April 27, 2009

Grey day

It’s dark and dreary today. We had a heavy storm overnight and are now enjoying a respite. I’ve just looked at the local weather radar and see that the bigger part of the storm system is still headed our way. (I’m close to Ennis on the map above. The storm is southwest of us and moving in a northeasterly direction.)

We’re so far out in the country that I can’t get any cell phone reception. I can see that I have voicemail messages waiting, but when I try to access them I get the same message every time - “searching for signal.” Since I’m still job-hunting I need to be able to respond to messages promptly, so I took my life in my hands this morning and went for a drive, heading in the direction of the nearest cell tower. I thought for a few minutes that I wouldn’t be able to get out of the driveway. It was hardpack dirt yesterday. Today it’s soup. I had to do some fancy maneuvering to get up the slope to the gravel part of the driveway, but had clear sailing after that.

About fifteen minutes away from the house I pulled over to the side of the road and called my voicemail again. I had three messages, but, alas - none was a job offer. I’ve applied for over thirty jobs in the last two weeks and had eight face-to-face interviews, but the search goes on. Maybe this week. Maybe after the storm clouds blow away they’ll leave their silver lining behind.

[tags]job search, Kaufman County, Texas, storm[/tags]

March 18, 2009

My car is here!

Hokulele arrived today, a day ahead of schedule. Henry the hunky Brazilian stopped his car carrier out front, blocking our narrow country lane. Not a problem, since there’s no traffic out here. No one needed to get by during the half hour or so that Henry was here.

He fooled with some ramps and drove her traveling companion out of the way (blocking more of the street, but … oh well.)

He fooled with the carrier some more and bridged the gap between Hokulele and freedom.

She didn’t need exit signs to show her the way and was purring happily as Henry drove her into the driveway.

That’s when the trouble started. Poor Hoku did not make the journer unscathed. Her rear bumper is totally mangled.

There’s a scrape on her roof as well. A mud guard that should extend below the front bumper was torn up and only a small piece of it remains attached. There are various other scrapes, knicks and dents. Henry and I compared paperwork. An inspection was done in my presence when the car was transported from my house via a tow truck to the dock in Honolulu. The diagram made from that inspection shows a couple of small scratches and dings. Another inspection was done on the dock in LA before Hokulele was loaded onto Henry’s transporter. The diagram from that inspection is cluttered with damage notations. Henry is in the clear, but the transport company isn’t. I’ve left a voice mail for them and will find out tomorrow what they intend to do. The shipping documents and contract are so full of disclaimers and double-speak that I don’t know what to expect. I’m going to be highly dispeased if they offer anything less than complete repair.

[tags]car, car damage, car transport, Saturn, travel[/tags]

January 23, 2009

Clean Sweep

You remember the old aluminum shed in my front yard, don’t you? It’s the type that some call a tin barn and others call a Sears shed. Cleaning and organizing it was the first chore I tackled when I knew I’d be moving. Ah, it’s amusing to look back at that post. I wrote it in October and actually thought at that time that I’d be moved within a few weeks. Ha! Here it is January and we’ve pushed the move date back again, for the final time I hope, to some time in mid-February. But this isn’t about the move. It’s about the shed. It’s an ugly thing and I’ve hated having it in my front yard where everybody and his brother can see it. It made sense to put it there originally. I was just starting a major remodel and needed a convenient place for the building supplies and tools. I thought the shed would sit there for a year or so, but I guess it put down roots because it’s still there.

The shed is empty tonight, except for a couple of bags of grout that I have no use for. Last weekend a guy who came to the garage sale offered me a good price for the shed and said he could come today to take it apart and carry it away. Paul, Todd and I spent a couple of hours this morning emptying it out one last time and distributing its contents to my other two sheds, with a few currently-in-use items - mostly of the plumbing and painting genre - going into the screened room for easy access. It’s six-thirty now and the buyer hasn’t showed up, but I’m not worried. When I quoted him a price for the shed he jumped right on it, a sure sign that I had priced it too low. If he doesn’t show tomorrow I’ll put a sign on it quoting double the price I told him, then let some lucky bargain hunter negotiate me down a little. Any way you look at I’ll come out ahead. If the choice is between an ugly shed and money in hand, I’ll take the cash, thank-you-very-much!

