Oh What a Week

What a week. You may have noticed that I haven't been around this small corner of the blog-o-sphere much lately.
I have officially caught the plague and have been home from work now for 2 days.For those of you who don't know me this might seem normal, but it's not. I don't miss work. In fact, I almost ALWAYs at least make it in to work. I figure I can try to work and if, once I'm there, I am in fact too sick to work, then I'll go home. This week I actually "called" in sick. That means, I'm really ill. Not just playing hooky. Boo Hoo. I've learned though that being single means having to take care of yourself when you're sick. No one to care if you need cough syrup or soup, no back rubs, no pity party. (I should re-phrase that. I have people who CARE, just no one within 5 hours of where I am now wasting away in my bed.)

On top of being sick, I also put my house up for sale this week. I've spent the past 6 months getting the house remodeled and repairs done so that I wouldn't have to die of embarassment every time the realtor parades some stranger through my home. Though there are still a hundred little loose ends that need to be taken care of--such as raking up the leaves that have been in my back yard since last fall, and cleaning out the garage-- I am running out of time, patience and energy. So, needless to say I finally hired a realtor.

What a racket! I DID try to sell my house as "For Sale By Owner" for a month, only to get just a few bites of interest; mostly people who buy houses as investment property. It was just too darn time consuming to do it on my own. On top of working endless hours every week and trying to work on "fixing up" the house on the weekends, I was also trying to show the property on my lunch breaks or after work. YIKES! Now, I can at least say I tried.

Having to pay a realtor 6-7% of the sale price is one tough pill to swallow though. Anyone out there who's a realtor, please understand that I know you work hard to sell the properties that you're contracted to sell, but even on my small, cheap, $140,000 house, it will end up costing me $11,000 with realtor and closing costs.

This sucks, but it's also compounded by the fact that prior to my divorce, we used the equity in the house to pay for some of the remodeling projects we had done, and to pay off credit card debt. Some mine, most my ex's. This means that I may end up having to bring money to closing in order to sell my humble abode. They say, hindsight in 20/20, and had I know my husband would decide to walk after 10 years together, I certainly would not have used this precious asset- my home equity-to pay off debt; debt that my ex accumulated from HIS first marriage-yada yada yada. Ughh- enough about the ex.

Lastly, work this week has been a terror. I have a very small staff where I'm at right now, and last week 1/2 (which equates to 2 people) of them quit. No, not a mutiny. But they both quit without notice. I have spent the past week reading, sorting, and grading resumes. I have 60+ applications to go through for these two positions. As a side note, about 2/3's of those applying for these somewhat "entry-level" positions, have a BA or even their Master's degrees. Goes to show that the job market is a tough place right now. There are a lot of people job hunting.

Once the resumes are selected, then comes the interviews. Then possibly a second interview, then the selection of an applicant, making the offer, running the background and credit checks, drug test, personality test, etc, etc. I know, I'm moving and going to work for another company, but I promised my boss I would leave my job ready to hand over, turn-key if you will. So, I unfortunately have to put some real time and thought into who I hire, even if I won't be there after they start.

And who do you suppose has to cover those two positions while we're trying to get them filled?? Well it's ME, Super Woman,of course! CAN YOU SAY, "BURNING TO CANDLE AT BOTH ENDS." It's really no wonder I'm sick.

On top of all that, I just spent Valentines Day without the one person in this world I wanted desperately to spend it with, and that just takes the cake for me this week. I haven't even seen Tim for a month. I am not one of those people who has a problem with being alone. Sometimes, I even relish being alone. I've never been someone who HAS to have a boyfriend. But when I do, I want to BE with them, especially on the most romantic day of the year. I know, boo hoo again.

I just can't wait until we actually live in the same area code and can see each other more than either of us probably cares to see each other! This is the motivation that keeps me going when I think about the daunting task ahead of me- selling my house, moving my stuff, starting a new job in a new State-- and doing a lot of it alone.
I imagine it's weeks like this that keep the travel industry afloat. I think I need a Bahamavention! Or a Carribavention! Or a Cabovention! Anyone want to join me? Ok, but you have to pick up a paint brush or rake and earn your keep first! Or pay for the trip ;)
Cheers!

Not Just For Grandma Anymore!

