$60 closer to getting rid of BAD DEBT and getting out of the rat race

Today I spent time putting up Christmas decorations in the public areas of a hotel. It is a temporary gig, and I'm expected until Wednesday. Today, I put in seven hours, but our lunch hours (and they are an hour) are not covered. At $10 per hour, that is $60 before taxes.

I'm very excited because last year I did this, but my mind wasn't focused toward eliminating my BAD DEBT, but instead zeroed in on wanting to hang out with Boss 1 whom I had a crush on. I hadn't been playing Cashflow 101 regularly back then. In fact, when I was decorating lobbies last year, I hadn't played Robert Kiyosaki's Cashflow 101 for several years. This year, the gig was easier because I had done it before, I was more comfortable with the weird world of Boss 2, my esteem for Boss 1 was reduced and I no longer suffered the intense crush, and most importantly, I had a clear purpose: raise funds to eliminate bad debt--what a difference this change in mindset makes!

Procrastination to Progress Barking Up the Wrong Alley

After playing Robert Kiyosaki's Cashflow 101 Boardgame on Thursday, I finally got it in me to call the owner of the small parcel I was interested in for developing a small house. I had been procrastinating on this task for several months. The conversation was smooth and I realized I had nothing to fear but myself. The seller's response was mostly negative, but at least I found out what he was thinking. Playing on Thursday also motivated me to finally find the specific zoning rules for the zone applicable to the lot. I had the entire zoning ordinance on my computer, but had not yet found the specific rules of this zone. Well, it looks like this lot would be too small to get zoning approval! Even if the zoning was changed to less restrictive zone, developing the house would not be allowed in that zone either!

Well, it took five months of procrastination, and then one hour to make the phone call, get the answer, then find the specific zoning information. I got negative responses for both, but it felt great, because now I know the answer and can move onto something else! It is a task completed, and no longer hanging over me. Contunually playing Cashflow 101 is helping me gently tackle these various steps.

YT, my fellow Cashflow 101 player, noted I obtained information that I was "barking up the wrong alley," which I thought was a great way to look at it, although not completely true. I actually realised I was lying on the sidewalk in front of the alley, sniffing around, but mostly hoping something would pop out of the alley and take charge, or that the pound, humane society, or friendly dog-lover would come and rescue me from the misery of peering into the alley. Finally on Thursday, I went into the alley, and barked. This was a shift from waiting/hoping/yearning for something external to come along and "take care of it" to internally initiated action toward gaining a result. I went from looking at the alley, to finally barking up the alley. The negative response from the seller and the zoning is irrelevant; I needed that information so I can move onto finding other alleys and opportunities. Hopefully, it won't take me five months after finding the alley to bark up it.

The Pleasures of Discovering Postman Pat

I have just discovered a wonerful kid's show called Postman Pat. It plays on HBO from 9-9:30am every morning. Postman Pat is the mailman for a British town called Greendale. The postmistress is Mrs. Goggins. Jess, the cat, always accompanies Postman Pat on his rounds. Dr. Gilbertson is a single Mom that Police Constable Selby has a crush on. I guess in the UK english, I should say Police Constable Selby fancies Dr. Gilbertson. Ajay Bains maintains and drives the Greendale Rocket--the town's train to the larger town of Pencaster (spelling?). He is married to Nisha, and she runs the cafe in the station. Meera, their daughter, appears to be best friends with Pat's son. Another hillarious character always has his inventions backfire on him.

Anyway, the town is very close. So far, I have seen six episodes, in which Postman Pat has arranged a bowling party on the village green, a 100th birthday party for the Greendale Rocket, another general town party (in which he even helped one of the girls come up with a dress). The children are all cooperative. I adore the cat, Jess. This is all animation by the way--not drawn animation, but animation of all these beautiful handcrafted figures. What a wonderful show!

The ending credits go something like this. Pat is standing with his Royal Mail carrier in front of a large card/envelope with a stamp on it. The is the backdrop for flashing credits as the music sings:

"Postman, Postman Pat
Can you guess what's in his bag?
Is it a letter? Meow! (Jess peeks out from behind the lower right-hand corner of the envelope)
Is it a parcel? Meow! (Jess peeks out from the upper left-hand corner)
Is it a postcard? Meow! (Jess peeks out from the upper right-hand corner)
What else? Jess, the cat! (Jess pops out of Pat's lidded mail cart/trolley/buggy and gets pets and eye contact from pat)"

Looking forward to many wonderful episodes of this fantastic show.