Sorry I haven't posted. I've been busy!
Went up to Ballard and dealt with record rainfall. (To my friends vacationing in Germany: Your basement isn't flood proof. But I did manage to get the water out and it should be dry by the time you get home.)
I managed to sell some stuff and still have more to shop around this week (more books, music and movies). We plan to have a Craigslist ad for this coming weekend and anything that doesn't sell by Monday will go to Goodwill. Money is coming in by bits and we are trying to piece it together to afford the escape from Olympia.
Paul will be done with his degree on December 3rd (and he has a second story being published!). Our lease is up on December 8th. Frank is already up at Uncle Kevin's and Oreo will join him tomorrow or Wednesday (so sad but necessary until we get settled).
We are back to the original plan of going to Southern California and hope to make it by mid-December (my birthday!). Zero ideas what we'll do when we get there but Paul's family is there and already helping out by looking for jobs and apartments.
So, if I post infrequently over the next few weeks it isn't that I've forgotten. I'm just really, really busy!! It's exciting and I'll tell you all about it as my schedule allows!
Monday, November 26, 2012
Wednesday, November 14, 2012
Better
Feeling much better. A combination of allergy medicine and wine put me to sleep and I woke up able to breathe through my nose again! Hurrah!
So today I have all that energy I was lacking over the past few days. Haven't done much with it yet but I am enthusiastic. I had planned to box up all the books I want to sell (got out the boxes but got sidetracked looking up ISBN numbers to see what they're worth). I had also planned to box up the stuff I want to keep (hoping it fits neatly into one box). Also on the agenda was clearing out the furniture for selling (emptying drawers, shelves, etc.). But the day is young and Paul is working until 11pm so I have plenty of time to catch up on my list without interruption.
Unfortunately, the reality of being destitute is rearing its ugly head and we are faced with the fact that even after selling everything we still can't afford to go very far. Staying here another month means paying another month of rent and bills which we already can't afford. (That means borrowing and ending up more in debt and puts us even further from the goal of getting away.) I am convinced that there is a way this will all work out. I just don't know what that solution is or how to achieve it (yet). I'm pretty sure it won't be easy. (Hell, it already isn't easy...) It would certainly be nice to wake up and remember where I hid the treasure but that's pretty unlikely.
It's funny, no matter how desperate things are at the moment and how I just can't see a way out of the current circumstance I just have that feeling that it's all going to work out fine. And the closer it gets to December the more convinced I am that it's all going to work out. I have no basis in reality for this feeling but I've had this feeling for some time now.
December is the month it is supposed to all come together. Paul finishes his Master's degree on the 3rd. Our lease is up in Olympia on the 8th. (Seems like perfect timing to me!) We know we don't want to spend another winter in Olympia so staying here for any reason would be ridiculous. I have a friend who is going to be on Tortola for a month from Dec. 15th- Jan.15th. She has a house arranged and told me if I can just get there I have a place to stay. Right now it is completely out of my price range (Tacoma is out of my price range...) but it is just one more thing to think about.
I was standing on the balcony today thinking about what I would do if I didn't have money worries. Fact is, I'd still get rid of everything. I would most likely just have it all hauled off for donation instead of trying to sell it but the result would be the same. I'd still be trying to get out of Olympia. Odds are that I'd be spending that month on Tortola and then relocating somewhere warm (SoCal, St. John, etc.). I don't know if Paul would go to the Caribbean. He'd most likely go straight to California. If we had money to live on he would probably spend some time writing.
It's interesting that money or not we still have the same plans. The way I see it, I'm never going to get rich working long hours for minimum wage to pay the rent. I'm also never going to get rich working part time and not paying rent. Overall I think I'd prefer to not get rich working part time, rent free and living somewhere warm.
So all that's left is figuring out a way to make it all happen (and soon because November is half over already!!).
