2006 Story Set
| Date: November 2006 Published: Silicon Valley Romance Writer's of America Newsletter November 2006 (Volume 10 Issue 8) ) pg 6-8 When I got the job offer from SanDisk --- which is right down the street from the Crown Plaza, I needed to work so I took it. My retirement fund was hemorrhaging. SanDisk pays me well. Very. Even if on contract. I had decided for some inexplicable reason after John's death to restore my San Diego house to 1984 or better (i.e., NEW) condition. Probably because his ashes sit on the piano there, wearing his silly Santa hat. Probably because he loved that house and never let me sell it. Partially because it is my retirement home and the mortgage is almost done. Partially because I think he visits there. I do. New fences, not just the burned parts, new deck, since the termites had won, new roof since part had caved in over the upper deck (from a leak unreported and ignored), new bathrooms (all three), new bathroom cabinets, fancy sinks, granite counters, and a new floor, all 3,000 sq feet of it. Laminate. Light wood. New appliances, black and matching the house in Fremont. Never mind landscaping, sprinklers, and probably a wider driveway and a storage shed. And sometime, replace all the interior doors. The same ones my kids put things through and the tenant's kids finished off. After eleven years, I had come home to San Diego. This remodeling frenzy is not cheap. A Home Improvement loan won't cut it. It exceeds the mortgage. Unfortunately, I couldn't find work down there! (Well, I could, at 1/4-1/3 my rate up here.) So I drove back to SanDisk. Clothes in a suitcase (a small fraction of a 6-closet wardrobe, and that isn't counting what is packed away). A handful of books to read (a fraction of the 1000+ I have - of which a couple hundred are unread. And another amount being re-read. I never leave a store empty-handed.) A laptop computer. One. I had left an old bed behind in Fremont and all the kitchen appliances. Over the past seven months I have brought back the vacuum, two computer tables, my new printer, my G5 tower (Big Mac computer), more clothes (and bought still more). I put a patio set in the family room, a patio table in the dining room, two barstools at the counter. My son's Futon bed in one room, John's old bed in the other. I tossed down throw rugs. The house is considered to be "staged". Two (only two) bookcases in the office. My old bed. A set of plastic drawers. A bedside table and a 12" TV. I got a 32" TV for the family room. Can't due without cable after all. And I broke down and bought a washer and dryer. Only so many times you can take your dirty panties to your son's apartment. No sofa. White walls. I did bring back the Total Gym - because my doctor insisted. But nothing else - something comes up - something has to go down. A sparsely furnished dwelling you can dance in. You would think------. Well, surprise! I discovered that we have too many THINGS. The San Diego house is packed to the gills, all 3,000 sq feet of it. Much of it STILL IN BOXES. Some unopened for 11 years! (From the move OUT of San Diego.) Little by little I am getting rid of clothes I don't wear. John's clothes. (Still have some.) I am tossing out tax records (going back to 1963.) I have yet to attack the toys, which can be shipped to relatives. (I will have no grandchildren, That died with my son.) We will not discuss the yarn, patterns, fabric and three sewing machines. Slowly. It is all being sorted and leaving. It is time to unload. Three computers have left, four more are being unloaded and then will be trashed. I have a 200MHz laptop! Good God Almighty! (Well, CISCO recycles.) I will be down to three computers, one new baby one for trips (like San Diego), my G5 and my PC. Living in Fremont with a few dishes, one drawer for silverware and cooking utensils, has taught me that we have way too much stuff. I look around. It takes 30 minutes to vacuum the whole dang place. All 1700 sq feet. It takes 5 minutes to clean the kitchen. Computer, TV and bed. That's about all we REALLY, TRULY NEED. And a bookshelf if you read. If you don't like something, it doesn't fit, or you haven't worn it in more months than you can count, Goodwill is down the street. I sent 8 big boxes of clothing East to a sister that sells on eBay. As the weight drops off (slowly it is), she will be buried in boxes. If you haven't watched it in years, VHS dies people! I have shipped four boxes of children's VHS tapes (my Disney collection) and more will go shortly. I have boxes and boxes of children's books. I have grandnieces and nephews back East. They can have them. As soon as I find who wants them, I have tons of VHS tapes that were John's and I will never watch. They go too. I want the bookcase. Old towels and sheets that don't fit the bed you have (like king and queen when both my beds are double), these need to go too. Curtains from your last four houses can leave. (Although I am glad I have the curtains and drapes from San Diego and most are going to go right back up.) Ripped towels, torn and threadbare kitchen towels, these are what your grandparent's called the rag-bag, used for polishing the car and then tossed. You don't need very many cooking pots and pans. Not living alone. Not even if living with another. We cook too much. We eat too much. We collect too much. My goal is to strip San Diego down to match Fremont. Sparse. Lightly sprinkled with furniture. I will keep the piano. I want empty closets, full bookcases. I want to take back my life from the "stuff". Lesson learned. |
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