The Place I Sold In San Francisco The Week Before The Crash

When I got further into looking at my numbers & realized I was working half the month to pay for the "privilege" of owning a place in the city I knew: Not Worth The Exchange of My Life Energy. And, believe it or not, my place was too big for me at approximately 850 sq. ft. I also had the feeling that time was of the essence and I needed to get my place listed ASAP. Little did I know how hard the beginning of the crash would be - the good news is the buyer cashed out stock and paid cash - we both won big time on the timing.

This is my last day in San Francisco for who knows how long - am taking advantage of high-speed internet & ability to post photos - hence this San Francisco Story.

Am so looking forward to being back at my cabin in the woods - great to see friends BUT I had no idea how the serenity of the woods had been working its way into me AND first layers of stress falling off. The catch: would not have realized unless I had my visit to the city. The way things work!

Simplicity: This is the place where the ideas came together of how I wanted to live my life and started the long process of simplifying.

Frugality: I began to see the possibility of riches without being "rich."

Design: This is an example of my design sensibility - started out with more muted colors & then said forget it this is my place & I happen to love orange.

Burned Out on Internet or a Bus Load of Faith

Do not know if anyone else experiences Internet fatigue/boredom :-)

Checked my email yesterday afternoon, got my Early Retirement Extreme fix (see blogroll) - closed out in quarter of an hour - oops, not correct- later patiently set up online banking. Later in the evening, when I might go on again said forget about it, I am going to read - much more satisfying to close a book instead of the computer . And not left with the lingering dissatisfaction of having wasted a little bit or a lot of time on Internet.

Check in: am so close to being 100% finished with the de-cluttering process - I have never been so organized in my entire life (no exaggeration)! It feels as if something or Some Thing has been dislodged, leaving room for . . . it's a mystery right now. It is kind of like jumping of a cliff and having faith - which reminds me: heard a new song by Lou Reed yesterday and love the title something like You've Got To Have A Bus Load of Faith!

Random Observations About Stuff, Food & Human Contact

1. My punctuation rusty - some of the rules come back to me after I post - oops - but there is always edit. I would have never thought I would succumb to using all lower case letters in emails, but I do.

2. I am going to San Francisco next week - have not been there since the last day of 2008, when I officially moved to the cabin. It will have been over two weeks since I have written in a car.

3. Looking forward to a couple of restaurant meals - one at Nopa. Great food and they serve hundreds of dinners a night and have something like one can of garbage - everything else recycled or composted. Instead of a gold watch I was given a gift certificate as a going away gift. Over the years I was given investment opportunities in real estate in lieu of any retirement plan. You bet I will enjoy this dinner and planning to celebrate with champagne!

4. Will have access to high speed internet & hope to finally upload photos. Maybe get it together with Twitter & Facebook. Maybe Not.

5. Bringing a batch of stuff to sell on Ebay.

6. By the time I leave here on Sunday, my de-cluttering process should be complete.

7. I have been shopping at a consignment shop Good Buys in the Pacific Heights neighborhood (upscale area) for over 15 years. As I have given so many clothes away, am afraid I will not have a decent outfit for Paris - and I cannot dress like a lumberjack walking those streets. BUT part of my plan this year is not to be anything - though did not ban used items - kind of a dilemma. AND my motto is "make it work" - a motto I am borrowing from Tim Gunn (think that is his name from Project Runway). Will See.

8. Not successful giving up caffeine - in coffee yes - but not tea. I had such an internal battle going on, I could not get things down. I am not one of those people who wake up in the morning full of enthusiasm - I need help. Whatever.

Simplicity: Not simple to simplify. Probably year of slow and steady work BUT the good news is there is a light at the end of the tunnel. Just in time for Spring and . . .

Frugality: Planting seeds - nothing like live fresh food for a fraction of the cost.

Design: Step-by-Slow-Step to Design the next part of my life.

The Only Human I Saw Yesterday

Though I very often talk to the chickens I do know the difference - at least for now. I had been hoping for a satellite dish here - had been willing to shell out the money - and had waited patiently for my appointment - though it meant a long delay in posting since I have been back from road trip almost two weeks. Anyway, the satellite surveyor guy performed his diligent search for south east satellite clearance and had to tell me no such luck - the trees were in the way - makes sense, this place is in the bottom of a forest. As it turns out I am quite content with the outcome - after he left I got on the phone to search for a dial-up connection - and practicing phone company patience here I am: on-line the old-fashioned way. If I do have to wait for something such as a picture to load (forget YouTube) I can get up and wash the dishes, do a headstand, or prune a tree, and maybe by the time I come back the photo will be complete.



Yesterday also marks the crossing of some sort of line: I put what is left of my hair in two pig-tails - imagining they were thick braids. This environment calls for a no-nonsense approach to vanity. I still have tad bid of pride - I stuck a hat on my head before meeting the satellite man.



Simplicity: Won't be compelled to waste much time on Internet - keep the focus on the here and now.



Frugality: Twenty bucks a month instead of sixty - Let alone the initial installation expense of $400 - yikes!



Design: No eyesore satellite dish and various cables.