Thursday 2 May 2013

Don't Worry Baby


As Joey over at his Pad would say, I threw a bit of a wobbly today, heck its not even Monday. I am sure unlike Joe mine usually involves more than a few tears.

I had been feeling rather blue for the last day or two due to financial concerns and my inability to land either a career position or even something short term to help bring a more regular cash flow than I do from writing.

I had been talking to a mom at school when dropping off my children and as she was also freelance we were comparing notes, both being in the same “leaky monetary” boat. I talked about working so hard to remain positive but as she said when you are constantly worried about money it does tend to suck the joy out of life.

Despite the beautifully sunny weather (suddenly summer here) I began to feel worse and worse. When my Internet connection went down as I was trying to get some work done it was the last straw and all the stress exploded. 

Although I am technically self-employed I feel unemployed, useless, unwanted and well a failure.    

My mother called during my wobbly and could tell I was upset and reminded me that I had every thing to live for given my recent good news.

When I am really really upset I retreat to one of my cars, I used to do this as a confused teenager. I would hide in my 59 Caddy stretching out on the big blue leather front seat that was more comfortable than any bed. As the 59 is in storage I took shelter in the Lincoln Continental curling up like a cat on sun warmed jade leather seats. Like a hug from an old friend I felt some peace return and was able to compose myself and return to my desk after a brief rest.

I hope you all don’t think that sounds too crazy, like some sort of automotive themed attempt to return to the womb.

Think I need another visit.


Wednesday 1 May 2013

Planes, Trains and Automobiles



So I have been thinking how I will travel to the clinic in Montreal, a distance of some 600km (372 miles) from my home in the neighboring Province of Ontario.

I felt I was channeling super blogger Lucy M. as I tried to logically calculate the various costs of car vs. air travel vs. train.

Business class on Via Rail so long as one books well in advance was approximately $370 dollars round trip single fare. It was marginally cheaper to ride coach but having experienced numerous train trips on the Toronto/Windsor corridor I can attest to the cramped seating, which would not be ideal for the journey home.

I also looked into Porter Airlines that operates out of Billy Bishop, Toronto Island Airport, using Bombardier turboprop aircraft. The Airline has great on line reviews and they are supposed to offer better seating/luxury service. As long as you locked in the dates a return trip would be around $340.

By car, required some more detailed calculations,

1976 Lincoln Mark IV: 372 miles @10mpg average equals 37.2 gallons, the equivalent of 140 liters (37.2 x 3.785). At $1.25 per liter that is $175 one-way, $350 return.

(Fuel economy on the highway with cruise control on may be as high as 13-14 mpg but I am taking a conservative average to account for traffic slow downs through Toronto and Montreal).

(Buick Electra, Thunderbird all have similar gas mileage. Corvette was not considered due to seating and luggage limitations)

1985 Cadillac Seville:  372 miles @20mpg average equals 18.6 gallons, the equivalent of 70.40 liters (18.6 x 3.785). At $1.25 per liter that is $88 one-way, $176 return.

(Fuel economy on Seville with cruise control on, flat highway can reach an amazing 30-mpg so costs may be even lower).

Added benefits in favor of the car are door-to-door service, removing the cost of taxi fares to and from airport/train station not to mention the great convenience. Not sure of parking costs in Montreal.

Taking a car will also offer any companion who comes with me the ability to get around the city at will.

Of course taking a car means having someone drive me back from Montreal while I make myself comfortable in either car's well-appointed rear seating area.

So in terms of pure number crunching the Cadillac Seville is the obvious choice. 

I have almost finished a major freelance project, which will pay my travel costs and supplies for the trip but yes, saving money is still a priority.

However being a romantic when it comes to automobiles I am kind of leaning towards the Lincoln as it has been a reliable companion for so many years, she starts better than a fuel injected modern car and has proved extremely dependable. The Lincoln has a relatively low mileage rebuilt high performance 460 but could do with some front-end work. Like me she is a bit of a Kustom project. It would just feel right driving her on this momentous journey.

I have not had the Seville for long but she did prove herself on a trip to Owen Sound last year providing excellent service and fuel economy.

I love road trips and abhor public transportation but the final decision will depend on whether I am traveling by myself or not.

Any recommendations?



Hugs,

April