Living Proof

Every one of us have to go through some type of adaption phase, whether it’s a change of job, relationship or moving to a new location. Whatever it is, it’s not always easy. For some, it can be a relief - a happiness - ‘a long time coming’ type of transition, and for others, it can be the most frightening experience ever. Everyone’s different. I’ve done every one of these transitions mentioned above and I have come out of it alive, thank God. During the transition, it probably would have been best to wrap me up in a straight jacket and throw me in a padded room. Job change, relationship change, moving - all of those require time to adjust. All of them require patience. All require work - work towards sanity at some point. It’s especially difficult for me since I have zero patience and want everything done asap. ...Unrealistic. Since we have moved over to our new location, there have been a ton of things done, as far as renovating, which took time, money, patience, blood and sweat. Yo...

So far so good. Slowly but surely. I can spit out every cliche about the process of moving, getting the old place cleaned up and getting the new place renovated and freshened up. But I do have many complaints about it and I will try the best I can to put a positive spin on it... If you’re going to come to the house and give me a “free” estimate, do not change it. Your estimate should be solid. You have looked at your ‘to do’ list and now you have just given somebody a price for your hard work. Be consistent. Don’t say, “Well, it was more work than expected so I had to add an extra $300 to it.” That’s just bad business. If you’re truly a professional and you’re out there giving “free” estimates, be truthful. I’ll even pay for the “free” estimate just for you to be honest. Our floor guy ripped out part of the carpet, not all like we asked him to. So, from $300 to do everything, he said that it would be $600 ---MORE! So he left us pulling up the carpet ourselves, as well as the million...

It’s a beautiful night as I sit here on my deck typing on my laptop. I’m going to miss this place in some ways. Although I bitched and moaned about my surroundings, regarding neighbors, fires, police, etc., etc., this was a cute little nest for the time being. I finally fixed my bee problem two weeks before I have to move out. I even had the HOA do some tree trimming around the area where it banged the crap out of my a/c unit and left us with sleepless nights. We just got a new boiler too after all the times it conked out on us, leaving us to bathe the old fashioned way. But here I sit, gazing at the mountains on my little deck with a glass of wine, listening to the neighbors down below laughing and talking amongst themselves. My thoughts trickle back into our first years here. We brought together many people in this little condo. All the parties, all the dinners, all the times someone needed a place to stay - it was a little haven. I’m going to miss the woman across the street who goe...