Now this one is much more exciting than the earlier one!

And before you say anything. I didn’t go get Chinese food twice in one day! I had pad thai for lunch and took the leftovers home (along with another fortune cookie). So back off!

So remember I told you about that $500 bet I had with Frank? Do you also remember just a little bit ago when I told you that I’m a quitter? So you may be wondering if I’m going to be losing $500 in a couple of months. If you weren’t wondering about this, hopefully this intro is making you wonder. Now I could give you the answer right now, but I’d much rather turn this into another typical way-too-long post.

So first a little background about Frank and our friendship. There are two important things to note about Frank with relation to this bet. First, Frank has been a big cheerleader of mine since I told him I was planning on running away. I think he likes the idea of what I’m doing. Secondly, Frank is a bit older than I am and as such is more financially established. That’s not to say that he’s wealthy, but we both know $500 is worth less to him than to me.

So when I lost our $11 bet back on August 8th we chatted about the lack of achievement that made him eleven George Washington’s richer. I admitted that it was a lack of motivation & effort on my part and nothing else. That’s the conversation that in turn led to the new bet, the $500 bet. I knew at the time that Frank wasn’t betting me $500 because he wasn’t to make money off of me. Frank was trying to give me his money to help motivate me. We both knew it, though neither said it outright.

Two days later, when I was still full of confidence of my pre-2009 departure, I stopped by to talk to Frank again. I told him that I appreciated what he was offering, but I didn’t quite feel right taking that much money from him. So I offered to drop the bet. Frank assured me that he was ok with the bet and we left it as it was.

Fast forward to the present and things have changed a bit. I’ve made a conscious decision to quit pushing just for the sake of pushing and I’m accepting that it’s almost a guarantee that I’ll still be here in 2009. In a conversation with Frank about 2 weeks ago I caught him up with the state of affairs inside my dirty, dirty mind. Then last week Frank called me up and offered me a similar deal to the one I offered him; drop the bet from $500 to a double-or-nothing of the original: $11. He told me to think about it and let him know.

So I’ve been thinking about it.

There is one glaring difference between my offer and his. When I offered him an out, it was while the outcome was still unknown. It was still a legitimate bet. Frank’s offer comes at a time when, shy of a miracle, the outcome is known. So if I took Frank up on his offer it wouldn’t be backing out of a bet, it would be backing out of an obligation.

I haven’t quite made up my mind yet, but I definitely have strong leanings. There are certain things that I think are important in life. Your word is one of those things, and when you shake another persons hand I think it means something. I think it means even more when that person is a friend and/or family member. I would have taken Franks money without problem because I believe our best was a good, fair bet. Would backing out at this point not make me a liar & a coward?

Is my word, and peoples faith in it, not worth more than $500? Or is this a case of stubborn pride?

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You know, I gotta admit, I’m a bit upset. Anything even remotely humorous that pops in my head is so blatantly unclever that I can’t really say anything.

That’s right, for the first time in the entire six+ years I’ve owned my house the guest bathroom now has a toilet paper holder that can actually hold toilet paper!

Thank you thank you. No no… please, please that’s enough. Oh stop, that’s too much, please sit down. You’re way too kind. Oh my gosh, ma’am please put your shirt back on. I’m starting to blush here, I really am. Thank you everyone, thank you!!