I left work Thursday early to meet the painting contractor at the house. Kerri has used him before and had nothing but glowing things to say which was a strong enough recommendation for me. Frank showed up within minutes of our agreed upon time which instantly wins points with me since so many contractors put punctuality on the optional list. The scope of work in the house is huge. I am looking at having him paint all the walls and ceilings inside the house as well as paint the complete exterior of the house. The exterior painting is motivated by a small area of spider cracking on the east wall which follows the mortar line of the cinder blocks. There is no real clean way to fix and paint just that spot without it sticking out like a sore thumb. This also gives me the opportunity to change the color of the house, something I was entertaining ever since the metal roof was installed. Of course I will lean heavily on Kerri to assist on color selection both inside and out as her eye for this sort of thing is far better than my own.
As we walked the inside of the house it became clear that there will be a TON of work required to get the house ready to be painted inside. Walls need to be cleared, closet hardware needs to be removed and rooms need to be emptied. I have roughly a month to do it but there is no doubt the amount of labor to get there is going to extreme.
The way to tackle these sort of tasks is in bite size chunks, going one room/space at a time. The worst room by far will be the hobby room that has all of the 3D and PEV hardware in it as well as a ton of related tools, parts, and stuff. Of course I know it can be done, when I set my sights on something I can be pretty relentless until it is complete. Today I got the quote for the work back from Frank and I felt it was very reasonable. The outside of the house is supposed to get done the week of January 21st with the interior going down a week later.
I played pickleball twice in the span of 15 hours. Last night Kerri and I played with some friends of hers down in East Naples. This morning we played at the new park near the house. It was the first time I saw all of the courts in use, ever. Kerri and I played as a doubles team this morning and didn’t lose which I think is a first. We play together so much that we have become a half decent mixed doubles combo.
Before playing this morning we de-Christmased the house. Doing it before New Years is an extreme rarity in my world but the focus on house prep has sort of eroded the foundation of what used to be yearly traditions. Since I had only a couple things outside the entire process did not take much more than an hour.
This afternoon I started digging in seriously to the multitude of tasks at hand. One of the comments the realtor made was the brighter you can make the living space, the better. Along those lines Kerri and I bought a new LED fixture for the kitchen to replace the original fluorescent light. I was able to reach the ceiling easily with my 6 foot ladder. Being tall is useful at times. Without much hassle I was able to disconnect and take down the old light. However I stopped there, wanting to wait until Kerri could help me eyeball the placement of the LED light to make sure it looks straight.
I then set my sights on the hanging pot rack, something again that has adorned the space for many years. I never thought it visually was attractive but it did serve a purpose of making commonly used pots and pans readily available. However I didn’t need any convincing that the visual of the space would look better with it’s subtraction so down it came.
Finally I went around the high display areas of the room and removed basically everything. 90% of it was either in the donate pile or thrown away. Once I became single I never went through this stuff to evaluate if I really needed or wanted it. That evaluation has now been completed. Clearing those items have made the main living space feel much more open. There are other things to come down like pictures but I felt I made some solid progress for day one.
So you may ask me how I am feeling so far sterilizing my living space. I think at least right now I am more focused on the end result so it doesn’t give me much time to dwell on the subtractions. If that will continue to be the case throughout is yet to be seen. I also am likely to get one of those pods to reside in my driveway and hold things that will move with me eventually. Having a place to put things, even temporarily as needed could prove to be very useful, although not cheap.
I am also aware that I could do all of these things and the house does not sell, although I think there are enough unique and attractive things to my property which should appeal to buyers. But, if that would work out to be the case, that’s ok. I don’t HAVE to sell. Regardless I think it is to my advantage to reduce, remove, and optimize my existence so if an opportunity arises I am in the position to take it.
Yesterday I finally got around to posting my pictures from the California trip to social media. The picture you see to the left was one of them, a box of oatmeal. I forgot to include the story about this oatmeal in the gigantic trip brain dump so here it is now.
On our first night in Cali Kerri and I had the night to ourselves so we decided to explore Downey, via foot and Uber. One of the first places we visited was a grocery store as we wanted to have some sort of breakfast food in our luxurious (tongue firmly in cheek) Air BnB. After wandering around a bit we decided on a box of oatmeal, a solid choice. What wasn’t a solid choice was our decision to do this early in the evening.
We didn’t want to waste a bag so I carried the oatmeal around as the box was too big to shove into any pocket. So the oatmeal had a very exciting evening as it got carried around the streets, into an ice cream shop, rode along in several Uber trips, went into the lobby of a facility with soft pretzel Christmas ornaments, and even sat on the table at a Mexican sports bar/dance club as we drank massive margaritas. It was the source of repeated laughs for Kerri and I. It did actually make for a good breakfast option as well although heating it in the microwave that kept blowing the circuit was a bit frustrating for Kerri.
Today is the last day of my brutally long two day work week. I took tomorrow off and the office is closed on Monday giving me another extended weekend. I plan to take down the Christmas decorations over the weekend which should take less time than normal due to less being put out this year. I also expect the decluttering process to begin in earnest.
Another suggestion that was given was having a brighter light in the kitchen. On Monday Kerri and I picked up a LED fixture to replace the ugly but effective florescent fixture in the kitchen. Depending how safely I can reach the spot on my ladder, I may try to do that swap out as well.
Late this afternoon the painter Kerri knows is supposed to be out at the house to work up an estimate on everything that needs to be done. If we can get something on the schedule it will put some definitive lines in the sand as to when things need to be ready to go. Of course these lines have to be reasonably attainable for me. Finally, New Years Eve goes down Saturday night. Our plans are not laid out as of yet and will depend on several variables. Have a great New Years celebration with whomever in your circle of family and/or friends you choose to celebrate with.
I forgot to mention yesterday how Kerri already has been paying dividends in what will be a massive home clean up process. She is a minimalist in a lot of ways, something I definitely am not. Being this way she loves to sort, throw out and organize, a skill set that will prove to be very valuable over the upcoming weeks. She has already used that talent to clean up my pantry, bar area and guest bedroom. Much like my wardrobe, I have given her the green light to suggest improvements throughout the house. Of course I will always want to have my stuff, the goal is to keep stuff that you actually use regularly while being able to let go of things that no longer serve any viable purpose.
Along those lines I have been looking with dread at my hobby room which is stuffed with 3D printers and PEVs, among other things. As you will see in my year end recap below below, my 3D store sales have dried up to minimal amounts this past year, so much so that I am considering shutting down the online store entirely. I could probably sell 3/4 of the printers I currently have without issue at this point. It will be just one of a multitude of changes coming.
Ok so let’s see if I can get the year in review knocked out. If you look at the 2021 recap, it’s pretty damn depressing. The cliff notes version is 2022 is much better.
As always let’s review last years goals.
On the home improvement front I finally bit the bullet and spent major dollars on getting the windows replaced with impact level hardware. I had talked about doing this for 5 years or more. That was the only big improvement, which is ok because of the cost. I mentioned the goal of paying down debt which I continued to do although as always I could have done more. With the potential for my housing situation to be changing which will be discussed further, I’m not sure how much focus I will be putting on home related debt until things are settled.
