Just thinking out loud....

I guess I'll give chastising Congress a break for a while.  I think they know how I feel.  

My to-do list today included balancing the checkbook, and I'm happy to report all the numbers are still a dull, monotone black.   Otherwise, all is quiet here.

I did notice yet another building crane going up across the street.  Speaking of birds ("cranes", get it?) shouldn't there be millions of them flying south for the winter by now?  Thinking back years ago, by (or before) this time the sky would be filled with what seemed like millions of birds doing their annual migration.  Do birds just avoid big city airspace these days?  Are they scared of all those cranes?  That's probably a good thing, come to think of it....it keeps the little shitters away from my car.

Our next door neighbors have packed it up and moved.  I saw them a couple of days ago loading a U-Haul.  I had noticed their terrace furniture missing and thought something was amiss.  Turns out they're moving back to New Mexico....I guess they aren't Big City types.

Met another neighbor in the elevator yesterday.  She's an American Airlines flight attendant, Sherlock Holmes here deducing that by her suitcases and American Airlines flight attendant uniform.  Just making small talk, I asked where she was returning from, and she said a London trip.  

I commented, "Oh, then you must have some seniority", and she said, yes, 25 years and she was STILL "junior" on that flight.  Some quick mental math told me she must be 45-50 yrs old, yet she looked to be a stunning mid-30'ish.  Now I'm wondering how much of her was "real", or if my eyesight is failing me.

This weekend promises to be Chamber of Commerce / picture-postcard autumn perfect.  K is playing hookie this afternoon from work, so we're planning a leisurely lunch somewhere alfresco....one of those 2-hour meals with maybe an adult beverage or two.

Bon Ape Tit, y'all.

Here's hoping you're having a pleasant day, too.  :)

S

I can see a light in the tunnel. I hope it's not a train!

Whew....our move is 98% complete.  Not surprisingly, Murphy reared his ugly head and made things twice as hard as they should have been.

It's just like this, except substitute the T-Mobile building across the street for Lake Como.

Several earlier comments asked why we were moving so soon as we had just gone through this 18 months ago.  The answer in one word, in one letter actually, is K, as in K, my spousal unit.  She has been nagging pestering requesting an apartment with a patio or terrace for quite a while, and when a nice one became available, I jumped at it, convinced by the bayonet in my back that it would be a good thing.  

Now that the move is complete I will agree, it IS a good thing.  At this stage in my life, since it's just the two of us, I have completely embraced the idea of renting vs owning another home.  It feels sooooo good to NOT have a to-do list anymore.  Our little community is new, very nice, with lots of (the usual) amenities like gym, pool, party room, etc, and even a guest suite on premises for overnight guests to use.

We briefly considered buying a townhome (we found a really nice one), but then K heard that with a creek not far away and with lots of open greenbelt area nearby, snakes would be out poking around.  Heehee!  Bye-bye townhome.  :)

The move should have been a piece of cake:  SIL Donnie and I had to pick up furniture 6", put it on a furniture dolly, and wheel it down the hall, up the elevator, and into our new digs on the 3rd floor.  Wham, bam....2-3 hours....done.  Hah!

First, the dolly's I bought at Lowe's must have been for moving boxes of feathers.  When you put some weight on them they would barely roll.  Chinese-made wheels, no doubt.  Then the upright dolly had a tire that wouldn't hold air, so I had to buy a new tire.  UGH!

And finally, at one point, the elevator closest to us broke.  We had to wheel stuff to the other side of the building and use that elevator, making the trip twice as long.  Maintenance was able to "reset" our elevator and get us going again, but that's just how things have gone for me these past 3 days.

But now we're in, everything is in it's place, and all I have left to do is hang a few more pictures.  The terrace really is pleasant, just large enough for 2 chairs and 2 small tables, plus the dog's bed.  Early morning's are so nice out there.  :)

Today is pretty much dedicated to R & R, then tomorrow it's back to work.  Bro and I are finishing a big home over this next week or so, and then I can get back to perfecting my retirement.  

Life ain't half bad, you know?  :)

S

And just FYI, AT&T Uverse cable/internet is top shelf!

