Just curious... Am I the only one who yells, "F#%# YOU," into her phone after hearing the first few words from the car warranty scammer robo-voice? And am I the only one who misses good old-fashioned corded phones at such a moment, as I have nothing to slam down in exclamation and disgust? Just curious.
The question above may indicate I'm a bit off balance, or out of balance, or both. I've been working diligently on my balance, the one-legged kind, since my knee surgery. While I'm happy to report improved balance in that arena, I'm not as thrilled with my balance, the life-kind, otherwise.
I'm decidedly off kilter in the life-balance arena. I think I've been veering off the rails for 3-4 weeks, but it suddenly became apparent yesterday, or last week, but I ignored it then, until I couldn't ignore it anymore, and that's why I said yesterday even though it was last week, or maybe even the week before, but denial is a wonderful thing, right? Not.
A not-so-brief synopsis: After finding a room to rent in Duluth in early January, my plan to begin my new job got put on hold, as I needed knee surgery. No worries, I had a place to live, and I had made the decision to keep my home in Rochester, rent the room in Duluth as long as needed and eventually look to buy a Duluth property. In the meantime, I discontinued my Rochester job 3-weeks later than planned, had knee surgery, and began rehabbing in the hope of beginning work in Duluth by mid-February.
But with boredom and no job, Zillow beckoned, and soon I found myself driving back and forth to Duluth, a 7+ hour round trip on a good day, to look at properties--properties that were selling in 24-48 hours for $20,000 over asking price. Meanwhile I was endeavoring to secure the necessary documentation for a mortgage pre-approval, without a current job, and suddenly negotiating the potential of selling my house in Rochester, and feeling oh-so-urgent about all of it.
And then there were the pain pills. I'm an alcoholic, but pills have never been my thing nor an issue for me. My knee was healing well, very little pain, but those damn pain pills were beckoning. WTF? That should have been my first clue. I was veering off and needed to get back on the rails.
I can't say I 100% needed each pill I took, but I went to my meetings and called my sponsor, and emptied the remainder of the pills into my coffee grounds, and decided to stop driving back and forth to Duluth looking at properties, and get back to the original plan of renting a room and patience. Patience.
But Zillow...
Just because I made a decision to quit looking didn't mean Zillow stopped posting enticing properties. So in the midst of fighting with work comp to get a necessary rehab tool approved, and negotiating with my new employer a later start date, as my knee rehab apparently wasn't going as well as I thought, and being stuck in my home with a bum knee and sub-zero temperatures, and choosing new health insurance and investment plans before an approaching deadline for a job I hadn't yet started, and worrying about finances, as I'd be out of work much longer than anticipated; in the midst of those couple of things, I decided to update my kitchen sink, counter, and backsplash and paint my entire second floor. Oh, and I'm going to Duluth tomorrow to look at 3 more properties.
I'm going to Duluth if I can move at all, that is. After two days and 20+ hours, my second floor is approximately a third of the way completed. To say the project has involved more than expected is, well, an understatement of epic proportion. The 1970's popcorn walls and ceilings are sucking up paint like dehydrated camels. I also didn't take into account the fact I am unable to squat or kneel due to my post-op knee. Therefore, I have rudely awakened muscles and joints which haven't been used to this extent since 1986! I could barely get out of bed this morning.
Sitting in a vehicle for 7+ hours tomorrow, while anxiously mulling over details of each property, should be just the thing I need, don't you think? Upon arrival, my realtor may need to pry me from my seat. But one of these houses may be just perfect, and maybe I'll be able to out-bid the 20 other potential buyers, and spend more than the house is worth in the process, and...
And...
And self-inflicted stupidity, I think. Yet I'm stubbornly not going to change my plans. More evidence I am human, I guess. I'll start working on my life balance on Sunday.