On the health and fitness front 2022 has been challenging. I had three more skin cancer surgeries, occurring over the span of one week. I had a “borderline” EKG at my yearly physical that sent me into a series of tests with a cardiologist that revealed nothing. I developed a small hernia that I was going to get fixed but canceled because of developing covid several days before the scheduled surgery. I had more testing done including a chest/abdomen CT to rule out significant illness as a cause for my 2022 weight loss and I continued to deal with knee/back pain issues. I went to a chiropractor for the first time to help with the back pain which thankfully has lessened since. So yea, I was kind of a mess. Throughout it all I have continued my fitness regimen which continues to be one of my stable footholds. Overall my fitness level is holding steady which is a win at 55 years old.
I mentioned traveling more in 2022, boy did I, specifically the idea of traveling to California which I actually just did. I had wanted to get out there for years. In addition I had the road trip to PA for Thanksgiving which I enjoyed as well. In July I went to upstate NY with my family and then visited Gladys in Roatan a couple weeks later. It was the most I have traveled in YEARS.
I also talked about the upcoming change of my job duties as my buddy retired in February which elevated me to the director of our department. The shift has morphed my responsibilities somewhat but the adjustment has not been too difficult. One of the first things I did was hire a woman for our team and she has been fantastic.
My final point was in regards to my thought about the possibility of future relationships. Last year at this time I was very hesitant to talk/think about future relationships because of the shrapnel associated with my last one. For a good portion of the year I kept my focus inward, working on being ok with the idea of being single, something foreign to me for most of my life. The last two months I have found myself in a relationship with Kerri that was unexpected but has been wonderful so far. I am grateful.
Ok let’s get on to the general recap, in no specific order.
This time last year I had four hens remaining. All four of them died this year of seemingly similar internal issues likely connected to parasites of some type, despite my efforts. Kathy was the last hen to die several months ago, whom roamed the chicken yard solo for months prior. I felt bad enough for her that I bought a fake chicken I named Helen which I moved around the coop area to try to keep Kathy company. The passing of each bird was a very sad moment for me as they have always been pets, not barnyard animals. I had absolute zero desire to rebuild a flock however. If you would have told me how chicken ownership was going to go 8 years ago I never would have entertained the idea. It was emotionally, financially, and logistically expensive with the side effect of making me hesitant to do anything that required being away from home for prolonged periods of time.
Elsa has been doing well although her last vet visit revealed she has gained a significant amount of weight over the last year. This is an unfortunate side effect of my new living situation. For all of her life she had someone home most days to keep her moving and active. Now I believe she sleeps all day when I am not home. I have been trying to get her out on more defined walks as well as cutting back on her food intake to get some lbs off.
Sadie has had a number of health challenges this year including continued difficulty with her joints as well as eye surgery which has left her with very limited vision. She recently had a series of seizures that made Ali and I think the end could be near but she seems to have stabilized recently. It’s sad for me to see her so limited at this stage of her life.
2022 has been the year where I picked up a new sport, pickleball. It started with my employee/buddy Rich and I playing and quickly escalated. Rich has dove in deeply to the sport playing much more than I have, resulting in a vast improvement in his game. I have improved as well for sure but I’m not investing the time/practice to become really good because it isn’t a priority for me. Kerri and I basically built our friendship around our lunchtime pickleball matches which is another huge bonus. She loves to play as well. I now own three high end paddles as well as other associated pickleball gear. It’s ironic as I once thought this sport was something exclusively for old people and sort of silly. I now am a certified pickleballer.
My PEV collection had some changes this past year. I sold my Sherman, Z10 and V11 in addition to giving my One Wheel XR to my brother-in-law. (he also bought the V11) I picked up the Kingsong S22, Begode T4, and EX20S. Those three purchases happened in a pretty narrow time frame and were mostly impulse driven and expensive buys. The reality is I just have not had the time to ride as I would like although if Kerri learns to ride it could be a fun addition to our list of things that could be done together.
I produced a LOT of YouTube content in 2022. My channel now has 1800+ and counting videos on it, a staggering amount. In addition I did significantly more live streaming this past year, mostly because I was single and had the time to do so. My channel has now crossed 13k subscribers which is inline with the slow and steady growth of the past couple years. Sure it would be nice to grow faster but I’m fine with it.
As part of my embracing single life I started going to bars/restaurants by myself this past year, something I never did before in my life. I found it actually sort of fun in a way. Sometimes I would find myself in random interactions with strangers, other times I may have only been talking to the bartender. I went to several movies myself as well. In addition I became closer with Gladys’s family this past year. Her oldest sister Monique and I hung out a number of times as friends. I also got Margaret’s adorable daughter, Leilani to finally trust me. Her cuteness level is off the charts.
As I mentioned earlier, my 3D store sales have continued their downward trend that started last year. It’s the end result of a lot of competition in the space now and my lack of motivation to do much about it. Unfortunately I now have a print farm that is mostly unused which will be one of things I will be addressing pretty soon. At it’s height the store generated more than 15K in a year. The extra money was nice at the time. Luckily I have been able to backfill the store loss of revenue with other income streams.
I mentioned the travel I did this year which was extensive compared to years prior. My first trip was to the Adirondacks in NY with my family. Spending that time in a very isolated, beautiful and peaceful environment was good for me. I absolutely adored getting to spend time with my nieces Cadence and Kennedy. The time I had to recharge and reflect by the lake was good for me.
The trip to Roatan to visit Gladys was memorable as well. The beauty of the tropical island was amazing. Gladys was a great host, showing me so many things and letting me experience what it is like to live there. The worst part of the adventure was arriving back in Florida with covid which kicked my ass hard for 3-4 days.
The Thanksgiving road trip was fun as well as I reconnected with a number of friends I had not had a chance to see in a long time. I was able to allocate more time on this trip than years past, allowing me to have these interactions with people that mean a lot to me. It felt great to be able to do so. The Thanksgiving dinner at my dad and step mom’s place was a lot of fun as well where I got to see Patrick along with Cadence and Kennedy again. The driving up and back was less fun. Since I no longer get free supercharging on my Tesla I’m not quite sure how apt I will be to drive instead of fly in the future.
Finally we just had the trip to California which had the last minute addition of Kerri to it. Having her out there with me made the trip take on an additional dimension and a good one at that. I finally got to meet my buddies Larry and Marty whom I have known online for many years. In addition I rode with a ton of great people who were ok with waiting for me as I struggled to keep up during some of the ride circuits. The holiday party Larry hosted was a warm and funny experience that both Kerri and I enjoyed. When I wasn’t riding Kerri and I had our own unique set of adventures that I feel helped deepen the bond between us.
I had the annoying reemergence of my nightmare Yellowstone drone experience from 2015 when I received a letter from the Wyoming attorney office that they showed the fine that I paid, wasn’t. Rectifying this took repeated effort and dealing with a woman with an overtly awful attitude that was unwilling to listen to any explanation from me. I was finally able to obtain bank records that affirmed what I told them, the fine was paid in full. I hope to never hear from them again.
