Bite me

Taxes always bite. Today I got hit with the NC sales tax for my RV when I went to change the title and get a tag. $256.00! Now, I didn't buy it in NC so why am I paying NC sales tax? Off to the DMV website to find out it's not exactly a sales tax, it's a highway use tax. Humph.

And the insurance for the RV, including fulltimer's liability, will be about $600 a year.

Also sent in my registration for the RV Women Convention in Charleston SC in late Sept. So I get to shell out over $1000 in one day.

Bites hard.

Nibbling is a whole different game, but that's another story.

Am re-reading my Ross Thomas collection. Outstanding writer of political intrigue and thriller-style mysteries. He gets put into Mystery because lots of people die but he's really a commentator on social mores. He also has great quirky characters. Am also reading a lot of Mark Twain's nonfiction. Scored a couple of DVDs for my collection: White Knights, with Mikhail Barishnikov and Gregory Hines, and Isabella Rossellini; and Kung Fu Hustle by Stephen Chow. Found them both in a truckstop in SC.

Dean's coming over soon to get my new laptop set up for me. Hooray!

Time's getting short so ruthless behavior will set in very soon. Throw it out. Give it away. Whatever. It's gone. And so will I be soon.

Sexy Ghibli

Am just back from Myrtle Beach with my RV. Brought it through high winds, torrential rains, and over Saluda Grade. It performed just fine with no leaks. It'll look even better once I begin to personalize it to my taste. Basic color scheme is blue and white, nicely inoffensive. I've named him (it turns out to be a "he" for some reason) Ghibli, Arabic for sandstorm. I spent two years in Tripoli Libya and we could watch the sandstorms boil up out of the Sahara.

Myrtle Beach is just as tacky as I remember it, growing up in Wilmington NC, about 50 miles away. Of course, mid-March isn't crowded (hooray) and there weren't any hordes of beer-sodden testosterone-flaunting adolescent males (that includes those up to about age 30). And no gaggles of giggling, boob-thrusting, ass-wiggling adolescent females, who need all that movement to break through the bleary gaze of the beer-sodden (see above). Those males I saw who weren't young enough to my grandsons were fat, ugly, and festooned with family. Except for the two Orthodox Jews who don't acknowledge the existence of women anyhow.

So much for a wild fling while out of town. I don't even get wild flings here in town. Maybe my luck will change out on the road. I'm actually sort of tired of being celibate, though not enough to take just anything that's on offer. Generally speaking, those I would take aren't available. Sigh. And I've had enough experience in my past that I certainly don't feel I'm missing anything, so what I'm looking for is more mental with the physical as a nice bonus. We'll just have to see what's out there, won't we (that's the imperial we). And I never forget that wherever I go I take me with me, so don't expect anything too different.

Singing a happy song

I told the Yahoo Toyota RV group two days ago that I needed to buy a new rig. Yesterday I got an email from a member just one state away who has a beautiful 1985 Sunland Express model (all fiberglass). He was about to put it up for sale and notified me first. I called him and we discussed the pictures he'd sent me and how much he's done to it ($15000 in repairs and upgrades, including a rebuilt engine with only 10000 miles on it).

Today I sent him an email saying I want to buy it. Tomorrow I'll call him and discuss arrangements for payment and pickup. Going to Myrtle Beach SC to get it will be no hardship.

I feel much better now (thank you, John Astin). Both Joe and I are relieved to be out from under the gun on the restoration. Ahhh. Life is good.

How Little is Livable

I may have to slow down on selling things. Just today, I sold a bed, a mirror, two large bookcases, six small bookcases, a bureau, a globe, and possibly two small filing cabinets. Already spoken for is the club chair and ottoman, the four mission bookcases, the barrister bookcase, three white bookcases, and the three-section bookcase with half-round ends. It's starting to echo in here. And I haven't even advertised anything -- it's all word of mouth.

Joe and I have decided that we're not going to be able to get the RV renovated in the time we have left. Sooo, we're going to look for something inexpensive that's already together. He'll front me the money and I'll pay him back from my inheritance. This takes a huge load off both of us. Now all we have to do is find the right thing.

No stress here, uh-uh, no siree

I keep nodding off, which is what I usually do when I'm stressed out. A friend finally said, well, you're dealing with moving, both out and in, and your parent died, so why wouldn't you be stressed! So I'm going to just keep moving at my snail's pace, taking things out of my apartment, doing some work on the RV, and dealing with red tape on the estate front. I'm now trying to file my parent's income tax for last year. Yes, it's fun all round.

Got a small CA fix today, always a good thing. Went to dinner with friend last night. Will go play cards with friends on Sat. eve. Joe's ripping out some rotten wood to replace with new wood, which means I get to reprime that area. Sun. I'll begin the real painting (in color!). Seems like I'm always about to paint.

Two months till I leave town. Time pressure is building up. Aaarrrgh.

Killz Paint

Today I finished putting Killz oil-based primer everywhere inside the RV, including in my hair and on my glasses. I think I'm the world's sloppiest painter. It's imperative I work with the brush or roller in one hand and a wipe rage in the other. It took a full gallon of Killz to do it all, and I now have muscle aches in odd places. And then there's the cleanup. If you're a sloppy painter, your brushes are covered in paint at the end, as are your clothes.

I did the TSP two days ago and forgot to wear gloves so I came out with blisters and redness all over my hands.

Tomorrow I start putting on the real paint, in a color (summer sage), so I'm going to have to slow down and be careful because I really do want it to look nice.

The older I get the more I believe in the old saying, "good enough for government work."

Working But Not

Not having a job is weird. This is the first time since 1987 I've been jobless. There's no structure to my days so I have to be my own disciplinarian. If I don't, the RV isn't going to get done. Some progress has been made. Joe is figuring out the old electrical system and wiring. I caulked nine million holes in the cab floor (slight hyperbole). I've put down the underlayment on the cab floor and overlaid it with rubber matting, so we can reinstall the driver seat.. A new regulator and hose fitting has been purchased for the propane tank and Joe will install them this weekend. I'll begin making the box for the passenger side of the cab -- this will be storage for heavy things, probably tools etc. It'll also provide an armrest and drink place and desktop.

Next is the TSP, Killz, and paint the interior. Then make and install the cabinets, using "hardware cloth" as door insets. This is actually gridded wire, so why it's called cloth is unknown.

Still discussing the option of generator versus inverter.

And the matter of my mother's estate rolls on. I sure hope it's all finished before I hit the road.

I had a nice flirtation going with a younger man but, sadly, it's fizzled out. Ah well.