Back at the Park – Day 1

Yep.  That right.  I’m back at the RV park.  WHOO HOO!!

So much to share, so poor memory to remember things that I thought at the time:  “that’s funny, I should include that in my next blog post”.

Please bear with me as I suspect this post will be pretty random and I’m not even going to attempt doing it chronologically.

Well, since this is the Thanksgiving holiday weekend, let me start by giving thanks.

• First and foremost I am thankful for the support of my family and friends.
• I am thankful for the help of Rachel (my eldest daughter) to get me packed up and ready to leave
• I am thankful for the light traffic all the way here – not a single traffic jam if you can believe it.
• I am thankful for the beautiful weather I had all the way here.
• I am thankful for for the clouds that defused the sun as it set Friday night so I was not completely blinded by it.
• I am thankful I didn’t wreck on the few occasions I was blinded by the setting sun Saturday night.
• I am thankful for that border patrol checkpoint which gave me cause to slow down and pause while the sun finished setting behind the mountains (beautiful when you are not being blinded by it).
• I am thankful that the road debris I couldn’t avoid in Chicago didn’t cause any damage to the truck.
• I am thankful I had zero mechanical problems with the truck on this trip.
• I am thankful for cruise control
• I am thankful that nice officer who turned on his lights next to me wanted the driver that passed me a few minutes before by  whopping 1-2 MPH and not me.
• I am thankful that none of the many law enforcement officers I passed wanted to make my acquaintance.
• I am thankful that although I was not able to get a room at the Super 8 in El Reno OK because I waited too late to call, the booking agent was able to get me a room in Oklahoma City.
• I am thankful that the desk clerk at the Super 8 in Oklahoma City that was not able to find my reservation was kind enough to look up the address I was given and point me toward the Days Inn.
• I am thankful I did not cross paths with the man around the hotel in Oklahoma City that the police were searching for around the hotel and surrounding area – REALLY searching for – multiple cruisers and a chopper, all while I merrily unloaded what I needed from the truck to the hotel room.
• I am thankful that Sasha readily walked up and down the stairs to our second floor hotel room (she has never walked up or down a flight of stairs that I can recall)
• I am thankful Hershey didn’t puke on anything this trip.
• I am thankful Hershey used the litter box and not my truck seat this trip.
• I am thankful Sasha only decided to come through the ropes into the front seats once and it was while I was stopped at a gas station.
• I am thankful Sasha did not slip the collar as I was trying to get her back into the truck at the a fore mentioned gas station.
• I am thankful that I figured out how to get her into the truck without me having to crawl through the back seat from the drivers side to the passengers side as I have done in the past.

I could go on and on with that list but I’ll call it good for know and throw in a few more here and there in the rest of the body of the blog.

Before I go on, let me share a bit on my feelings of self deprecation to give a bit of context of how I may use it going forward in my blogs.  First, I generally think it is counter productive and is a very bad habit to have for reasons I won’t go into.  That said, sometimes you need to look at things objectively and call it what it is, then move on and not dwell on it.  If you are able to laugh at yourself and then move on, then bravo.  That said, while I like to consider myself an intelligent person, sometimes I do things that aren’t too smart.  Cheryl has kindly given me a label that we both use with a smile when discussing such moments/decisions – “dumb ass”.  For example, when I got out of my truck to get closer to a rattle snake so I could get better video on my phone – “dumb ass”.

Looking back it looks like it has been a little over 2 weeks since I wrote a blog entry.  Clearly a lot has happened in that two weeks.  Hmmm…  How to organize these discussion points.  Lets go by subject, starting with the house.

Ugh.  The house.  Background:  I had it one the market a couple summers ago as a owner seller trying to sell it AS-IS for cheap because it had a lot of deferred maintenance for numerous reasons I won’t delve into here.  I had a guy talk me into renting it to him for 3 months until he could get his finances straightened out to get a loan (something about friend of the court causing issues with his credit). Fast forward a year and he still hasn’t bought it, he has lost his job, he is getting rent $$ from ?? Fast forward a few months more, he is 2 months behind in rent payments and it is time to evict.  Here is a summary of what I found when I returned.  Missing:  refrigerator, large chest freezer, washer, dryer, 2 dehumidifiers, wall mounted heater for the breezeway, ceiling light fixture in the breezeway, burner for the water heater, blinds for all three bedrooms.

