My Week Off is Over

I have to say I did a damn good job on my week off.  M. came over today and couldn't believe how much stuff is gone.  Those FreeCycle people are great.  They actually show up when they say they will.  You should check them out. And no, that is not my shelves in the pic. :)

My next door neighbors took away the humongous entertainment center that I bought when I was like 22 years old.  It was probably my first major purchase as an adult (outside of the crappy bed and car I bought) that I was so excited to have done.  Eventually it became the albatross around my neck.  But it's gone now!

I've also cleared away about 80-85% of the knick knacks I have around the house; including the magnets on the fridge.  It looks so naked around here.  M. says the fridge looks bigger now that the magnets are gone.  Maybe it was slouching under the weight of them.

I didn't work on any of my eBay stuff this last week, but I think that focusing on the clean out was what I needed to do.  Now that there is a lot of clear space hopefully I can focus on other things.  I'm probably going to take a break from cleaning out for a month or so. I'll start to focus on other things.

I'm still waiting to hear from PERS about my possible air time purchase.  It looks like I might be able to afford a couple of years of extra time.  That will kick me over the 30 year mark since I'll have 22 years at MVPL and 6.5 years at SVPL. Not too shabby for someone who is only 50 years old. 

Lest you think all I did was work hard, I also played computer games, read books, and watched a bit of television.  It was a very relaxing five days in spite of the work.  I'm almost looking forward to work...ok, maybe not completely. But I do miss a few people so I'll be showing up tomorrow.

Piles O'Stuff Everywhere!

Ok, while that is not my pile of junk in the picture, I feel like it could be.  I got a late start today but have made up for it in spades.  As in shoveling out the stuff as much as I could.

I have emptied a VCR cabinet. And yes, I still had one of those. I'll be putting that out on the curb tonight.  I went through all my PC games (no easy feat I assure you) and culled the collection once again.

The stuff that went back on the bookcase and is all nice and orderly now.  And I'm sure you're not surprised to hear that it is in alphabetical order.  

I really thought I was going to get rid of that bookcase today, but apparently I still am not ready to let go of it.  I've had that bookcase since I was about 10.  I remember sitting on the floor in front of it putting in my Nancy Drew books when the bookcase suddenly folded in on itself from the weight of the books.  I was hip deep in books and bookcase bits.

Fortunately, I was able to put the bookcase back together.  It's made out of real maple wood.  It's scarred like you would imagine, but maybe someone will be able to refinish it someday.  I don't believe it's ready for the landfill quite yet.

The shed has been cleaned out and is ready for more stuff.  Everything in the shed (except shipping supplies) is coming with us.  Now I have some space to move more bins of things out of the house. I still have a long ways to go before even one room can be called 'showroom ready' for a new buyer.

To Buy a New Car or Not to Buy a New Car?

That's the question on my mind right now.  And when I say new, I actually mean used.  I don't want to end up with big car payments for the next five years.  I'd almost given up on the idea of changing cars because I couldn't find anything I liked that also got good consumer ratings.  Then I realized the answer was right in front of me.  The Toyota Rav4 (Laura's car) and the Honda CR-V (Rose's car) have great potential.

When we live in ABQ we hope to have a business or two or three.  We haven't really decided what yet, but I do know that I want to continue my eBay in one form or another.  I love going to auctions, estate sales, and yard sales.  They have plenty of these in New Mexico.  M. and I hope to have an eBay business together that focuses on the region, one way or another.  

All of our ideas require a car with some carrying room in it.  These two cars definitely qualify. Oh, and the higher clearance on these cars will be great when we go out on dirt roads to the various pueblos we want to see.

I absolutely love my PT Cruiser but it's got over 85,000 miles on it now.  I'm not sure how much more 'mileage' I'm going to get out of it.  I plan on talking to M. about these two models to see what she thinks.  Then maybe I'll check out the credit union to see what kind of loans they are offering these days.

I'm thrilled to find out that my mom is actually reading my blog!  And I'm sure she is just as thrilled to hear that I'm getting rid of my stuff. lol  I'll keep on it, I promise, mom!!

Changes Before Other Changes

Since today was a work day, and the first day of Daylight's Saving Time, I didn't get much of anything done today.  I did at least find out who owned the next box of eBay stuff I opened this evening.  I'm getting down to the part of the pile that has been there so long that I practically need some kind of retro-memory therapy to bring back the reasons all that crap is piled up there.

We have a new director coming to our work place in the next few weeks.  This will be a major change for all of us.  It's interesting because part of me is excited (and worried) about what this new person will mean to us.  But the larger part of me feels almost divorced from the whole situation since I know that I won't be there very long.  I mostly worry about what this means for the people I care about, the people I'll leave behind.

I feel like I can handle whatever may come.  Feeling this separation makes me feel as though I'm insulated from whatever happens.  For the record, it won't matter if the director is the perfect saint, I'm still going.  I already learned from my years at another place of employment that only leaving cures severe burnout, nothing less will work.

Catching You Up

To catch you up on what I have done so far... I am mainly focusing on the house in California right now. In order to leave in mid-January I will need to have sold the house by then. My plan (thanks to my friend Izzy) is to hopefully sell the house in about October but to actually rent it back from the buyer for a few months. The rent I pay will serve as part of their down payment; hopefully making it easier for them as well as me.

This means the house has to be ready to sell by September/October, if not earlier. I need to put new flooring in before then. I have my work cut out for me!

I have sold the guest bed in order to make room for some organizing. I was able to move some eBay boxes right away which has allowed me to start going through some books on my bookcases. I gave away a small book case through Freecycle, 6 boxes of unsuccessful eBay items, and about 50 books of mine. I also sold two of my paint by number paintings through CraigsList.

Yesterday I gave Rose my Dark Shadows book set. I also promised Amy and Fran my Weber BBQ grill and my outdoor patio furniture. I will continue to list more things on FreeCycle, CraigsList, & eBay.

I have to admit that it feels both cathartic and weird to be getting rid of my stuff this way. It makes me look at my stuff differently. It's not at all painful which I thought it would be. I sold my paint by number paintings for less than I got them, but it feels like this is more about finding my stuff new homes where they will be loved than making back my money. I enjoyed them while they were here and now it is time for someone else to enjoy them. I hope this feeling continues as I let go of more possessions.

Welcome to Leavin' 4 ABQ

As many of my friends and family know, my life is about to change dramatically in the next year. I am retiring, selling my home in California, and I am moving to New Mexico to live with my girl-spouse with our three cats and dog in the home that is waiting for us there in Albuquerque.
 
There is so much going on that I decided I wanted to chronicle our adventure for myself and for those who know me. I hope to share with you not only the actual 'doings' of preparing for retirement, but also my thoughts and feelings as that final day at work and my new life arrives.


So, I hope you'll join me by following along with our adventures through this blog. Also, knowing my friends as well as I do, I hope you'll share your thoughts, comments, and yes, even advice as you read what I post.