Summer/Fall 2002 -- Santa Rosa to Amador County, CA
Letters to friends & family relating the progress of our move. Wails of pain. Forebodings of the future. Wild ass pie rations. The usual.
Subject: Status & More
Date: Fri, 21 Jun 2002 10:58:33 -0700
Hiya, kinfolks:
Sorry for not being in touch much lately, but it's been a busy
and tiring time. Where we're at now:
House fabrication was completed over a month ago, and it's been
sitting on a storage lot near Sacramento since then. The dealer
is picking up the storage charges, since they placed the order
before all the permits had been issued. Duh.
Land preparation started about 3 weeks ago: logging, excavating /
bulldozering, extending the septic leechlines, all that is done
now. Then wait for another permit review, because they changed
the foundation plan. Hopefully only a slight delay. Hopefully.
Once that paperwork is done, and trees along Deer Trail's narrow
roadway are trimmed to allow access, they should start hauling
the modules up and taping them together - maybe in a week or two?
But it'll still be over a month before utilities are installed,
then a few more weeks until everything's assembled & finished off.
So we're looking at early-to-mid August for our official change
of address. Oh yeah, the new (physical) address will be:
[deleted]
--Ric
Subject: Addendumdum
Date: Fri, 21 Jun 2002 12:51:16 -0700
Oops.
Ah, stuff I forgot to mention in the last note:
Hauling stuff up to the storage structures on the property has
slowed down considerably, from 2-3 times weekly to just once
a week. Why? Because most of what's left here in Santa Rosa
is either furniture that's too big to load into our SUV, or
valuable / delicate stuff we don't want to leave unattended,
or clothes / kitchenware / electronics / books we're using
constantly. And there's just about one movingvanload left.
We're due to be out of the Santa Rosa digs by the end of July,
but the new house may not be ready for 1-2 weeks after that.
So we may spend early August living in the RV in the parking
lot of Maureen's employer in Novato. Oh fun. And that last
movingvanload of stuff? We'll probably have to stash it in
the garages of Maureen's relatives up in Buckhorn, then haul
it to Deer Trail when we get access. So that stuff will, in
8 months, have been hauled from Forestville to Santa Rosa to
Buckhorn to Volcano. G'z, I hate moving stuff over'n'over...
stuff stuff stuff stuff stuff stuff stuff stuff stuff stuff
Anyway, that what the timetables and logistics look like at
this point, until we hear otherwise. We're awaiting word
from the house dealer about when the next phase starts, and
as soon as we have a firmer prognostication, I'll let y'all
know. As of now, we're counting down to early August. And
after that, come on up and visit. Bring work gloves, eh?
#8-) Ric
Subject: FLASH UPDATE: moving
Date: Thu, 29 Aug 2002 19:57:33 -0700
Hello again:
We just learned that all the paperwork has gone through, much
faster than expected, and the house is ours TOMORROW! (Friday)
We inspect the place with the contractor; he gives us the keys;
then we grab a moving van for the final haul. As of 2 Sept 2002
we'll reside in Greater Metropolitan Volcano, Amador County,
California, USA, Earth, Sol System, Milky Way Galaxy, Universe
35B7X. Not a moment too soon...
More prosaic info: I forget the street address and new phone
numbers at the moment (and where I wrote those down), but the
mailing address is:
PO Box 1161, Pioneer CA, 95666
707-529-7648 remains the cellphone number, but it only works
about 10 miles away from the house, so you can figure that it's
for voicemail messages only. We'll (hopefully) get all this
communications stuff worked out pretty soon now. And y'all can
visit. Anytime.
Cya --Ric & Maureen
Subject: FLASH FLASH UPDATE: moving
Date: Fri, 30 Aug 2002 21:11:03 -0700
Ahoy there:
The latest (Friday) update in the Forest Follies: We have the
keys. The house needs a lot of work, like: a) total repainting
of the exterior; b) leveling of most interior shelves; c) repair
of rugs, mouldings, cabinets, various other stuff; and d) phone
lines. Yes, it seems that a vital subcontractor was rather weak
on communications skills, and never told the phone/cable company
that their trench/conduit were ready. So we get phones in a week.
Big deal? Well, Maureen telecommutes, and she can't live in the
house without phone lines installed. So we get to load up a big
truck over the weekend, drive and unload it on Labor Day; then
she drives the RV down to her employer's parking lot and lives
there for the rest of the week, whilst I move heavy stuff around.
Other adventures today included: driving & walking for 13 hours;
chasing a contractor down a mountain highway for a couple dozen
miles whilst honking horn, flashing headlights and waving arms;
pointing out numerous details in need of serious repair; other
stuff I hardly even remember. Think I'll fall asleep now. Zzz...