Misc damage: two  broken windows.

I called the police to file a report.  The local officer told me to call the renter and tell him to bring the stuff back and didn’t take the report.  I tried.  Phone was disconnected.  I did not manage my time to call the police back before it was time to leave.  So much to work on at the house.  I pretty much chose 3 projects.    I noted water penetration in the basement when it was raining heavy.  I had foolishly removed some gutters years before without replacing them.  Dumb ass.   To compound things the renter had dug a couple holes up close to the house (inches away) to hold water for some water feature landscape.  Dumb ass.  So, project 1 was to fill those holes and put up gutters.  For project 2, I decided to replace the water heater rather than deal with trying to find a replacement burner and get it installed.  For project three, there were a number of broken electrical outlets through the house, a few of them the original 2 prong outlet when the house was built, so I wanted to replace all the outlets.  For all three projects, I am SO thankful that I have been practicing positive thinking habits for months now, otherwise I would have been in such a foul mood I would have been unsuitable to be around for weeks as each one of them presented interesting challenges.

Filling the holes in the front of the house was easy enough.  The landscaping supply yard I went to originally was closed for the season – no such note on their website as I sat there 15 minutes waiting for them to open that Saturday morning.  So, off to Menards to buy bagged topsoil.  Not the cheapest solution, but easy.  Two trips to Menards for the top soil as I underestimated how much I would need by about 50%  The gutter project itself was not all that difficult.  I chose to use plastic gutters from Menards for the project.  This was the only project of the three I did not have to run back to Menards for more materials for.  The challenge with this project was the weather.  I was limited to working weekends as it was dark after work and I didn’t want to burn a vacation day.  With winter quickly approaching, I didn’t feel that I could be too particular about the weather I would be willing to work in.  So, I chose to install the gutter hangers, one 10 ft length of gutter, and a downspout in 40 degree light rainy weather.  I did so happily.  I was humming and singing the tune/phrase “Singing in the Rain” on multiple occasions.  Many times over and over.  Although conditions were miserable (for someone not accustomed to working outdoors and certainly not appropriately attired for the rain), I managed to stay  positive through out the project.  I had to stop there as the next step in the project was to cement the gutter pieces together and for that I needed them to be dry.  I was just wrapping up my 3-4 hours of working in the rain when Jacob arrived at the agreed upon time to help me move the new water heater to the basement and then go out and spend some time together.  We ate at Los Amigos then headed over to Cheryl’s apartment and hang out to visit.  By the time we got to Cheryl’s apartment, the rain from the morning/afternoon had finally soaked through all my layers and I was very chilled.  I took a long hot shower to warm up and Rachel threw all my clothes in the washer for me.  I am thankful that their apartment has a washer and dryer in it.  I am thankful for the wonderful 1×1 time I had with Jacob then the crude and very enjoyable game of Cards Against Humanity that we played as a family.  I corrupted Cheryl, and our kids, well, they are our kids.  Apples didn’t fall far from the tree.

Anyway, back to the projects.  As weather was not cooperative to finish the gutters, the water heater was next.  Usually, it takes me 3 trips to the hardware store for project like that.  That would have been about right for this one, however…  a couple of leaks at the threaded connections connecting the water heater and ruining a set or two of chimey adapters and vent elbows, I think the total trips to Menard’s was closer to 6 or 7 for this project.  To keep this project in positive light, I had to look at it from the perspective of how much I was learning – both what to do and what not to do although more of what not to do.  Historically, I have always used TFE tape for my plumbing projects.  This time, I thought I would try TFE paste.  I learned I do not like to use TFE paste and I will be using TFE tape for all my future plumbing projects.  I learned that I would much rather spend the extra few bucks on steel venting than aluminum.  I am thankful for the leak on the cold inlet that I failed to sufficiently tighten as it forced me to reach out to Justin, the plumber in the family, via Brian and Stacey the night before I was to depart for AZ again.  I learned that my plumbing job was in code violation because on a gas water heater, code requires 18 inches of copper before converting to PEX.  UGH.  Dumb ass.  Oh… And one last 1/2 turn of the PEX to threaded adapter stopped the leak.  No more leaks, just plumbing code violations.  I’ll be having him out to rip out all my plumbing work and replace it (there is only about 18 inches vertically of PEX that I put in).

