Move Take Two

The second part of the move...our furniture to USA storage...was done yesterday and this morning.  Why did this go into a second day you ask?  Well, the movers didn't show up until 1 pm yesterday.  

In my experience, nothing goes as planned with movers.  For our last move in 2000, the movers were a DAY LATE!  Apparently, moving is so complex...don't ask me how or why...it has to have a glitch somewhere.  I am disgusted.

To add to the misery, the wind is blowing 60 to 80 miles an hour.  No exaggeration.  Sand and small gravel is flying through the air.  If you have lived on the Front Range of Colorado, you know this is true!  The movers will have the first and second layer of skin sand blasted off there faces today.  Serves them right, being late yesterday!

As you can tell, the stress is building up.  And, I am sick again!  I have been sick 5 times this last year.  I can not remember any year in the past where I was sick more than once.  The only difference I can think of is the stress.  Yella is manifesting her stress by injuring herself.  Even though we think we are handling the stress well, we are wrong.  It will leak out somehow.  

At this moment, I am not sure I would go ahead with this move if I knew the amount of confront and discomfort around it.  I had no idea this would be so hard.

Where is the humor in this blog entry, you ask?  I'm looking, OK.  Let me hack up another lung before I get humorous.  Oh, there it goes...going, going, gone.  Oh well, I can't be funny all the time.

If you are reading this blog entry and considering an international move, wait a few days and check back.  I'm sure I will be over this funk and on to the good stuff in a little bit.

After all, I am leaving for Panama on Saturday!  That's got to be the good part!

The Last Day of the Rest of My Life

I retired yesterday.  

Whey....  What a trip!  I know, retirement today is not your father's retirement.   I will continue to be "a useful member of society" or so Yella tells me.  After all, she has to have some way to get me out of "her" house.

Yesterday was one of the most disorienting days of my life...the LAST DAY owning my company...saying goodbye to some great people...moving out of my house and into my daughter Katey's house (for 11 days until I leave for Panama).  Yella and I were throw into life with a 1.5 year old grandson, with almost none of our stuff, and very little room to settle in.  That will do a number on you!

I called my good friend last night and he could tell I was out to lunch.  Thank God for friends. He invited me to coffee this morning before he went to work (OK, I'll admit it...it feels great watching him go off to work while I sit in the coffee shop and write this blog!)  It was an act of heartfelt compassion to get me out of Katey's house and into the world after all the disorientation.  Thank you, John.

Mentally, I am still a business owner.  I still think of the company as mine, I am still anticipating the future and what needs to be done to survive in this crappy economy, I am still engaged in "business."  I suspect that this will slowly dissipate with time...probably accelerating as I get to Panama and all the busyness of getting our new house ready and livable before Yella comes down in late January.  

I do have a couple of projects to occupy my mind, minuscule as it is.  Among other things, I am learning how to create a website.  This is exciting because computers used to fascinate me.  I lost interest when we went from DOS to Windows.  Yes, I know, that really dates me. Something to play with in Panama.

Well, onward into the first day of retirement!

Merry Christmas!  

Moving Day Uno

Just to make things fun, we are shipping to Panama some of our precious crap and storing most of furniture here in Colorado.  Sound logical, you say.

Wrong!  We have been splitting and separating stuff for weeks (translate, Yella has been doing this).  As the international move day approached, the stress started to mount and culminated in one miserable Sunday.  The last minute thing, you know.  I, in a grave moment of absent mindedness, agreed to help.  And, I must say, it was about time.  

We sorted, packed, argued, packed, stopped speaking to each other, packed, packed and packed. 

The big worry is wether the packers will take the wrong stuff and not take the right stuff.  As it turned out, the moving company was fantastic and most fears were unfounded.

Great job Yella!  

This is a huge milestone in the move to Panama.  Ya!!!

Ode to Wiring Money

O, great electron of the cosmic ether, take my money and...

There in lies the problem.  People and businesses glibly say, wire me $10k or $60k or whatever, as if it doesn't pucker you up so you feel like a dehydrated prune desiccated in a 15 year old fruit cake after Christmas.

Where do they get off demanding a money wire as if it is business as usual.  Have you ever wired money?  There are massive amounts of numbers and letters that are entered into a complex form. Numerous opportunity to not only make a typographical error but simply have the wrong information.  I don't know how any money gets anywhere with this process.

I will confess that we have wired plenty of money and it actually got to the right account.  How this happened is a mystery to me.  

I'm a little...well, actually a lot...wound up by a request to wire $11k to buy a used vehicle in Panama BEFORE the guy has even located the vehicle.  I know he is doing me a favor...for a hansom fee of course, but give me a break.  

I emailed (another example of trusting the mighty electron to the ether) to work something else out.  We'll see what he says.

