Category Anything and Everything

Last night after work I picked up a new fan for the covered area outside the slider to the lanai.  Years ago I put another fan out there that was specifically for outdoors.  The main component that made it that way were plastic blades that supposedly resisted the droop and sag conventional blades suffer from when placed outdoors exposed to heat and moisture.  Well guess what, they still have wilted like an old flower, making the fan look unattractive.  With listing the house I want things to look appealing not droopy so the modern black fan I will be replacing it with should have more eye appeal.  It was dark when I got home so I wasn’t going to try to swap the fan by flashlight.

I had a lazy mindset last night, not doing anything significant regarding house prep. I was tired, my trashcan was stuffed to the brim and out at the curb so I used that as an opportunity to just have a “normal” evening.  It felt odd. Now that I will be returning home to an empty trash container the festivities can resume.

Saturday Frank showed up as promised at 7AM to start prepping.  His goal was to patch the area of the ceiling that had a small but long crack and pressure wash the house in anticipation of painting the exterior next weekend.  As I walked outside with him he asked about removing stuff that would be in the way for washing/painting.  I have been so focused on working on the inside I paid little attention to the outside.  All of a sudden I went into fire drill mode armed with some hand tools and one of my cordless drills, removing a couple dozen things.  The biggest subtraction was the water barrel which was still functional but the wooden stand I made 15 years ago or more was falling apart so I just ripped it all down and put the barrel out front for the curb shoppers.

During the morning I continued cleaning up the interior, dropped off paint and chemicals at the recycling center, dropped another box at Goodwill and then mowed the grass when I got home.  Frank had entertained the idea of starting to paint the front of the house but decided against it.  He headed out after finishing up the pressure cleaning around 1 or 1:30.  Once he left I kept going.  I made more progress on the hobby room.  The spare desk that was in the office went to the curb as well. It was a productive day.

On Sunday morning I had a bit of a slower start.  After grabbing coffee Elsa and I did a lap around the park, something I have really been slacking on lately.  Once I got home late morning the clean up resumed.  The white shelf that was by the front door was taken out to the curb, it was picked up in less than 30 minutes.  I delivered a bunch of things to the curb during the day, I would say 2/3 of it was picked up already which is great as it does not require me to transport or lug it elsewhere. I also took a number of filled boxes out to the old chicken coop where I had one of my hobby benches set up to hold them.  It made the main living space look a little less chaotic. The hobby room now has nothing left on the walls and a few things in the closet.  Getting that space handled is a big relief.

Later in the afternoon I hopped on my EX20S for a ride to Dunkin Donuts.  Riding a wheel is very therapeutic for me, turning whatever is front and center in my mind into background noise.  The suspension on this wheel is so soft that it feels like I am riding on a cushion.  The video covers whatever random thoughts popped into my head at the time.

I got to watch the Eagles/Giants game which had a favorable outcome.  The win secured the Eagles with the best record in the NFC giving them a bye week for the first round of playoffs which can be a huge advantage.  It gives them an extra week to get as healthy as possible for a serious playoff push.

I talked recently in my video from last weekend about how my life had reached a point where I was straying from a very established path by deciding to try to sell my house.  Through various periods of upheaval in my life during the last 21 years the place I lay my head at night has always been the same.  The idea that I someday would need to walk away from the place was always in the back of my mind.  The amount of work it requires to maintain, especially since I have been single this time around has been overbearing at times. It’s time to change.

I have never been a huge fan of change and quite often will resist it far longer than it makes sense, at times to my detriment.  The change that is ahead of me is massive, imposing, and filled with question marks. Yet, it is also necessary.  My path is clearly diverging from the main trail I have wandered confidently on for decades.  The new direction is not clearly defined and leads to an unknown destination with unknown consequences.  My life has had a lot of calculated and predictable situations.  I generally like to know what I am getting into as it gives me the best opportunity to have successful outcomes.  I don’t know what is around this blind corner.

Last night on the way home I stopped at Sport Clips to get my hair cut once again.  I had yet a different stylist this time named Kathy.  It’s interesting comparing how each person goes about doing a skin fade style differently.  She was on the quiet side compared to the other two stylists I have had there but I felt she did a good job.  Paying someone to cut my hair makes me realize just how quickly my hair grows.

