Hello, Crazy Speaking.
We just had another conversation about this whole thing, one of those discussions that might as well start with, "I don't know if you realize this, but we're stark raving mad for even attempting something so ... well, crazy."
But what else would we do? We live in a closet. Our kitchen is ... not. We sleep, work, eat and live in one room. We do most of our cooking in the same 16m2 (sixteen square meters) room. We sleep on a queen-sized Japanese futon because we can't fit a real bed in here -- we need something we can move out of the way during the day. Trying to accomplish real work here is an exercise in futility.
We're also not crazy about going back to the corporate world. The last job TBH had literally gave her headaches from the fumes she had to breathe every day. My last job ... well, let's just say I'm tired of seeing my time and energy going directly into some fat cat's wallet instead of into the product he or she claims we're selling and will soon provide us all with enough money to retire.
We moved here because we had an opportunity to improve our financial situation and position ourselves for a run at independence. Now we've achieved all that we came here to do. We're in position. Why would we stop now?
Life Imitates Poker
In poker (specifically No Limit Texas Hold'em), the first secret to success is starting hand selection. Certain hands win at a much higher rate than others. Successful players work hard to put themselves in a position to win the pot, playing only the hands that give them the best chance of winning.Sounds simple enough, but many players fail to consider the second secret of success: Stick to your guns. They'll get into a big pot with a big hand, only to be scared off by an opponent representing a bigger hand. When the pot gets big, some people respond with aggression, some with meekness. You can imagine who ends up winning.
Never fold your hand after achieving the position you wanted (unless, of course, your opponent shows you the nuts). This is what you wanted; why would you change course now? Put another way: If you're going to change plans now, you should have never started down this path. The decision has been made, and you've spent non-refundable time and money getting to this point. Strap in and put the pedal on the floor.
What Now?
The plan has always been to push the limits. I can't remember thinking any other way, even as a kid, and TBH is no different. We're not in it for fame or fortune, we're in it for the thrill rides and the happy hours.
Besides, for a month or two (or three), we can live in a much bigger, well-furnished apartment (all bills paid) in the Paris of South America, where emergency room visits are free -- even for foreigners -- and we can live there for the same price or only a few hundred more than we're paying now. Here, our health insurance runs out in a month. There, it's cheap if we want it and not necessary if we don't. (Can you say free healthcare?)If we could vacation anywhere for a month, our first choice right now would be Buenos Aires (even though we're headed for exactly the kind of heat and humidity we can't stand). So we get to turn a dream vacation into a business project, ultimately saving even more money.
We'll bury ourselves in this project, run it start-to-finish in a few months, and then come back to San Francisco to chill out, play golf and poker with friends, and generally just enjoy the city and the Bay Area. Then we'll find another project, spend a few months on it, and then another break. Along the way, we're working (hard) on things that really just sound like an excuse to party 24/7. What a rough, rough life.
And that's pretty much how we ended the conversation. Without a really good reason to do otherwise (like the sky falling), we're turning crazy into a business plan.
Push the limits. What can't you do?
Labels: buenos aires, business, life, money, poker, project, san francisco, strategy, vacation, work
posted by agathon at
2:56 PM
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0 comments
, 
, 
, 
, 
, Time Management for Dummies, 
, several other related books and approximately 7,286 related blog posts on approximately 7,281 blogs. Still I'm frequently running late, I never remember a birthday, and I end up paying more -- in time, money, energy and pain -- than is necessary, all because I didn't plan ahead.
one week on a much-needed vacation from the most depressing job I've ever had. I took my watch off and haven't put one on since. The time is, has always been, and always will be 
for She and an 
for me. We also ordered two cases of energy bars so we'll have something to eat.
