Paralyzed with Indecision

All over the internet, and all over pinterest, you have these blogs. Pictures. Taglines.

"She travels the world and DOESN'T work! Learn how!"

"How to quit your job and become location independent."

"How to get out of the 9-5 grind."

Here's one, for reference:

And you click, and invariably, someone tells this story about how, 1 year ago, or 5 years ago, or 6 months ago, they quit their job. And then, they in detail describe to you how they now, after that period of radio darkness, have wonderful, life-affirming streams of passive income.

But no one ever, EVER posts about the dark, dark time in between. The time of potatoes, and pasta, and regretting purchasing those movie tickets. The time where a million things fall through, and you have all these harebrained ideas, and none come to fruition. That period? Everyone ignores that. No one wants you to see the anxiety, and the panic, and the questioning.

Because it's not pretty.

It's not a nice tagline.

And you know what? I decided that, even if I'm the only one who ever reads this, I'm going to chronicle that. The last week at the job you hate, where you can barely drag yourself out of bed. The COMPLETE lack of motivation, and total burnout from years of slaving away for employers who don't care if you're actually happy. 

So. Here I go.

This is my last week at work. And It is 12:25 PM right now. And I am still in bed. I did actually do a little work, but now I'm back in bed.

No makeup.

Lank hair. 

Just waiting for this week to expire. So I can get out of this place. 

And I'm completely paralyzed with indecision. What should I invest in? How can I get the most cashflow out of my capital? How does closing work on a house? Should I keep the internet when we move back to our condo for 2 weeks? If not, how will I overthink everything and search for investment properties that I will never call on?

Eventually, it gives me acid reflux. So here I am, in bed. In the past 2 days I have eaten wonderbread and a caramel apple. 

There is something inherently terrifying about an uncertain future.

Maybe, in 6 months, I'll look back on this and smile - how silly. Kind of how I look back on my apprehension at selling our house, and realize it was totally unfounded. But today?

Today is a day for Cream of Wheat and bed. And books.

How not to be a jerk: Lessons from a caretaker

I feel like, in my current job, I see the worst sides of people on a daily basis.

The side that decides that you don't feel comfortable having the caretaker into your suite to fix something because "What if you steal something??" (An actual question by a tenant.)

The part that decides that, in a communal living environment like a condo, lifting the lid to the dumpster is just too much work.

The part that decides that the caretaker maybe doesn't work as hard as you, so just leaving a box of unsorted recycling is fine, right?

The part that leaves your junkmail in the lobby.

Or touches the glass on the entry door.

Or allows your kids dirty hands to muck up the stainless steel on the elevator.

Or leaves an old vacuum/barbeque/mattress by the trash.

Those parts.

And I just have a few thoughts. Because we do all share this planet, after all.

1) Try not to make someone else's job harder. Decide you don't want those beans at the supermarket? Put them away - not next to the oreos, but where they belong.

2) Treat people as if they are having a bad day. Because odds are, they are. If you're too gentle, and someone takes advantage of you? LAY THE SMACK DOWN. But once you're mean to someone, that's it - its almost impossible to go back. So start with nice. If that doesn't get the job done, then break out the big guns.

3) If it belongs to you, it is your responsibility. End of story. This applies to literally everything. Your old mattress? Dispose of it properly. Your dog, and it bites someone? Take responsibility. Your junk mail? Throw it away. Your greasy hands on the glass/mirror/display? Wipe it off.

4) Don't let people bully you into saying yes. If it's NOT your responsibility, then tell them to piss off. NOT your mattress? Not your problem! Someone else's dog biting someone? Mind your own business. See someone doing something annoying or wrong? Leave them alone! If it's not physically harming anyone, mind your own business. Don't let people tell you that their dog peeing in the corridor is your job to clean. BECAUSE IT ISN'T

5) Last, and final piece, of advice is this: Don't be a douche. Pick up after yourself, follow through, and be honest. 9 times out of 10 people would prefer you say no than do a poor job or never finish.

And let's make this craziness a little easier on each other!

Basic life skills - or the lack thereof

I am a caretaker.

I caretake buildings.

"But Leah!" you say, aghast. "Didn't you get a fancy college degree?"