When I got home last night I looked at the half ripped apart hobby room and felt compelled to get back in there, despite not really wanting to.  Now that this genie is out of the bottle with dates and expectations I have to keep pushing.  Once again I wound up lugging out large things solo, this time being the desk that was in the room.  I pulled it out into the garage and will set it by the street tonight or tomorrow.  Last night the garbage can was put out and I stuffed it with more things from the room, the supply is endless. There is still a long, long way to go.

Tomorrow Frank is supposed to come to the house to pressure wash the exterior in preparation for painting it the following weekend.  He also wants to patch the high point of the ceiling in the main living space to prep for the interior painting which is tentatively scheduled for the 21st.  He will be there early which will get me up and running as well which is a good thing.

So when I became single during late summer 2021 I started a journey, clumsily at times of self analysis with a goal of pushing against long time boundaries that in many cases were entirely self imposed.  Some of these boundaries felt cemented into the ground at times but with consistent effort and pressure, even those started to move.  I had to work hard to get my mind moving in a forward direction instead of treading water or looking over my shoulder at what was in the past.  The more effort I put into positive thinking, more positive things started to come my way.  With a change in mental direction, new opportunities came with it.  Many of these carried a degree of discomfort with the latest and greatest example being my decision to actively try to sell my home, which is one of the biggest boundaries I have.

So you may ask, why do I feel the need to do these things?  You seem to have had a pretty good situation going, why not just be comfortable in what you already have, know, and expect? Why mess with an established good thing?  Because I want to keep moving.  To me happiness is not a static destination that you magically attain.  It’s a constant journey and it’s that journey where the satisfaction is to be harvested from, not a particular destination. My relationship with Kerri has been a catalyst to embrace change even further, not fear it.

I have spent too long being a mental prisoner to my past.  I’m going to keep moving forward, who knows where that momentum will take me.

Yesterday I kept my streak of torrid selling intact as I sold my Inmotion V12, a wheel I really like but just didn’t make sense in my future plans.  Outside of two older wheels I am keeping for fun/training, all of my EUCs are the suspension variety and will be going forward.  They just make more sense for me.  I actually had a tentative agreement with someone else to buy the V12 but he backed out yesterday.  I wound up selling it to the number two buyer for a couple hundred more so it was a win/win.  Yesterday I also received a new motor for my T4, a free replacement for the factory motor that has some known safety issues.  I need to find the time to do that swap in the next couple weeks. One of the complications with doing that work is my continued push in getting the hobby room stripped and organized.  I usually do my EUC service in that space.  I have been doing the clean up knowing this motor was coming so I made efforts to make sure any tools I would need are available instead of being stuffed in a box.

I spent another couple hours in the hobby room last night busting ass.  I managed to clear/remove the second heavy bench in the room as well as pull down two more sets of shelving.  The desk that is in that room will be attacked next with it likely being sold or curbed as I don’t see it having future use.  I have an identical desk in my office which will likely meet the same fate.  I don’t see my current main desk in my office being reused either.  I imagine getting one of those modern gaming desks which have the ability to be used sitting or standing.

I shut down the work a little after 9, trying to adhere to my manageable chunks strategy.  Both of the benches were lugged out to the old chicken coop.  They are heavy and awkward to carry, a possible reason my lower back was absolutely killing me this morning for the first 15 minutes out of bed.

I also boxed up all of my 3D printers but two, as planned.  The question is where I want to store certain things until the time comes where they will be actually moved.  Some stuff will survive just fine in one of the outdoor storage buildings, some things, like 3D printers would be questionable.  It’s all part of the many questions I will be finding answers for in the weeks to come.

I let my set of neighbors across the street know that they will likely see a for sale sign on my property in the weeks to come.  They were not happy to hear the news but understood my motivation for doing so.  They are the only neighbors I have that were there before I was.

Yesterday I also cancelled my deposit I have had for over a year on the Prusa XL, a new high speed, large format, multi-filament 3D printer that Prusa announced yet has not brought to market.  Back when the deposit was made I still was doing sizeable sales in my online store and justified the large price tag of this printer pretty easily.  However that justification has since vaporized and with my new direction where less is more, would make zero sense in my new reality.  My Paypal balance is getting pretty inflated the last few days.

