Like pretty much everyone these days, Shea and I are noticing that everything seems more expensive – gas, groceries, dining out, etc. etc. etc.
If we’re feeling this way while being in a fairly good financial position with good professional jobs, good incomes and a lot of financial luck over the years in various ways (talked to someone who took a $50,000 loss on a condo recently while we’ve always had great luck/timing when buying real estate), I can’t imagine being someone starting out.
Anyhow, that’s all preamble to say that in reviewing ways to cut our spending a bit, I thought that cutting one of our many streaming TV subscriptions would save a few pennies. And the first one Shea and I thought of was Disney+ since we rarely watch it.
Well…we mentioned it to both sets of kids – our 12 year old daughter and our 18 year old son – and it was like we’d said we weren’t going to buy groceries anymore.
Our daughter leapt into action – making protest signs and threatening to withhold her labour until this issue was resolved…
And it worked! Management (eg. mom) relented within 24 hours (“I really don’t feel like emptying the dishwasher and need her to do it tomorrow” was the bargaining concession.)
Anyhow, I feel like I owe Chrystia Freeland an apology or something?
Yes, I was inspired to look up the world’s biggest global industries after seeing a reference to the global reach of the oil & gas sector which isn’t the biggest but has the biggest impact on every other sector in the TV show, “The Landman”.
Although its set in Texas and obviously a lot more dramatic (Guns! Drug Dealers! Powerful Oil Millionaires!), we’re enjoying a show about a world that feels very familiar since Shea’s and my family have been connected to the oil industry in a variety of ways – providing direct and indirect employment to family members on both sides, both receiving surface and drilling rights income, oil royalties, etc.
(And come to think of it, Weyburn also has its share of drama with guns, drug dealers and powerful millionaires!) 😉
Farm kids have a different relationship with animals for sure!
It really is all about perspective…
In the early days of the Internet, there was a tool called StumbleUpon where you could click a button and get taken to a random web site then click again and again. It was a great way to experience the full Internet in all its weird and wonderful glory.
Now that “the Internet” has become about 5-10 sites for most people (Google, Facebook, Reddit, YouTube, Wikipedia, etc.), there’s less focus on the more obsccure sites online…even if they still exist. (You’re looking at one right now!) 😉
But someone has created a modern version of StumbleUpon called CloudHiker to try to evoke that fun nostalgia.
The last time the Riders were in the Grey Cup in 2013, I’m pretty sure that us dressing like this helped them win so we may have to do it again this weekend! 😉