[tags]bargains, garage sale, storage, storage shed[/tags]

January 4, 2009

Self Portrait Sunday for January 4, 2009

I’m feeling a little less than glamorous today. Do you see the big red zit on the side of my nose? I distinctly remember my mother telling me when I was in my teens, “Be happy that you have oily skin. You’ll never have wrinkles.” Ha! I’m over the hump of mid-fifties and still have zits, but you probably don’t really notice them because they’re usually hidden in wrinkles! This would probably be a good time to mention that the anti-aging cream I’ve been testing hasn’t done much at all for me. I don’t want to put down a sponsor, but I also promised my readers I would follow-up and here it is: it didn’t work for me. Sorry folks! That might be because of my skin type (sun-tanned leather!) or becuase I have a medical condition that causes me to struggle with dehydration. I’m not saying that it won’t work for you. You’re probably more “normal” than me. Most folks probably are, come to think of it. The product comes with a money-back guarantee, so you wouldn’t be out any bucks if you decided to try it. If you’ve been looking for a way to prove to the world that I’m abnormal and you’re not, here’s your chance!

On to other things. I’m still making progress towards my move, but keep getting bogged down. I hurt my back a few days ago and have done almost nothing since then. The day before that I got a lot of boxes packed. Now there are so many of them that I’m running out of places to put them. I’ve even got them in the middle of my living room and discovered last night that one that is in front of my tv stands in the line of fire between the tv and the remote when I sit in my favorite spot. I’ll have to do something about that before primetime tonight! Paul finished upgrading all of the existing cabinets this week, except for a little trim work. He was supposed to come today to finish that and start constructing the extra cabinet that will give a finished look to the alcove where my washer and dryer used to be, but he didn’t show up. I never actually know that he’s going to be here until he pulls up in the driveway, so I’ll have to wait and see. Both of my bathrooms also need some finish work and some cabinets need to be hung in the master bath, but those are small jobs that will be finished quickly once I’m done with painting and installing floors (that’s what I should have finished in the last few days when I wasn’t getting anything done.)

Speaking of finishing what I start, I’m going to go over to Midlife Musings now to see who else posted for Self Portrait Sunday today. Have you decided to join us for 2009? I hope so!

[tags]aging, home remodel, meme, photos, skin care[/tags]

Posted by skeet @ 4:54 pm • Photos, Just stuff, Meme • 4 comments  

December 8, 2008

Christmas memories among the clutter

My grandmother started making stuffed Christmas ornaments for me when my son was a baby. She made a dozen or so the first year. Every few years she would add a few more to our collection. She created her own patterns and used fabric and supplies that she had on hand, so each ornament is unique.

The Christmas horse is my favorite. It’s had a place of honor, front and center, on each tree I’ve decorated since that first year. The red bandana fabric was a perfect choice. His saddle was cut from a foam meat tray and stitched on with star sequins. I need to find some more of those and replace a few that have been lost over the years.

I think my grandmother liked the mice best. There were several in the original collection and others joined them later. I lost several of them to real mice and dampness when I lived in a tiny rental house and had only a dirt-floored garage for storage. After I started doing pest control she got a kick out of keeping my supplied with mice (perhaps because it’s hard to make cockroaches look cute.)

In the mid-eighties I had a bad fall in a warehouse I was servicing. My equipment gashed my leg as I fell, but the worst of it was a hard blow to the head. I had what I called “black headaches” for about a year afterwards. Grandma memorialized my accident with a bear festooned with appropriately placed bandages.

I’m still winnowing out things that aren’t worth taking with me when I move. Much of it goes into boxes for the garage sale I hope I’ll have time for and even more has gone out with the rubbish. Moving is helping me finally declutter my life, but some of my clutter is good stuff and will stay with me always. Grandma’s ornaments help me keep her memory close and remind me of the warmth and humor that defined her personality. They’re not clutter. They’re part of the fabric of my life.

[tags]Christmas ornaments, family, grandmothers, handcrafts, memories[/tags]

December 4, 2008

Owie!

It’s a given that moving from Hawaii to the mainland is an expensive proposition. I used an online calculator to work out estimated charges several months ago. The written quote I finally got today (several days after it was promised) is in the same ballpark. The company estimates my cost for moving from Oahu to Scurry, Texas, where I’ll be staying with a cousin while I shop for a new home, at close to $8000. Ouch! So much for hoping that I had over-estimated the cost.

