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I'm free until mid August

June 19th, 2023 at 07:57 pm

I'm free until mid-august so between music in the park, farmers market and a few low cost travels, I'm just going to enjoy the summer. Winter was tough and now it seems that summer is hot. Staying up late to finish homework has switched my days around but I'm hoping to figure out how to wake up early and enjoy the cooler part of the day. 

I'm waiting on one last class but I expect that the final tally of classes will be 5 As and 1 A- which I actually should have received a lower grade but oh, well. I won't tell the Professor to lower it. 

We've got one camping weekend planned with friends with campfire and biking. More to come. 

I do have to get my commuter cars AC fixed because it's miserable without it. 

Hope you are all doing well. 

 

It's been a while

March 13th, 2023 at 08:33 pm

So in my layoff I've been able to take advantage of the "re-training" which means that if I take 6 graduate classes, I could teach in that discipline in a community college. I'm taking 4 this spring semester and will take 2 come summer. I will also be paid spring and summer for this. They cover the tuition and I cover fees and books. I will be able to register for my classes starting this week. 

One of the classes was a travel study to Costa Rica which I just returned from, it was a marvelous time with wonderful people both in Costa Rica and also the folks I traveled with. I tried to add a picture but I kept getting an error.

Friday I had a first round telephone intervew, I hope to that it results in a second interview. I was a little anxious because it was while I was in Costa Rica but it worked out well. It would be great if I could seemlessly slide into a new position. 

My kid and their spouse also traveled to Japan for two weeks while I was gone. They returned the same day but just a few hours earlier than I did. Such busy times. 

While I'm currently still getting paid, we're trying to squirrel all the funds we can for when I'm not working.  I'll also be getting all my sick time paid out which will be a fair amount and that will be saved as well.

Taxes filed and state and Fed refunds received, squirreled most of that too. I'm glad that interest rates are high right now. 

 

 

The weather

December 23rd, 2022 at 05:08 pm

We live north and I'm sure you all have heard about the weather. We were on our way back home when things hit, we're waiting it out in a hotel until the worst of it has passed. While we were gone, it was easy not to think about anything but on our way back everything is coming to the forefront with work. I don't know why I'm stressing, I just need to let it be what it is. We will be traveling on the big holiday and might have to adjust our driving because of the weather. Thankfully the family back home has adjusted the gathering so we're not missing anything. We'll get there when we get there, no rush. 

The visit down south was lovely and we brought our little ebikes so we had a good time. While it wasn't super warm for those folks that live there, we enjoyed it very much. I suppose it's kinda like what we could expect in retirement. 

 

I hope everyone else stays warm and safe and it's impacted too much by the weather. Happy Holidays to you all!

Whoa...things can change

November 2nd, 2022 at 01:23 am

Last week on Monday, I received an email notification from our HR for an appointment with them the following day, a week ago Tuesday and when you get that kind of notification, you know it can't be good. Apparently, I'm being laid off. Thank goodness it's not the first time so I've been through something like this before, I know the decision is a bad decision made by someone who doesn't know anything about me personally. It's someone who claimed to support the work that I do but obviously not. We are going to be so critically understaffed that it's not even funny. When I first started working there almost 15 years ago, there was a total of 5.5 people working there and now it will be 2. To be honest, I'm glad I'm being made to leave and I'm not one that is left behind. I've received an outpouring of love and support from my coworkers and immediate bosses who have said such wonderful and kind things. Thankfully for our #UnionStrong, I've got options and I will be using them. There's enough notification and options that if my first plan doesn't work out, I'll try another and another and another before I figure it out. I know that I will be okay and land on my feet even if these feet won't know what they are doing yet or where they will be. 

If I'm not able to return in any capacity, I will be sad and I think it's a horrible decision that will have long ramifications to the organization but they didn't ask me. 

I will be heading back for more schooling and pushing myself beyond my comfort zone to other things. I'm grateful for the opportunities that I have and I know I have more to give so I look forward to what's ahead. 

And they are back!

December 8th, 2020 at 05:46 pm

The kids on back on home ground again. They have quite a few stories to tell. The GF had worked in apartment management and experienced three deaths during her short time (probably 18 months) the last two of them being in the last 6 months. They are back in flyover country and rents are half of what they were paying on the coast. I think that definitely brings my son a bit of relief to figure out their next steps in life. I guess I'm a bit suprised at how much I'm enjoying watching them figure out their next steps. We saw them on Sunday and brought them a few pieces of furniture we were going to get rid of and some homecooked food. I expected they would be eating fast food and pizza delivery during their move and travels. They were grateful and it warmed my heart that I could meet one of their needs. 