Moving is like watching a train wreck in slow motion

Our move has gone completely off the tracks.  OMG, what were we thinking?

Actually our new apartment will be quite nice....when we get it all put together.  It's noticeably larger than our old apartment, and as it's more of a "loft" style it's much more open.  Yesterday SIL Donnie came over and helped me get all the furniture moved.  He was absolutely indespensible!  Thanks Donnie.  Now it's just trip after trip after trip bringing over the little stuff.

I have become such a minimalist.  I don't care how much stuff I sell, give away, or throw away, I still have too much.  The one good think to come of this so far is we have discovered that AT&T uVerse is light years ahead of Time Warner Cable.  We should have changed years ago.

Back to it.  Have a good day everyone.

S

Let the fun begin

I wonder which is worse?  This, or packing, moving, and then unpacking 10,000 boxes? 

We're moving in 10 days.  Fortunately it's just to the other side of our building, one floor higher.  Why?  Because it has a terrace with a view, "view" being a relative term.  It's also 150 sq ft +/- larger, but that's just incidental, and of course it costs more, but the wife wants a terrace, so.....  The good news is we can just load stuff on furniture dolly's and roll it, no boxing required.  

My final remaining life torment is going away today:  I have a HUGE Ethan Allen entertainment center that has found a new home as of this afternoon.  I'm convinced moving this monster last year is what gave me a herniated disc in my back.  Now it will be somebody else's problem pride and joy.  

It was beautiful in our previous home (with the 24' x 36' Great Room), and the gigantic old tube-type TV fit perfectly, but with flat screen TVs these days and the trend, at least for us, to downsize, it's become a dinosaur.  Prior to my last move my dread was what to do with my old, monster desk?  Fortunately at the 11th hour a fine gentleman with exquisite taste (or did he just have a screw loose?) stepped forward and bought it.  *whew*

We're slowly-but-surely getting back into fighting trim.  Excess stuff accumulated over the past several years has been disposed of, which should once again make our modest abode quite comfortable.  If I can just stand the clutter for the next 10 days.

Oh....and a Happy Labor Day to you all.  :)

S

Now taking applications for a guy to do...well...everything!

We're apartment shopping once again.  I/we like where we live, but since they built a new complex just to our south, we have no view anymore.  As expected our rent is going up a little....not a killer....but to me it's worth less without the view we once had.

The biggest factor leading us to look around is that K has said she wants an apartment with a patio / balcony. We have a beautiful little private courtyard surrounded by balcony units, but none are available now.  So off we went yesterday to see what our options were elsewhere.  We went to four different communities, two of them really nice, but trying to sync what they'll have available when we want it is tough.  And the thought of physically packing and moving again....UGH!!

I did some rough calculations last night and it looks like me just building something for us is the way to go.  It would cost us less than renting.  'Course, after I figure in the cost of having a guy come in to mow, edge, hedge trim, fertilize and water, rake leaves, wash the windows, clean out the garage, paint, take out the garbage, change light bulbs, change a/c filters, and sweep the porch, it would probably be pretty much even.  (Yes, I've totally embraced this "retirement" thing.)

Building a new home is also the carrot we need hanging in front of us in order to save more money.  Just by eating one less meal out and thinking twice before buying things like we normally do I figure we've saved at least $100 this weekend.  We can probably put aside another $5,000-$10,000 this year if we keep this up.  

Hey...that might get us a pretty nice couple days vacation in Aspen.  Sweeeeet!  ;)

S

Oooooh.....the HORROR!

What was I thinking???  I don't care how much you plan, how many furniture dollies you have, how much you pre-pack, moving is still a disaster.  Definitely two thumbs down.  Much worse than childbirth (from my perspective at least).  


Most of the heavy lifting was completed on Friday and Saturday, with SIL Donnie assisting on Sunday as I was too tired to lift a napkin holder, much less the final large piece of furniture.  Then it came time to put things away where they belong.  Hahaha!  Where do you start?  K was on one side of a room and I on the other, and all I could see was her head bobbing along as she moved forward.  You couldn't take a step without tripping over something.  I haven't had this many smashed toes since the last time I tried dancing.


