How to stay positive and upbeat when your financial world is crashing down all around you.
ok, so I guess it's a good thing I never had a lot of money to start out with. If this were a tour on how to show people the proper way to get ripped off...I would get the prize for sure. Hopefully it would be money lol
I just want to get this out there for anyone who has used or was thinking of using or will ever use Hotles.ca I was trying to pre book a room in Baton Rouge for tomorrow November 23, 2010 and much to my surprise the money I had for emergency fuel and motel stays was all gone. My first reaction was...HOLY CRAP someone has my Visa number and has been out there shopping and having a great time while I have been oblivious. Not the case, but close. I went back into my old statements online and noticed two things that really chapped my ass!!! sorry for the expression, but I don't think there is a nicer way for me to put it. The first thing I noticed was I had been charged over $400.00 for hotel bookings I had never even made. Another charge was for a booking I made and cancelled within 5 minutes of confirming the booking. Which of course was never returned to my account.
The second thing I noticed which is something that I am extremely upset with and would like to know why there is no legislation for it; was the over charging of hotels two or three days after I had checked out and been given my receipt. I know some of you will be thinking it is probably because of a pet fee or cleaning fee. Please let me assure you I have paid no less than a ten dollar deposit on every room I have stayed in. That is by far a sufficient amount to cover any damage Pepper is ever going to do. Of course I am now wishing I had of just let him crap on the bed and pee in the corner. Wouldn't of made the room smell any worse ;-) Now that I can see an extra charge for lol
Anyway, with all that said and done. I have had some of the nicest weather anyone could ever ask for. Start to finish. Well, Nova Scotia excluded but they had some of the nicest people so I wouldn't want to go and make anything overly nice on this trip. That was my snarky sarcastic remark at karma...or whatever it's supposed to be :-) I have some great video and snippets I am eager to get onto the web site but I have had little to no internet the last few days. Funny thing is, I am not writing this from a hotel with free wi fi lol they never seem to be working. I am actually writing this from a KOA Campground in the middle of Alabama. Well, the middle of the bottom lol never actually thought I would be using my computer while lying on my massage table inside a tent with the top tarp off and looking at the sky with the clouds rolling by every so often. really sucks to be me right now. I just can't say thank you enough for this fabulous weather.
Pepper had a rough couple days when the heat and humidity were really high and I hope now that I am heading west he will start to notice a difference. He has a lipoma in is mouth that seems to swell up in the heat and humidity, thus causing him to gag and choke. Once he is in a cool dry place he is completely fine. Great for him, not great for me as I had to drive down Interstate 10 today with the windows rolled up the AC cranked to the max and towels blocking all the windows in the back. Did I mention I had to wear a sweater with the hoodie on. Every time I stopped to take him for a walk the people at the rest stops were looking at me like I was nuts when I stepped out of the car with a winter parka and blue lips. Oh well like I said before, my number one concern on this venture is Pepper and I would never put anything else before him. I have had some people throughout this tour come out and visit and stay with me along the way and I am sure they can attest to that as well.
A quick shout out to Latisha and Shinease (sp) Latisha...When Shinease yells "WHERE YOU AT GIRL" and you are on the other side of the complex at seven in the morning.. "HEY GIRL...WHERE YOU AT? I CAN HARDLY HEAR YOU." is probably not the best response. Considering Latisha was hanging over the railing and almost fell off in the process. Only reason I know that is because of the running dialog and narration we were all pleasantly surprised to hear at 7:00am so here's to you girl !! good luck with the Price is Right, or whatever that show was you were talking about. I am sure you will be one of the best. I may even watch ;-)
As far as an update on where I am and where I am going next. Well, I am in Elberta Alabama tonight. Heading to somewhere near Huston tomorrow and on to Dallas on the 24th From there I am not quite sure. I guess I will leave it up to anyone who knows anyone between Texas and California. I have considered all my options thus far and have decided to stay down here as long I need to and get back to Calgary when I get back to Calgary. I will not over stay my February plans and if all goes well with Pepper I hope to spend quite a bit of time in the Phoenix / California area. Yes, mostly because it's not -30 I do know some people who have offered a place for me in that area so if those are still open I would love to hear from you.
Anyway, lessons learnt. Always check bank and credit card statements. Always remember that there are people out there who narrate their own lives...(MIKE/MICHELLE) (Latisha)
Always look after your pets as if they were one of the family and even if it is over 80 / 30 degrees outside, always keep a sweater and a snow scraper handy cause you never know when you are going to need them. Trust me ;-)
PS I would also like to take this time to send out a great big hello to those of you just tuning in to this little adventure. Not only to those of you from Canada and the United States but from the rest of the world as well. I am thrilled to see so many new countries added to the list !!! Thank you so much for your interest in this Blog. Please feel free to join in and let me know your thoughts. I would love to have the opinions of those who do not live in North America. How do you view us as a people. Not as a government, not as a political party but as human beings?