So today I have all that energy I was lacking over the past few days. Haven't done much with it yet but I am enthusiastic. I had planned to box up all the books I want to sell (got out the boxes but got sidetracked looking up ISBN numbers to see what they're worth). I had also planned to box up the stuff I want to keep (hoping it fits neatly into one box). Also on the agenda was clearing out the furniture for selling (emptying drawers, shelves, etc.). But the day is young and Paul is working until 11pm so I have plenty of time to catch up on my list without interruption.
Unfortunately, the reality of being destitute is rearing its ugly head and we are faced with the fact that even after selling everything we still can't afford to go very far. Staying here another month means paying another month of rent and bills which we already can't afford. (That means borrowing and ending up more in debt and puts us even further from the goal of getting away.) I am convinced that there is a way this will all work out. I just don't know what that solution is or how to achieve it (yet). I'm pretty sure it won't be easy. (Hell, it already isn't easy...) It would certainly be nice to wake up and remember where I hid the treasure but that's pretty unlikely.
It's funny, no matter how desperate things are at the moment and how I just can't see a way out of the current circumstance I just have that feeling that it's all going to work out fine. And the closer it gets to December the more convinced I am that it's all going to work out. I have no basis in reality for this feeling but I've had this feeling for some time now.
December is the month it is supposed to all come together. Paul finishes his Master's degree on the 3rd. Our lease is up in Olympia on the 8th. (Seems like perfect timing to me!) We know we don't want to spend another winter in Olympia so staying here for any reason would be ridiculous. I have a friend who is going to be on Tortola for a month from Dec. 15th- Jan.15th. She has a house arranged and told me if I can just get there I have a place to stay. Right now it is completely out of my price range (Tacoma is out of my price range...) but it is just one more thing to think about.
I was standing on the balcony today thinking about what I would do if I didn't have money worries. Fact is, I'd still get rid of everything. I would most likely just have it all hauled off for donation instead of trying to sell it but the result would be the same. I'd still be trying to get out of Olympia. Odds are that I'd be spending that month on Tortola and then relocating somewhere warm (SoCal, St. John, etc.). I don't know if Paul would go to the Caribbean. He'd most likely go straight to California. If we had money to live on he would probably spend some time writing.
It's interesting that money or not we still have the same plans. The way I see it, I'm never going to get rich working long hours for minimum wage to pay the rent. I'm also never going to get rich working part time and not paying rent. Overall I think I'd prefer to not get rich working part time, rent free and living somewhere warm.
So all that's left is figuring out a way to make it all happen (and soon because November is half over already!!).
Tuesday, November 13, 2012
Cold
I have a cold. No fun. This cold has put a damper on my energy and enthusiasm. I keep hoping to wake up feeling better but so far I just wake up unable to breathe through my nose. Blech. I believe it was the Tick who said: "I hate mucus, yet, I am mucus." (The Tick vs. The Uncommon Cold) Well said, Tick.
So, when I am over this hideous ailment I will have to hustle. I have books to sell and an apartment to empty. We're less then a month away from being homeless! Better get better!!
[PS:
I watched The Tick vs. The Uncommon Cold and he did not say that line in that particular episode. I must've been mistaken. Certainly sounds like something the Tick would say...]
[Okay, I found it. It wasn't mucus at all. It was broccoli. "I hate broccoli, and yet, in a certain sense, I am broccoli."- (from El Seed) I'm going to stick with my original thought and leave it at mucus. Thanks for playing.]
So, when I am over this hideous ailment I will have to hustle. I have books to sell and an apartment to empty. We're less then a month away from being homeless! Better get better!!
[PS:
I watched The Tick vs. The Uncommon Cold and he did not say that line in that particular episode. I must've been mistaken. Certainly sounds like something the Tick would say...]
[Okay, I found it. It wasn't mucus at all. It was broccoli. "I hate broccoli, and yet, in a certain sense, I am broccoli."- (from El Seed) I'm going to stick with my original thought and leave it at mucus. Thanks for playing.]
