There are times when you meet people that for some reason- for whatever reason- your opinions or points of view just simply do not and cannot meet amicably. In the past three days I have had interactions with two people in which this has occurred.
One woman simply had to complain, rather vilely, about a plethora of issues she had with my workplace. I listened patiently and at one point attempted to explain a policy that was in place to indeed help her. She argued with me regardless and I dropped the attempt to help her understand, but continued listening. She was rude and argumentative, and nothing I said or could say would change her opinions that she was so eagerly sharing.
Today I had the same experience with an accountant that I met in her extremely unkempt and run down home. She had been a previous real estate investor 40 yrs ago before the interest rates in the 1980s almost consumed her financially. She struggled throughout those years working double jobs to manage her investment overhead and finally declared bankruptcy at the end. She suggested I do the same. She offered no helpful corrective measures I could take and argued the advice I had previously been given by my prior accountant and a recently retired CRA contact I have in Winnipeg. To her knowledge I was going to pay incredible amounts of capital gains and fail miserably this year and should likely liquidate everything, wipe the slate clean, pay the piper and rethink every facet of my plans.
I concede that I am not in the best situation at this moment, but it HAS been worse, and I have difficulty throwing everything away, paying dearly to do so. Moreover I hesitate on taking advice from an accountant that can obvioulsy not afford their own means or what appear to be required repairs to their own home. She in fact suggested that she was thinking about renting out her rundown home for $1400 a month and perhaps I would be best to rent from her. And or declare bankruptcy. I have to decline both, of course, although they are tempting and valid offers to someone perhaps more desperate than I am. (I can assure you and myself that neither are worthy of contemplation!!)
At any rate, something odd about these two meetings. Apparently opposing viewpoints that are available for my consideration. Wonderful. It's always good to consider a new point of view. (Thanks to Kate for this wicked awesome photo)