This is the part that I wasn’t prepared for. Dealing directly with the shipping company (instead of a moving contractor) means that I have to find a trucker to get my container to the Port of Honolulu after I load it myself. I haven’t contacted local trucking firms yet, but I’m betting their fee will add another thousand to my costs. I’ve requested “door to door” quotes from some local moving firms, but they’ll be acting as middleman between me and the shipper, so I’m thinking their quotes will be even higher than the one I already have.

If I’d been able to move several months ago I’d have been able to pay for the move upfront. Unfortunately, living expenses over the last few months have severely depleted my reserves and I’ve had very little work coming in to replenish the coffers. I’ll have to put most of the moving expenses (plus airfare for myself and Lance) on my credit card. If I sell the house quickly and pay off the balance that won’t be so bad, but interests charges will be astronomical if I have to carry the blanace for an extended period of time. If finding a buyer takes too long I might even end up having to rent the house out. I don’t have any experience managing a rental property (unlike the experts at Outer Banks rentals) so I’d have to hire a local property management firm to do that for me - more expenses to be paid out before I get settled and start making money again. Can you say “nightmare?”

I keep repating my mantra, but it’s not working very well right now. Maybe if you chant along with me? Okay, everyone - all together now: It’s only money. It’s only money. It’s only money …

[tags]Hawaii, moving expenses[/tags]

September 16, 2008

More fun with words

Y’all know I love to play with words. I’ve had ongoing games of Scrabulous since I first found the site a few months ago. JenX and I spend a day or two on each game, depending on the amount of time we each have to devote to it, then start a new game as soon as each game finishes. I compose painfully bad limmericks and puns for the sheer joy of bending words to my will. Don’t ask - I won’t share them. I introduced you to Wordle, where the beauty of words is translated into visual art. I’ve probably mentioned a website that I think is called There Their. I can’t find the link, so if you know what I’m talking about and can hook me up, please do. (Allow me to pause for a moment of silence in memory of all the great bookmarks I lost when my computer succumbed to a virus.) EDIT: Found it! ThereTheir.com

I appreciate the beauty of well-chosen words. Poor grammar and spelling annoy me, but the humor that can emerge for mangled English does not escape me. Today I found a new website that shines a spotlight on crimes against language: Wordsplosion [sic] - Showcasing the best of the worst of the wide world of words. The temptation is to quote some of the misquotes on the site or to do screen caps of a couple of the photos that illustrate them, the better to tempt you into visiting. I just can’t. You need to go there. Smirk. Laugh. Feel superior. You know you are.

For the record: there is no “A” in definitely.

Image created in Wordle using the text of this post.

[tags]grammar, English, word usage, word misusage, Wordsplosion[/tags]

September 13, 2008

Virtually me - or you!

Y’all wanna have some fun? I’ve been playing around at My Virtual Model and that’s me over there at the left. Okay, it’s not a perfect replica, but it was created based on my size, shape and coloring. I selected the hairstyle that’s closest to how I actually wear mine, and then each wardrobe item, right down to the slippahs (flip flops) that I wear more than any other shoes. There are no eyeglasses on the site. You’ve never seen me without my glasses (and probably never will,) so just pretend, okay? While no one would mistake my model for the real me, she’s close enough to use for some virtual fitting and shopping. I can dress her in different styles and see how each would look on my body type, a real help when you’re buying clothes online and can’t try them on.

I’ve apparently been to the site before today. I had an identity there that I don’t remember signing up for, so I guess it’s been a while since I visited. I went there today at the prompting of Two Shrinking Sisters, a new blog that just kicked off yesterday. Penny and Tina have decided to unite in sisterhood and weight loss. They’ll chart their progress with weekly weigh-ins and occasional photos. Tina is also using before, progressive and after (goal) virtual models to get her motivation up. Penny will have a noticable weight loss soon - she’s going to be a mom in about a month. She and her sis will share their diet and exercise routines as well as some of what motivates and inspires them. I really admire their determination and their willingness to put themselves out there. They’d appreciate some support and encouragment on their journey, so why don’t you go on over there now and give them each an “Atta girl!”

