Heh. The search engines must wonder what the heck I’m doing.

One day I’m writing about credit cards and now I’m writing about stories? No wonder I don’t get any real search traffic. Heck, most days I’m confused..

Anyway.

So, after a few days and many hours writing mind numbing boring posts about credit cards, I’m back…and I think for this site, this is what I do best – write rambly posts about nothing much of everything, and tell my story along the way, because in reality, this site is about me, and my debt problem and and how do I get out of debt in 1000 days?

So, I’m back here telling my story, because at the end of the 1000 days, that’s what I value most. Not speakers, no my music collection, I value the stories. Sure, sometimes you need stuff to tell a story with. And there’s some stuff I wont’ part with – such as my motorbike – because every year that bike gets me one thing: Stories to tell, and to me that’s golden.

A few stories off the top of my head about my bike:

1. I remember the day I bought it. I was a young 25 year old grad (hey, I started late) and I mentioned to dear old dad that I’d like a bike.. and – as seems to be the theme, he said go for it – here’s a cheque. It was only about 1000 or so, and I had the other 1000 so I bought a three year old 1988 Suzuki Katana for $2500. Not the bike I dreamed about being young. I wanted the super sport bike and this bike was a de-tuned sport bike. Funny how times change – now it’s almost too sporty. I’d like a softer seat and a more relaxed riding position.

2. Over time, the bike and I have grown to like each other better. 20 years almost I’ve had it.

3. I’ve ridden back and forth to Moncton on that bike 1800km – more than once. The last time was on the way back to Moncton and it was still a wee chilly out still in the early spring. So I had a very fashionable wool work sock as a scarf. (it was clean and all I had – hey don’t judge me)

4. Last year, I thought I had lost the bike. I had it stored in Ontario and when I called them in the spring – the number was disconnected. It seems the bike shop I stored it at went bankrupt. I was 1800km away and had no idea what next. I thought it was gone – so I called the bike shop down the road and asked them if they had any ideas for me. Imagine my relief when I found that they had it somehow. I had to pay this new bike for storage fees again, but at least I got my bike.

5. I have painted that bike at least twice. it would get scratched, and I’d paint it. I had a barter arrangement worked out with the local body shop. I made them signs and they painted my bike. Moral of the story: what services could you trade? Could you create a website for a body shop and get that dent fixed? It doesn’t have to be about money.

So my point is, I value a good story to tell probably more than anything. It doesn’t have to be a big story, it could just be the five minutes on that summer morning in August when you stop for a drink in some small town in Nova Scotia and meet the old retired farmer from Nebraska sitting in the shade while he waits for his wife to finish shopping before they both climb back on the tour bus.

This site is my story. Not the bank of montreal’s – they can get their own – but this did get me to thinking…what other stories can I tell? Besides, the I’m in debt story

I read somewhere about the idea of making a list of all your stuff. everything. q-tips, laundry detergent, and so on…if you have to touch it, or move it, or think about it -write it down. This is harder than it seems. When I moved back here I hired what in retrospect was a quasi-shady moving company, so as I packed it, I wrote down just the big ticket items such as stereos and tv’s in case I never saw my stuff again. Thankfully, they did show up on the other end with my stuff and I have it all… but writing it all down is a big task.

But this got me to thinking… everything I own has a story. Every DVD, every CD, has some sort of value otherwise you wouldn’t have spent good money for it. And most everything has a story. Maybe it’s a sweater you bought that just doesn’t fit right – that’s a story. Or how about the mouse you bought just last month, because you were sure you had other mice, but you can’t find one when you need it, or the pen you swiped from your last visit to the bank just out of spite for all the bank fees they charge you. That pen is another item that comes into your life.

Over the years though that pen, or mouse, or duran duran CD (again, don’t judge me) might not have the value it once had – maybe your story has changed some – you got married, divorced, got a dog or lost fifty pounds it doesn’t really matter. Life’s stories are always revolving and the stuff that comes and goes in our life just flows it seems to me sometimes.

But the best part is you still have the stories. Maybe you lost that pen, the mouse was another peice of junk, or the neon surf style jacket that’s in the back of your closet doesn’t have the same cachet it once had. But I bet that jacket has a story..maybe you bought it on spring break in Florida when you should have been home studying.. but there would be a story to tell.

In an effort to tell the ultimate story: my get out of debt story I think I’ve decided to bail on the credit cards and bank locations, even if it does bring some search traffic as it’s not the story I want to tell. At least not for this site.

But I’m always up to a worthy challenge: And I would think that making a list of everything I own would be a great wake up call to realize how lucky I am to have this stuff in the first place, but also realize I don’t really need most of it. Life goes on without duran duran CD’s.

I wonder: how little stuff does one really need? I’m far from a hoarder and I don’t have piles of unread newspapers and other crap, but I’m sure my CD collection could use some weeding, and I know my closet could use a touch up too…

So today I start with the list, and it’s the bike. I’m keeping it.. a summer’s worth of stories with it is just around the corner.