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TWO YEARS TODAY I STARTED LIVING THE RV LIFESTYLE IN MY MIRADA!! It has certainly has had its challenges and ups and downs; however, the ups have far outweighed the downs so I think I’ll continue my journey and my dream of 50 States in 50 Months. Only 1143 more days to go! Til I quit working anyway…the actual trip of a lifetime will start on April 1st 2009. I can only imagine the thrills and the adventures that await me…until then I can plan, ponder and dream. And part of dreaming is planning and saving $$$$ to buy my PleasureWay. I think I need to increase my allotment for my SFCU savings as I’m spending a little too much money right now and not putting enough away per month.
11 AUG 05
Snakes and mice do NOT live in My Mirada anymore! Yes, I came home from my trip to Pensacola to signs of a mouse inhabiting my home and then to top that off I come home from work on Monday to a SNAKE crawling along my floor. By the time I got the neighbor it was gone and no where to be found. I didn’t sleep that night to say the least. In fact, I left all the lights on and even my radio to ensure it didn’t think the place was empty. I also set 4 mousetraps and sprinkled moth balls inside and outside. The place reeks of moth balls, but to me that is comforting knowing that snakes don’t like them. Anyway, I slept pretty good last night and only left 2 lights on and the radio softly playing.
13 Aug 05
What a long day….. Last night Bill called me and asked if I wanted to drink beer down on the deck and so I went down for a little while. Jim and Minnie were there too and we had a great time catching up and cracking jokes. Then Bill and I sat outside his place and talked for awhile and finally I got home about 11 p.m. Jim called soon after that and he was responding to the voice mail that Minnie and Bill left him earlier in the evening…he could tell that I was somewhat drunk but we had a nice chat anyway :-) So anyway today I woke up with a slight hangover but I got my butt up and went to work so that I could get the MAPs out to the units before I have to do double duty next week. Geezzzzz they are slowing killing me; however, I will keep doing my best to fight the stress and do whatever possible to keep it at bay.
Called Mom and actually had a nice conversation for a change… I guess I will start calling on the weekends when I’m relaxed and ready for her versus calling her on the way home from work after a stressful day. Makes sense, huh?
14 AUG 05
Woke this morning after 9 hours of mostly restful sleep… I say “mostly” because I did wake up around midnight and had to take a motrin because my leg was aching. I also went outside for a cigarette and enjoyed the peace and quiet of the night. Earlier in the evening I was sitting outside and thoroughly enjoyed my candlelit patio and the night sounds of Grassy Pond. I’ll have to do that more often as I really enjoy that kind of setting out here. Now it is time for my usual Sunday morning breakfast--cheese omelet, hash browns, and 3 slices of bacon. Yummy! I use Egg Beaters for the omelet with mozzarella cheese and the hash browns are actually tator tots that are baked in my toaster oven. So not as unhealthy as you would think. I always watch TV when I eat my meals and this morning will be no different. I have Friday’s Guiding Light episode to enjoy :-)
After my scrumptious breakfast I started my yard work and two hours later I had finished mowing, weed eating, dumping my garden plants, blowing the patio, and removing spider webs. Ok, almost all the spider webs… I found three huge webs with huge spiders hanging out and decided that I’d leave them alone. The were far enough away from My Mirada that I didn’t have to worry about them…much anyway. Kelly came over about the time I finished and so I sat down at the picnic table with him and had a beer. Kelly is a retired Msgt that leaves here at Grassy Pond that comes over now and then to say hello and has also helped me with things like putting my weedeater together, drilling holes in my garden containers and recently setting the mousetraps for me. His lady friend probably doesn’t care much for me but if she knew that our friendship was totally harmless, it probably be for the best, but of course, she is a typical female and finds that I’m a threat somehow. Pleaseeeeeeeeeeeeeeee… I have no desire to even contemplate anything but a friendship with him. Anyway, it felt good…no great…to get the yard looking decent again. I still can’t believe the management here doesn’t take better care of their campsites, but I’m not going to pitch a fit as I want to stay here as long as possible. Until I retire in 3 years anyway. Yes, I bought my own lawnmower, weed eating, and leaf blower so that I can keep the yard and patio looking good. Keeps the damn snakes away too!
