Season transitions and Free Cash flow
The problem with being impatient about winter ending is then you have March, which is a most unfriendly month of teaser nice days, then smack in the face cold, windy wet days. Whenever it dries out just enough to start getting optimistic about progress, bam, it’s gone. And since the sun doesn’t shine and it remains Ireland damp, it stays wet, damp and untraversable for a while. Last night, with the worst possible timing, a Sunday night before the work week, a heavy rain started around 7pm and lasted till 9am this morning.
I’m an AI user, Chatgpt, though the smart set was making me feel guilty for using Chat and not Claude, or something less dominant in the marketplace - like Claude is the new Apple and Chat is Microsoft - unhip, uncool, AI for Facebook users. That’s baloney - it’s a great product and judging by simple login issues with Claude, the elite tastemakers of AI can kiss my ass.
The world is getting interesting, and the impact of gas prices will mean something to someone, though what it is is hard to know for certain. Since I’m getting busy and needed some cash flow/equity investment cushion, I cashed out of a sizable equity (non-retirement) position to infuse into the business for the next wash rinse repeat investment in building homes. I’m thinking this year is shaping up to be a lot more sneaky vibrant than I expected, and to be honest, that’s been true each year for a few years, though last year I wasn’t in a position to take advantage of it.
We’ve gone from Zero to 60 in a few months flat and are eager to get a move on it, as are a lot of our subs and vendors, who have been idling over the winter not at a full stop of course but at less than optimal speed, stressing cash flows with fixed costs and reduced revenues, and especially tricky as you ramp back up. Our big inflows will probably be 3rd and 4th quarter, and that foresight insight is why I moved some money back into the business - to be safe, to not pay the bank interest more than we have to, and to have some dry powder for some opportunities.
Costa Rica is always a prominent choice in ex-pat snowbird living, but Panama is actually the real sleeper of value, from what I’ve been reading.
I just discovered about car dealership client waiting rooms what I already know about airplanes - do not arrive without headphones. Chitchat, beeping and pinging of cell phones, too loud piped in music, an odd TV on somewhere, and the real trigger, someone listening to their phone on speaker phone.
I’m actually doing an interesting task these days - going through my phone and deleting old contacts - who knows what comes next, adding last names to the 14 Johns, Matts, and Erics that make life harder than it should be.
Free chair if anyone is looking.