This process of moving overseas is a roller coaster ride for sure!  I just Friday shared with a friend that I broke through all the worry and consternation, and I was in the free and clear and full of joy! Ya, right.  What's that old express: what goes up must come down.  

No one's spending money!

I'm reluctant to write this blog entry because I'm not feeling funny.  And, I promised to keep it light but the economy really sucks.

I have discovered that everything we are buying costs more than we planned and everything we are selling is getting less than we planned.  I know this will all work out but HOW!

We have 3 big things to do (besides packing everything for shipping and storage): sell 2 cars and rent our house.  To date, we have no inquiries at all into renting the house.  This is seriously freaking us out.  Hello...is there anyone out there!  Is everyone now living in caves or what?  Has the economy actually frozen people's ability to make changes?

Now about the cars.  We have been offered, reluctantly offered, about 40% less for each car than we anticipated.  Now we are approaching friends because if we have to dump them cheap, at least someone we know might benefit.

On to better things.

Two wonderful friends had an open house for us Sunday.  We invited all our different groups of friends.  Surprisingly, it was a good time.  (If my having a good time at a party confuses you, go back and read the first blog.)  This was truly remarkable because the hosts were sick and stayed upstairs out of the party most of the evening.  Thank you Jim and Kelly for being over the top, extraordinary people and going way beyond the call of duty.  It is so rare to find generosity and hospitality like this!

Now for the amazing part...I leave in 18 days.  My last day at work is in 7 days.  This is getting very real.  And in spite of all the confronting issues, I am starting to get very excited.

Saying Goodbye...Round One

All sorts of people want to say goodbye.  I'm a little bit overwhelmed by how many of them there are! I've even suggested to some people that a formal event to say goodbye just isn't necessary. This is always met with "Oh no, we have to have a party to say goodbye!"

As you can probably tell, I'm a little bit antisocial and the thought of all these parties or lunchs is daunting.

My business, where I'm a partner, threw a lunch gathering to say goodbye. Before the event, I was dragging my feet. Then, to my surprise and chagrin, I had a great time and there was a deep sense of completion, and a feeling of being appreciated. They gave me a gift which blew me away. It was the perfect gift. I am a voracious reader. So, they gave me a Kindle, which is Amazon's e-book, so I can download books to my hearts content. I was touched by the thought that went into the gift as well as the effort it took to purchase it because Amazon has been out of Kindles for awhile.

This morning I attended a goodbye gathering for my wife, Yella.  I noticed that it was much easier attending her going away party that it was attending mine.  She was the recipient of all the appreciation and acknowledgement.  It's easier to watch than receive!

I noticed that saying goodbye seems to be more important for my friends than it is for me. I'm too busy to really know that I'm leaving for good.   I better pay attention or I will miss my opportunity and it will be too late!

I guess right now it's not real for me...this going away to another country. I suspect this will hit me at some point and then I will of wished that I said a very thorough and heartfelt goodbye to all of my friends. 

Several people have asked to see a picture of our house so here it is.

December 9, 2008

Hola,

This blog is to share the adventures and misadventures of moving to Panama.  Or maybe better said, what happens when the dream comes true...and, will the dream actually be a dream or a disaster or something in between.  Stay tuned for the unfolding.

I have already experienced the difference between dreaming vs. the actual commitment to make that dream happen.   Dreaming is fun, expansive, free wheeling and joyful.  The decision to move immediately created problems, upset, fear, work, work and more work.  Where is the fun in that?  

Now, 25 days before I actually get on an airplane and fly off to Panama for good, I am just flat out worried...about everything...all the plans...all the things that need to happen and haven't...all the things promised to happen...and on and on.  Where is the joy, my friends? 

I can see it faintly in the distance, just an hint of something.  I will confess to a lot of adrenaline.  Something like a low grade current running through my body.  Maybe the hint of excitement.  

So many friends, co-workers, bank tellers and anyone else who knows about our move, all say with one voice: way to go, congratulations, you are doing the right thing!   Sometimes I want to slug them and yell: why don't you try it and then let me know how you are doing.  

Clearly, everyone is supportive.  This universal sentiment seems to support someone who is making a dream come true.  This is a side of humanity seldom scene and I appreciate it.  I just lose sight of this from time to time when I am immersed in the confront of making the move.

I know, I know.  Quit whining!  What is wrong with you?  You are the one going to paradise.  Suck it up.  Get a grip.  Kick the pity pot through the window.  For crying out loud!

Yes, you are right.  It is time for paradise.  So away we go!

From time to time, Yella my partner in this adventure, will be chiming in to let you know "the real truth."   Who knows, I might even enjoy reading her perspective.

Hopefully, this blog will at least be entertaining and possibly informative.  Your comments will be appreciated.