After Kelly left, I finished up my chores to include taping up the sewer hose… put stuff away and then started the coals burning in my Little Webber grill. Took a much desired shower and afterwards I grilled my steak that I’ve had marinating in teriyaki sauce for the last two days. That’s my reward for all my hard work today! I’ll have mashed potatoes, green beans, and a salad with it as soon as I finish drinking my beer. I have one left so it will be soon :-) Yes, I love my beer!
15 AUG 05
Tis payday today plus the start of a semi-crazy week due to having to do two jobs again. Hopefully I’ll only have to do the double-duty for a half a day each day for the next 3 days. That’s my plan anyway J I do not want to stress like I did last time. In fact, I’m making it a point not to get there early today… I’ll just do what I can do when I can do it…period.
Well, I made it through the day without much stress so that is a good thing :-) In fact, it went much better than anticipated because I didn’t have to be in the office with TSgt Howe while she was there. This works for me!
16 AUG 05
Today I get my new telephone connected here inside My Mirada! Yes, I’m excited because now I can get back online at home after two years of not having a computer. For the most part I haven’t missed it, but in the last few months the need has increased. Or maybe I should say the desire has increased and not the need. The desire to write like I’m doing now. It was more difficult to pick up my handwritten journal on a regular basis so I missed out on the opportunity of writing about my many thoughts and desires…my many adventures and experiences…my highs and my lows. That has now changed with the purchase of this laptop and after today I can finally get back to updating my webpage journal so that my family and friends can pop in to see how I’m doing and hear about my next adventure…whatever that may be :-)
17 AUG 05
Telephone connection has been installed and I’m back in cyberspace! One of my first stops was cupid.com so that I could see if anyone was available for my friend Monica, but of course I had to check out who she thought was adorable so went to Discovery Channel website under Dirty Jobs because she thought the host of that show was “the man” for her. He was a cutie…that’s for sure. And there were some on cupid.com too! I also contacted my old friend John and let him know that I was back online and he was thrilled with the news and we exchanged some IM’s on AOL for a little while with promises of chatting again sometime soon. The highlight of the day though had nothing to do with my cyberspace connection… it was a phone call from Jim! He wanted to apologize for not sending the $$ for the Pittsburgh plane ticket yet. It’s not that I’m concerned about it, but I did find it warming that he was thinking about it and me for that matter. Yeah, I am still in love with him no matter what has happened to our relationship. I’ll write about that soon… I’m just not quite ready yet.
Time to head to work now… have PT first thing followed by 4 hours in my office and then the rest of the day will be spent covering the CSS. Not a boring schedule, that’s for sure.
18 AUG 05
Yesterday at work was a little trying mostly due to the fact that I felt I didn‘t accomplish anything. Will be glad when I can just focus on ONE job instead of TWO. I did have a nice chat with my son late yesterday afternoon and his good mood and talk of an engagement with Emily in the future helped to lessen the stress I was feeling at the moment. On the way home, I called my mother to find out why she hadn’t emailed all week and she said that her device is acting up. Is it? Sad, but I can’t believe much of anything she tells me; however, I did get through the phone call without letting her push my buttons…that’s progress! :-)
Time for a shower before heading off to work…
19 AUG 05
TGIF!!!! And what’s even better is that yesterday after work, I got most of my errands done. Went to the BX first to pick up some vitamins and more moth balls to spread around the outside of my RV. The commissary for food supplies to include another steak and some ribs and then to the shoppette to fill up with gas and to get a 12-pack of BudLight. The only errands I have left I’ll leave for Saturday morning and then I’ll come back here to Grassy Pond and do whatever pleases for the rest of the weekend. I’m looking forward to doing “nothing” :-)
21 AUG 05
