There's A Big OUCH Coming

I'm the first to admit it -- I don't understand economics.  Except for balancing my budget and cheque book.  I kick ass at that.  I'm talking about world economics.  The things that happen that cause one country's currency to be valued more highly than another country's currency.  I've even googled it. And frankly, I still don't get it.  

Take Canada for instance.  We're a pretty stable first world country.  We weathered the recession of 2008 better than most.  It even says so on Wikipedia.  And if you can't believe Wikipedia, who can you believe?  It says our dollar is "popular with central banks" apparently due to our "relative economic soundness" as well as our stable "legal and political systems."  

And yet our dollar is worth shit.  I know.  Because every day I check it's value against the Euro and the British Pound (GBP).  Waiting, waiting, waiting to see if it will inch up even a teeny, tiny bit.  I was fully prepared for our dollar to tank when we changed our government this past month.  Of course it could also have done the opposite and soared but nope, it didn't do either.  It just keeps meandering along at about $0.75 compared to the US dollar.  We haven't been worth more than the US buck since 2007 and it had been 30 years before that since we'd achieved that status.  Sure, it didn't last out the year, but it shows it's possible.  I'm just not betting there will be a repeat before I have to shell out my hard earned loonies and toonies for Euros and British Pounds.

As it stands right now the value of the Canadian dollar $1.42 Euro and $2.01 GBP.  But of course that's not the exchange rate.  For example...I booked a tour on line with my credit card and when the bill came in the exchange rate was damn near $2.10.  That's what I call a big OUCH.  So when saving for a trip these days you really have to save double just to cover the cost of exchange.  

And it's not like the prices go down to offset the exchange rate.  Take for example our recent foray into the US -- a $5 latte at Starbucks is still $5. Making that latte about $6.75  Because even though our dollar is worth about $0.75, when you do the conversion it is C$1.00 to US$1.34.  Never been a whiz at math, but I don't get it.    

But enough belly aching.  I'm lucky I'm in a position to travel at all.  And once the money is exchanged I stop converting in my head just how much things are really costing.  Well, I try to anyway.  And because we will be booking and paying for the majority of our tours ahead of the actual trip, the ouch will be much less come trip time.  Unless of course things go for a shit and our dollar tanks.

'Cause that never happens...right?

Book Reviews:  A couple of disappointing YA reads.  Dumplin' by Julie Murphy was highly predictable and read much younger than YA despite the main characters being 17 year old high school students.  

Library of Souls by Ransom Riggs is the third and final instalment in the Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children series.  After loving the first one, being so-so on the second, if this wasn't the last in the series I wouldn't be reading another.  Love the premise of mixing in the vintage photos but this book didn't really get going until well over half way in.  Bogged down by endless description, if I hadn't been invested in the whole series I would have put it aside.  As it was it took me two weeks to read and I really had to force myself to pick it up.  

 

It's All Just Talk Until The Ticket Is Bought

"One day you will wake up and there won't be any more time 

to do the things you've always wanted.  Do it now."

- Paulo Coelho

We all know them.  The people who talk about doing stuff and then never seem to.  They never get around to it, or the timing isn't right, or something else comes up, or any of the other myriad excuses.  When it came to my camino, I didn't want to be that person.  I'd talked about doing it for two years so not going was not an option.  Once the flight was booked, I was locked in. There was no going back.

Same for the upcoming UK extravaganza.  I could talk about going all I wanted but it was time to seal the deal and hit PURCHASE on the Air Canada site.  Ordinarily I go to a travel agent.  Usually I'm booking a package, like a trip to Disney including air, hotel and tickets.  For some reason I just feel more confident letting them hit the button.  But hey, this was just a flight and there was a seat sale.  A seat sale that I have since found out can last mere seconds on line.  Trust me, they can disappear that fast.  I know.  It happened to me.  Twice.

So I checked my dates and times, my departure and arrival airports.  Twice. Three times.  Okay, maybe four or five times before I hit BOOK THIS.  And then I checked it all again -- because even the best editors and proofreaders miss stuff -- before hitting the all important PURCHASE button.  Don't know why, but that part freaks me out just a little bit.  And that could be the reason some people just talk about doing stuff.  Fear of commitment.  Fear of fucking up.

Talk is cheap.  Airline tickets are not.  But I'm pretty sure I got a good price. At least I'm happy with the price I got.  It was several hundred dollars cheaper than the amount I'd budgeted.  But I always highball so when I get something for less I feel like I've got a good deal.  Mind games.

It's only just a shade over five months away.  Seems so much longer but that's probably because I still have to say I'm going next year.  But in less than two months it'll be this year.  Going on the Camino was exciting but I was also scared shitless.  I am beyond excited for this trip.  The line up for our itinerary is amazing and I want to share it all now.  But I also don't want to ruin the fun of blogging about it as it happens. 

And so the ticket is bought -- it's not all just talk.


Book Reviews:  A departure from my usual reading genres, The Illegal by Lawrence Hill is the story of Keita, a marathon runner fleeing the corrupt murderous government in his fictional homeland, Zantoroland, to live and run illegally in the fictional country of Freedom State.  It seemed a very timely tale given the current situation with refugees fleeing Syria, but I'm sure any of them would be happy to trade places with Keita.  He just didn't seem to have it that rough, comparatively speaking.  Regardless, I enjoyed the book (although not nearly as much as Hill's previous novel, The Book of Negroes), especially the character of enterprising young John Falconer.  The ending, however, was so wrapped up in a feel good great big bow that I felt ripped off.

I finally got The Last Town, the final book in the Wayward Pines trilogy by Blake Crouch.  (The first two are Pines and Wayward.)  I haven't reviewed any of them as I wanted to wait until I'd finished reading the series.  The mistake I made was watching the series on TV whilst reading the first two. While generally sticking to the story line, the televised version differed somewhat -- as they all do (just don't get me started on Under the Dome) -- and things started to get confused in my poor little brain.  I'm happy I read the finale long after the show finished.  It was definitely the best of three and the ending was major kick-ass.  I love it when the ending of a book (or trilogy) surpasses my greatest expectations.