Lunch, and an aborted evening

 

My brother seems to call at the darnedest times.  Today, he called me as I was getting dressed for lunch.  And this evening, he called when I was getting ready to go out again.  Both times were interruptions to my routines.  I responded differently in the evening - I was no longer in the mood to go out for anything.

But first....

I had only one thing on the docket for today - lunch with my friend from the census.  We get together on a monthly schedule, and it's usually either Mexican or Italian, as she's a vegetarian.  Since she goes to the health club at noon and gets out at 1 pm, we know the time to meet-1:30 pm. The only decision we have to make is which restaurant we'll eat at.  And that decision is usually made the night before.

My brother called me at lunch time, just before I was to apply my makeup.  He wanted me to review the paperwork for someone who wants to rent out the family homestead.  I said that the people look stable, and would be good renters.  Then, I had to cut my brother off, as I had to finish getting ready to go out.  Luckily, I still had a few minutes to spare, and I was able to make it to Ossining at 1:30 on the dot.

My friend and I order almost the same thing - Baked Ziti.  There was only one difference between the two dishes: hers had no meat, while mine had several meatballs with the ziti.  We talked about what is going on in our lives.  For me, it was the upcoming cruise and that we have renters for the family homestead.  For her, it was her husband preparing to retire and her son's employment (he may have a new and better job).  Eventually, lunch had to end, and we scheduled next month's get-together.

After I got home, I rested for a while.  But before I was to leave, my brother called me to ask me for something he would end up doing himself - getting a boilerplate rental contract.  (He thinks of things way too often at the last minute.)  And then, he mentioned that his job may still be at risk.  Sadly, at the age of 62, he has not hit "the number" he needs to retire.  By the end of the call, I was ready NOT to go out for the evening, and I succumbed to resting on the sofa for the rest of the evening.  

Sometimes, giving into temptation can be the wisest thing to do....

 

I should have bought a 1 year travel insurance policy.

 

Although the fellow on the left will tell you that "you no foola me, there ain't no sanity clause", while ripping up a contract, I like well written contracts.  Specifically, I like to have insurance for whenever I cruise, as I've heard of too many situations where travel insurance is needed.

- - - - -

By the end of this year, I'll have made at least 4 cruises in a 365 day period.  As a result, I would have done much better had I bought a yearly travel policy from a firm such as Allianz Travel Insurance.  Each time I took a cruise, I bought a travel insurance policy valid for only that single cruise.  Policies sold by firms like Allianz tend to have yearly terms, and pay for themselves after 2-3 trips.  In my case, buying this insurance when I booked my Hawaii cruise would have made sense, as the cruise line's insurance for that one trip costs me the same as if I bought the yearly policy from Allianz.

Although I don't think I'll be traveling as much in 2023 as I will do by the end of 2022, I'm leaning towards buying a yearly policy when I book my next cruise.  This way, I don't have to worry about which policy to buy: the cruise line's policy or that from a travel agent.  Instead, I'll have already made that decision, and be in a position to save once I've passed the 2 trip mark.

Given that RQS and I are already talking 2023 trips, it makes sense for me to start my insurance shopping now.  What do you think?