HKT

We're buying our home. Specifically, the house we now call home, here in Adisham.

At the same time, the world appears to be on the verge of another world war. I hope that isn't the case, and that Trump's war with Iran doesn't drag us into a wider conflict. So, we try to focus on the simple things. We're buying our home from our landlords, Guy and Fiona. They're doing everything they can to help us with the purchase. We're happy.

All I have to do is stay healthy, work hard and try to enjoy the work that I do. That's it. Stay healthy, work hard and pay off our mortgage as quickly as possible. 

Holidays will have to wait. Instead, I will occasionally take time away from work, but holidays will be spent at home, with the occasional trip to watch the odd race at Brands Hatch. There are a few car meets and shows that we will go to as well, but generally, my life will consist of doing everything I can to pay down the loan as quickly as possible.

As for the wars that are raging around the world, I will stay away from news sources. I think it's better not to know, at least for my own sanity. A war with Iran will have a huge effect on our livelihoods. Inflation will rise, fuel costs will rise, and the cost of some foods and products will become prohibitively expensive. I'm not going to panic. Buying our home is the right thing to do. Putting all of my energy into paying down the house finance as soon as possible is now my priority. The main reason is that I don't want to work into retirement.

6th of April 2017

Yes, but about what exactly? I’m not sure it matters. I just need to get it out. Writing here is cathartic. It helps me make sense of the world I’m living in. Putting thoughts down creates space. Balance. Order.

That inner voice of mine is loud and persistent. A noisy little bastard. Sometimes I hate the things it dangles in front of me to worry about.

Read more

20th of March 2017

I’m changing. In some ways, I feel like I’m turning back into the person I was when I was three or four years old. I know that sounds odd, but it feels true. Lately, memories from that time have been resurfacing.

We lived in Tilgate, in Crawley. My dad was still around. We were in a quiet cul-de-sac, not far from the forest. I walked to my first school. There were other children to play with in the street. I remember feeling happy.

Read more

17 February 2017

Social media. Should I stay or should I go?

There’s a darkness hanging around me at the moment. The black dog of depression is howling somewhere off in the distance. I try to ignore it, but it’s persistent. One of its closest allies seems to be social media.

I know, I know. I’ve been here before. You’ve heard me talk about this stuff already. My struggles with depression. My desire for anonymity. The contradictions. The rambling. It all comes back to the same feeling: being adrift, rudderless, waiting for a gentle breeze of normality to push me towards a more fulfilling life.

Read more

3rd of February 2017

Kicking my minimalism journey into overdrive in 2017 will be a challenge.

As I mentioned in the previous post, the year has started bumpily. We’re already into February, and I’m a couple of grand behind where I’d hoped to be financially.

To help claw some of that back, and to keep pushing the minimalist reset, I’ve decided to do something fairly drastic. I’m going to find one thousand of our possessions and sell them.

I’m confident they’re there.

Read more

18th of January 2017

A bumpy start to the year.

2017 began with me running around the Kentish countryside in the middle of the night, dropping off bundles of newspapers to newsagents and petrol stations. Seven days a week. It seemed like a good idea at the time.

It wasn’t.

Read more

4 December 2016

2017 is almost here. Time to put the plan into action.

I’ll keep this short and to the point. The list of things I will and won’t be doing next year is long, but the intent is simple.

At the top of the list is reducing our spending. That feeds directly into the next priority: clearing our debt. Carrying it around feels like a physical weight. It slows everything down. It has to go.

Read more

30 November 2016

Over the past few days, I’ve been doing a lot of thinking.

Returning to my meditation practice has helped me straighten a few things out and see how I need to move forward as a human being.

2017 needs to be very different. I need to move toward a state of being free of debt, lighter, calmer, and unconstrained.

Read more

26 November 2016

Back in the early 90s, Queen Elizabeth II marked the 40th anniversary of her accession by describing the year as her annus horribilis.

She’d been dragged well outside her comfort zone by a run of personal disasters.

I know exactly how she felt.

Read more

Written in November 2016, during a period when several long-running assumptions about work, family, and stability were being forcibly renegotiated.

It’s almost that time of year again.

No, not Christmas. My birthday looms once more. In a matter of weeks, I’ll be 48. Time is dragging me, kicking and screaming, towards the big five-oh.

As usual, that has me thinking about where I fit into the world and into the lives of the people around me. I’ve written before about my struggles with health, diet, work, and the plans I keep making and failing to follow through on. So what’s different now?

Read more