Don't be a tight ass

[Saul]

A cautionary tale.  After getting stents done last January I started walking regularly.  Like all daft blokes I thought I was training for some sort of walking competition walking two or three hours a day every day.  If you do that you would be surprised how many pairs of boots you wear out.    Anyway I coughed up for an expensive pair on the recommendation of one of the action men Paramedics I work with, ex marine,.  They were and are still great but you need more than one pair because when you get them wet it takes a few days for them to dry out.   Having coughed for the Hagloffs I couldn't afford another pair right away.  So the inner tight ass thought get some cheap from FaceBook market place.    Long story short I found a pair of Regattas that were worn once apparently for £10.     Great, went and got them and they did look new, from a young beardy who had the cheek to push some weird religious materiel on me with the boots, in case I was interested.  The boots had a hint of Fabreeze about them and a small whitish type stain on the toe, but I though for a tenner I couldn't go wrong.  Wore them for the first time and it was pissing down, when I got home I left them in the porch to dry.  Couple of hours later the porch absolutely wreaked of cat piss.   The dog wouldn't even go out there.   The beardy hipster bastard saw me coming big time.    My fault for being a tight ass I suppose, I mean who sells practically new £80 walking boots for a tenner.   Obviously some body whose cat had pissed in them.    I still have the cat piss boots and do wear them on rainy days, now months later there is just a hint of a tint of cat piss when they are wet.  I have nearly worn them out but won't bin them until they are knackered.  So I still haven't learnt really.   

I have six pairs of walking boots, some cheaper some more expensive, and another pair new in the box. 

I have learnt something though, not to walk so far and I have cut my walks back to a couple of hours two to three times a week on medical advice.  

[XTreme]

Walking?

[Tym]

[Catteeclan]

I've got a pair of Karamors {spelling}. Rear good boots in their day but not these ones. Apparently they sold out to the people who made these pair of lovely lightweight well treaded tea strainers.

[busabeast]

I'm constantly in my work boots which are like walking boots just heavier, you can have them for a fiver Saul but don't worry I'll make sure it's just camel piss in them, surely that would be worth it 

[Saul]

2 minutes ago, busabeast said:

I'm constantly in my work boots which are like walking boots just heavier, you can have them for a fiver Saul but don't worry I'll make sure it's just camel piss in them, surely that would be worth it 

Thanks but no thanks.   

[Saul]

1 hour ago, Catteeclan said:

I've got a pair of Karamors {spelling}. Rear good boots in their day but not these ones. Apparently they sold out to the people who made these pair of lovely lightweight well treaded tea strainers.

I have found that to be a common sentiment in terms of good walking boot brands nowadays.  I must say that the Hagloffs I have, have been very robust.  Not much tread left on them now but that have covered a long distance.  

[Tango]

Sometimes even buying more expensive don't work out any better! I've got a couple of pairs of Merrel MOAB 2 Goretex shoes and a pair of Merrel goretex mid boots, none of which are particularly waterproof! I like the MOABs because they're super comfortable straight out of the box, but I don't know what they've done to the goretex! Not super cheap, but questionable quality!

On the other hand I've also got a pair of Scarpa goretex mid boots and they seem to be pretty waterproof and are fairly light and pretty grippy and I've got a pair of Berghaus goretex fell walking boots. They're pretty heavy and rub slightly above my ankles if I don't tighten them correctly, but they're pretty bombproof! I've been through large puddles that almost come to the top of the boots, but no sign of any water getting inside! 

It's definitely a lottery, finding decent walking shoes and boots.

[boboneleg]

I took a punt on some cheap walking boots off eBay two years ago.  I can honestly say that they have been ace , pretty waterproof and a bargain @ £25.00

 

[Sir Fallsalot]

To give you an idea of how much walking i do, i have a pair of caterpillar boots advertised as walking machines when i bought them which must be getting close to 30 years ago and their still in excellent condition LOL

[skyrider]

2 hours ago, boboneleg said:

I took a punt on some cheap walking boots off eBay two years ago.  I can honestly say that they have been ace , pretty waterproof and a bargain @ £25.00

 

HI-TEC 50 PEAKS and waterproof got mine off fleabay used £30 nearly new

[boboneleg]

8 minutes ago, skyrider said:

HI-TEC 50 PEAKS and waterproof got mine off fleabay used £30 nearly new

Why does that not surprise me 

[Pedro]

I wear a pair of resoled urban style chukkas from Timberland, for walking Costa when it’s not summer. I’m not hiking to base camp

[Slowlycatchymonkey]

Mr Slowly just had a pair of Timberlands resoled, they sent them back to Timberland to do it. £70!