I think I can finally see a light at the end of the tunnel, and I'm hoping it's not a....well.....you know.  My last hurdle is IKEA.  I bought a simple assemble-it-yourself TV "stand" there as it was the only one I could find the right height.  What a nightmare!  The parts package was incomplete and one of two critical pieces wasn't pre-drilled....obviously a quality control lapse back at a supplier's facility (read: some Chinese guy's lean-to).  IKEA sucks!


Hopefully by the end of the month (?) everything will be in place.  Our complex is really nice, and I'm looking forward to enjoying it once I put this nightmare move behind.  Pictures sometime in the future.  Hope y'all have been doing well.  :)


S

A stormy day in Dallas

As viewed yesterday on BBC online:


Six held over fake Viagra trade....Six people are arrested in the UK and Spain on suspicion of importing and selling fake drugs including Viagra.


I predict they'll never get a conviction.  The evidence won't stand up in court.  ;)

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Man-oh-man has it rained!  It started last night around 6 pm and hasn't stopped since.  We've had constant lightning and rolling thunder, too, which made for some great sleeping weather.  According to the National Weather Service's color-coded rainfall map my area has received between 5 and 6 inches so far, with another 1-2" expected before it stops.  I've heard it said by the weather experts (if there is such a thing) that substantial rains in the spring helps keep the summertime temperatures a bit cooler than normal.  I hope that's true.  I know our lakes are getting a good top-off, which should see us through the upcoming summer.

This makes no sense to me:  So far this morning airlines at DFW International Airport have cancelled several hundred flights due to the heavy rains.  If there's been that much rain, wouldn't they just cancel all flights?  Were only those airlines flying low-rider jets affected?  You know, the ones with the blue lights underneath, the chromed-chain steering wheels, and the ba-boom, ba-boom speakers in the back?  *scary visual, huh?*  

Our packing continues.  Everything that before resided in cabinets and in closets is now packed in boxes and stacked so thick and high you can't walk through our 2nd bedroom.  I've also taken down our Elfa shelving I installed for some more space when we moved in here 3 years ago.  Tonight I disassemble our sleigh bed.  M-day nears!

S

It's raining cats and dogs....and sunspots

A cold front pushed through north Texas around noon today dropping temps over 20 degrees.  Combined with the winds and rain leading the front, it's darn cool outside.  I had to go back into my winter jackets I had so meticulously packed away in sealed plastic boxes and pull one out.  Mother Nature is jerking my chain!  We're expecting 2-5" of rain by the end of the weekend.  Maybe that will be enough to top off our lakes and enable us to survive the summer without water rationing.  *fingers crossed*


Is anyone besides me having electronic issues with all the sunspot death rays bombarding earth today?  My computer shut itself off, logged us out and everything.  Then when I tried to restart it, it wouldn't accept our ID info.  After a number of attempts it finally smiled and let me back in.  Go figure.


More leisurely packing is in progress.  An hour or so every evening and we should be prepared for an organized move.  The 23rd will be here before you know it.  Here's what our spare bedroom looks like now:

Note the vicious Mr. Luke in the lower right standing guard over our stuff.  OK, sitting guard.  Oooo....I just spotted something else I can sell on Craig's List.  That blue leather chair in the corner has been collecting dust for several years.  It needs to find somewhere else to live.  No luck on the monster desk yet, though.  Don't people use desks anymore?

S

"I have a dream!"

It's now official...sort of.  K and I will eventually be moving from Dallas to somewhere else, probably in Colorado.  I've been telling her for years how wonderful the mountains are but I don't think it soaked in.  Until now all she's known are the "flatlands" or the beach (California, Virginia, or Texas).  Last month when we went to Aspen she realized I was right. 


Our goal now is to work here a while longer, pay off everything we owe, I'll retire and she'll pursue an advanced certification in her HR field, which should open many doors for her and increase her professional portability.  Then we're outta here.  When we get "there" I'll work a bit to keep busy and for a few extra bucks, and we can live modestly but quite comfortably.  We want off the rat-race treadmill.  


On our next vacation we'll go back there and do some earnest scouting for places to live, site-specific cost-of-living numbers, employment opportunities, etc.  I honestly think it's do-able.


Meanwhile work is waiting.  Gotta go chase that dream.  :)


S