.com/canalboat-sea/

BJ

[tonyreptiles]

Which island? .

Gran Canaria.

I've spent a bit of time there and also in Lanzarote and La Gomera previously. I really do like the place.

The zoo is also well away from the tourist areas, so it's quite a civilised and peaceful place to be. I have to say, I can't wait to go. We're similarly disillusioned with the UK and want to spend more time overseas. It's not that I think the UK is unique in its foibles, but spending only a few months in a place doesn't usually allow enough time for you to get embroiled in the nitty gritty.

Plus, if we choose places with a low cost of living, we can still earn UK salaries and live a decent life in these low cost places.

Decisions decisions!

TR

[Mike4]

Which island? .

Gran Canaria.

I've spent a bit of time there and also in Lanzarote and La Gomera previously. I really do like the place.

The zoo is also well away from the tourist areas, so it's quite a civilised and peaceful place to be. I have to say, I can't wait to go. We're similarly disillusioned with the UK and want to spend more time overseas. It's not that I think the UK is unique in its foibles, but spending only a few months in a place doesn't usually allow enough time for you to get embroiled in the nitty gritty.

Plus, if we choose places with a low cost of living, we can still earn UK salaries and live a decent life in these low cost places.

Decisions decisions!

TR

Another suggestion would be to stay here in the UK and switch careers to being a travelling salesman for say Pilkingtons, selling their bathroom ceramic tiles.

Then you could change your username to "tonytilesrep" .... boom boom!

[todthedog]

Good luck go for it

[stevensfo]

Which island? .

Gran Canaria.

I've spent a bit of time there and also in Lanzarote and La Gomera previously. I really do like the place.

The zoo is also well away from the tourist areas, so it's quite a civilised and peaceful place to be. I have to say, I can't wait to go. We're similarly disillusioned with the UK and want to spend more time overseas. It's not that I think the UK is unique in its foibles, but spending only a few months in a place doesn't usually allow enough time for you to get embroiled in the nitty gritty.

Plus, if we choose places with a low cost of living, we can still earn UK salaries and live a decent life in these low cost places.

Decisions decisions!

TR

Pretty easy decision. Do you really want to be sitting in an armchair in your nineties, sipping your warm milk and thinking about 'what might have been'? I assume you probably have a smattering of Spanish? If not, start with the Pimsleur audio CDs and take it from there.

I only know Lanzarote and Tenerife a little bit, but I've met Brits who work there and they wouldn't leave for anything. However, the important thing is to make friends and integrate. I have also met retired people in Spain, living in luxury but who were terribly unhappy, because they never put in the effort to mix, learn the language and become part of society.

No doubt you've done the required online course:
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0119115/

Good luck!

Steve

[swill453]

What about Br*xit, is that going to be an issue?

(Though I think the Canaries have always had some kind of special status, being part of Spain but not in the EU, or something.)

Scott.