[Pedro]

48 minutes ago, Slowlycatchymonkey said:

Mr Slowly just had a pair of Timberlands resoled, they sent them back to Timberland to do it. £70!

No, they are chukkas with a softy rubber sole, not the proper ones. 

My shoe guy did it for 8€ though, and 15€to fit Vibram soles on my biking boots that Dainese soled with cheap shit.

[Slowlycatchymonkey]

10 minutes ago, Pedro said:

No, there are chukkas with a softy rubber sole, not the proper ones. 

My shoe guy did it for 8€ though, and 15€to fit Vibram soles on my biking boots that Dainese soled with cheap shit.

I might need his address

[Pedro]

21 minutes ago, Slowlycatchymonkey said:

I might need his address

O Sapateiro
https://maps.app.goo.gl/RFXPHRudwfJJQvqb9?g_st=ic
 

[Slowlycatchymonkey]

7 minutes ago, Pedro said:

O Sapateiro
https://maps.app.goo.gl/RFXPHRudwfJJQvqb9?g_st=ic
 

A mere 9hrs away, well worth it

Blimey he works long hours. 

[Pedro]

Just now, Slowlycatchymonkey said:

Blimey he works long hours. 

That’s northern Portugal!

Except me, apparently 

[Pedro]

2 minutes ago, Pedro said:

That’s northern Portugal!

Except me, apparently 

Actually, just went to look at it and he surely closes for lunch, as he should.

Here people do work long hours though, most of my clients are at their office at 8 or 08:30, spend the day either there or hustling visiting clients, an hour long lunch break, and will still call me at 19:00. I know a couple of them, business owners and quite successful that will plan on going in on saturday morning hoping for a quiet moment to themselves in the office, to see that turning into a full day, then going back sunday morning for that quiet time to think about stuff, and only end up taking sunday afternoon off. I don’t envy that, although I do value it.

[Slowlycatchymonkey]

8 minutes ago, Pedro said:

Actually, just went to look at it and he surely closes for lunch, as he should.

Here people do work long hours though, most of my clients are at their office at 8 or 08:30, spend the day either there or hustling visiting clients, an hour long lunch break, and will still call me at 19:00. I know a couple of them, business owners and quite successful that will plan on going in on saturday morning hoping for a quiet moment to themselves in the office, to see that turning into a full day, then going back sunday morning for that quiet time to think about stuff, and only end up taking sunday afternoon off. I don’t envy that, although I do value it.

When you run your own business you never stop working even if you're not physically there, theres always things to be thought about or sorted out.

I always thought setting up our office systems in the study at home would make things worse but it's been quite the opposite. That led to then setting up being able to access them from anywhere where there's any sort of connectivity. It allows a lot of physical freedom if not mental. You can deal with things when they're on your mind and then put it down again rather than having to travel to a particular place. But I'm guessing from your posts you figured all that stuff out long long ago!

Do normal employees have shorter hours?

[Pedro]

2 hours ago, Slowlycatchymonkey said:

When you run your own business you never stop working even if you're not physically there, theres always things to be thought about or sorted out.

I always thought setting up our office systems in the study at home would make things worse but it's been quite the opposite. That led to then setting up being able to access them from anywhere where there's any sort of connectivity. It allows a lot of physical freedom if not mental. You can deal with things when they're on your mind and then put it down again rather than having to travel to a particular place. But I'm guessing from your posts you figured all that stuff out long long ago!

Do normal employees have shorter hours?

My clients don't do the "away from office" thing. It's an old school industry for them and they're very much in it 6,5 days a week while managing an anual 8 to 11 million Euros business.