Hurricane Ian had a massive and devastating impact on our area. The coastal areas of Collier saw massive storm surge when the forecast track changed dramatically within the final 24 hours. The Lee county coast was nearly obliterated from the surge. I was fortunate to escape any significant impact other than some landscape damage. I did not even lose power during the storm which is a miracle. The sad reality was so many others had their lives turned upside down when the clouds cleared. Most will still be dealing with the consequences of Ian for a long time to come.
On the automotive front there has not been much to report. My Model Y continues to hum along just fine. The only things I have needed to do to it during the past year was rotate the tires and add washer fluid. I finally slapped some new tires on the Tacoma which were overdue. I am happy with the RWL tires with more aggressive tread, so much so that I wish I made the change a couple years ago. I still have a deposit on a Cybertruck that is over two years old, who knows if it will ever pan out.
I know in years past I would dig deeper into the previous year entries but hell, if you are reading this there is a good chance you have a read a lot of those entries yourself already so I won’t bore you to death with regurgitating more of it. Let’s talk about this upcoming year.
I would certainly look towards having a year with less medical health issues/scares than 2022 contained. I already know I have another skin cancer spot behind my right ear that is going to have to be cut out. I also need to put a consistent effort into eating more and hydrating better. My body weight has sunk down to as low as it was when I was doing hard core calisthenics and running when I was single in 2012. In addition to clothing refresh and clutter reduction service Kerri has pledged to help me work on eating more, which I will do. I expect pickleball to be a growing part of my activities with gym and cycling contributing as well. If I can get my body to hold up I would love to try to play more volleyball with Kerri, the other sport she is passionate about, which I used to be.
Talking about future home improvements doesn’t make much sense as there is a strong possibility that during 2023 I may no longer be living in the place I have called home for almost the entire 21st century. That idea brings about a large mix of feelings in me but my main focus is how changing my living situation could have a substantial overall positive impact on my quality of life. At this stage of the game, that is what really matters, to me at least. This particular journey is sure to have a multitude of challenges along the way.
I hope to include travel as a more routine part of my existence. Kerri and I have talked about a number of possibilities that sound exciting and fun to me. Getting to see my family during the year is something I need to try to keep as a focus point as well. A lot of the tethers I felt in the past restricted me from traveling are no longer present with even more hopefully disintegrating as 2023 progresses.
My finances are going to see some realignment as well. I did a lot of impulse buying in 2022, especially with EUCs. That behavior needs to be better self regulated. I am blessed to be in a stable place financially but need to think about best use of my discretionary income. Of course I love new toys but when you have more toys than you have time to play with, what’s the point?
The last thing I always talk about are my personal relationship goals for the upcoming year. Last year this section was as dark and dreary as you can imagine based on what was going down. This year that attitude has been flipped on it’s head thanks to my relationship with Kerri. She is a beautiful person that I would love to continue building a bright future with. I think my nearly year and a half of struggle and self reflection/improvement has helped me become a more flexible, understanding and compassionate human being. It has been a good feeling looking forward instead of backward.
If you made it through this verbose year in review, thank you. I’ll never quite know why some people carve out small segments of their day to read the random thoughts that float around my head but I do appreciate each and every one of you. I hope 2023 holds opportunity, warmth and excitement for all.
I have had several inquiries from friends and family asking if everything is ok. The reason for the question is for the better part of the last two decades I would be sharing pictures and comments about whatever my Christmas experience that year contained. Today, December 27th, I posted Merry Christmas on my Facebook timeline, jokingly of course. It was the first thing I posted since the 24th, which was actually only a repost of a memory from 6 years prior. If you are pressed for time, the short answer to this mystery is, I’m busy. If you would like further explanation, continue reading.
Since returning from California things have been just hectic. Getting back a couple days before Christmas is less than ideal as any last minute holiday tasks needed to be tended to along with my normal desire to get things back to normal after being away. I am still working on obtaining the normalcy part. On Christmas Eve Kerri and I went to her parents place for a nice visit. Kerri prepared a charcuterie board there. I helped prep as I could while enjoying some of the wine that was on hand. Kerri’s son was there as well. I get along with her family and enjoyed spending Christmas Eve with them. I got to watch the end of the Eagles/Cowboys game while I was there. Unfortunately the Birds lost but it was a competitive game, especially considering Jalen Hurts was out.
I had an equally memorable Christmas with Kerri. She spoiled me with gifts and I also had a number of things my family had sent me as well. Kerri got me a bunch of badly needed clothing upgrades. I had previously given her the green light to help me redo my wardrobe which is admittedly out of style, worn and in dire need of refreshing. She seemed to like the gifts I picked out for her which I was happy to see. Even though we have only been together a couple months I think we both have absorbed a good sense of one another.
I also have to tell on myself. We had been so busy that I forgot to buy Elsa gifts. When I realized this on Christmas Eve I felt horrible. I wound up wrapping some of her existing toys. When she opened the first one she seemed excited. When she got to the next two she seemed less so. I will make it up to her.
Late morning we went back to Kerri’s parents for a Christmas brunch, again with Cory. Once again Kerri was the cook making scrambled eggs, sausage, french toast casserole and more. I pitched in as needed. I also had a few mimosas that her mom prepared, another drink that I have very rarely indulged in. The family exchanged presents. Her mom even bought me a DD gift card which was unnecessary but thoughtful. Several times during the visit I took a moment to appreciate I was sharing the holiday in a family environment as I thought back to how my holiday was one year prior, which was anything but happy. It felt good to be relaxed, at peace, and happy.
Originally there were some plans to go to a holiday party that one of Kerri’s friends was having but we wound up instead having a quiet and peaceful time back at the house. We wound up bringing over Kerri’s dog, Zoe to stay with us. She almost looks like Sadie did as a younger dog. She is very sweet and I was confident her and Elsa would be fine, they were. Elsa was her normal cautious self but Zoe fit right in and seems very happy both in the house and roaming around the property.
The one thing that has not been great about the days around Christmas was the weather. It was really cold by Florida standards and PA gray for almost three straight days. There were 2-3 days where the temps barely cleared the 40’s. Even with those conditions Kerri and I still got out to play pickleball at the local park a couple times. Yes it was cold but eventually you warmed up with play. I love that Kerri is so active, she keeps me on my toes. The majority of our Christmas evening was spent under the soft pickleball blanket I bought Kerri for Christmas while we watched a movie. I appreciated every moment of it. I felt content and grateful how my 2022 Christmas turned out.
So I also had off Monday and Tuesday. A big focus of those days was to help Kerri with whatever she needed in regards to her temporary move. She seasonally rents her place and has to be out by the end of the week, so there was a lot to do. In addition I had a woman I know from the running club who is a realtor coming out to the house to talk more about the possibilities of selling it. Yes, I am that serious about it. She also was the one that sold Alison’s place.
We walked the grounds so she could get a lay of the land both inside and out. She recognized some of the unique things the place has like three outside storage buildings, full house solar, whole house reverse osmosis, a new roof, new impact windows and more. When we went inside and sat down we went over the hardcover material her office prepared for my property. I was glad that Kerri was there as she has done a number of real estate transactions and had some good feedback that I think was helpful. The interaction was productive and I was given some tips in regards to how the house would be best prepared to show well to perspective buyers. The only thing that I had to drag my feet on is timelines. Originally something was said about having the house ready to list in mid-January. That instantly hit a mental wall for me. I don’t like to commit to things that I don’t think I can realistically do. This was not realistic.
