First Week Off Is a Success

It was week ago today when I sent in my letter to the company to let them know I was retiring. It's been a fast week, with NO stress of any kind, and a lot of things got accomplished. In fact I have not thought about work or my past job for one second. If I didn't have my exit interview appointment on my iPhone calendar, there would be a chance that I would forget all about it. I did get a lot of emails from co-workers that either worked at home on Monday when I was there or didn't realize that I was sneaking out without the goodbyes. They didn't realize I finally did what I warned them about ... retirement. All of them understand and are excited about my future plans. A majority of them wished they could do the same thing.

This week I started looking at trailers and trucks to replace the Class C I sold last week. I ended up with a good truck as a tow vehicle. I have my 1994 Chevy Truck cleaned and sitting down the hill by the highway with For Sale signs, a new bench seat cover, two new floor mats, plus the oil filter and oil was changed just last Saturday. I would say the future new owner will be happy with their purchase. It is also listed on Craig's List. My Mini Cooper was also washed today, will vacuum the inside Saturday morning. I've had one caller from Indianapolis, 70 miles away, wanting to drive down and see it Saturday. In these kind of sales you never know who will show up and who will not.

That is one thing I like so far about being away from work, there is no pressure to get something done that day. Normally I would have spent more time to finish the vacuuming and spraying the stuff on the tires to make them look great ... but today after washing a truck and a car, I didn't feel like finishing it today. A dog walk was a better option on a beautiful day. As far as the potential buyers, if they show up fine, if not, doesn't matter. The Mini Cooper is also listed on Craig's List, a few dollars below the NADA value because of a few cosmetic blemishes I would fix if I were to keep it.

I've looked at trailers most of the week online. Talked to some people on the phone and via email for trailer ideas and opinions. I have narrowed the search .. I think?? I have had some people send me some pretty good ideas, all of them considering the fact that I will be traveling with dogs which one of them is pretty good size. Of course the majority of trailers that I like are 1500-2000 miles west of me. I like that idea of sitting inside a trailer before I buy it, kind of visualizing what it would look and feel like living in it with my hounds. I would like to kind of get a feel for it, what kind of vibe I get when I am sitting in the trailer day-dreaming. So, will that distance play a factor in my purchase? A lot of people buy trailers, rvs from a distance. I have bought old VW buses from a distance and paid for them just by what the pictures showed and what the owners told me. It seems different doing that with something you are going to be living in.

At least if I have to travel to check them out, I don't have to ask for a day off from work to travel...LOL

So to end the week, I have great weather, happy dogs because they can go out anytime they want now, a couple of vehicles for sale, a great new to me truck, and a plan that is in action while not even being May 1 yet.

Thanks to those for the helpful emails, blog comments, phone calls, .. all very helpful information.

One thing I forgot to mention. This past week is the first time in years I haven't gotten up multiple times during the night. I have slept through the night from the time I got to bed until the time the hounds wake me up. Currently normal time because they think I am going to work. Instead of staying up until 1-2am and getting 4-5 hours of interrupted sleep, like I have for years, I've been getting close to 8 hours of un-interrupted sleep. I am also noticing some diet changes taking place showing the proof that stress did play a part in the junk food I ate on a daily basis.

Bought a Tow Vehicle

As much as I like my 1994 Chevy 2500 Cheyenne truck and it's temptation to use to save some money, I thought it might be uncomfortable for not only the hounds but also myself. Traveling on a single cab bench seat might not prove to be the right decision a 1,000 miles down the highway. The hounds love the ride in the truck to the vet but that is only 24 miles round trip. A lot different than traveling 1500 miles to get there and then through the western states. The more I thought about it, the more I knew three things.

I needed:
   -  4x4
   -  Crew Cab
   -  1500 or 2500HD or F150

The crew cab for the hounds and the HD and 4x4 to keep me out of trouble.Now I can tow anything I want. I have no desire to tow a 'house' but at least this gets me out of the range of 18' trailers.

It's strange how putting pictures of things you want work, but a few weeks ago when I decided to sell the Class C and go the truck/trailer combo, I changed my desktop picture on my iMac to my friends picture of his 2003 Chevy Silverado towing a trailer in Utah. Well today I bought a 2006 Chevy Silverado about the same color as my friends.

The day started with me heading to Bloomington to check out a truck I had seen on a local website. A Chevy 2500 4x4 that was priced fair but since those lower priced (less than $25K) don't seem to hang around long in this area, I realized there was a chance it might be sold. I was right. I got to the car lot early Wednesday morning to find out it sold the night before and had not been updated on the dealer's website yet. So I drove down the street to a friend of mine's car lot, one where I have bought a few (my addiction) cars from him. He usually has a good choice of used trucks to choose from.

So really for the first time in my life, I pretty well knew what I was looking for and what price range I would settle for. He will budge some on his prices but not much. As I pulled in he was taking pictures of a truck that had just been detailed that morning and had been parked not 5 minutes before I got there. He had the trucks I had seen on his website but they were more than I wanted to pay. I didn't drive over to look at those. I was wanting to see if something might have just come into his lot or at least let him know what I was looking for.

He was taking pictures of a 2006 Chevy Silverado 2500HD, 4x4, Crew Cab (4 doors), short bed. It was one of my favorite colors, light between a silver and gold. I checked it out from bumper to bumper, including scooting on my back to check out the underside of the truck. It had only a couple of small dings in the body, nothing major and to be honest I always like a truck that has kinda a used look to it. Not trashed out but not showroom quality either, because it is going to get used off-road and about once per year I make a mistake (joke) that causes slight damage.

By the time I crawled out from under the truck, with a satisfactory inspection, he was back from his office tossing me the keys and told me to call him if I got it hung up someplace. Good salesman eh?? He already knows I have the bait in my mouth and very close of being hooked. Well to say the least, it drove like a dream. Smooth quiet and had power when I needed it. A lot of room inside front and back. Great condition. No rust, which is rare for a Midwestern truck.

So here is the new tow vehicle with the hounds starting their inspection:

Now that has been taken care of, it is time to find something to live in. My plans seem to be moving on right on schedule. This retirement life isn't a bad deal, I like it.