Live Before You Die

Well the plans for the big 3-0 didn’t exactly fall through. More like been put on hiatus for reasons only a few of us know, but it’s still a big year for me so I decided to do something very silly and make it a full on Jovi year …. well, for a few months anyway but it’ll feel longer!! Lol!!

I will admit that as much as I would love to follow the boys from country to country, staying in the same hotels and seeing every show they do next year (and, it seems, sounding more and more like a stalker) I’m afraid my budget will only stretch so far so I had to set me a limit. That limit became a little more flexible as time went on but meh. I have the savings, I can’t take it with me, and I have a lot of Jovi time to make up for.

I’ve been saving religiously for …. well I’m not really sure what for these days. The original plan was to pay off my student loan. At some point I figured “Fuck it. It’s not costing me anything and it won’t be used against me if and when I go for a mortgage” and then, bolstered by an unexpected win on the Premium Bonds a couple of years back, began saving just because it had become a habit, a good habit, but a habit nonetheless. Suffice it to say in the 7 years I’ve been saving I’ve managed to get a nice little nest egg together to use for a deposit or whatever.

I’ve not really gone without during that period and figured it was about time I treated myself so that was one of the reasons for the NY trip. Now that’s been postponed for a year or so I decided to use some of what I had put away. I’m still saving my money but at the moment what I have is sitting in the bank earning next to no interest (and don’t get me started on what a set of divs Gordon Brown, Mervyn King and the Bank of England are because I may say something I regret – seems everyone else knows how to fix the problem of the economy bar the people who have the power, but then I digress) so may as well use some of it …. so I did it. It’s not something I expect I’ll do regularly but once in a blue moon does no harm. As I have few overheads I can continue to be financially responsible and should be able to replace what I spend in good time.

Truth of it is, it’s one thing to be sensible with your finances, but it’s quite another to put this money away and then die before getting to use it. ;) To quote a well known piece of musical genius “it’s my life, it’s now or never, I ain’t gonna live forever” and if I do die with this nice little nest egg having never been used I will most certainly be kicking myself …. metaphysically speaking ….

So what did I do? I may have bought VIP packages to various Bon Jovi gigs in London, Mecca (aka New Jersey) and, in the next day or 2, Dallas. Like I said, it’s not something I expect I’ll do regularly but this year I wanted to. I also figured I’m past due. It’s been 18 months since I last saw the boys (admittedly a drop in the ocean compared to some!) and I didn’t do anything spectacular, or at ALL, for my 16th, 18th or 21st birthdays for various reasons, the main one being my Dad. AGAIN!!! Loved him to messes but he cocked it all up for several years even though it wasn’t his fault – not like he ASKED to be ill.

And let’s be honest here, what Jovi fan, in their right mind, is going to turn down the opportunity to go to a gig on or at least that near to their birthday; to have their favourite band at their ‘party’. Here’s hoping the girls fix it for me to be serenaded. They’re under orders to ensure they are displaying signage on the night which says “it’s my buds birthday tomorrow Richie. Sing something different for her, and then give her a big sloppy kiss!!” I’m so sick of I’ll Be There For You ….

So that’s the plan. I’m both excited and apprehensive. It’s going to be a whole new adventure having never even got on a plane before. I’m assured it’s like climbing on a bus. It’s quite a leap for the girl who’s never left our fair shores and has only ever driven alone as far afield as Plymouth.

Roll on 2010 ….. :D