Well-Armed

I had to do it today.  There was a phone call I needed to make, and I had avoided doing it long enough.
The reason I was avoiding it is because I was not real good at talking the talk.  But I was armed with what I did know so I made the call.
Turned out good actually.  I have always found it really good to come at such things from a “this is new to me” angle.  I find that others tend to be really helpful.  I did that with two phone calls today and people wanted to come to my aid and wanted to help all they could.
To me it is a mistake to come at something like “I know everything.”  It is so easy to miss out on things I do not know.  When someone else explains from their point of view they often say things I may be totally unaware of.   All the information gleaned helps to make up the whole.  Even if I do not have the whole picture, I do have a more complete picture.  I find it way easier to make decisions based on that.
To me it is all about compliance.  For some it is an issue.  There is a desire to “get away with what I can.”  I find that even if I am trying to avoid expense, the potential is there to have a higher expense then I might have, by complying.  I really cannot win taking shortcuts.  I may in the short term, but I personally do not want that hanging over my head.
We had to put a fence around our spa.  The spar was in our locked shed.  It seemed totally ridiculous.  Yet complying gave us peace of mind.  It sure helped us that the fencing we needed was advertised on gumtree real cheap and not far from our place.  So we got it and did the right thing.
We were glad the cement was softer and hence easier to drill into than our driveway.  That was not a good experience.  What seemed straight forward ended up being a walk away from thing.  So with our spa we have done all that can reasonably be expected.  We do not need to concern ourselves if kids are in the area.
I personally am so not into having things hanging over my head.  What I need to do may be inconvenient, but I know in the end should something happen I have done all I needed to do.
I wrote to the council about a tree that was over an area I sit.  The tree was a “widow maker.”  In my email I suggested a different tree may be the go.  They did nothing about it.  But I knew I had done all I could.  I was not surprised to hear a branch had fallen from a tree in another area where people sit.  No one was hurt.  It may sound really negative but unless such things are attended to then it is just a matter of time.  There seems to be a hope that it will not happen “on my watch.”  Maybe, maybe not but it will happen.
So whatever I need to do I try to find out as complete a picture as I can.  That way I can make the best decisions I can.