Tuesday, November 6, 2012
Distraction
As much as I said I love continuing coverage of anything, the exception is election coverage. I really don't want to hear ANYTHING about how this person has one more vote than the other guy (no, wait! now the other guy has two more votes...). I want to hear the final results when they are really FINAL. To that end, I am distracting myself with old movies (Fred and Ginger, William Powell and Myra Loy, Hope and Crosby and finishing with a continual loop of Victor/Victoria). Nothing lifts my mood like a movie marathon!
Paul's mood has improved a million-fold. Now that he is over his last packet for his last semester of his Master's he is in a much better mood. In another month he'll be done for good and be able to conquer the world! He's finally able to remember all the things we talked about last spring (Southern California being the big one) and he's feeling positive about the future (knock wood). No longer does he think he needs to be a DSHS case manager living in his car in Kirkland (hallelujah!). He's back to the SoCal plan. No more Olympia. Onto bigger and better things!! And, now that he's listening to me again, he is hearing what I had been saying all along about how everything is going to be fine and no need to panic (finally!). Home is less of a wreck and a much calmer place to be (thank heavens!).
It is dark and gloomy in Olympia. Fog this morning gave way to big black clouds and wind to be followed later by a cold rain and cooler temps (Below freezing later this week?! Eek!). Paul's sister called yesterday to say it was 90 degrees in Huntington Beach (and then she sent a photo of the thermometer). I spent a large part of today thinking about warm, beach weather. Ahhhhh....
Tomorrow I head up to Ballard to house-sit for my friends who have gone off to Germany for the month. When I am back in Olympia it will be time to pack up and get out!! (Anthems of joy!) I cannot wait to be free of "stuff" and be heading south down I-5 toward a sunnier future!
Paul's mood has improved a million-fold. Now that he is over his last packet for his last semester of his Master's he is in a much better mood. In another month he'll be done for good and be able to conquer the world! He's finally able to remember all the things we talked about last spring (Southern California being the big one) and he's feeling positive about the future (knock wood). No longer does he think he needs to be a DSHS case manager living in his car in Kirkland (hallelujah!). He's back to the SoCal plan. No more Olympia. Onto bigger and better things!! And, now that he's listening to me again, he is hearing what I had been saying all along about how everything is going to be fine and no need to panic (finally!). Home is less of a wreck and a much calmer place to be (thank heavens!).
It is dark and gloomy in Olympia. Fog this morning gave way to big black clouds and wind to be followed later by a cold rain and cooler temps (Below freezing later this week?! Eek!). Paul's sister called yesterday to say it was 90 degrees in Huntington Beach (and then she sent a photo of the thermometer). I spent a large part of today thinking about warm, beach weather. Ahhhhh....
Tomorrow I head up to Ballard to house-sit for my friends who have gone off to Germany for the month. When I am back in Olympia it will be time to pack up and get out!! (Anthems of joy!) I cannot wait to be free of "stuff" and be heading south down I-5 toward a sunnier future!
Thursday, November 1, 2012
PS to yesterday's "Edgy" post:
Jessica was kind enough to point out the probable cause of my edginess. Normally at this time of year I would have my tickets to the Caribbean and be counting down the hours until take off. This year I am broke and going nowhere fast. She said she feels the same way (although I suspect she could go without me... Mimi's going and they could share expenses...).
The only year we skipped the Caribbean was the year we went to Italy. I was edgy then, too, because we didn't leave until February. That particular November I did have distractions (like trying to learn French for our brief trip to Paris) but was still missing the basic knowledge that I would spend a month on the beach, drinking Bushwackers and swimming in the warm water every day. (Italy was great but we missed the beach so much that we saved every penny for the rest of the year so we could make it to the islands the following November).
So, unless I reap some sort of windfall, I will be edgy and nervous and missing the beach for the forseeable future. Somehow I am less edgy now that I know.
The only year we skipped the Caribbean was the year we went to Italy. I was edgy then, too, because we didn't leave until February. That particular November I did have distractions (like trying to learn French for our brief trip to Paris) but was still missing the basic knowledge that I would spend a month on the beach, drinking Bushwackers and swimming in the warm water every day. (Italy was great but we missed the beach so much that we saved every penny for the rest of the year so we could make it to the islands the following November).