Ric, reeling
Subject: unflash update: MOVED
Date: Fri, 20 Sep 2002 09:15:47 -0700
Hiya:
OK, we are now officially & really relocated from Forestville to
Greater Metropolitan Volcano - actually the Buckhorn area of the
Pioneer postal district, but why quibble? We finished the move
1 1/2 weeks ago, a tremendously exhausting effort, but worth it.
We'd intended to move over the Labor Day wekend, but found that
no trucks were available - that's the busiest moving time of the
year, we were told. So we reserved one for the following weekend,
then had to drive to Napa for it - 50 miles over, 50 miles back,
winding thru the wine-country hills. And it was bigger than we
wanted, but that turned out to be just barely big enough to hold
all the furniture we hadn't already transported.
As I recall, we slaved like dogs all Saturday and Sunday to load
the bugger, but the memories are a bit hazy, washed with fatigue.
I just remember that we left in very-late afternoon, cruised past
the rush-hour traffic and on into the evening and darkness, me in
the 10-ton truck, Maureeen in the Explorer, staying in touch via
walky-talky. All those zillions of times I'd drive SUV-load of
stuff Up The Hill were dress rehersals, and now it was Showtime.
Monday and early Tuesday were spent disgorging the truck, hauling
up the front steps EVERYTHING - appliances, desks, chests, tables,
cabinets. Somehow we only gouged a couple items during the move,
and broke nothing getting it all into the house. I vaguely recall
taking meals amidst others during this period, but no details...
Tuesday we turned-in the rental van, drove the Explorer back to
Santa Rosa, retrieved the RV, dropped off the house keys with
the landlord and thanked him profusely for the free 1 1/2 weeks
he'd given us -- and then caravanned back Up The Hill, replaying
the Sunday night drive. But I don't remember eating or sleeping.
So our first night spent in the new house was 8 Sept 2002; we were
totally relocated by the 10th; now it's the 20th and we're somewhat
recovered, but still far from being moved-in. The house has some
problems, and factory fix-up crews are due soon; we need to acquire
many bookcases, and unload quantities of stuff from onsite storage;
but we're here. At 3500 feet. Finally. Can I collapse now?
Cya --Ric
Subject: unflash update update: moved
Date: Fri, 20 Sep 2002 11:52:35 -0700
H'lo again:
Here's what I forgot to mention in that last msg.
We're working on a new schedule. Maureen telecommutes every day.
On alternate days, I a) take a long walk, and b) unload piles of
stuff from storage into the house. Lotsa physical exertion (I'm
thinning down again already). And once every two weeks, starting
next week, Maureen has to spend two days at her office north of
San Francisco. So tomorrow (Saturday) we'll drive the RV to some
PowWows north of Santa Rosa, then camp out in the Fireman's Fund
Insurance (FFI) parking lot while she works Monday and Tuesday.
Our plan for this schedule was, we spend the weekend doing fun
stuff on the weekend; then Maureen works while I tend to chores
and shopping; then we head back Up The Hill on Tuesday evening.
But not next week. FFI has cancelled all vacations and leaves
and requires that EVERYONE meet Wednesday morning. The subject:
layoffs. They're canning 20% of the programming staff. That's
firm. Rumours abound: those being terminated will know before
Wednesday, or before the end of the month, or the end of the
year, or whatever. Nobody gets laid off until January, but the
severence packsge will be halved, or whatever. Expensive old
professionals will be replaced by cheap newbies, or whatever.
What it boils down to is: Maureen may be retired early. With
an adequate severence package, that's just fine with us. Or
maybe not, in which case she retires early next year. THEN
we get to go galivanting about! We may or may not know by
next week. Keep all those fingers crossed.
And that's the news from Buckhorn Ridge, where all the deer
are strong, all the squirrels are handsome, and all the hawks
are above average.
Cya --Ric
PS: We received an invitation from my daughter Jodeana and
her fiance Todd to attend their wedding in San Francisco. On
Hallowe'en. In costume. It's a masked gala, and masquerade
costuming is REQUIRED. So: can anyone suggest suitable masques
for us to don? We await your ideas. --R&M
Subject: unflash update yada yada
Date: Sun, 29 Sep 2002 18:39:48 -0700
Hiya:
OK, the bad news is: Maureen is still employed. They didn't see
fit to lay her off -- only people with marginal social / technical
skills got axed. Bother. Now she can't retire until next year,
probably. But the rumor mill is abuzz with talk of further cuts...
And the good news is: I'm planting the Swedish forest, as a Brit
correspondent puts it. That is, I'm building a whole bunch of IKEA
bookshelves. They're costing about as much as a good used car, but
the place sure is looking spiffy with'em. I drive down to Berkeley
tomorrow to pick up the next 1/2-ton load, the second of four.
Fetching those will take a day. Building them will occupy Tuesday
and Wednesday, when a crew will be up here repainting the entire
exterior of the house. Then Thursday and Friday we'll go to Tahoe
to help Maureen's cousin Beth and Brad celebrate their anniversary.