We've mostly had unseasonably warmer weather except for a early snow but things are about to change on Friday. I'm not looking foward to it but I'm as prepared as I'll ever be. Mostly when I walk, I start out a little chilly but by the time I'm on my way back home, I'm warm. 

I did order an adjustable stand up desk because working from home, my wrists feel it. I can't adjust my chair and don't want to get rid of my desk but I need an additional one. I expect to be working from home for at least another 6+ months. 

 

test

October 26th, 2020 at 08:50 pm

test

Got some groceries

April 2nd, 2020 at 10:25 pm

We have symptoms in our household consistent with the virus but mild. It's not me, I feel fine. I walked to our local grocery store Wednesday night (I think). I also had to pick up some rx for prednisone. I wore a mask and washed my hands as soon as I got home. Today i had to go to work to get a new headset for working form home. They left it outside for me to pick up. I stopped by Aldi for a last bit of groceries and we should be good for another couple of weeks. While I was there I left a gf card of $20 for folks that might be a few dollars short with the cashier. On my way out, I also found someone's debit card on the ground in the parking lot. Normally I would have dropped it off at the bank it was issued but I know that wouldn't be helpful if the owner needed access to cash right now. She'd get a replacement in 7-10 business days. I left it with the manager and hope she'll return for it.
We have no loans, no mortgage and I'm still working and getting paid. I know how darn lucky we are. I hope we all get through this ok. This reinforces why I've done my life this way. I hope that this experience doesn't push me to be more extreme about it.

Sights on the future

April 1st, 2019 at 06:08 pm

We're looking forward to our move. We discovered that to avoid capital gains tax, we can't sell the house we're currently in until end of April 2020. We're so ready to move. The market is crazy where we want to move towards but we have an idea of what we want. I think 9/2019 we're going to get pre-qualified which won't be a problem. We have no debt and can probably come up with 20% down payment. I'm guessing an ARM should be fine because our plan would be to buy in October or November and close in December or January. Do a slow move in Feb or March with the house put on the market by March and then sold and close by end of April. That's my hope. I hope that buying something in the slow period and selling at the start of the high market will allow us to benefit.

Anyone have any thoughts about that? Know any special tricks or finance vehicles? Our current home is paid off and we're trying to stay in the same budget but with realtor fees and closing costs, that might be a bit tough. We'll see depending on what we buy and where we can sell at...

We've put up our small travel trailer for sell. Lots of interest in the less than 24 hours but we'll see how many actually come an look at it. After that, it's a partially restored mid 30s Ford Farm truck. I need that OUT of my garage. It was my Dad's project and he's been gone 10+ years but it's still painful to deal with. I wish a really nice person would come along. Cross your fingers as we deal with that.

slow but sure

January 29th, 2018 at 03:01 pm

Rooms all painted, flooring installed. We now are dealing with serious cleaning and repair of the bathrooms and kitchen. I was able to get the upstairs bathroom sink to plug up and then replace a gasket in the tub so it would also plug up so we could clean the jets. It's clean but there is mineral build up so we're going to have to soak some vinegar rags in the jets. The downstairs bathroom needs work. The shower stall has a hole and is cracked. I went to the company we bought it from and it's no longer made so we're going to have to replace the whole thing. We got a few quotes and we're going with the guy my wife thought was the most easy going, happens to be the cheapest price. Although, this weekend she saw the Frankie and Grace episode where the contractor take the money and all the copper pipes so she's nervous. I think it will be ok.

What we have to start doing is getting packed up. We're probably going to have to hire someone because most of the folks who have helped us have already been very generous and our friends are getting up there in age or have medical issues. Soon we can start bringing over car loads but the big stuff like a sleeper couch we have will need stronger hands. I expect we'll be in within 6 weeks. It should take a day or two to fix up the townhouse for sale.

slowly but surely

January 8th, 2018 at 11:26 pm

We have access to the house. There has been some damage. The carpet in the master bedroom, hallway and lower level bedroom have all been ruined by the dogs. The master bedroom door is scratched up, basement door is completely missing, the lower level bathroom has a cracked and hole in the shower stall, I looked into this and it seems that it can't be replaced separately so I might have to install a new shower. I just looked it up and it has been discontinued but they direct me to replacement...I wonder if that will work? There's also a small utilitarian light fixture that is broken. I'm trying to work with my management company to help me claim all of the deposit (1 month rent plus $500 for dogs) and I'll put it into the repairs. I know that it will cost more than that but I just want to move forward.

It needs a deep cleaning...

We have pulled up and recycled almost all of the carpet ($20 for 2 truckloads), 2 bedrooms are painted. We have a carpet installer coming to measure for the carpet which is from a wholesaler.