So, unless I reap some sort of windfall, I will be edgy and nervous and missing the beach for the forseeable future. Somehow I am less edgy now that I know.
(Damn, that looks good!!)
Post-Halloween Rant
These days money is tight. Really tight!! Every penny counts. I tried to estimate the amount of candy to have on hand for the trick-or-treaters by counting the kids in the immediate vicinity and then multiplied by three. Turned out that was a lot of kids. I came up with 25 I knew from just the three buildings right here and then I counted the kids in the buildings we pass on our walks. Anyway, I bought a lot of candy just in case.
THREE kids showed up. Total. That's it. Just three brave souls who knocked and got candy. One was the little Girl Scout I bought cookies from last year but I didn't recognize the other two. Three kids.
Oreo was on his best behavior and didn't bark. I bribed him with treats and he was a model of good behavior. We heard lots of kids on the stairs (we are on the 3rd floor) and I would send him down the hall so he wouldn't be freaked out by kids in costumes but they never came all the way up. I kept going back to get him and shrugging my shoulders. Oreo got really good at going back when he heard kids on the stairs and knew that if he went quietly he would get a treat when it was over but what a let down!!
When I took Oreo out for his bedtime walk around 11pm, I finally noticed the trouble: My elderly neighbor had put up big orange signs that said "No candy up here!" I wish I had gone out earlier and seen that! I'd have put up another sign directing them to my place!! Now I have a ton of candy that I spent precious dollars on and which I will have to eat because of Paul's diabetes. (I know you're sarcastically saying "Oh, boo-freakin'-hoo. Have to eat candy..." But I really intended that this candy would be gone by last night and now I'll be eating it constantly.)
I wouldn't say Halloween is my favorite holiday. Christmas is by far my preference. But I do think it's cool to hand out candy to kids in costume and as a kid I thought it was pretty great to be able to knock on doors and be rewarded with sweet treats!!
I even prepared my place by lighting a ton of candles and hanging long, orange curtains from a tension rod around my entryway. It looked pretty spooky. I have a couple of candle holders that have cutouts (one of a witch and one of spiders in a web) that create some damn cool shadows on the wall and I made sure they were casting shadows on the enrty wall. I enjoyed the ambience but the throngs of kids I expected to freak out never got to see it. How disappointing!!
THREE kids showed up. Total. That's it. Just three brave souls who knocked and got candy. One was the little Girl Scout I bought cookies from last year but I didn't recognize the other two. Three kids.
Oreo was on his best behavior and didn't bark. I bribed him with treats and he was a model of good behavior. We heard lots of kids on the stairs (we are on the 3rd floor) and I would send him down the hall so he wouldn't be freaked out by kids in costumes but they never came all the way up. I kept going back to get him and shrugging my shoulders. Oreo got really good at going back when he heard kids on the stairs and knew that if he went quietly he would get a treat when it was over but what a let down!!
When I took Oreo out for his bedtime walk around 11pm, I finally noticed the trouble: My elderly neighbor had put up big orange signs that said "No candy up here!" I wish I had gone out earlier and seen that! I'd have put up another sign directing them to my place!! Now I have a ton of candy that I spent precious dollars on and which I will have to eat because of Paul's diabetes. (I know you're sarcastically saying "Oh, boo-freakin'-hoo. Have to eat candy..." But I really intended that this candy would be gone by last night and now I'll be eating it constantly.)
I wouldn't say Halloween is my favorite holiday. Christmas is by far my preference. But I do think it's cool to hand out candy to kids in costume and as a kid I thought it was pretty great to be able to knock on doors and be rewarded with sweet treats!!
I even prepared my place by lighting a ton of candles and hanging long, orange curtains from a tension rod around my entryway. It looked pretty spooky. I have a couple of candle holders that have cutouts (one of a witch and one of spiders in a web) that create some damn cool shadows on the wall and I made sure they were casting shadows on the enrty wall. I enjoyed the ambience but the throngs of kids I expected to freak out never got to see it. How disappointing!!
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