The reason it is not realistic was because of the suggestions for prep. Having the entire interior of the house repainted was a serious suggestion as well as having the east exterior wall painted after patching some spider cracks in the wall that follow the cinder block. I am open to both of these things but it is far easier said than done as it would require massive effort on my part to make the house ready for paint. On the plus side Kerri has an awesome source for painting, he is supposed to give us a quote on Thursday. I would even go as far as having the garage painted. The realtor said nothing makes a house look more inviting than fresh paint. Both Kerri and her suggested a lighter paint that will maximize the look of space in the house.
The other big requirement is de-cluttering/de-personalizing the house. That will be both a physical and mental effort on my part. This house has 21 years of me in it. Although I have always done my best to stay mostly organized over the years there is still a tremendous amount of things inside these walls, much of which has to be removed, stored, donated, thrown away or sold. Of course Kerri would help me do this but I would be lying to myself if I said it will be easy, it most definitely will not. I have seen this space evolve from a concrete slab to a home I have created so many memories in over the last two decades plus. Taking it all apart is going to be one of the tougher things I have had to do.
I have to focus on the big picture. For years and years I have been complaining about how my time is consumed by requirements of the house and the nearly three acres of land it sits on. I have always known there was going to be a time when it was going to finally be right to release myself from the self imposed chains that it puts on me. This may be happening sooner rather than later but it needs to happen. I have loved so many things about my life here but I think it’s time to start a new chapter where choices are less restricted and more paths are open. I did not sign the real estate contract yet. I want to get some time frames for the work and numbers in place before signing anything. I’m not in a rush to do this but have to be aware that once it goes on the market, I could be rushed.
After the realtor visit much of the last two days were focused on getting Kerri’s place ready to go. We were working off a shared note to keep us on track as to what we did and have yet to do. Kerri and I seem to make a pretty good team and knocked a lot of things out in a relatively short period of time. I go back to work tomorrow for a lighting fast two day work week. It feels like I have not been at work forever which is because I haven’t. The last time I set foot in the office was 12 days ago.
That time off has been filled with so many memories starting with the awesome birthday surprise dinner, the California trip where I hung with formerly virtual friends as well as explored with Kerri, and then rolling straight into Christmas and all that it has contained. As I stated at the beginning of this, my normal routines have been turned upside down recently. You would think that as a person that usually functions best in defined situations I would find this unsettling. It is, somewhat. However to me it is a continuation of what I have been pushing forward with for all of 2022, doing the hard thing, because the power will come and the journey/reward is worth it.
Wow it has been an eventful few days. Kerri took me out for my birthday Friday night. She did not tell me where we were going until right before our scheduled reservation time. The restaurant was called C Level and it was amazing looking. As soon as you walk in the door you are greeted by soothing blue light and video screens all over the place simulating extravagant fish tanks. The host greets us, Kerri gives our name and they say oh yes, party of 6, odd…..
So we walk down toward the table and I see Juan, Jeff whom I play pickleball with as well as their wives. I was in shock as I had no clue Kerri arranged this. She did very well not letting on, even expertly delaying our arrival when she heard one of them were running late. I was blown away, in a good way.
This was a high end establishment with fantastic food. Kerri and I wound up splitting a scallops entre which was delicious as well as having some mixed drinks. All six of us had a great time eating, drinking and laughing. Juan insisted we all visit the restroom because of it’s unique aesthetic with more soft blue light, peaceful music and a blue spotlight on both the toilet and the sink. It was such a nice time. The fact that Kerri put this all together for me was amazing, and much appreciated…..
Saturday morning we got out by 6AM to make our flight that departed at 8:45. We grabbed coffee on the way where I had a funny interaction with the clerk who called me out for mistakenly ordering a pancake breakfast sandwich. I had made a change to get us seated together on both non-stop flights. I was happy to be able to get us together. Unfortunately doing so put us in a row with limited leg room and non-reclining seats. It wasn’t ideal but better than us sitting apart. I thought a direct flight was a nice bonus and time saver. I did not think much about the reality of sitting on a plane for 5 hours plus, which was a loong time to sit there for both Kerri and I. We rotated between napping, watching American Sniper on my phone and talking to a sweet woman next to us who had just lost her husband recently. She said they were married just short of 60 years, which is incredible. She lives in Marco but was going to California to stay with her daughter over the holidays. She gave Kerri and I cute compliments. I think she thought we have been together longer than reality which was very sweet.
We finally landed, standing up felt amazing after so much time. After making our way to baggage claim I texted Larry who was picking us up. It was a tight fit with our luggage and the EUC and accompanying gear. We had a good drive to Downey with Larry telling us a lot of stories along the way. Larry and Kerri also talked martial arts as he has taught Kung Fu for years and Kerri is working on her 3rd degree black belt in karate.
We were looking for lunch and stopped at a small Mexican place that only had tacos and they were made out of various cow parts like beef cheek, not a great fit so we got back in the car and headed towards central Downey. We wound up having lunch at this place called Porto’s. It was busy, very busy. They have incredible baked goods and conventional food. I figured it was good stuff based on how busy it was. I was right.
All three of us enjoyed our food which included some diverse choices including potato balls. We also snagged some baked goods for us to enjoy in our AirBnB later. Even though we were a bit earlier than the official 3PM check in we decided to see if we could get in awhile, which we did. The woman that owns the listing was there and talked to Kerri exclusively because she realized she spoke spanish fluently.
When I saw the picture of the listing online before booking it looked fine, for me, as originally I was coming solo. It became quickly apparent it was not ideal. The room has an odd assortment of furniture scattered about which leaves very little practical usable space for someone that is traveling. This issue was made worse by the abundance of random things scattered around the space including 4 different bibles, Mickey Mouse dolls, a kettleball, fake plants and more. It was very clear that this room was a DIY project that had corners cut everywhere. I feel safe in assuming no permits were pulled in the construction of the space. One of the things the woman told Kerri was that you weren’t supposed to flush toilet paper in the toilet as it could cause problems. Instead you are supposed to throw paper in some can. Really….. I wasn’t renting in central america where this is common practice.
The great thing about Kerri is she can roll with the punches. Each silly or poorly executed thing we found was just another thing for us to laugh about, like the heater that popped a breaker ever 3 minutes, the barking dog outside our window, the corner of an uneaten sandwich on the counter, and much, much more. The bed was comfy at least although it had to double as the main place to put our luggage to go through it since no other practical space existed in the room.
Saturday night we were on our own to explore and explore we did. We utilized Ubers to get around. We had dinner at a place called Ola. They had massive margaritas that Kerri and I both enjoyed. We also made another pit stop at Portos to grab some of their outstanding baked goods. The Uber driver experience was very diverse. We had one outgoing very talkative guy that revealed to us he was currently teaching himself to learn German and Russian at the same time. He is using just YouTube to do this which I thought was impressive. We had one guy that evidently spoke next to zero english although he knew how to say seatbelt, which he wanted us to secure. His app pointed him to a different address than we requested. He wanted to let us out in the middle of a residential neighborhood. We refused and got him steered to the correct address.