[tags]blogs, diet, health, weight loss[/tags]

August 28, 2008

Office chores

I’m really awful about keeping up with all of the things I should do as a business owner. I seriously hate office chores. If I could just do my inspections and issue my reports I’d love my job. There’s all this other stuff that needs doing though, and I neglect most of it horribly. That’s why I’m rather proud of the productive day I had yesterday. This morning, for the first time in months, there was no filing piled up on my work table, waiting for me to set it in order & put it away. There are also no checks waiting to be entered into the books and prepared for deposit. How far behind was I? The photo above is a clue. A few of them don’t show, but those are the twenty checks that have been waiting patiently for my attention. Most of them are payments from escrow companies for my inspection services. Five of them are tax refunds. Yep - five tax checks. Remember how stressed I was about filing my taxes so late? I’d been paying my taxes quarterly (fed) or semi-annually (state) as a good little business owner is required to do, but I neglected to file my taxes on time. I hadn’t kept good track of things, so I wasn’t sure if I still owed a bunch on taxes until the refunds started coming in. Turns out I payed more than was due for 2006 and 2007 to both the IRS and the State of Hawaii, so both of them sent me separate checks for each year. Uncle Sam was also kind enough to send my econoimic stimulus check, which I was afraid might be witheld as a penalty for filing late.

I hate fooling with money. It doesn’t matter whether it’s coming in or going out, I hate to fool with it. When I first started my business I rushed to the bank with deposits as soon as checks came in. After a while I realized that was inefficient, so I started logging payments as they came in, but going to the bank once a week. Then maybe once every two weeks. Then I started letting them accumulate and didn’t log them in until I was ready to go to the bank - once every three or four weeks. When I started opening mail yesterday I was more than a little chagrinned to realize that some of the checks were postmarked six weeks ago. Obviously not acceptable! I’m adding a new vow to my list of “things I will improve on.” My checks are all tallied up and my deposit slip is filled out. As soon as I’m through with this post I’m going to head to the bank. I’ve made a committment to my business: in the future all office chores will be cleared away a minimum of once a week. I’m getting better at keeping my life and my business organized. This is just one of many areas where I’ve failed in the past. I’m putting it out here in front of all of you to impress upon myself that this needs to be something that I take seriously and address in a business-like manner. I almost asked you to wish me luck, but that would be ridiculous. Keeping my business running smoothly doesn’t need luck, it needs my committment, so let’s just leave it at that. I’m committed to doing better.

[tags]banking, business, business chores[/tags]

August 11, 2008

Almost Tuesday Teaser

Okay, okay - it’s not much of a puzzle after you look for a moment, but you did a double take, didn’t you, wondering what that was?

We have a morning routine that does not include Lance staying in bed. He sleeps near my feet and usually bounds out of bed a moment or two after me. He lets himself out through the doggie door-flap, then comes back in a few moments later. Sometimes he parks himself in the kitchen where he can watch me make coffee, just in case I deviate from the norm and make food magically appear early in the day. Most days he goes straight to the couch and gets comfortable in “his” spot. When I’ve poured my first cup and carried to the couch he shifts slightly, just enough to put his head on my lap for his first nap of the day. We sit in quiet companionship until the first cup is empty, the caffeine has kicked in and I’m ready to start my day.

This morning I was halfway through my first cup when I realized Lance hadn’t come back in. I decided there must be some great adventure outside that needed exploring and left him to it. After pouring my second cup I carried it down the hall to the office, put it beside the desk, turned on the computer and went though my room to the bathroom. I face the bed as I come out of the bathroom and this time I noticed the sheet moving. A little tent poked up, then … thump … disappeared. Pause. Thump … thump! Walking around the bed I saw the scene above and only then realized that Lance had abandoned the morning routine completely. The thumping increased to a staccato beat as he wagged his tail in happy delirium, very pleased with himself for having successfully hidden from Mom, but equally ecstatic that I was approaching and it was time for the first tummy rub of the day. Goofy beagle! Or maybe he was just being lazy. He’s getting a little pudgy around the middle. Wonder if they make Leptovox for beagles? Maybe he needs to shed a pound or two so he can get back to being his usual self. Ah, we’ll see what happens tomorrow before doing anything drastic. Lance and me, we’re creatures of habit and neither of us is crazy about change. He’ll probably be on the couch waiting for me tomorrow morning when the coffee is ready.

[tags]beagle, dogs, photos, routines[/tags]