Last night was productive.  I managed to sell four of my 3D printers in one evening.  I listed two of them on the local FB Marketplace and my Prusa on the Facebook Prusa group as it is a more high end printer.  The Prusa was spoken for quickly.  I boxed it up and shipped it off to San Diego this morning.  The other printers were bought by two guys.  When you do the math you will come up with three printers for sale right?  Well the guy that bought my CR10S Pro mentioned how he was looking at Prusa Mini’s, which I had three of.  I asked him if he would want to buy one of mine as well, he did after I offered it at an attractive price.  So just like that I had trimmed my at home print farm from 9 printers to 5.

Getting those machines out of there gave me a burst of additional motivation to keep working.  I was able to disassemble/remove one of the big work benches from the room.  My plan is to put it and some other items in the old chicken coop for safekeeping.  These benches are great and hopefully can be utilized in whatever my new living arrangement winds up being.  I also cleared and took down one of the four wire shelves in the room.  It was a nice start to tackling what will surely be the most challenging space in the house to clear.  My current mental game plan is to only have one bench in the room with two printers on it with no shelving to get me by with any printing needs until the next step in this journey goes down. I am also now actively trying to sell my V12, an EUC that I love but don’t really need at this point in time.

One thing this purge has made clear is that I have had a number of situations where I bought things for some sort of project or upgrade that I never executed for one reason or another.  Repeatedly I have found stuff that I bought, never used and as a result will either find it’s way to a donate, recycle, or trash pile in the near future.

I still had some gas in the tank so I went out to the garage and cleared the rest of the wire shelves in there.  I now have a massive pile of things to get dropped off at the recycling center and my big trash bin that was just picked up yesterday is three quarters full already.  I have a pretty solid mental blueprint of how I want to navigate through this sizeable challenge.  I just need to try to keep executing it in manageable chunks without letting it consume me. There are some furniture items I can foresee hitting FB Marketplace in my near future.

Speaking of Marketplace, which can be a great free tool for selling items locally, it also can be a cesspool of scammers.  The items I listed flooded me with a ton of these fake buyers that you can discern from a number of things like their profile information or if their profile is “locked” so you can see no details at all.  Often they will try to get you to take the communication off of Facebook to hide their tracks.  I normally try to vet potential buyers by asking a few specific questions about them or their location.  If I get non-specific or no answer at all I move on, always.

When I finally hit bed I was pretty beat.  It felt good to take a few more solid swings with the axe as I work on felling this massive tree of tasks.

This morning on my way to work I saw a rarity, someone else on an EUC.  I couldn’t quite make out what model he was riding but it was a powerful wheel based on the speed he was going.  He was wearing flip flops and a backwards baseball hat.  The only protective gear I think I saw was wrist guards, maybe.

I found it ironic that I happened to catch him falling off the wheel as he crossed the intersection onto the sidewalk and evidently misjudged or did not see someone approaching from the other direction on a bike, consuming most of the space.  The last thing I saw was him trying to grab the wheel as it was wobbling towards the road.  Hopefully he did not get too injured as a result. This is normally the way it goes for some people, they don’t place importance on wearing safety gear until they are directly impacted by not doing so.

My Monday followed a pattern that has been established recently, compress, remove, discard, and sort.  I spent time in the office and the hobby room primarily trying to make some headway.  As mentioned before the hobby room will be the biggest bear of all.  In that regard I listed three of my printers in there for sale and one of my electric unicycles.  The money and space will come in handy.  At this point the hobby room is really the only space that has significant things on the wall courtesy of the wire shelving I installed years ago to house all of the parts/tools associated with my 3D printing and EUC hobbies.  It all has to come down.

It is a bit strange the way my mind has flipped.  Things that I once thought I was attached to or needed are now getting summarily thrown out or given away with little more than a split second deliberation.  My trash bin was filled to the brim last night with another large pile of things down by the roadside for the scavengers to have their way with.  Kerri and I also were in the garage last night pulling down tons of partial paint cans and other supplies.  I had left over paint from pretty much every room in the house.  Since everything both inside and outside is due to be painted it has all become instantly obsolete. I will have a large drop off at the local recycling center coming up this week.

During the day I met up with Kerri at Home Depot to grab a different set of colors for the exterior of the house.  I think this time we hit on a good combo, the test area looked good on the exterior wall.  Despite the huge pain in the ass it is to prep the house for painting I am excited to see what the transformation will look like afterward.

It’s odd for me to feel so robotic about the process.  Sure there are a few things that I absolutely need/want to hold on to but for the most part I am in a scorched earth mindset.  Now that the ball is rolling I will be pushing hard to get on the other side of this, it’s just how I am.