Until the recent news about astronaut Lisa Nowak, who stalked and maced some poor lady for dating a guy who Nowak was infatuated with, I had truly under-appreciated the Adult Diaper. Think about all the possibilities:
1. Great for those long distance road trips
2. You no longer have to get up half way through a great movie to use the restroom
3. Of course it's easier to stalk someone you want to catch and mace
4. You no longer have to be frustrated when you have the window or middle seat on the airplane. "Excuse me, pardon me, excuse me. Oh sorry. Oops. Pardon me....."5. Get stuck in rush hour traffic a lot?
6. Maybe you can't possibly miss the commercials during the Super Bowl?
7. They are just so darn sexy.
8. Addicted to playing Xbox?
9. When you're having a real lucky streak in Vegas?
What a great invention!! Of course 100's of astronauts can't be wrong! They swear by them. Especially if you need to stalk and mace someone.

Single to SULLY In 7 Seconds

When did Single become synonymous with sully? Has it been true throughout history that bachelors are inevitably messy people?

This question came to me as I begin the process of listing and selling my house. I have come to realize that it is a lot of work keeping your house clean enough to sell--especially when you live alone. But what about those "singles" who aren't forced to keep their happy abode neat? And please understand, I mean messy not necessarily dirty, though some of us are innately dirty as well (present company NOT included--I can handle clutter, but not dirt.)

Here's an example. I have a friend, who we'll call B for anonymity's sake, who is single--that is, he lives alone-- and has no children. The other day I went to his house to visit, and as I entered his front door, I was blasted with smell of rancid baby puke and floor cleaner.

I instantly recalled a conversation we'd had just the week prior about the jug of milk in his refrigerator that had an expiration date of sometime in October. Low and behold, the rotten milk ate through the plastic container and leaked down the front of the refrigerator and onto the kitchen floor (hence the floor cleaner smell.)

And this isn't a rarity with him, or me for that matter. If you opened my refrigerator today you would find 2 or 3 dishes with some now mysterious left-overs in them and probably some moldy cheese. And though I've never had food go so bad that it actually ate thought the container it was in, I've had my share of fuzzy fruit and lumpy milk.

But the refrigerator isn't the only problem. Just looking around my kitchen you will usually find dishes in the sink, the bread has gone moldy, and my potatoes have grown something resembling "little albino old man" legs. You know, those crazy little tentacles that oddly sprout from your potato when you're not watching.

If you were to then venture from my kitchen to my living room you'd find that my dog, Murry, has decided to annihilate a paper towel or wrapper that has fallen to the floor. He's a long-haired Dachsund, so he basically looks like an Irish Setter with no legs. He's such a "low-rider", that when he walks he proceed to carry everything under him, with him. So needless to say, my living room floor will sometimes be covered in leaves or those annoying "balls" that fall from the Sycamore tree I have out back.

From there you could see that my bedroom has a few articles of dirty clothes in the chair next to my bed (because of course the laundry hamper is full of clean clothes waiting to be folded and put away.) The bed hasn't been made and my 12 year old cat may have decided this day was a good one to puke up a hair ball smack dab in the middle of the room-- oh joy! The bath room is buried in all my hair and make-up "stuff" and I never seem to be able to get the damned toilet paper roll in it's proper place. It ends up instead on the floor next to the toilet.

I know a few bachelors who are "neat as a pin," as Senator Biden would say, so I don't know if messiness is a god given right of single people, but it sure seems that the majority of us live in a clean / messy dichotomy. Their house might be clean only for special occasions or there may be special rooms that are maintained while the rest of the house is a disaster. Or maybe you're the weekend warrior type (like me) who goes "balls to the wall" for 2 days each week and then just let it all slide the rest of the week.

Like I said earlier, I am selling my house for my move to Boise. This requires that every nook and cranny be clean and neat. After spending a week scrubbing, sweeping, mopping, vacuuming, and shampooing, I now know why people let this stuff go. It's alot of work. Especially alone-there's no "honey-do" lists; no delegation. Especially if you are like me and work A LOT of hours every week. I feel like I spend my whole life working and cleaning.

Well forgot that! I am too busy, too tired, and too bored with cleaning.

I hired Merry Maids today.

Ahhhh someone else can deal with being neat for me. Maybe being an un-tidy bachelor isn't so bad after all.

THE JOURNEY

The Journey

One day you finally knew

What you had to do, and began

Though the voices around you Kept shouting

Their bad advice -

Though the whole house

Began to tremble

And you felt the old tug

At your ankles "Mend my life!"Each voice cried. But you didn't stop. You knew what you had to do,

Though the wind pried

With its stiff fingers

At the very foundations,

Though their melancholy

Was terrible.

It was already late

Enough, and a wild night,

And the road full of fallen stones.

But little by little,

As you left their voices behind,

The stars began to burn

Through the sheets of clouds,

And there was a new voice,

Which you slowly recognized as your own,

That kept you company

As you strode deeper and deeper

Into the world,

Determined to do

The only thing you could do -Determined to save

The only life you could save.

By Mary Oliver