Yesterday I ran errands in the morning like dropping off my comforter to get washed, rotated and balanced my car tires, did a little shopping and then spent the rest of the day playing on the computer. I completely computerized my finances again using the Microsoft Money program that came with the laptop. I had been keeping all the information in a notebook, but after two years, it was getting pretty full. What’s cool though is that I can readily see that when I started in Aug 2003, my net worth was $235.09 in the hole and now it is a whopping $30,095.05!!! Can you say WOW?! Hugh difference, huh? And all in just two years of living in My Mirada. I need a lot more than that so I’m going to buckle down and really start saving now. I need to learn to be as frugal as possible yet still enjoy life and my adventures. I can do it! J Like I was supposed to wash My Mirada this weekend; however, when I came home yesterday I noticed a guy washing Larry’s travel trailer so I got up the nerve to go talk to him to ask if he was for hire and he was AND he is going to come by next Saturday to wash my rig for $30. Yep, $30 is a bargain, not only because it is $70 less than I had to pay last year, BUT because that’s a lot of hard work that I don’t have to do myself J In other words, I’m not being as frugal as I could, but it is worth spending the money in order for me to enjoy not doing it. Lazy? Not at all… that’s being smart :-)
Well, it’s Sunday and that means I’ll be fixing another scrumptious breakfast so will close this journal entry…for now anyway. I may want to write more later as I’m going to spend the morning planning a couple trips. One to Chattanooga in September, one to Pensacola in October, and the other to Virginia to visit my friend Janice in November. It sure does feel good to be back living my life alone. Don’t get me wrong, the past year with Jim was wonderful and exciting, but with him having to be in Illinois with his son, then I’d rather cut the romantic strings and get on with my life. That’s right, I couldn’t seem to find the right balance and the relationship was causing too much stress in my life. Mainly because of me and my expectations. Like how often we talked on the phone, how often we visited each other, and when we did visit, then how we interacted. And then of course the big twist he threw in about seeing other people if the opportunity arose. Meaning going out to dinner or to a movie with someone else even though the feelings we had for one another wouldn’t change. Yes, you read that right… and I did try to understand where he was coming from since that is how we met and what he initially wanted from our friendship; however, knowing that and knowing that we eventually fell in love, I couldn’t handle the thought of the possibility of him falling in love with someone else. Besides that, I couldn’t get it out of my mind that if he really did love me, then he wouldn’t even entertain the idea of going out with someone else and that in itself is why I had to end it. Our friendship remains though and he still calls weekly and if we are meant to be then sometime down the road we may hook up again…or not. In other words, I’m not dwelling on it…what will be will be.
Okay okay, now I’m going to quit writing :-)
22 AUG 05
The weekend is already over and now it is time to go back to the routine of work work work.. At least it’s only a 4-day week since I already asked for Friday off. Figured I better get my comp days used up before the Chief leaves. I’m not sure how many I have, but I think I can get by with asking for one more after I use this one.
I forgot to mention that Saturday I grilled a couple pork chops for dinner and then yesterday I made some homemade potato soup that turned out really good. In fact, I had to force myself to stop eating it it was so good :-)
Well, I wasn’t going to talk about it, but I must because as the days go by I’m getting more and more concerned about my lymph nodes in my neck area. My annual checkup was supposed to be on this coming Wednesday; however, the clinic had to change it to the 14th of September which means I have to go through my paranoia stage longer than usual…except this time, I really really really think the cancer is back. I’m feeling way too many inconsistencies for it to just be paranoia. What the heck am I going to do if it is back? How the heck am I going to deal with it? These two questions come up every year, but to think that it really could be true is freaking me out to say the least. I will continue to pray that it is paranoia and not cancer. That’s all I can do at the moment.
23 Aug 05
I feel a little better this morning so the praying is definitely helping. 24 Aug 05
I have to get up in front of a room full of people today and speak. Yuck!