Last night Kerri and I took a break to do something fun, build a Peanuts themed ginger bread house.  She bought this weeks ago but we never found the time to build it before the holidays.  I was convinced that when I came out in the morning that the house would have slid apart but it was still standing strong, a testament to our superior house building skill.  It was a fun little project, for both of us.

I spent almost all of New Years Eve with Kerri with a big portion of that dedicated to continuing work on getting the house ready for painting and eventual sale.  She was impressed by how much I got done myself the day before.  With us working as a team on Saturday we got even more done.

I installed the new LED overhead light in the kitchen.  I was surprised just how much brighter it was.  After doing this Kerri looked at the old shitty original light that was hanging over the baking area and suggested we look into replacing it. We did, although I broke a bottom cap piece on the new light along the way.  The lighting swap brightened up the main living space considerably.

When we bought the new hanging light we also got some small paint samples.  Kerri had different swatches on the wall and was looking at them in different light conditions to see what looks best.  For the most part I am deferring to her when it comes to color selections.  Sure I can tell you if I like something or not but she has an ability to see subtle differences that are nearly undetectable by my eyes.  When it comes to color selection I trust her judgement better than mine. Picking a main color for the inside and outside of a home to have the most appeal to buyers is sort of a big deal.

We did a lot more work on pulling, sorting, boxing and tossing.  Having Kerri there with me during the process was helpful in keeping me on point and distracted from some of the difficult emotions associated with such an undertaking. We got a lot done.

Our New Years Eve was enjoyable.  Kerri grabbed some seafood paella which was very good.  We enjoyed our food with wine and just chilled.  We chilled so much that we both fell asleep before midnight.  I woke back up around 12:45.  It was the first time I had not seen the ball drop in years and years but it didn’t change my enjoyment of the evening whatsoever.

Yesterday morning we did some more work around the house including brushing small squares of the paint samples on the wall.  We think we have nailed down the interior color but are going to have to take another stab at the exterior color combo.  I never was thrilled with the exterior color of our house after we had it painted and liked it even less after the new metal roof was installed.  We are hoping to go with some sort of grayish combo outside for the repaint.

Kerri headed out to hang with her girlfriends for a good portion of the day.  My mindset was to continue plowing along, which I did, with a few speed bumps along the way.  Like I said having Kerri work the decluttering with me was a good way to keep my mind off of negative thoughts.  There were a couple times yesterday where I sat and stared at the space around me, feeling the weight of the tasks ahead.  We got a call from the painter asking if he could move up the interior painting by a week which we tentatively agreed to, giving me three weeks to be ready.

After doing some cleaning up I packed up a couple more donation boxes for Goodwill and filled a big container with finished 3D prints that were adorning one of the dining room cabinets.  They needed to be rehomed.  I decided that new home would be my office.  I loaded up Elsa and headed into town.  As always she sprinted around the halls at work, she just loves it there for some reason.  Before putting anything else in my office I had to clean it as well.

I first put away the Christmas decorations and then dusted the space on top of my cabinet.  I did a round of throwing shit out there as well, nearly filling my trash can with things I have held onto for long periods of time for no great reason.  I was able to get all of the 3D prints in there without much hassle thanks to the subtraction I had done.  Much like my house, my office has many years of me in it. When I was done I had to coax Elsa to leave work, she wanted to stay and hang.

On the way home I stopped at Home Depot to grab some boxes that will be used to house things I will keep or donate. Once returning home I used them to get a few piles that were scattered around the house at least contained. If possible I would like to keep the visual chaos to a minimum.

Late yesterday afternoon I decided to grab my S22 for a short ride.  Riding is always a good way for me to mentally reset and I felt like I could definitely use one at that point.  During the ride I talked about the changes I have set in motion recently and how I am hoping the end result will be an overall positive impact on my quality of life in the future.

Last night Kerri and I watched 13 Lives on Amazon, a movie about a kids soccer team that was stranded in a cave back in 2018.  I had wanted to see this movie for awhile as I heard it was very good.  The movie was amazing.  The heroism, determination, resources, and effort that was put into rescuing these kids after 18 days was unbelievable.  If you have not seen it, you should.  It’s a solid A movie for me.

I’m off today so back to packing….

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.

This will likely be my last 2022 post, peace…..

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.