A New Adventure Begins

It is official. Met with the boss last night where after her meeting with our pal the architect it was determined (as a result of city codes) that the demolition of the cabin (my home for the last three years) will begin on August 1. 

That is the bad news. Mostly because I love this place. It was built in 1905. It has more history and charm than a hundred of the cheesy, cheap, pretentious and unsightly McMansions that are selling for a million bucks up the street. 

The good news is that the boss, although slight in stature, has a heart the size of Montana. They have incorporated into the master plan a new shop to be constricted on the clearing where my RV currently sits collecting moss. Above the shop/storage will be a small apartment. For me.

WOW!

I really don’t know what I have done to deserve this magnanimous gift, but she is insisting that, despite my offer to simply vacate like any normal tenant, that it be done. We looked at the initial sketch drawings of the shop last night over cauliflower-crust pizza and citrus IPA. 

And of course I laid awake all night running through my playbook of proper response. Interestingly there was/is no chapter called ‘How to appropriately respond to the extreme generosity of friends with money.’ Because of course I feel guilty and unworthy of such a grandiose gesture. However (as came to me at 0330) I am committed to finding out how it is properly done. I am sure there will be errors, mistakes and choices that slightly miss the mark, but I am satisfied with the knowledge that my intent, however humble, will be honest, pure and enthusiastic. There will be gumption and glee. Accordingly, let the process begin. 

We have ninety-six days, May, June and July. It appears that I will need to postpone the 2019 Epic Ride, initially scheduled for Aug 3-24, to after the project is complete and virgin turn of key. September is better anyway. I have been in construction long enough to know that means that October is more likely, November for planning purposes. Football season. I wonder what a road trip including stops in Corvallis, Palo Alto and Westwood might produce in the way of side trip adventure? 

First on the agenda is to downsize. Again. I have been through this drill before and although it can be a PIA, we start with the easy chores to recycle, reduce and refine. I will try my best to keep from having to rent a storage unit. A lot of my junk, once sorted, can go back in the RV undercarriage bins. A yard sale and on-line sales are a must. The phrase I like to use with this approach is ‘unemotionally aggressive’. Borderline ferocious. Toss, sell, burn, donate, bequeath and barter. Nothing lasts. 

I can start with an inside/outside approach, cleaning up the current storage area indoors while prepping the Honda and Ranger out of doors for Craigs List designation. 

That is a start. I will get right on it after our bike ride today. Day One of Ninety-Six. And while this cozy little waterside shack isn’t exactly the Smith Tower (once the tallest building on the West Coast) it has way more than forty-two stories. 

A new adventure begins.