I'm hoping Spring is to herald a fresh start for many things - I started the blog last month and this week got my mobile phone working again, but most radically I'm about to join the growing percentage of the populus declaring personal bankruptcy.
This option to resolve my chronically woeful finances (termed 'sequestration' up here I believe) has bobbed on the horizon before, when I've attempted less drastic measures but they ultimately failed too.
I'm sure many would think as I did - "that's the coward's way out" and "he's hardly on the breadline is he?" but I've finally realised that firstly, that's really not relevant and, secondly, my piece of mind (and that of my exasperated family and friends) deserves it.
My 'life' has slowly degraded through lack of cash, so that even buying a CD is a possibly once-a-month indulgence and I really have to wear my one pair of shoes until they fall apart. My food is largely out of ready-meal packets supplemented only by 'pasta and sauce' combos and the occasional 'event' of a casserole. I get asked where I'm going my holidays and I have to say 'home' except for when my Dad invites me to freeload along to Oban or Nairn. One friend in particular has an annoying habit of asking 'are you going to buy that?' whenever I merely nod approval of a product or release, placing an extra dollop of consumer pressure on me. And that's the friend I see most often. Often itself means approximately once a month - the rest of my friends may have to wait months or years to catch me in person as I can't justify the travel costs to myself. Also it's my pensioner Dad who is often left picking up my slack when my balance turns red every month and that's not fair.
I have some fears about all this but the option actually now seems like grasping the nettle. It means I'm poison as far as an credit goes for 3 years (I think), but that's my current situation anyway. I don't own a house or car and my most obvious physical 'asset' is a 6 year old iMac which is probably worth peanuts now. Actually it's the less tangible assets I have that have been subjugated and frustrated in the past few years, most notably the photography sideline which has been deprived of capital despite bags of enthusiasm on my part and widespread appreciation from others. During the lean years it's just not possible to build up a steady body of work - a critical mass of a portfolio. In future I may even be able to get another website going and actually PAY models!
Another three points to put this in context: I've not got a passport, my last dental appointment was in 1995 and my specs (which now regularly fall off my face) date from 1997.
>Scotland What I Think
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