I drove up the driveway today and saw that Kubota had borrowed my 20' long, 2' wide ratchet strap. For some reason he wanted it to be 15 feet long so he cut it.
Arrrrrgggh!!!!
Somehow it does not penetrate that every $20 (replacement cost) of equipment that gets destroyed kills two hours of my life.
Not, not just pulling the plug on my life-support machine two hours earlier. Killing two hours of me in the prime of my life.
Joe Dominguez in the book Your Money or Your Life has the reader calculate how much money they net for each hour of their life that is consumed by work. No, this is more than the net-after-taxes.
Mr Dominguez has you add up all of the hours you must devote to work, including your commute time and the work you take home...even the hour you spend at happy-hour every day that you would not otherwise need if you did not work. Then he has you subtract out the cost of "costuming" and transportation from your take-home. For many people, they end up with a net-per-hour of $10.
Mr Dominguez points out that spending $15 for lunch, for instance, just nullified 90 minutes of your life that you will never get back. Do you really want to lose 90 minutes or would you rather eat a couple of PB&J sandwiches for $3 and pocket the extra 72 minutes of your life for better purposes?
So when anybody destroys $20 of equipment, it is as if two hours of my life just vaporized.
Incidentally, the quote "You're killing me, Smalls" is from the movie Sandlot.
You have my sympathy. It wasn't until the youngest son lost out on the opportunity to attend a concert he had been saving for, did it finally 'click' to take care of the stuff we already had. I still don't fully understand what their thought processes are about tearing up stuff just cause they can.
ReplyDeleteThe 5 ft cut-off length is plenty long enough to make a necktie from. Tell him he either wears it for a week as a reminder, even when showering, or he buys you 2 new ones.
ReplyDeleteThat idea has a certain appeal but a fellow has to look at the potential costs.
DeleteIf I demand something but have no intention or ability to enforce it, then I hand in my man-card?
If I try to enforce it, am I willing to kick him out of the house when he refuses?
If I persist in kicking him out of the house, am I willing to endure the angst from my wife?
I am not ready for the pain it will cause my wife that kicking him out, changing the locks and calling 911 will trigger in my wife. Further, calling 911 for trespassing can result in the kid getting shot. He thinks he has a right to be here.
For a lot of kids, the 911 issue is drama. I cannot say that with any certainty regarding Kubota.
why the fuck would you cut a strap and not tie the excess out of the way?
ReplyDeleteNo clue.
DeleteOuch, and yes, it DOES cost money!
ReplyDelete