On my part, Covid brought in a lot of good practices and a LOT of the ground work I used to have to do is no longer needed. I used to have to drive to places to collect an order that someone had written down on a piece of paper a couple of days before, just because that was their practice from 20 years ago. I would show up, and chat about football for 5 minutes, have a walk around their warehouse and then transcribe that order to a notepad, to then send it in as soon as I got a moment in the car with my laptop. With Covid suddenly clients didn't want meetings anymore so they got used to sending emails, and on the first year of Covid I lazyly rode around Portugal twice 

All that is failing now, though; the economy is failing, industrial consumption of my boards is dropping in a major way as our main industry is furniture (renovations too), costs are also rising so prices can't be dropped to help sales, it's a shit show made worse by peruvians being in charge of my main source of income. They're being eaten alive by slyer competitors in spite of advice given by me or other experienced iberian sales agents.

What I get now, working alone with nobody else as my backup (unlike 3 or 4 years ago), is that I am never 100% on work when most people are (that is really cool when it goes well) but I'm never 100% off work (that is not cool and is never with any warning either). Going to Morocco, instead of leaving my mobile with my brother and checking in ever 4 days I'll be carrying it with me and working a little everyday, ideally that means less strain on coming back quick but who knows?

[Slowlycatchymonkey]

20 hours ago, Pedro said:

With Covid suddenly clients didn't want meetings anymore so they got used to sending emails, and on the first year of Covid I lazyly rode around Portugal twice 

My kind of work

20 hours ago, Pedro said:

All that is failing now, though; the economy is failing, industrial consumption of my boards is dropping in a major way as our main industry is furniture (renovations too), costs are also rising so prices can't be dropped to help sales, it's a shit show made worse by peruvians being in charge of my main source of income. They're being eaten alive by slyer competitors in spite of advice given by me or other experienced iberian sales agents.

I really enjoyed the first part but this not so much, the economy, the predictions about where we are heading and the increase workload we're currently experiencing as everyone jams on the brakes and looks to cut costs wherever they can is frightening.

Our increase in workload isn't a good one, it's caused by fighting to hold onto customers after some disreputable company offers to do what we do but much cheaper - which they can't so they just lie to get the contract and increase the 'extra costs' after they've locked them in. I could go on but it's both painful and boring. 

20 hours ago, Pedro said:

What I get now, working alone with nobody else as my backup (unlike 3 or 4 years ago), is that I am never 100% on work when most people are (that is really cool when it goes well) but I'm never 100% off work (that is not cool and is never with any warning either). Going to Morocco, instead of leaving my mobile with my brother and checking in ever 4 days I'll be carrying it with me and working a little everyday, ideally that means less strain on coming back quick but who knows?

I don't understand why you're never 100% on work when most people are? 

I find the flat out before I leave and a tiny bit everyday works very well. Hope it does for you. I can't remember did you get a back up phone in the end?

[Pedro]

12 minutes ago, Slowlycatchymonkey said:

I don't understand why you're never 100% on work when most people are? 

Firstly, I am free to manage my time daily, I can go for a walk with my dog instead of "working", or take a trip while working too, I can manage during normal work load to enjoy myself when I want to. That happens because most of my profit comes out of taking opportunities that come to me, I don't need to be sitting at a desk or driving around to clients 7 hours a day, and most of my clients have been for a very long time. 

On the other hand, I'm expected to do the same whenever those opportunities appear, or to solve crisis when they appear, be it now, be it in June or August when I'm one day into a beach holiday week. Shit breaks out two weeks from now and I'll be sitting at a table in Merzouga for two days looking at my laptop and asking clients not to bail out on my supplier. The part I like is that a most of them will think I'm 30km away, while a few will know I'm on the bike and tell me to fuck off in dearest way 

To be able to do this is cool, but never spending a week without a plan altering email popping up in the middle of your day for years is also getting old. I miss when I'd clock out to go on holidays on friday at lunch, and on saturday evening I'd be on the track car driving through France having forgotten all work things.

[XTreme]

3 minutes ago, Pedro said:

never spending a week without a plan altering email popping up in the middle of your day for years is also getting old. I miss when I'd clock out to go on holidays on friday at lunch, and on saturday evening I'd be on the track car driving through France having forgotten all work things.