When the things you own start to own you....

Two years ago, my husband and I bought a 19 foot Airstream trailer that we use to go camping, when traveling to visit family (mine in LA, his in IL) and as a "base camp" for our kayaking trips. The warranty is about to expire, so we dropped it off in Tennessee at an Airstream dealer on our way home from Illinois last month. Thinking that the cold weather was over, we didn't worry that the trailer was not winterized...winter was over. Spring was here and the weather was supposed to stay warm.

Before I get too far in this post, let me explain just what "winterizing" an RV is and its purpose. Just like your house, your RV has plumbing and during the winter months, if those water lines are full of water, they can freeze, expand and then burst and crack the pipes. To prevent this, you need to winterize your RV before the cold weather arrives. You can do this one of two ways - using an air compressor to blow out the water in the lines or pump RV/Marine anti-freeze into the water lines.

It's always a bummer when we winterize the RV, knowing that we won't be able to do much camping while it's stored for winter. On our way up to Illinois, we put water in the fresh water holding tank and pumped out the antifreeze in the lines. We weren't worried about the cold weather anymore, so when we dropped it off at the Airstream dealer in Tennessee, we didn't think twice about the trailer not being winterized.

Last Friday evening, around 6:00 PM, I was watching the news and saw the weather forecast. Then it hit me, our trailer is a few hours NORTH of here, sitting on a dealer's lot and it's not winterized. I called the dealership and ended up talking with the General Manager. The service techs were all gone for the day and they were not scheduled to return until Monday. There was no one there who could winterize the trailer for us. We ended up working out a temporary solution to get through Friday night. The manager went out to the trailer and turned on the furnace. This is a big drain on the batteries, so we knew this would only get us through Friday night. We would have to drive out there on Saturday to winterize the trailer or risk severe damage to the water lines. Re-pluming a trailer is expensive and not something I was really looking forward to paying for, so we sucked it up and drove 3.5 hours EACH way to Tennessee to winterize the trailer. We were there less than an hour and turned around and drove right back home. The trailer wasn't ready yet, so we couldn't take it home with us - they were still waiting on a few parts to come in. At that point, I started to question - do we own this trailer or does it really "own" us?

I suppose that driving all day on Saturday was the best decision in the end. The temps got down in the teens on Friday & Saturday night and the trailer surely would have suffered broken water lines. However, there were many other things I wanted to do on Saturday - things that didn't get done because we were driving to and from Tennessee to tend to one of our 'assets'.

There comes a time in your life when you realize the more crap you accumulate, the more you have to deal with it. The more it clutters up your house and do you really need all of that crap? Most of the time, if you sit back and think about it...you really don't. Many people think "If I had a bigger house, a nicer car, more things...then I'd be happy" The truth is that you always want what you don't have. There will always be something nicer out there, someone who has better "stuff" than you. The more crap you buy, the more it will "own" you in the long run. The bigger house will take you longer to clean. The more expensive sports car required 93 Octane fuel and expensive, low profile tires....getting my drift?

Now, are we considering getting rid of our trailer? No, not now. We use it often and it is our own little escape from the hectic lives we live during the week. It's wonderful to be able to go out to the lake for a weekend. Watch the sun set while eating dinner at the picnic table at your campsite. You can't put a price tag on that for me, it's worth the hassle during the rest of the year. Yes, we could go back to tent camping and occasionally, we do go tent camping. However because the trailer is self contained, we have many more options. We can also pack up and leave much more quickly than if we had to pack up our tent camping supplies. In short, the trailer is a luxury and we're willing to put up with some crap every now and again to keep our little home away from home in good condition.

That being said, we'll be spending another day driving to pick up the trailer in Tennessee this weekend. The warranty work is finally done and we have a camping trip planned for next weekend. We'd love to stop at a TN State park on the way home, but we have commitments on Sunday that cannot be changed. We have to be home on Sunday morning, so no camping on Saturday night. We'll have to be patient and wait until next weekend :(

Betting on yourself : A lesson in self confidence

I just finished watching a documentary on the Dixie Chicks titled "Shut up and Sing" - it's all about the debacle surrounding the comments that Natalie made in the UK on the eve of the Iraq war. The film gave us a glimpse into their lives on tour, the writing and recording of their new album and how they dealt with the media and surrounding circus that ensued that painted them in a negative light.

I remember buying their new CD on the day it was released - at Target so that I could be eligible to purchase tickets early for their tour. I was on my cell phone as I walked into the store - I was talking to my best friend, Mel. I told her what I was going to Target for and I remember her reaction "You listen to the Dixie Chicks!" - it was more a surprised reaction than a negative one. She hadn't heard their song "Not Ready to Make Nice" and she wasn't familiar with their new sound. I don't hold that against her, especially now that she's loving the Chicks after introducing her to their new album when she was here earlier this month.

In the film, there's a scene where they're discussing the upcoming tour and their projections on ticket sales. There was some option on the table that would give them insurance against losses (in case the tour was a flop) or they could put themselves out there and deal with the consequences....in essence, fly without a net. It could have meant potential financial losses on their part, but one thing that struck me was how Natalie was so adamant against taking the easy way out - opting for the "insurance policy" She said how PO'ed she'd be if she took the safe way out and then the tour ended up selling out. She wanted to bet on herself - have confidence that they would succeed in the end. It's that brazen attitude that I love. One lesson from tonight's movie - bet on myself more. Take risks and trust myself. Self confidence has never been a strong point for me, but it's something I'm working on. From now on, I'm betting FOR myself - it's a sure way to stay motivated to continue to succeed.

Oh, and if you're wondering...we DID go to their show at Philips Arena in Atlanta and it was excellent and I didn't give a crap about what anyone else thought about it...

Till next time...

Desi