Our first night in the Air BnB was “interesting” as we got to admire the half assed efforts that surrounded us throughout the room. The bathroom was the most egregious example but the entire space was kind of a mess. We also had a barking dog next door that thankfully quieted down before midnight. The bed was comfortable enough but really there wasn’t much more positive to be said about the arrangements.
Sunday morning I was up early as I was supposed to meet Marty to for our big Mount Baldy ride. I hopped on the wheel that Larry loaned me and rode to the nearby DD AND Starbucks, they were basically side by side. When I rolled the wheel into Starbucks and put my Dunkin Donuts coffee on the table so I could place my order I got a number of curious glances. Riding back to the room was a bit hairy as I had one cup of coffee in each hand meaning I had no way to grab the wheel if I needed to. Luckily I made it back without launching coffee.
I grabbed all my gear, threw it in a backpack and pushed off for Marty’s which was only roughly a mile away. It felt weird rolling through neighborhoods that I recognized from Marty’s years of videos. I pulled up into his driveway and saw he was already loading up the truck for the day. When I saw him I gave him a handshake/hug combo. Despite never meeting him in person I felt no awkwardness as our interactions over the years made us both feel comfortable. He gave me a quick tour of the workshop/garage where I had seen him work on dozens of wheels.
For this ride I was going to use Marty’s Sherman since it has a big battery. The one thing it does not have is suspension which turned out to be quite a challenge for me during the day. As we rode to the meetup point Marty and I caught up on the latest and greatest in both of our lives. When we arrived at Mt Baldy there were a number of other local riders already there. In total I think our group had 13-14 riders. Many of these people knew me from my YouTube channel and I knew a handful of them as well.
Marty warned me about how cold it could be at the top of this ride. As a result I had a bunch of layers on that had me sweating very early, however it did eventually get cold enough that I needed every piece of it. The first 10-15 minutes of the ascent was fine however then Marty pulled off to tell me we were going to hit a brief trail section so I could experience it. I definitely experienced it. There was lots of ruts and washboard areas that were beating the hell out of my lower body. With no suspension your legs/knees become the shock absorbers, my body simply was not accustomed to this type of abuse. Most of the riders had suspension wheels allowing them to gobble up the off roading with minimal issue. There were even some riding seated while off road, crazy. By the time we came back onto the main road to ride my legs were already feeling way too spent for being this early in the ride, it only went downhill from there.
On the ride up I was consistently towards the tail end of the pack which is not surprising. I really didn’t care, my goal was to simply survive the ride. During the last half hour of climbing the cold really kicked in with icy snow by the sides of the road. My hands were frozen by the top. My GoPro battery died early thanks to the cold as well so I only really recorded the first half of the ride. At the top was a ski lodge where the group enjoyed a nice meal along with warmer temperatures. I sat with Marty most of the time. Some riders were charging their wheels over lunch just to make sure they had enough juice to continue their high speed descent down the mountain.
The ride down hill was brutal, for me. My knees were already screaming along with quads that felt burned out. When you are going downhill on a wheel for long periods of time you are doing nothing but pushing your weight back, using primarily your quads. It was a shit show. I now fell far behind most of the riders. I have never ridden long, steep, extended downhill sections before. Because of my lack of confidence I tried to keep my speed down. As I was trying to brake downhill I was consistently experiencing wobbles which can result in a crash if not managed. The issue was my legs were so tired I just did not feel safe trying to push speed, so I didn’t. I kept my slow and steady pace all the way down. The group would stop along the way to allow me to make up distance as needed so it was fine. I felt badly being the anchor of the group but the last thing I wanted to do was go down hard, on Marty’s wheel no less.
When we finally exited the mountains it was a major relief. I was wiped out. When we returned to Marty’s truck I tossed my gear on his truck bed and just stood there, trying to stretch a little bit. Marty was very surprised I felt as beat up as I was as he said he felt next to nothing. Of course he wasn’t factoring in that he does 100 mile rides routinely. He has ridden these routes for 5 years or more. I don’t think any flatlander would have done great in those conditions. Some of the riders in the group were extremely fast like Roger and Dawn, they flew by me again and again.
When I got back to the AirBnB I was very tired. Kerri and I were going to the party hosted by Larry that night. After showering I laid down for at least a few minutes although it did very little to recharge my batteries. Marty offered to pick us up and drive us to the party which was much appreciated since he was also going. Larry lives right by LA, his house is in a beautiful area. When we walked in we were treated to just fully decorated space that really gave you no choice but to get in the holiday spirit. Kerri and I wasted little time before heading to the wine room, as alcohol is a near necessity for me when it comes to socializing in this type of scenario.
Larry had a company providing fresh tacos for the party, including the fish variety which I appreciated. For most of the night we hung with the fellow EUC crowd, Marty, Roger, and Dawn primarily. We also got to talk to Larry some but since he was the host of the party he was pulled a million directions. Kerri and I found the desert room that had a huge table covered in baked goods. We took a few small samples back to the table we were hanging at. Within a few minutes I managed to spill some desert on Kerri’s pants, Kerri’s white pants. Despite her being totally cool about it I felt terrible. We tried to clean them up the best we could with napkins and tonic water. Kerri got along well with Roger and Dawn as all of us chatted through the night.
Originally we were going to head out about 10:30 but I was told we needed to stick around a little for reasons unknown to me. It turns out Larry had a birthday cake for me, even though we were a few days after the event. It was a unique combination of flavors that I enjoyed. I even got everyone that was in the local vicinity to sing me happy birthday which was much appreciated. After we finished our cake Marty, Kerri and I headed out. I was really appreciative of Larry’s efforts. He had gone out of his way to accommodate me as much as possible during the trip.
On Monday I woke up feeling extremely sore as expected. Kerri and I decided to get out and walk to Porto’s, our eating establishment of choice during the trip. It felt good to move my legs. Kerri and I planned to go visit her half brother in Ventura on Monday. The thought was we would go there, stay the night and then come back Tuesday. Well after two days of Ubering around we realized that our original idea of not renting a car would be a cost savings was just not true. Our original plan was to Uber to a train station, take a train to Ventura and then Uber again as needed. This had two big disadvantages, cost and lack of flexibility as there were only two time slots for the train, neither being ideal. So I told Kerri we will just rent a car. I reserved it Sunday night and we picked it up after breakfast on Monday, a Rav 4.
We went back to the room and headed out to Ventura early afternoon. I recalled from my trip to Cali 20+ years ago how unfun it was driving in the state due to immense traffic. The nice part was I got to drive with Kerri who can be very entertaining. Even being stuck in bumper to bumper traffic is more bearable when she is the co-pilot. The drive to Ventura took roughly two hours. Kerri had not seen Tom and Rob for a very long time and was excited. We pulled up to their beautiful house and got a very warm greeting from both of them as well as their adorable dog Oliver.
After catching up for a bit we made plans for the evening to go to a restaurant downtown that Tom and Rob have enjoyed many times. Neither Kerri or I had packed a coat, thankfully we were able to borrow a couple as the temperatures had dropped significantly as soon as the sun went down. We actually sat outdoors for our meal which I thought at first would be problematic but the place had strategically placed heaters around the seating area so none of us were bothered by the temperature.