Saturday we drive to Sacramento to pick up Maureen's Mom at the
airport, and tend to other business. And Sunday we drive back to
the North Bay so Maureen can put in her hours in the office, and
I'll take care of other chores. Then we'll return and collapse.
Sure is tiring. Think I'll go to sleep now. ZZZzzz...
--Ric
PS Barbi: Thanks for the SF chocolate. Nobody will ship wine to
New York, so I'll have to send you a check for that half-case.
PS Mom: I'll call you back the next time I'm in an active cell.
PS Tom & Jacque: How's it going out there?
Subject: another update
Date: Sat, 9 Nov 2002 05:48:37 -0800
Hi all:
It's now less than a week until my 52nd birthday [hint]. Storms
are sweeping over us, turning this rich clay soil into gluey mud,
quicksand-like in places. I barely escaped today. Power is back
on. The roads have been cleared. Life is returning to normal(?)
Last weekend lasted from Wednesday night to Tuesday night, on
the road around the SF Bay Area. The days broke down like this:
Wednesday night: drive the RV from the mountains to the bay
Thursday-Friday, Monday-Tuesday: Maureen in office, trying to work
Thursday [Hallowe'en] night: go to San Francisco for my biological
daughter Jodeana's formal masquerade wedding - it was great, see
some pix at http://sonic.net/~ric/adventure/log/h02/FrameSet.htm
Friday: see a lawyer, pay her money to try to keep Maureen from
being unjustly terminated [FIRED!] without benefits or cause.
(The cheap bastards Maureen works for are trying to stiff her.)
Saturday-Sunday: explore Pt Reyes and try to de-stress
Tuesday night: drive the RV from the bay to the mountains
The lawyer sent an ominous letter to Maureen's employer, which
will hopefully induce a quick settlement and rapid retirement.
Else, our weekly schedule from mid-November 'til 2003 will be:
A) Drive the RV to the office; camp in the parking lot; work;
B) Drive the RV back home; take a week's vacation; landscape;
C) goto (A) and repeat
Well hell, camping in the company parking lot for a week at a time,
with a week's break in between occurrances, won't be TOO bad. Yeah,
sure... [gag][retch][scream][aaargh] Why, I'll have SO much free
time to read, write, plot, watch the rain, grow mold, etc. Flocks
of wild turkeys run past daily -- maybe I should take a shotgun.
(No, I might be tempted to take out a jogging executive...)
Meanwhile, we're slowly settling in here. When the ground dries
out and hardens up enough, I'll haul more stuff in from the storage
sheds -- stuff like books and dishes and winter clothes. And when
we've cleared more of the detritus of moving, I'll take some inside
pictures so y'all can see what this place looks like. As for the
outside -- well, it's a big white bungalow on freshly-cleared land
in a forest. Nothing special. But it's nice and quiet here.
Cya --Ric
Subject: b'day b'day b'day
Date: Sat, 16 Nov 2002 06:58:36 -0800
Hiya kids:
Thanks for the card. But I must confess something: I didn't intend
to be a Hippy. I always wanted to be a Beatnik. Grow a goatee, sit
zazen, play bongos, write cool poetry, make odd art, smoke pot, snap
my fingers, all that jazz. Then I got to San Francisco and the Beat
scene was dead, so I had to make-do with what was there.
Yeah, it's been lotsa fun schlepping stuff into the house during the
odd weeks when we're up here. Now we're preparing again to spend a
week RV'ing in the company parking lot, unless they agree to settle
up real quick. Haven't heard from the lawyer yet, so... ???
The dirt/gravel road to our locale hasn't been munged by weather yet
but we haven't had any real snow this season. Based on experiences
last year it shouldn't be a problem, once someone drives a big truck
along Deer Trail. But assuming Maureen gets retired soon, our snow
program will be: if snow is forecast, we'll take the RV to Baja.
Yeah it snows in Volcano sometimes. We get stuck in a blizzard back
over XMas 1998, all the roads closed, power lines down. Couldn't do
the traditional turkey feast, just cooked beans on the fireplace and
drank beer. When the roads were finally plowed, we had XMas dinner
at the local Chinese eatery. Honey almond prawns, yum!
Well, I'll go back to working on my Desert Rat Scrap Book site, then
schlep more stuff, then get ready to head downhill. Love --Ric
Subject: YADU [Yet Another Damn Update]
Date: Sun, 17 Nov 2002 16:52:33 -0800
The latest:
Sunday PM: Once more, we head down to Marin County, perchance to
spend the week camped in the Fireman's Fund parking lot in our RV
whilst Maureen attempts to work. Or possibly the company will
agree to settle and let her retire with severance and benefits.
And maybe monkeys will fly out of my arse. But we shall see if
the lawyer has earned her retainer.
If we're stuck down there, I'll be offline for the week and y'all
won't hear anything from us. So no news is bad news. Yow.
Hopefully Maureen will be gainfully unemployed soon. Let's hope...
Cya --Ric
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