Project three, replacing electrical outlets.  Pretty simple.  I woke up at 3AM one morning, couldn’t go back to sleep, so had the three bedrooms done, the hallway done, and one in the living room done before I had to stop for work.  There was just one thing that wasn’t sitting right with me.  Did I reverse hot and neutral?  After work, I buy a circuit tester.  Open ground.  Expected given the wiring in the walls. Nothing about reversing neutral and hot.  Next morning, I wake up at 4AM.  May as well continue working on the electrical.  Finish the living room and kitchen.  That was easy.  Two days, few hours before work each day.  Still nagging feeling about hot and neutral.  Ok. Time for google.  check the breaker box to see which color wire is wired in common with ground.  I noted that it was white in all but one instance.  UGH.  Dumb ass.  I wired them all backwards.  Does it matter given there is no ground?  I don’t know, but my compulsive tendency to want to do it right and fix it was too much to resist.  Starting in the kitchen, working back through the living room and bedrooms, I went through and swapped the hot and neutral wires.  I got to the master bedroom which was an addition after the house was build and had grounds at all the outlets.  I started flipping hot and neutral (black and white) in there, but it occurred to me that the tester had shown that all but one of the outlets was wired properly with the seemingly reversed wiring and I remembered the one exception I saw in the breaker box where the colors were reversed on the circuit breaker.  Hmmm.. Guessing that one is the master bedroom (breakers are not well labeled).  I rewired outlets in the master bedroom for the third time to get hot and neutral right per the tester and called the project a wrap.  Sadly I missed an outlet by the mantel in the living room and I didn’t get to replacing any in the basement before I wanted to leave for AZ.

I ended up taking a working vacation day Wednesday before Thanksgiving so I would finish the gutter project and work on the various other projects to get them done before my departure on Friday.  At one point on Wednesday I noted that the battery in the furnace thermostat needed to be replaced.  I forgot.  Dumb ass.  I woke up Thursday morning chilled to the bone and congested.  The thermometer said 52 degrees.  That was the second time I was chilled to the core in a week.  I was now both frozen and sick on Thanksgiving morning.  I am thankful I had hot water by this time.  I climbed into the bath tub (no shower curtain) and drew the hottest bath water I could manage and soaked an hour (periodically refilling with fresh hot water).  I then mustered the energy to go to the gas station and buy batteries for the thermostat.

Years ago, when I would get a cold it would last for weeks.  In most cases it would completely put me in bed for a few days.  Since I changed my diet a few years back.  I rarely get a cold and when I do, it is generally mild and short lived.  I have observed that when I don’t drink enough water on a regular bases, I start to get a cold.  Crank up the water intake and it helps my body flush out what it doesn’t want in it.  If I allow myself to become too cold for too long, I get a cold.  My theory there is my body diverts it’s energy from fighting off never ending onslaught of viruses to keeping my body’s core temperature up giving the viruses an opportunity to get a food hold in my body.  Lastly, sleep.  Get enough sleep as that is when my body spends energy restoring its systems.  Well, I had the trifecta of bodily neglect and abuse between not taking the time to drink enough water, allowing myself to become chilled to the bone on multiple occasions, and not getting enough sleep over the last week so now I have a cold.  Dumb ass.  It had been my plan to finish the projects Wednesday and stage everything in the garage so I would just have to load the truck Thursday and that would be it.  That didn’t happen, but I did get a couple batches of food for Sasha made for the road trip and the first couple days here in AZ.  It had been my plan to pickup and vacuum Thursday morning before heading off to Thanksgiving with the family.   That didn’t happen.  I decided that I better give my body rest so after replacing the thermostat batteries, I crawled back under the covers with my winter coat on and tried to sleep for a couple more hours.  After Thanksgiving with the family, I had planned on loading the truck then spending the evening relaxing with Cheryl and Rachel before starting the long road trip Friday.  That didn’t happen.  I was feeling  weak and lethargic after Thanksgiving dinner (in restrospect symptoms of a fever).  No it wasn’t the usual after Thanksgiving dinner snoozer that I am so well acquainted with.  Instead I laid down for a couple hour nap.  Took a couple of sudephed when I got up and headed to the house with Rachel.  Not sure if it was the nap, the sudephed, or a combination, but I was feeling much better as Rachel and I worked our way through the house packing and cleaning.  It was cold loading the truck, but at least it was not raining.  We somehow managed to get everything that I planned on taking back to AZ crammed into the truck.  It was definitely fuller then my trip back to Michigan.  Back to the apartment by around 11PM and to bed after sorting out keys, laptops, charging cables, etc.

