Countdown begun

Countdown for what? Great Question. I think the countdown to life, to normal life. Our life are now in the air, not here and not there. That is how we crossed from the ‘other’[ side to RV Life, and that is how we are crossing back. But how is it a countdown? In a countdown you start from a number and actually counting down. But we? we don’t know when this will end, so we don’t have a starting point to count down from. Better pick a high number.

The Separation

Wednesday, May 18th, 2011 – It was early morning when the shuttle to the airport called my cell waiting by the hotel entrance. I found this shuttle on the internet for $28 from the hotel to the airport, saving Patti a long commute in heavy Seattle morning traffic.I almost missed the shuttle, can’t end the Good-Bye. We are not going to see each other now for 6 weeks. This is a LOT for us, used to be together 24/7/365.

The driver is a retired air force engineer who knows a lot about a lot. He did not stop talking to his audience – three half sleeping passengers, all the way to the airport, and we just sat there and nodded our heads uh huh. Among all the other things he talked about – he mentioned some propane addition to a diesel truck that according to him will double the power and cut in half gas consumption. I think he mention mds.com but I never even bother to check.

It was a long day that started at 3:00am and ended late at night. I arrived Orange County airport around 1:30pm. I picked up a rental car and drove to the other side of the Ortega highway over the mountain to get my truck (still in the shop – remember?). The dealership paid for the rental, but with the money I left there – I should be super VIP… The truck was ready for me, clean and shiny. Drove back again to the other side to pick up my son. From there, we stopped at the mall for some fast food, and went to see award ceremony at my daughter’s school. She received an excellence award for her math studies. Great Job!

It was already after 7:00pm at that time, when we started to head back home to the RV. Yes it is still home for me. I have no other place to call home yet. Exhausted I fell asleep just to wake up the next morning back to the old routine of my son’s school.

First Weekend Alone

Friday, My 20th, 2011 – Yesterday passed by pretty fast. I dropped my son at school in the morning, drove to the boarding kennel and picked up Diva. From there, stopped at the grocery store and drove back home. I am so backed up with work that I don’t know how to catch up. With that – I know that Patti was left alone, and has to actually go to work every day, and she is having hard time looking for a house. So between work, cooking, taking my son to school taking care of Diva, cleaning the RV, laundry, blah blah blah… I had to find some time to look for a house too.But about this – in a little bit.

Friday is here, and I don’t know where to get Challah for Shabbat, or even how to cook a nice meal. I know the basics, but I did not cook for ions! So after I dropped my son, I stopped at the grocery store (Pavilions) looking for Challah. I settled for Italian bread. Oh well. I sat and worked all morning, until I had to go and pick up my son from school. When we came back I tried to make some dinner. I ended up frying Spanish rice with garlic and Cabbage Cutting chicken breast marinated with Paprika, garlic soy and honey. I cut some fresh vegetables, and I think overall I did fine. Nothing to compare to Patti’s fabulous dinners, but enough to bless the wine and the bread. I did not have Patti here to light the candles for us… and I already miss her!

Shortly after dinner I simply fell to bed. No alarm tomorrow, Yeah!!

Sunday, May 22nd, 2011 – Weekend is almost over. I am tired again and going to head to bed shortly, Tomorrow is an early morning again 5:30am. Saturday I worked pretty much all day, and looked for houses.

House Hunting

The house on the Island turned out to be a disappointment. The layout of the house was very awkward for us, and everybody around us is warning about the Ferry traffic. So this idea fell. Patti was supposed to meet a realtor on Saturday, but he called and said that both houses he wanted to show are already under contract. One house left to see – and this is a nice property over 5.5 acres 5 minutes away from Patti’s office. The views from the house are magnificent – overlooking the ocean and the islands. Sounds very promising.

Today, Patti met the realtor at the house. It was noon when she met her, and just after 1:00pm I am getting a Skype from Patti. I saw the house, she said. There are 2 drawbacks though. First, the landlord has a relative who lives in the guest unit that is attached to the house, and takes care of the lawn… I did not even want to hear the second one. We are looking for 5.5 acres secluded private property, to have a stranger that lives with us on the same property? That is so irritating! What do they think? Why didn’t they disclose it earlier? That was a huge disappointment for me. I don’t want to live with someone under my nose on a huge property. I can rent an apartment if I want neighbors. It is cheaper!

So back to searching. The house on the horizon now, is a nice property about 10 miles away from Patti’s office on about an acre. The problem is that it is a little too pricey, so we will have to see is they will be willing to go down.

Late afternoon I took a short hike with my son. I have to move around! So I took the 3 mile hike right across the street, and actually found 2 Geocaches on the way. It was my son who found the first one. I did the second… All the pictures in this blog are actually from today’s hike. Which remind me – on the way I broke my camera too. Yes the new one. The memory card compartment door flipped open and broke. I will take it with me tomorrow, see if it could be fixed.

Came back home. cooked a fast dinner (spaghetti with meatballs and red sauce that Patti left for us in the freezer) sat to write this blog, and I am just about ready to go to bed.

And oh – one last thing, Patti does not feel so well this weekend. She has high fever and upset stomach. But you know Patti (well, I do) she will go to work as long as she breathes. extremely loyal and dedicated person. I knew who to choose. I hope she feels better.

So what about this coming week? I plan to get a hold of my ex-wife and try to approach her with the idea of having my son move in with me. See how she reacts. I hope and pray it will go smooth.

So if you came so far with us – stay tuned. It is never boring here (although sometimes it seems so).