Yup, Plan B, works every time!

As of my last post the following conditions were in fact true.  Jumper One was in need of additional repairs.  Repairs that were going to be more than my typical monthly discretionary spending allowance.  Which means of course waiting, because of the amount in question, at least two full months to get her repaired.  I also need to procure at very least a helmet and an indoor training mount for Serenity.  


The helmet for obvious reasons.  So far I've been riding without a helmet and being extra super careful.  But it's not wise, and having come up off a mount once, and landed on my head ...


(Go ahead, insert joke here, I'll wait...)


...I better than most people know how important a riding helmet can be.  Many years ago, while out riding, on the roads mind you, I got hit by a truck.  My bike of course was totally, it made it under the wheels of the truck. I somehow got launched into the air and came down on my head.  I don't remember anything after that split second when I saw the truck and though: "Okay, this is NOT good."  I woke up three hours later in the ER in pain.  That's three hours I'll never get back, but the story from multiple sources says that I was awake and "functional" if in shock the whole time.  Apparently the women who hit me was a bit upset and thought she'd killed me.  Wasn't made any better by the fact that as the ambulance showed up I sat bolt upright quite suddenly, looked directly at here and with a perfect British accent calmly said "Madam it appears my brains are scattered about the payment, would you be so kind as to help me collect them and place them back into my skull? I would be ever so grateful."  Needless to say that didn't go over well at all, she then had to be sedated and taken to the hospital as well.


Anyway, a head full of stitches, and a year of therapy for the soft tissue in my back to heal later, I was mostly okay...


So now of course I'm not going to temp fate a second time by riding on the road without adequate head cover.  It's bad enough I've been riding in the park that way.  Plus there is a cancer ride coming up in June I want to get ready for, and they won't even consider letting one ride without head cover.  So, it's kinda a given that I MUST get one.

Which brings me back around to the point of this post in relation to the last one.  I have only so much discretionary income to play with, but things I need to do sooner rather than later.  And my growing frustration with not being able to ride more regularly.  I need an indoor trainer, if for no other reason than when the weather turns to yuck, I'll be able to ride anyway.  That's another big chunk of money I don't have right now.  In fact, the helmet and trainer I've picked out alone are an entire months discretionary fund that I should be saving to finish my move.  But I really, really need a trainer.  It's been four days or so since I was last in the saddle and this is making me crazy.  Today and tomorrow are also washouts because of rain.  Wednesday the weather is going to clear up, I'll be able to ride for two days, and then it's back into thunderstorms and rain until Wednesday again at the earliest.  It's not fair.  I just want to state that up front.  NOT FAIR!

This is also usually when the "plan" SG1 was running to get themselves out of trouble goes horribly wrong and it's time for plan B.

O'Neill:  "Carter I think it's time for plan B"

Carter:   "Sir, we don't HAVE a plan B!"

O'Neill:  "Well we've been in worse situations than this, we'll figure something out."

Carter:   "Sir? Ah, no Sir, we haven't been in worse situations than this!"

O'Neill:  "We'll figure something out, we always do.  Or do I have to make that an order?"

Carter:   "Yes Sir."

So they eventually figure something out, save the day and make it back thru the gate to home, safe and sound.  At which point O'Neill invariably says:  "Yup, Plan B, works every time!"

So last night as I was writing in my diary, I re-earned one of my nicknames, which of course for those of you who don't know is in fact Carter for a reason.  I want and need to get the Jumper fixed because it's the only one I have, and driving it this way is asking for a ticket that I cannot afford.  And it's still Spring, so the preponderance of rain is likely to continue into May and that's making my crazier.

So it's time to actually do something I keep finding reasons not to do.  More than time.  I have a sequestered savings account that I've been putting money into now and then.  Little bit of my discretionary fund every month goes into it.  It's there primarily to fund the rest of my move and as a rainy day/emergency fund.  Yup, plan B!

Rain for a week straight is bad enough.  Another week in the offing?  Oh yeah, if this doesn't count as reason to break the seals on the rainy day fund I don't know what is.  Emergency repairs on the Jumper?  Yeah, so that covers BOTH the Rainy day and Emergency portions of our program campers.  Reasons enough I think to dip into the fund and take a little out.

Yup, Plan B, works every time!