Continuing the theme of no continuity for this blog post, onto the subject of friends and family.  I got to not just see but visit with by parents, brother, and kids.   Sadly, I didn’t make it to visit with my sister.  See you in July Sis.  I got to go out with my friends Pete and Judy and Aaron and Laura.  All of whom played a role of socially pulling me out of my shell before I headed to Arizona this last June.  That socialization gave me the drive and desire to not become a hermit here in Arizona as I felt I had become there in Michigan and instead establish a network of friends.  Life is so much more enjoyable with friends.  I am very thankful for my friends both in Michigan and in the Arizona/New Mexico area.

I drove all the way from Michigan to Arizona in silence.  Just my thoughts to keep me company.  I remember when I was in school riding in my dad’s car without a working radio.  I couldn’t understand how he could drive around with just his thoughts for company.  I understand now.  I spent the trip thinking about what I needed to get done this weekend (this blog wasn’t part of it but is personally satisfying so I don’t care), thinking about what I need to get done in the coming weeks and months.  Thinking about how I spent my time the last couple of weeks.  Should I have done things differently?  Any regrets?  I certainly have mixed feelings on many of those.  Could I have paid someone to do most of the projects I did.  Very easily.  Would I have rather been doing other things like socializing with friends and family?  Absolutely.  Was it wasted time?  I don’t think so.  I learned a lot in two weeks from the school of aw-f*ck.  I also continued to develop and put into practice positive thinking and attitude during challenging moments.  There are clearly lessons that I have been taught time and time again that are just slow to sink in.  Namely, ask for help when you need it.  My fierce desire for independence and to do things myself has really suppressed my willingness to ask for help.  Even when I clearly need it.  I think another aspect of that has been that for so long I have been socially isolated even from family that it felt wrong to call and ask for favors when I haven’t bothered to call or visit them in far to long.  All a part of this middle age make over I am working on.  :-).  Make friends.  Visit friends.  Visit family.  Help friends.  Help family.  Ask for help from family and friends as needed.  Stop and smell the roses… err… desert flowers.

On the drive I also reflected on my feelings and emotions about the drive itself comparing it to the previous trip I made it June.  In June, I was leaving home, friends and family, and embarking on a grand adventure and at one point briefly thinking:  “Oh shit!  What have I just done?”.   This trip, I was leaving friends, family, and a shelter that I’ve owned for years and I was heading home to my RV and new friends in the Arizona/New Mexico border area.

Lastly, I feel compelled to write a bit about work.  I believe that the combination of three factors are why I am currently being permitted work remotely:

1. I have worked very hard to add value to the company over the years and that has been recognized by my peers and leadership at the company.
2. Previous leadership authorized me to make this move and continue to work for the company
3. I have time sensitive building permits that have already been issued

I believe if you remove any one of these three factors, the decision to permit me to work remotely for now would not have happened.  Even long term is currently undecided.

To my friends and colleagues at work reading this, make no mistake, management is very much conflicted with this decision and I completely understand why.  It is a very unenviable position to be in given the policies regarding no long term remote workers just put forth.  It is a precedence for policy exception that others may try to leverage or otherwise question why I am an exception.  Me blogging about my adventure makes it even more difficult.  So, I must ask a favor of you (please note above how difficult it generally is for me to ask for favors).  Support me in this.  I generally don’t know how you could/would do that.  One thing I do know is one point of contention is this blog so if you could simply not discuss my blog entries at work, that alone would be helpful.  Not sure if that is a reasonable ask or not, but I am asking none the less.  As for my part, I commit to you that as long as I’m permitted to work remotely I will continue to give 110% as I have been for the last 2 years + that I have been working remotely.

Ok.  It has taken way longer than anticipated to write this rambling blog entry and I have a long day of to-do’s ahead of me.

Hope everyone had a safe and fulfilling holiday weekend.

Cary