Winning the lottery

Nah.

Not me, at least not lately. Although I have been in the game (so to speak) lately with the added interest we've had here with the big prize up for grabs with lots of roll overs.

But the thought was - what would you do if you won the lottery ? Here's what I think I'd do. (And this will dive off at a tangent half way through !)

I'd pay my debts. I don't have many, my student debt was cleared a long time ago. But I do have a mortgage and finance on the car. I'd clear those. But I don't think I owe anything to anyone else.

Saying that though, I'd help out some very close friends. That's ... extremely close friends. I think I can count who that would be on one hand. Let's see ... (and I'm not saying who they are !) Ok, maybe I'd need a finger or two (or a thumb!) on the other hand as well.

But that's not really money. Money isn't the fix all for everything. Money can get you companionship of a certain kind but would I want that ? No. There's a song with the line "The best things in life are free" (and then it says "I want money" - haha). Back to that in a bit. Companionship should be about the person, not their car or how much is in their wallet.

Money and doing things for people in that way would depend on how much you won. If you won a few million, that might be where you might look into paying off a few people's mortgages. If they would want you to do that. That's an odd thing to say isn't it ? I can say that all I have, I have earned through my own means. I've worked for it. It's mine. Wholly mine. If someone came along and paid off my mortgage, yeah, I'd appreciate it. But it would no longer be wholly mine. I would feel an obligation.

Think about that for a bit - it's one thing working for what you have, it's another thing to get it the easy way. Not much about my life has been "easy", although I did get a good start from family.

But if you're giving someone an opportunity that benefits you both, that's so much better than doing something like "Hey ! I just won all this money, have some and go buy a house/flat." That's a charitable act, it isn't including them in your life. Some people really don't like being charities. I don't think I do.

Back to me - it would be great if I won enough that I no longer needed to work. I'm kinda bored of what I'm working at currently, it's a bit too far distant from the techie stuff I like doing. (I'm working on a solution and I get involved with the techie stuff where I can at the moment). But I would need to be doing something, keeping my brain busy, keeping myself active with goals.

Because I like to have goals. I go stale without them. What I am curious about is the possibility of making the gaming videos. Cos I love gaming and I've been enjoying watching the gaming videos for a few years now while I've been away from the gaming due to lack of energy after work in the evenings. I think I could do a decent job with the gaming videos, although I've observed a few people's output declining drastically lately (Yogscast have really gone off, only Hannah's stuff is worth watching at the moment).

Perhaps not gaming ... which gets me to ...

Where would I live ?

Bricks and mortar property hasn't appealed to me for a while now. The new houses seem to be very small, poor quality on the fitting out and the sites have issues with the builders (this impression coming from multiple people). Houses built on the cheap for profit, not for quality. No, I wouldn't want to move from here to a new house. The neighbourhood isn't bad here but I do live very close to shops where the workers abuse our road as their car park. And we're in for another year of mayhem due to poorly conceived roadworks.

Not sure where else around Bristol I'd want to live actually.

Nope - I still have that crazy idea of living on a narrowboat ...

Yep, I'd have to change my habits with regards storage of all the stuff I should have thrown out a while ago but a narrowboat (preferably a widebeam) has that potential to be very high quality in its fitting out and cosy too. Oh and if the neighbourhood doesn't take your fancy, you can just move to another marina.

But I wouldn't want to do it on my own. My narrowboat would be built with a companion in mind. Even down to things like fittings on the taps. (That matters to some people and I can completely understand). I'd want it to be her place as much as mine.

And a ship's cat or pooch would be good too. I've missed having pooch snuggles.

I think I've rambled enough - targets if I win the lottery big :

Move on to a narrowboat;
Make that narrowboat a mini techie palace;
Put enough kit in to make it understated cosiness;
Interesting toys inside - you saw the Smart Meter post, lots more potential for geeking out with various equipment you could fill a boat with;
Having someone to enjoy it with.

Maybe I'd go off cruising around the country (this is limited by the size of the barge, many canals around Birmingham where they all link up are restricted to the narrower narrowboats). Maybe I'd stay in one place to support what the companion was getting up to. That place would be chosen according to what's convenient for them (My number one choice is the Gloucester and Sharpness canal for access to Worcester for watching cricket in the summer!)

One thing is good, I'm much closer to having my health back. This is another thing about work, we have a very dessicated atmosphere which doesn't do my outsides much good. It dries out my skin such that it starts breaking up again (it has a chance to recover over the weekend). Being out of that atmosphere would do me good. That's just my outsides though, I'd like to regain my energy on the inside too.

On people - I'd like to escape the crush of humanity that seems all the more pressing these days. Whether that be on the roads with the collapse in driving standards, or having to stand your ground while walking or be bounced out of the way by people who do not leave enough space. I wouldn't want to be on my own completely (I need contact with people to keep me out of lonely depression) but I would want to select those who I interact with.

Internet - is all about interaction. But I'd like it to be those who I interact with and on my terms. I do have that addiction to staying in touch though, I go slightly mad(der?) if I'm deprived of that connection to the world. Internet is difficult on a boat - but not an impossible problem considering that mobile broadband access is becoming more widespread.

So yeah ! Win the lottery before May, pay off the debts, sort the house out, head off to Crick Boat Show (end of May) and spend lots on a boat. Live happily ever after.

Sounds like a plan !