Yes. Yes I did. However, I have CHOSEN to work with my hands, problem solving and learning daily, rather than compete in the rat race. I probably earn less than you, but guess what? I don't have to interact with people all day, I get to be alone and do my thing. No one tells me when to do what. And, best of all, when my work is finished for the day, I go home.

Something that will never cease to amaze me is the general population's total lack of know-how or life skills. How did we, a first world society capable of AMAZING inventions, come up with the idea that knowing how things work is beneath us?

Here's a few examples:

1) Knowing how to do basic handyman adjustments. Change a lock, fix your squeaky door, adjust your sink lever, change out pipes. Do you know how many times I've gone in to someone's apartment, and the fix they waited for was LITERALLY for me to tighten a screw?

2) Basic plumbing maintenance. If all you know about plumbing is how to plunge your toilet, then you will overpay people do to EASY fixes for the rest of your life. Cleaning out your bathtup drain - easy. Slow draining sink? SUPER EASY. It really isn't rocket surgery.

3) How to do your taxes, and what everything means. How is it possible that something that LITERALLY EVERY PERSON IN THE COUNTRY OR OUT OF IT HAS TO DO has fallen through the cracks? What are capital gains? What are deductions? What can I deduct from my taxes? I feel like people would UNDERSTAND why they have to pay taxes better, as well as better allocate their money to causes they care about, if they understood, even on the most basic level, tax laws.

4) What to look for in a rental, how to do a move-in inspection, and how not to get scammed by a landlord. And what your rights are as a tenant! This one is huge. So many people have gotten scammed by a shady landlord. I was sitting next to someone on the ferry, as they explained that, even though the carpets were filthy when they moved it, the landlord made them steam them. GUESS WHAT? If you had taken pictures when you moved it, you could prove it.

5) Basic car maintenance. We do driver's ed, and driver's training, but no one seems to think we should be learning how to take care of the machine that is responsible for making explosions less than 5 feet from our faces to make us fly down the road at alarming speeds. How to parallel park? IMPERATIVE! Maintenance of explosion producing, speed machine directly in front of our faces? Who cares!

6) Budgeting. How to track expenses, and set a limit for things. Also, how credit works - and why it's important. I feel like half the people I know have either NO CREDIT or BAD CREDIT. Because no one taught us that a) we should have credit history, and b) bad credit can RUIN YOUR LIFE.

I'm in no way suggesting that I know all of these things. I'm merely stating that our view of what is "worth" our attention seems skewed. I can sove for x till the cows come home - but in my real life, daily existence, what is that really worth?

We're selling our house!

Can you believe that?

So, for your viewing pleasure, I have chosen to share with you, dear readers, our professionally staged and photographed home. Enjoy!

Look how nice it is!!!

Front view of our building

Corner view

Another corner view

Front entrance

Living room!

Dining room!

Living room again!

Living/dining

Kitchen with stainless steel appliances, updated faucet, and laminate floors

Den with plush carpet

Kitchen bar area! Perfect for entertaining

Bedroom - looks out on private, fenced in yard

Walk in closet with built in shelving

Exterior area

Our giant patio! Lots of memories here. :-)

Dining nook

In suite washer dryer

Convex bathtub makes showering THE BEST

Tons of counter space, and a big, bright mirror!

This is what it actually looks like to dine outside. We did, every. Single. Day.

Cute little yard! It means your view won't change as the city does. :-)

Tennis Court

Pool and outdoor barbeque area

Basketball/racketball court

Community center

Community center

Community center

Exercise room

Community center exterior

SO!

What do you think? Here is our blurb:

Beautiful, private, updated ground floor condo with HUGE, fenced, North-facing patio! Private entry, interior - facing unit - no road noise, very quiet and peaceful. Includes updated laminate floors, stainless steel fridge, updated sink/faucet, and an electric fireplace. Features walk-in closet, in suite washer/dryer, and a seperate den/office. Private, secure, underground parking and bike locker are included. There are NO RENTAL RESTRICTIONS, which makes this a great investment property! 

Included in Maintenance fee is a membership to the Canoe Club- Tennis courst, exercise room, media room, yog room, two guest suites, playground, sauna and hot tub/pool. These units are in high demand for both purchase and rental!

For additional photos visit: https://www.cotala.com/tours/?tourid=20225