We're starting to purchase used furniture and etc. I expect we'll start to move in within a few weeks to a month. I'll do some repairs to the townhouse and then put that on the market. It's a sellers market so I'm looking forward to being in the big house with the mortgage paid off.

Seeking thoughts and feedback

December 26th, 2017 at 01:25 am


Background:
My wife and I have been living in a small 2 bedroom townhouse (no mortgage) in the metro area and walking distance to my job. We are planning to return to our 3 bedroom 2 bath house (almost 30k remaining on the mortgage) (30 miles away) that we’ve been renting for the last 3 years to the same renter with the purpose of doing foster care. I will be largely the sole income and while I know foster care does some reimbursement, we know it won’t be a lot. I’m 48, my wife is 54. I’ve got good retirement but am too young to retire especially with health insurance being such an unknown. We have no big plans beyond the next two years at least. I also think that while we’ve lived for 18 months in 800 square feet, long term we need more space.
Additionally, I’ve got shared ownership (with my two sisters) of a small 1 bedroom cabin (no mortgage) on 40 acres (no lake) 2 hours away. They are no longer interested in owning it and so I need to buy them out. The tax assessed value is almost 100k. One sister wants the buy out in one lump sum and the other is open to payments.
What I need help on is trying to figure out once we have re-located to the house, what do I want to do with the townhouse. There is no mortgage and bought it 5 years ago and it’s tripled in value.
Question and other details…
Once we’ve fully moved into the house and the townhouse is empty, I am trying to figure out what to do with it. I see two options rent or sell, perhaps you have another idea?

Renting option:

If I rent it, between property taxes, HOA, renter management (I don’t want to deal with it) I might clear around $500 a month. I could use this to make payments to one sister and pay on a loan for the lump sum payout for the other one. The benefit is that I would hold on to the property and we could always move back into it down the road….but we might not want to go that small again. We have dreamed about using it as a home base while traveling extensively in an RV once we’re older. It’s one level, walking distance to my current job of 10 years, and supposed to be on the light rail line eventually (maybe 5 years) and very easy to close up and leave for long periods of time. When we rent a property, we’re always at risk for damage, including a built in oak Murphy bed in the living room area.

Sale option:

If I sell it, the proceeds will be used to pay off mortgage on the house, pay lump sum to sister for the cabin and balance to other sister and any balance set to payment schedule. If I sell it, it would also free up some of my cash flow during the month because I wouldn’t be paying property taxes and HOA fees (on the townhouse) or mortgage (on the house). We would also lose the Murphy bed because it’s too expensive to move. This would simplify all the property we own from three down to two.

Bonus question:

The cabin was started by our father before he was killed. It’s very sacred space to me and has annual expenses of approximately $5000 between taxes, insurance and operating expenses. Some of the land is rented for agricultural purposes and we gain somewhere between $1500 (corn crops) or $600 (hay crop). Unfortunately, we are only out there approximately 6-12 times a year. My life is too busy to do much more and I feel like we should leverage this space a bit more. We’ve thought about Airbnb or VRBO and the challenge is that we’d have to either hire someone to manage it or at the very least clean after each guest. It would require very special guests to stay as it’s small and simple. Electric and water but minimal cooking facilities and no internet. It might be really nice for a writer or artist as get away. Many people might be interested in renting it for hunting but my Dad was against hunting and I want to hold the land as my father would have wanted to. I do realize at some point, I might have to let the cabin go but I’m not quite ready to do that yet.

Let me know if you have questions and thanks for your thoughts….

New used car purchase

December 12th, 2017 at 08:02 pm

I bought a Honda Fit, it was the first time I spent more than $3200 on a car (except for when I bought the truck from my Dad's estate). I looked at a private party's car over the weekend but it had more damage than he indicated. Thankfully, I've got a good mechanic that checked it out. He recommended that I find one at a dealer because then I know it's been looked over and not a salvage title. I knew I would have to pay more but I guess it was worth it. I found one that was a manual transmission and the price was dropping. I also ended up calling Costco's auto service which automatically got me $200 off. I also get 50% off a repair up to $100. It was totally worth it! I'm glad I checked it out. I prefer manual transmission but it's been a while and it has a feature that I can monitor my mpg which I hope I will adapt to because otherwise I focus too much on it.

In 19 days the renter will be out of the house and we'll be able to go check it out. I sure hope it's not too trashed and we won't need to do too much work to repair it. I'm looking forward to the simple things like a dishwasher and much better water. I think I will actually enjoy the commute too, a chance to listen to podcasts and audiobooks. What are your favorite podcasts? I used to listen to Dick Gordon - The Story which I LOVED, sadly, he returned to Canada. I like The Moth radio hour, dinner party download(for as much as I've heard it), This American Life (of course!).

I'm going on holiday break soon, 3 days after today.