The food was outstanding, all of us enjoyed our meals while the conversation flowed. Afterwards we decided to walk the nearby main street. Most of the establishments were closed at that time but a few were open, one of which we snagged this sweet charcuterie book that Kerri really liked. We also had a cute picture of us taken in front of the big Christmas tree in the street. With no space heaters to save us the cold air made our main street tour on the brief side as we fast walked back to the car. We had a great night.
On Tuesday I had even worse second day soreness. Originally I had ideas of meeting up with Larry to ride during the day but his available time slot and my location being two hours north of LA would have made it logistically difficult to impossible so we instead planned to meet up on Wednesday as part of Marty’s group ride. After hanging with Rob and Tom for a little while in the morning Kerri and I headed out to grab breakfast at a cozy little place. Her and I often share meals which is something I never realized that I liked, until her introducing me to it. After eating we went to a nearby Patagonia store, it seemed like their HQ location. Kerri likes their clothing so we figured we would check it out while in the vicinity. They had some nice stuff but we didn’t buy anything.
We then cruised up to Santa Barbara to look around. It was beautiful but most of the places we thought to check out were not really doing much until evening, we were there around noon. It was still a beautiful day so we just took some time to walk around and enjoy it before finding the car and heading back south. Kerri had suggested that maybe we could find a nearby pickleball court to play when we got back. We found a supposed good one about 6 miles away. I strapped on my knee braces and took a fresh dose of Advil before heading out. The courts were in the middle of beautiful park but there was a hitch. There was no fencing, anywhere. Instead the three courts were side by side, in the open.
The court itself was nice but the lack of barriers meant you had a lot of interruptions by balls coming from the adjacent courts and you were chasing balls down constantly as they rolled unobstructed for 10-20 yards on many points. We both had fun playing although we probably put in a couple thousand steps chasing down balls along the way. We could not play that long because I had a date to go live stream with Marty at his place, something we always thought we be cool but never had the opportunity to do in the more than 6 years we have known each other.
I rode Larry’s Hero over to Marty’s place. In my backpack I had my laptop and webcam, the basics needed to stream. I got us up and streaming pretty easily. Despite the limited notice we had pretty good turnout once word got around that Marty and I were streaming together. We were on live for almost two hours. It was easy streaming with Marty because we had done it before many times, just from other sides of the country.
After the stream was over Marty let me test out a few of the wheels in his collection that I had never ridden before. The most extreme wheel was the Master Pro with a $4000+ price tag and a battery big enough to easily take you 100 miles or further. It was a great stream, IMO.
Kerri was waiting for me to eat dinner. She got creative and went to Trader Joe’s to get us some food and wine that she could prepare dinner in the room, which I appreciated big time. The shitty microwave oven would pop the circuit breaker every 30 seconds or less but it fit in with the rest of poorly laid out room. Eventually we wound up sitting down and enjoying a meal that I found totally satisfying. I loved that she was able to come up with it on the fly.
So just like that it was Wednesday, our last full day in California. The plan was for me to go ride with Marty and Larry for a good portion of the day while Kerri took the rental car to do whatever she wanted. I got up early enough that I could run and go get coffee for Kerri and I before I rode the Hero back over to Marty’s. Marty said the say she take us until maybe 4 or 430 so I used that info to tentatively plan with Kerri that we would go out for a nice dinner for our final night which we were both excited about.
The ride for Wednesday was originally pitched to me by Marty as easier than what we did Sunday. It was broken into two parts, the 11 mile Fullerton loop and then the Queen Mary ride which goes along the river and beach trails, ok, great. Well it quickly became apparent that the Fullerton Loop was no joke, it was 11 miles of primarily trail riding. Having a suspension wheel surely helps in this scenario but I knew this was still going to have a lot of suck involved, it did.
Much like Mt Baldy, the downhill sections were the worst. This was exacerbated by how washed out and rutty certain sections of the trail were. There were multiple times I was right on the edge of falling. I did come off the wheel once but luckily it resulted in only a minor fall. After those 11 miles I was still beat, even with the suspension assist. The suspension eats up some of the impact on the knees but it does nothing to help the load on the quads when you are going steep downhill, at least not for me.
So when we got back to the truck after finishing the loop I see a text on my phone from Kerri, telling me she ripped the room apart looking for the car key. As soon as I read it I reached in my pocket and felt the key residing there. Instantly a wave of anger and frustration washed over me. I was so pissed at myself. I was rushing to get out of the room after picking up coffee and simply forgot I had the keys. We were way too far away to have Marty take me back. I scrambled for ideas to remedy the situation. The only tangible thing I could come up with was perhaps contacting the local rental office and see if they have a second set of keys. However by the time I saw her original message time had passed and she just Ubered over to a nearby mall and was burning time there. The rest of the day I felt badly that she was stuck because of my mistake. To add insult to injury I got a text from the lovely Air BnB hosts that the car had to be moved because it was street cleaning day. Well of course that didn’t happen either so I was rewarded with a citation for that as well.
Kerri did tell me about an altercation she had with the woman that runs the BnB. There was a washing machine and dryer right outside our room. Kerri had thrown a load of laundry in the day before. Evidently the owner did not like this and posted a sign in spanish (all the signs were in spanish) that the laundry wasn’t for guest use. Well on Wednesday Kerri wanted to do one more quick load, feeling like with all of the rigged accommodations we had been dealing with, doing laundry should not be a big deal. So she started a load but then came out later finding the woman pulling out the wet clothes and telling her to go to a laundromat. The end result was an argument where Kerri pointed out just how lacking and misleading the room was in reality compared to the online description. In the end Kerri was allowed to finish washing the clothes, score one point for the good guys.
The second part of the ride was along river and beach trails to the Queen Mary. It was flat which I enjoyed but I realized that there was no way this was going to get done in the time guidelines Marty gave me. It was a little after 4PM and he still wanted to go another few miles to get us right in front of the ship. Larry had time constraints as well so we turned around and hauled ass back. The guilt I felt about the key in my pocket was now amplified by the ETA I gave Kerri in the morning being totally inaccurate. Thanks to rush hour traffic I didn’t get back to the Air BnB until something like 6:15 or 6:30. I am the type of person that puts value in being on time, doing what I say, being responsible for outcomes, all of that went out the window that day. We wound up actually having a nice meal at a place named BJ’s, which Marty suggested. The pink cadillac martinis helped melt some of the stress and frustration from the days events.
So I had been trying to make arrangements to return the rental car to the airport instead of the local Downey office. It would greatly simplify our logistics. I called and tried to do it earlier in the week and they said no. However I got a response from a text I sent to the location saying I could do that for a $50 charge. I okayed the charge but never got a response that they actually made the change so I was unsure if we were still good to drop at the airport or not. Kerri suggested that since we have the text stating they would do it we should have our asses covered if it’s questioned. I liked her logic so we went with it. I was all ready for an argument about it with Enterprise staff but it never materialized as the final bill included the extra $50 with no additional questions asked.
