Some things have changed since I was last here. Others are exactly as we left them. I am still managing the apartment complex. I don't LOVE it and I can't say that I ever will. However, it keeps a roof over my head, lets me have a fairly flexible schedule to do things that I enjoy and could be just the job I didn't know I was looking for.
I also picked up a second complex that I manage on the other side of the Willamette. It's a smaller complex and the property owner doesn't want to pay for on site management. So they pay me to run over twice a week and check the grounds for garbage and handle submitting maintenance requests as they arise. Oh, and to deal with the NEEDIEST tenants in the world.
Mrs. McNeederson and her daughter live in adjacent apartments. They got permission from the owner to add a door to their shared wall, and now live together in a 4 bedroom/4 bath/2 kitchen apartment with a really bad floor plan. The daughter has a couple of minor physical limitations (which is part of why she lives with her mother at 39.) and both of them have significant social limitations (most of which they are unware of). These limitations include, but are not limited to: "Chicken Little-itis" (The sky is falling, the sky is falling!!!); "I Swear It's a Wolf Syndrome" (WOLF, WOLF, Ohmygoshlookoutit'saWOLF!!! Oh, my bad. Just a puppy.); and "Anything You Can Do, I Can Do Better Complex" (But that's not the way I would do it. I want you to do it this way. Because I said so.). And in spite of all of their crazy making, they are starting to grow on me. Especially after they hand wrote a letter to my boss, his boss and the president of the company detailing how FANTASTIC I am and how they never want another manager out there again, and then made me a Valentine card and gave me chocolates. They are still nuts, still needy and still trying much of my patience. But they mean well. I think.
And in other news...
- I have my quarterly MS appointment on Wednesday. I'll post then and let you know what the latest and greatest is on that front.
- I am still working at Aflac, but on a very limited basis. Except for the months of February/March, when I am going to jump back in with both feet for 6 weeks. More on that decision and the Everest Project tomorrow.
- I am getting ready to officially sign in on The Compact. I've been mulling it over since last November, and I am finally ready to commit to it. While I think that we humans (the American version in particular) create far too much waste, my reasons for joining are not primarily environmental. For me that is a great side effect, but my primary reason for joining The Compact is financial. I am sick of being in debt and I want to get out of this hole I find myself in.
- And on that financial note, next up on my reading list is my frugal friend, Dave Ramsey. I really want to attend Financial Peace University (my brother & SIL are doing it right now) but it will have to wait until the Everest Project is finished before more can go on my plate.
- I am going to start paying attention to what I eat and when I move. Let's face it. Winter has turned me into a giant slug. Not that I wasn't pretty sluggy before. But really? This is ridiculous. I don't even want to know what the scale is going to say at the doctors office on Wednesday. Based on the snugness of the jeans I am wearing today and the profile shot I saw at my Grandma's over the weekend; it ain't gonna be pretty. I'll share my game plan for that project on Friday.
Finally, on the list of things that have changed, my last name is back to it's original starting position. After 7+ years of marriage (2 of which have been spent living apart) we finally agreed to file for divorce and once the paperwork was submitted, it was over very quickly. While this was never the outcome that I desired, after months of counseling (for me) and careful prayer and consideration, this was the only outcome available. I am relieved to have it come to a close so I can move forward.
So for the few of you who still follow this, stay tuned! There is much to come in the next few weeks. You might even want to try a few of my ideas on for yourself. Or at the least, watch in quiet bemusement as I try them on myself!