I did great! So silly how I get all nervous, but that’s me! :-)
26 Aug 05
Good morning! My excitement for the morning was finding my mouse... DEAD mouse that is... had to go get my friend Bill to get it out of here because I got the willies after I opened the bathroom cabinet and saw it lying there.... yuck! but at least it is GONE! and now the snake has no business coming in here again :-)
Hurricane Katrina is brewing and might head this way…you just never know about them anymore. In fact, I went ahead and made hotel reservations for Sunday night just in case it does head towards here. I'll never spend another night here during a hurricane again...too scary :-0
Oh yeah, when Bill came over to get the mouse, he told me that he cancelled his Saturday night birthday party... however, I sent an email to my friend Monica inviting her out to have a couple beers with me. I told her that we could check out that site on my computer and pick out the best one her :-) and/or take a walk down to the water and see the alligators :-) I told her that I usually start drinking around 3 and keep it up til about 6. In other words, it could be an afternoon visit. Let her know that I live in campsite 24...and that she’d see my car parked in front of it. “If you feel like it, come on out, if you don't then I'll see you on Monday... In other words, it is totally up to you and how adventurous (or bored) you're feeling on Saturday” :-) I said that so that I didn’t have to worry about whether she was or wasn’t…I’ll be here regardless and would enjoy her company or not as I do enjoy my solitude just as much. Maybe I’ll prepare the ribs for bbqing and that way we can finish up our drinking with a nice meal. There again, if she doesn’t show, no big deal, I’ll eat all 4 of them myself :-)
27 Aug 05
I’m sitting here waiting on this guy to arrive that is going to wash my RV for $30. Hopefully he’ll show because I really don’t want to wash it myself, but I will if I have to… at least part of it anyway. Otherwise, it is Saturday and I’m feeling a little more relaxed after having taken yesterday off. I’m still real concerned about the thought of the cancer being back, but am handling it pretty well. I finally shared it with Monica, over email, and that seemed to take some of the pressure off of me. Keeping things like that totally bottled up inside is a little stressful and I don’t need the added stress. Whatever it takes to get rid of stress, I’ll do. I’m not trying to get promoted, I ended it with Jim, I took extra leave when I went to Pensacola, I took yesterday off, I told Monica. Whatever it takes.
He showed… him and his daughter and they did a great job considering it was DIRTY! I gave them an extra $20 for a total of $50 since it was so bad.
Monica called and won’t be able to make it so I guess all 4 ribs are mine :-) I was actually looking forward to having a guest. Oh well, maybe next time.
28 Aug 05
The ribs were delicious and no, I didn’t eat all of them at one time… I decided to make two meals out of them J Well, I got a surprise phone call from Jim last night and we talked for nearly an hour. Got to talk to his Mom too as his dad and mom came down for Matt’s first football game of the season. Found out that Jim is the treasurer for the Quarterback Club and is having a great time being involved again. I’m truly happy for him. I really am. He also talked about missing the fun times we had and that he thinks about me quite a bit. Yes, there is still something between us, but we both realize we need to keep the feelings at bay and just concentrate on a friendship. He asked whether I was smoking again and so we talked about that and I even ended up sharing with him my fear of the cancer being back. Funny how we are talking on a deeper level now that the “relationship” is over. Is that me doing that? Probably… and if I analyze it, I guess I would have to say that I don’t fear his rejection anymore and feel freer to say whatever I feel like. Hmmmmmmmmmmmmm… me thinks I need to ponder that even more because that could be a huge factor in any future relationship… whether with him or someone else. I MUST be myself no matter what!
Just got off the phone with my mother. We had another nice conversation so I guess it is working out with me only calling once or twice a week.
Went down to the office earlier to get some more beer and then sat out on the deck enjoying the view of the water and the activity. Enjoyed the sun beating down on me as I reminisced about days gone by when Jim was here.. We did have some FUN!
Now, I’m sitting here finishing up the rest of the MilPDS Café work that I had to get done this weekend so that I can remain as stress free as possible tomorrow.
29 Aug 05
Tis time to go back to work after three wonderful days of relaxation. I’ll do my best to keep it all real and to not get stressed. In fact, knowing that I have to work late tonight, I decided to sleep another hour this morning. Yes, one must be good to themselves when they can :-)
30 Aug 05
Double whammy migraine yesterday after spending 3 hours at the deployment processing center. They had no control over it and it was frustrating the hell out of me. Actually it was one person in particular, but I fault leadership too because they didn’t and haven’t provided quality training. I’m sure that will change after our report is submitted. Anyway, the positive thing that came out of it was that I reengaged with Ann Lukens about the job opening she has at the Family Support Center. I think all I’ll have to do is say “yes I want it” and she’ll make it happen. It would assure me of staying here at Moody for the rest of my career and who knows, maybe I’ll hurry up and make Senior Master Sergeant so that I can retire with even more money. Things that make you go hmmmmmmmmmmm. Let’s just pray that my cancer is not back and that this can happen for me because the more I think about it, the more I want it to happen.
Well, I just got off the phone with my dad and he said that they of course survived Hurricane Katrina although his yard is littered again with limbs and leaves. I asked him if he wanted me to come help and he said yes and that we could do a kayak trip as well before it got too cold… sooooooooooo I told him I couldn’t this coming weekend but that I’d try for the next weekend.
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