We got to the airport with time to spare and chilled for a couple hours before getting on the flight. We had the benefit of a tailwind that made our return trip at least 45 minutes faster than the ride to LA. It also was nice that we had seats that actually reclined this time. We got back to Florida a little before 9PM. The 3 hour time change made it feel less late but we when we did fall asleep it was like a rock, we both were tired. Ever since the Baldy ride I have had a persistent runny nose which has been a little maddening. The Nyquil I took last night helped my sleep further.
So looking back on the whirlwind 5 day trip it is with very fond memories. This was my first time traveling with Kerri which is always a good way to get a sense of how a couple interacts in an extended one on one situation. I expected that the end result in our example would be positive, and it was. Time and again she made me laugh and smile, even when things were less than ideal. I really appreciated it, and her.
Today I have been playing catch up both doing things around the house and online including editing the three videos you see below and completing this blog entry. I am looking forward to one of the best holiday seasons I have anticipated in a very long time and feel lucky in being able to say that.
Last night I focused on starting to pack as well doing some more present wrapping. I am notoriously bad at packing, I typically pack more than I need as my brain feels better when I have more leeway in clothing options. Since there will be morning temps in the 30’s and 40’s I need to pack some warm gear which of course consumes more space, exacerbating the issue. A lot of the day time highs though are forecast to touch the 70’s so I could do shorts as well. It will all work out, it always does. The best part of the updated forecast was the significant rain that was part of the picture seems to have been erased.
After her rough night on Tuesday, Sadie has managed to avoid having any other seizures. Ali said Sadie is tired but ok otherwise which I was happy to hear. I will see her tonight when I drop off Elsa for her vacation with Ali and Shugs, which she always enjoys. Speaking of tired, I was beat last night resulting in my showering and being in bed by 10. It’s weird though because despite being tired last night, at the gym this week I was on one of those upswings where you just feel strong. Cyclical strength has always been a thing for me but it was really noticeable this time around.
Today could be the last blog entry for awhile. It depends if I find the time and motivation to blog during the trip. It normally benefits me to do so if I care about an accurate recollection of events that transpire. The more time that passes between entries the more detail that is lost as well. I took tomorrow off to give me flexibility as needed to get things done. It also just happens to be my birthday as well. Kerri has made dinner reservations for us tomorrow somewhere that is still a mystery to me at this point. I have no doubt we will have a great evening.
So yep, I am officially going to be flipping the age odometer to 55 in less than 24 hours. My feelings about getting older have been well documented here over the years. The cliff notes version is I’m not a fan. However if I allow myself to take two steps back and examine the positive aspects of my current state of being where I am relatively healthy, fit, and financially secure, I have a lot to be thankful for. When you add in my happiness gauge consistently moving upward this year as well as the possibilities my future contains, I should care less about what that number is. I am grateful for both the road I have traveled and the road that is yet to be traversed.
I am looking forward to a memorable trip that will roll into a Christmas that contains more good energy than I have experienced in a very long time.
On the way home last night I got my hair buzzed again at Sportclips for the LA trip. I had the same woman as last time that has the horrible foot pain. At first she didn’t remember me but as we talked a bit she recalled my last visit. Her foot still hurts like crazy, she has no health insurance but still put on a happy face with me. We had another good interaction. I wished her a happy holiday and she wished me a fun trip in LA, which I told her about.
When I got home I went on one of those get shit done circuits where I am moving about the house, sometimes randomly just tending to what is both in front of me and in my head. Luckily I did not have to take time out to consider what I was having for dinner as Kerri gave me some excellent eggplant parm that was from her work luncheon yesterday. I made some good headway but there will be much more to knock out before we leave the house early Saturday morning.
One of the things I did last night was box up my OneWheel XR to ship it to my sisters family in Texas, a rather big Christmas gift. Originally I was going to sell the board to help offset the expense of my GT but I never did. When I went to Texas last year for Thanksgiving both Damon and Emily liked riding the XR around so I thought it would be a nice surprise to have it show up at their place (Torrin knows)
Late last night I got a call from Alison. Sadie had a couple of seizures in rather short order and she was upset, of course. I talked to her for a little. Sadie has had a tough road dating back to when we discovered she had cancer in her mouth several years ago that was treated aggressively with surgery and chemo. She has had tooth issues, severe joint degradation, and most lately eye surgery that has left her with very limited vision. Ali talked about how much of a fighter she is, which I already knew. Her mind is willing but her body is failing. It was painful talking about Sadie’s potential demise and I don’t know exactly what will happen from here. Both Ali and I would prefer that if she were to pass it would be on her own. The idea of putting her to sleep would be emotionally crushing, yet perhaps a final act of kindness if she continues to struggle.
So when Cindy and I split I gave serious thought to the idea of selling my house. As I walked around back then it I felt my sadness amplified by the the constant reminders that were all around me. However that idea was back burnered because of the chickens, yes the chickens. The idea of me having to rehome the chickens was a deal breaker as I felt responsible for their well being. I know that sounds crazy to most people.
Within the last couple weeks I realized that the anchor I felt at that time was no longer there. This was triggered by a random email I received from a realtor that I knew from my days with the running club. She also was the one who sold Ali’s place in Naples. I responded to her email and after a few communications back and forth I plan to have her come out to the house after Christmas to get the ball rolling potentially. Of course there is no pressing timeline to sell.
I have talked a lot lately about how I have been pushing out of what have been established boundaries more and more. This would potentially be the biggest push yet. I love my house, Ali and I built this place. The house fits me like a glove in many ways. However the house is also one of the biggest consumers of my free time with the endless projects, repairs and upkeep. The idea of streamlining and simplifying my life at this stage is something that is appealing to me. I want to spend more time enjoying things I want to do as opposed to being locked down by things that I have to do. 2023 could be one of the biggest shifts in my life since moving to Florida back in 2000. Forward movement is what I want. Endless holding patterns are safe and predictable but the view never changes.
When I got home last night I was buzzing around the house getting a number of tasks done. I think buzzing around is going to be theme for the week as I feel I need to get almost everything Christmas related handled since when we return from Cali there will only be a couple of days left.
I had also set a goal of getting a road test in on my newly reassembled S22, hoping my many hours of work have resulted in a once again functioning wheel. I don’t do a lot of night riding but I only went to the park for the test. As soon as I hit my first significant bump I could feel the difference the low friction rollers make, everything felt smooth. The new fat road tire definitely felt different as well and will take some adjustment time but I think I like it.
I can’t believe in a couple days I will be 55 freaking years old, blasphemy.
I busted ass for a good portion of Saturday. I had skipped weeding last weekend so I paid the price this time around, it felt like I was running a weed pulling marathon. The only plus was the temperatures were not oppressive. I also got most of the weed whacking done, working right up to the edge of darkness. I mixed in various indoor tasks during the day including going through my closet and pulling clothing I either didn’t wear or was just old. It added up to a full garbage bag which I dropped off at Goodwill during the day.
So despite a day filled with labor I got the idea in my head that I wanted to take another crack at putting the S22 back together. To make it more interesting I had the idea to do it live, on the internet, no pressure. I have hated having my hobby room look like a mess for a month since I started and failed this project repeatedly. My goal was to get this done before I left for California and this was going to be one of my last opportunities to make that happen. I set up my laptop with a webcam in the hobby room and had it.
