Too early to count on a successful conclusion, but we accepted an offer for the house yesterday, and escrow opened for the sale. I think "Sale Pending" really applies after all the contingencies are past (like financing and inspections), but things are looking good at this early stage.

If the deal goes all the way, we will close on or slightly before July 15th. That leaves a lot of stuff to do to be ready to roll down the street on the first day of a ten-day 3,300 mile trek to Yucatan. Today I started posting adds for disposal of furniture to craigslist , which is probably the extent of advertising we'll do. We're hoping the house buyer will find it helpful to acquire some of the furnishings, which were carefully selected to fit the rooms and house.

Last night neither of us slept very well. The stress and excitement of getting the house ready and then the unexected rapid delivery of not one but two offers (a tough choice), and the realization that acceptance meant the move-out clock could be irrevocably ticking rattled us a little. Hopefully today we're more settled down.

I contacted my Mayan buddy Enrique in Merida this morning, and he seems pleased about helping me search for a rental during my stay there starting next week. Good thing too, as there will be a lot of calling to check out listings in the newspaper. I have enough trouble face-to-face with native Spanish speakers - without the benefit of gestures and eye contact a phone call can go to hell in a big hurry....



Enrique Poc Rosado y su amigo Fabian

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I've been really busy getting the house ready to show. That's my excuse for the infrequent posts....

I did have (make) time to visit Reno to see my father and his wife, and my sister. I hadn't seen my dad in several years, and sister Becky in probably eight years. I have started a round of efforts to see people before we leave, as the reality of the imminent departure looms. This trip to Reno also yielded a reunion between Becky and her father , who had an unhappy time in the past and both seem to be looking toward better days.

As the photo above shows, I put up the for-sale sign in front of the house a few days ago. It was a strange moment, after the ten years we have spent here. If you look closely at the realtor on the new sign and the one at the end from ten years ago, you'll see we're selling it through the same agent we bought it from.

She held an open house yesterday on Sunday, after cautioning us not to anticipate much action right away. Rates have been going up, and sales have slowed locally. However, it looks like there may be two offers already, which will be delivered to us tomorrow at 5pm. This could really compress the remaining time even more, and I may need to give two week's notice at work the day I return. Any additional time here after a deal closes escrow will require a rent-back from the new owners, at a considerable cost.



April 1994

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Another closet was emptied today, and the first box destined for Mexico was topped off and sealed - photos and some art supplies. I'm afraid my first pass at thinning clothes to what makes sense to ship ahead will need another try - there's too much and I KNOW some things will never get used there. It's tough to let go, but now is the time. At least I was able to discard a lot of ties that I never use any more, even here. OK - so I snuck a couple into a box. You never know.

As I went through the photos, I finally discarded ALL the negatives accumulated over the years. Also thinned out a lot of not-so-great photos, and hesitated over the "dead friends" collections. One of the best friends died twelve years ago. He was born in 1952 - same as me. I briefly considered discarding those photos, but I enjoy seeing their faces and remembering time spent with them every year or so.

We're seeing the realtor Monday night to discuss the listing and a possible date to show the house. It could happen as early as two weeks from now.

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Well, it looks like we might be able to move forward with our plans as soon as I can confirm that I will not experience any complications with this last (hopefully) medical obstacle. Today I was able to pass on the pain medication, which I don't really like to use if possible - the body's healing power is really quite amazing. I should have a reasonable expectation of how this will settle down by early next week.

Next on the agenda - find time to see a few people for the last time before things really heat up, finish the last detailing of the house to prepare it for sale, and get the realtor signed up for the listing. We also need to start gathering the few things that will be shipped to segregate from the "everything must go" collection.

Then, off to Merida for a couple of weeks to seek a rental place and activate my 'rentista' visa.

I've started filing digital photos online of all the furniture that will be listed at Craigs List . We want some things in place to show the house, then when it sells there will be a mad scramble to clear out everything.


Text © 2003-2004 Stanley J. Wolf

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This will be a short update for anyone checking in just to see if I made it through the surgery OK this morning.

Yes.

However - ouch. I'm home, as they were able to keep it laparoscopic, but for the moment it's Better Living Through Chemistry if you know what I mean. Time for me to head back to the couch and take it easy. More Friday....



Text © 2003-2004 Stanley J. Wolf

Well, I hope the crack surgical team at Kaiser has been practicing for my procedure on Thursday. We're hoping for a successful laparoscopic procedure, but there is always a chance (around 3%) that it will convert to an open one with the attendant longer recovery time.

If all goes well, I'll check in at 6:30am and be on my way home in around seven hours.

Preparations to sell the house continue - endlessly, it seems. The last room has been repainted as of today, and now there is just assorted trim to be touched up. It's hard to believe that the first thing we'll probably need to do in a new Mexican house is - CLEAN, FIX, and PAINT. Well, at least there is the satisfaction of feathering one's own nest instead of just tarting up a property to unload.

I've started planning for my efforts to make the other kind of painting my next career move. I found six used books on color theory, materials, and technique that look promising for filling in some of the missing pieces in my art skillset. I've done fine airbrush and retouching in the course of my photography work, especially with all the restoration I did in the pre-digital days. Thank God it all required intricate hand work and not just mouse and application dexterity, or I'd have no developed art skills at all. I have the eye from all the years of still photography. Now it is just a matter of learning to wrangle the oil color medium, and maybe develop some additional insight about the more subtle effects of color.

I can imagine myself a year or two from now, intensely frustrated over my poor mastery of the medium and lack of vision, remembering my optimism and enthusiasm while planning the move.



Text © 2003-2004 Stanley J. Wolf

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I was listening to the closing statement of a public advocate before the Supreme Court today regarding the detention of an American citizen as an "enemy combatant". This status means that at the whim of the Executive branch, one can be locked away interminably with no access to due process. It is worth hearing this for yourself. I found the two minutes and 28 seconds more chilling than a well-crafted horror film, and it reminded me of the dread I felt when I read Orwell's 1984. There have been many reminders of that book and the two film versions recently, with astonishing examples of doublespeak and contempt for the Constitution that people amazingly find defensible in letters to the editor and political columns.

When we first looked toward Mexico for an improved life, it was because of the color, and the emotional richness. The quirkiness and humor. A simplicity and innocence that we seem to have left behind in this country. All of that is still the primary motivation, but increasingly, there is a sense of fleeing from a malignant and ominous presence here.

I wonder, in November, if there will be a lot more people looking south for an opportunity to find a new life...

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