All done!! Although I cleared my schedule for all four work days this week, we were dismissed at 2 p.m. today, Tuesday. Only one group of potential jurors was called up on Monday morning, and I wasn’t among them. I’ll get a check for $40 ($20/day) in about a month.
After spending most of the day Friday studying, and barely passing all of my practice tests, I took the real estate salesperson license test today and absolutely crushed it! My license should be activated by the end of the week. I can’t wait to dig into the MLS to find us a new place to live. I’ll also be able to formulate a much better idea of what our current house might sell for based on some more recent comps. I’m so glad I passed!
Well, it finally came! In a letter dated June 11, 2015 (and postmarked June 16, 2015), with the headline “Code Violation Requiring Immediate Compliance” and the reason “Following the conversation with the Refuse Department the following letter has been generated per our process regarding dumpster boxes that are out of service,” I’ve been officially notified that my dumpster needs to be “repaired or replaced immediately” and to let them know if it will occur after July 2, 2015. And, by the way, don’t forget it is the owner’s responsibility to get rid of trash while the dumpster is out of service, but the service will be reinstated once the dumpster is fixed. (The new dumpster arrived by the end of May and service has been reinstated without me notifying the City directly.)
So, this letter is only a month late, according to my first phone call to the City on May 14, 2015, based on their own alleged internal procedures. But it did come. But what if my tenants never said anything?! Can you imagine more than a month of trash from six units?!
I’ve completed Week 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 of my 13-Week Challenge. The Results:
Week 2:
- Monday: Day of Rest (I regret taking this so early in the week)
- Tuesday: Steps (17,275)
- Wednesday: Day of Rest 2 (oops)
- Thursday: Hockey game (ice)
- Friday: Staining Privacy Screens and Steps (11,713)
- Saturday: Steps (17,479)
- Sunday: Housecleaning and Steps (9,252)
Overall Achievement: Week 2 Goal semi-achieved
Week 3:
- Monday: Jillian Michael’s 30-Day Shred, Level 1
- Tuesday: Jillian Michael’s 30-Day Shred, Level 2
- Wednesday: Steps (17,324)
- Thursday: Hockey game (ice)
- Friday: Steps (15,229)
- Saturday: Day of Rest (some backyard cleaning)
- Sunday: Steps (12,357)
Overall Achievement: Week 3 Goal semi-achieved
Week 4:
- Monday: Steps (10,130)
- Tuesday: Day of Rest
- Wednesday: Steps (17,281)
- Thursday: Hockey game (ice) and Steps (13,112)
- Friday: Day of Rest-ish (8,475 steps)
- Saturday: Steps (18,983)
- Sunday: Day of Rest-ish (7,269 steps plus some gardening)
Overall Achievement: Week 4 Goal Good Try Award
Week 5:
Hockey on Thursday. Otherwise, steps, for a total of 74,992 averaging 4.72 miles per day, with a high of 8.62 on Friday.
Overall Achievement: Week 5 - pretty good.
Week 6:
No hockey (bye week) or working out. Did dig and haul dirt. Total number of steps: 68, 716 for an average of 4.2 miles per day.
Overall Achievement: Week 6 - consistent, but underachieved; need to recommit
Driving back from a family trip to watch baseball on Sunday, we were notified that Mr. PFL’s 89-year-old grandma fell and broke her hip. She had surgery on Monday, leading to her new nickname, and has the goal to return home where she had still been living on her own. Thankfully, Old Iron Hip has a Durable Power of Attorney and a Health Care Power of Attorney. We’ve also previously talked to the local county’s agency on aging and had a meeting with an estate planning attorney. Having all of this information ahead of time has helped keep the stress level down as much as possible in this unfortunate situation. Having these documents signed has also clarified the leader, which has been invaluable.
Every family has issues, including this one. I’m pleasantly surprised that the work we put in over the last few years is paying off. I’m hopeful Old Iron Hip will make a satisfactory recovery and will live a content life, on her terms. I’m also grateful that she was able to pre-plan her funeral for when that time eventually comes.
Finally, one of the concerns people have when we tell them we are planning to move to Hawaii is: What are you going to do if/when something happens and you live so far away? The short answer: Fly. The longer answer: If something/someone is a priority, we will be there and we have the resources to make it happen.
Last Thursday, I picked up the trash surrounding the new dumpster: maggots. I cleaned up human feces this Wednesday: better than maggots. We heard the Rolling Stones live in concert on Saturday night from outside the venue: frugal. I met with my new “boss,” the mortgage broker I’ll be working with, and finished my last real estate class: forward-progress. The appraisal finally came back on the Condo so we can swap-out the current HELOC for a larger credit line and lower interest rate: $350,000 (that’s $12,000 more than estimated in our Net Worth).
For the record: I still haven’t received a letter from the City regarding the dumpster.