Now you might think that doing this sort of work on a stream could be counter productive as you are distracted with the interactions with the audience however in this specific case it was exactly what I needed. As I was trying to remount the tire and encountering similar difficulties as the prior two attempts I started getting feedback from people on the stream that have had similar issues. Thanks to some of their tips I successfully got the new tire back on the wheel in about 20 minutes. I yelled out in celebration, repeatedly. I did this without using a single prying tool.
The key was the tip to use a clamp to pinch the tire together on the side opposite what you are working by hand. This allows the clamped side to sink into the deeper, center portion of the rim temporarily giving you just enough leeway to muscle the rubber into position. It was such a relief when I applied my inflator and the tube actually held air. I got the tire on so quickly that I decided to put the rest of the wheel together. Again there were some hiccups along the way but by the end of the two hour stream I had the S22 reassembled and working, a minor miracle. Out of my various personality traits, the ability to persevere and overcome hardship is one that serves me the best in various aspects of my life. I don’t give up easily.
After the wheel was back together and I ended the stream I immediately started cleaning up the hobby room, despite it getting late. I wanted things back to normal. I am hoping to take the S22 out for a maiden voyage with it’s new tire and roller suspension this evening.
I also posted the video from the prior attempt where the amount of frustration I was experiencing is clearly visible.
Sunday morning I finished up the weed whacking and then followed up with mowing the yard in anticipation of being away next weekend for my trip to California. The grass had not hit jungle stage in most spots but it felt good to get the yard looking uniform before heading out. The Eagles continued to roll, beating the Giants convincingly. I don’t know how to feel about the incredible season the Birds are having. I can only hope the momentum doesn’t derail any time soon.
Kerri came over Sunday afternoon. One of the priorities was to make my famous chocolate cake, the ONE bakery item I feel confident making. Unlike most of our time together cooking in the kitchen where Kerri steers the ship, when it comes to cake time I was doing most of the steering. The preparation went smoothly, very smoothly. The end result was a near perfect cake. It was moist, rich and the buttercream icing was spot on. She was impressed with the end result. No we didn’t wait until my birthday to try it.
Kerri also made a chick pea salad dish for her to eat for lunch this week. It was easy, quick but quite good. She finds these recipes on the internet and is able to turn them into healthy/tasty meals reliably. For dinner she prepared some food I got as part of my birthday gift from my step mom. It was a package from Omaha Steaks. It sounds odd right, a gift of food from a company that is known for steaks, which I haven’t eaten in close to 10 years. However they also sell a lot of non-poultry, beef, and pork products. Kerri made the cod that was in one of the boxes and it was very good.
So the other day Kerri and I were talking about the Christmas tree. She asked me about where I have it in the dining room. I told her I have always had the tree in front of the dining room window since the house was built some 21 years ago. I said I thought it looked nice for the people driving by to see the tree in the window. She then said something that made me think.
She pointed out that the tree should be something I get the most enjoyment out of first. One way to do that would be to have the tree in the main living space where it could be a more visible part of the season. Hmm, never have I thought about it that way. Like many things, I have done it that way each year because I had always done it that way. However when I thought about it for a few moments, I realized she was right.
The end result was her assisting me on sliding the intact tree on furniture sliders to the corner of the great room right by the kitchen. This is also at one of the highest points of the ceiling in the house so it fills the space well. Once we moved it Kerri cautiously asked me if I was ok with it. Without hesitation I told her I was. As I have documented here repeatedly, the last 18 months have been all about changes. Just because something has been a certain way for a very long time does not mean it is cast in stone. It’s a feeling I have been embracing which will become much more clear in a moment.
So last week I threw the idea out to Kerri about her possibly coming to California with me. At the time we laughed about it but neither of us looked further into it. Well last night I threw it out there again, more seriously. She didn’t say no. So I hopped on the United web site and checked if my flights on Saturday had any more seats available, they did. The return flight was getting close to booked though. So now the possibility was real.
Kerri knows the trip is focused on me meeting up with EUC riders I know out there. There is also a holiday party that I would love to have her accompany me to. The good news is Kerri is very independent and able to keep herself entertained if I am unavailable. She is actually excited by that possibility. So we had now progressed to serious consideration. The only hurdle was her vacation schedule at work. She had to verify she could take the time off. It took some time but she got a hold of a key co-worker that confirmed she should be clear to take off. As soon as this hurdle was cleared I hit the book now button.
Kerri was very excited and so was I by this unexpected joint trip to the west coast. It was a surprising way to top off what was already a very enjoyable Sunday afternoon/evening. Spontaneous actions like this historically are not my norm. Change is good.
My Friday evenings for the last 20 years have followed a very predictable series of events, including consuming pizza while vegging out watching a movie or recorded DVR content. I always look forward to them typically. Sure they lack much excitement but after a full week of work and whatever challenges it contained, it’s nice to have that decompression time to look forward to. Last night I took not one but two steps outside that box of normalcy. Kerri had asked me to go to a Ben Allen concert, yea the guy that did well on the Voice a few years back. His band was playing at a bar in Fort Myers.
We went with Amber and Jake whom at this point I have hung out with a number of times. They are both good people and a lot of fun. Before heading up there I met Kerri for a very quick bite of food which we thought made sense since alcohol was going to be consumed for sure at the venue. After eating we picked up Amber in the Tesla and headed north. Kerri and her are very entertaining to drive with.
Ben Allen is a country singer. I don’t normally listen to country music but I didn’t care. Seeing a good live performance normally brings a type of energy that makes the music secondary, sort of. As soon as we got there we grabbed a round of margaritas and despite my lack of experience with drinking them, I could tell they were strong. By the time I finished my first one I could feel it hitting me relatively hard. I thought the performance was really good and despite my lack of country music following I found myself dancing much sooner than I normally would. Kerri is an absolutely incredible dancer, the energy she had out on the floor was nothing short of amazing. She was having a lot of fun.
Jake showed up and I got to talk to him quite a bit. He and I get along well. He just is a good dude from what I can tell. I cut myself off after a second margarita since I was the one responsible for getting Kerri home. Ben didn’t stay strictly country all night, he did covers of various genres, including Metallica which I was surprised by but enjoyed as well. We stayed until the very end, somewhere after 10:15. I would go again.
It was just the most recent example of me forcing myself into new territory, which is a good thing. Repetition of familiar behavior is safe and comfortable but if you don’t take a chance on something outside of your normal, you never know what opportunities could pass you by. Life is about movement and learning along the way.
As we walked the inside of the house it became clear that there will be a TON of work required to get the house ready to be painted inside. Walls need to be cleared, closet hardware needs to be removed and rooms need to be emptied. I have roughly a month to do it but there is no doubt the amount of labor to get there is going to extreme.
Finally I went around the high display areas of the room and removed basically everything. 90% of it was either in the donate pile or thrown away. Once I became single I never went through this stuff to evaluate if I really needed or wanted it. That evaluation has now been completed. Clearing those items have made the main living space feel much more open. There are other things to come down like pictures but I felt I made some solid progress for day one.
