An update to yesterdays post.

Just a quick update tonight. That going away party I mentioned yesterday..... The date has been changed. It is Tuesday May 22nd at Round Table Pizza in Arnold. Not sure why, but I found out of the change today. Carol, thanks for the advice. Maryann speaks highly of you, alot. That is actually what we are trying to convince the selling agent of right now. We can have all the docs signed and everything ready to go at the title company in Kenai, before we arrive. The problem is that the original contract stated June 13th as the closing date, and we wont be there until June 14th to do the walk through. Again, without saying too much, this should have been taken care of the day after the offer was accepted, and we found out that in fact it wasn't. She is not receptive to extending the closing date to June 14th. As I said, she is stubborn. I would like to say a few other things in my mind, but this is a wholesome family show. ;) So we will hope for the best. I am in the works of an emergency alternative. Being that I could fly a bush plane from Juneau to Kenai on the 12th after I get the vehicles and family onto the gulf crossing ferry, and with a 'power of attorney' for Maryann, can do the walk through on June 13th, and close the deal then. The problem is two things. I would have to pay out money for a plane and rental car to do this, which I dont think is right since I am doing my best to work out an alternative, with the other party not willing to budge. And, then I have to find a way to get back to Whitier on June 14th at 7:30 AM to drive back the moving truck to Kenai, which means I have to try and find a ride there. Just is a pain in the butt this way, but is an option if all other options become futile. Lets just say a prayer that she comes to reason. Thanks again for your comment, it is great to hear from you. We really appreciate it and are glad you are enjoying the blog! I know Maryann is going to miss you and everyone else in her class. Take care Carol, and good night to all!

-Greg

Just breathe....

Good advice..... I had to do just that, or maybe still need to....a little! Been a wild past two days here. A lot of people told us that the days will start to click away faster as we get closer, and they weren't joking. It is hard to believe how fast it is rolling now. Personally, it has been an accomplishing couple of days for me. I have put out for a few quotes for homeowners insurance for the home in Nikiski. So far I received one quote back, and hope that the other two come in by tomorrow. Obviously I am anxious to get this task done, as this is one of the things we need to finance the new place. I also applied and paid for a cell phone with a local number for Nikiski, through ACS, the telecommunications company there. I should have the number tomorrow, and will be receiving the phone sometime next week. Maryann and I agreed that we will keep our current cell service, as we do get great reception up there, for at least the first couple months to see how things go. The idea behind the cell with an Alaskan number is to be able to effectively conduct business up there while we get settled, without having to tie up our home line, and to have an accessible local number while we are down here or en route . We do have our new 'home' phone number, although it is only voice mail until we get there. Also, I should be receiving our new P.O.Box number in the next day or two. The footwork is definitely being laid. I have a contact there in Kenai, who is going to post some flyer's and hand out cards to perspective future clients, advertising my business before we arrive. If all goes well, hopefully we will have some work generated for my business by the time we get there. Just as soon as we get the P.O.Box number and the cell number I will be sending off some literature to him for advertising. It is a blessing that he is so willing to do this for me.

So now the kicker. Yesterday, we found out that there is a hitch in the closing date of our new home. And this is where I need to breathe..... You see, to make this as simple and least confusing as possible, we arrive by ferry in Whittier June 14th at 7:30AM. Then it is just a two hour drive to home from there. The original contract stated that the escrow will close on June 13th. Are you seeing the conflict yet? Now this is where it gets frustrating. This was supposed to be straightened out already...a long time ago. Keep in mind we cant change the ferry schedule.....we will be there June 14th! I found out yesterday that in fact this was never straightened out, and now the selling agent is flipping out because we need to be there June 13th to sign and record. The ferry doesn't arrive until June 14th.....do you see it. It aint gonna work! So now we wait. We wait while the powers that be (our agent and the stubborned selling agent) hammer out a solution. The selling agent is claiming ' a Houdini' on the original addendum for the change, and our agent, bless her, is pulling her hair out trying to reason with an unreasonable selling agent. Do ya know what it is like to be in limbo, waiting!?! Brings to mind a piece from an old Johnny Cash song. The chorus goes...."the one on the left was...on the right, and the one in the middle was...on the left, and the one on the right was in the middle and the guy in the rear... (that would be me) said, 'oh dear'." Inevitably, I am sure it will be fine. It is just annoying that this has popped up now (although I guess that's better than two weeks from now, right?). The good news is that there is a couple ways it can play out to honor both parties' needs. Just may be a tad inconvenient for one of the other or both. Ok, so this is where faith comes in. We are however going to close on our home here on May 18th, and everything seems to be fine on this end. Johnny Cash won't be singin' at this signing! So there you have it, the progress update with all of its glory, joy and frustration. An equal balance it seems! One last thing. We found out that a party is being thrown in our honor on Wednesday May 23rd from 5:00PM to 8:00PM at Round Table pizza in Arnold. Two very close and soon to be very missed friends of ours have put this together, and are requesting that the word be spread around town so everyone will know about it. I figure one of two things will happen: Either so many folks will show up that we will realize how many friends we have and we won't want to leave, or nobody will show, piss us off and make us want to get outta here even sooner! ;) So spread the word around town unless you want to be stuck with us, and anyone who is reading this is invited...although some of you will be traveling one long journey for pizza and a hug/hand shake!!!!

Remember, its all around us everyday; good and bad, joy and sad. Take it all in and just breathe! Good night.

See Ya Later

Hello There, well slowly but surely we're coming down to the wire.

I couldn't figure out why I was feeling kind of down in the dumps today. Could it be, allergies, class, life itself? So, it dawned on me, I have alot less work (and your thinking,"isn't this what you wanted Maryann?"). Of course it's what I want maybe it just hasn't sunk in that everything (work, etc) has to wind down to a stop. Reality is approaching.... Maybe the blues have come from calling that final customer/friend and telling them the news (which I did today). I have had a few customers that surprised me by just saying, "well, do you have a reference?" I was shocked, you mean your not excited for me or wondering where I am going? I guess you find out who was business oriented only and wanted no personal relationship whatsoever. Maybe I was just always friendly and thought they felt the same (you know, wanted to know me as a person). This my friend isn't always the case. I have to tell you I was stunned. However, I have had the majority of my customers/friends very excited and wanting to know all of the details on our trip. These people I can say I will be staying in touch with far from now. These people I felt sad telling them I would no longer be taking care of their home away from home. One of those people was Susan from Bay Alarm, a wonderful, full of life person I always enjoyed speaking to even if it was to just say Hi. Although there were many times I didn't want to call her.... you know what I mean Susan. Teresa (my referral) and her husband, Greg and I met with Susan today for our last lunch together we had a good time it was difficult saying Goodbye. I do not want to say Goodbye, I just want to say, See Ya Later. Because you just never know. :0) So maybe this is why I am down in the dumps today. To all of you out there reading this, when that time comes and I give you that last hug don't say Goodbye, say See ya later.

Wonderful people are put into other peoples lives for a reason and business, life in general, money, all of that really doesn't matter. We are all in this game of Life together why not enjoy it? To all of my customers that I consider friends and you know who you are because we had extensive conversations when I spoke to you about our move-I'm extending again my heartfelt appreciation for trusting us with your peace of heaven and know we enjoyed working for you immensely. You will be missed. Take care, M.

Oh, Susan-we may be calling you for more soap..... :0) just joking.....

Eye candy

Check this out! These are pictures we took back in November 2006, when we visited Kenai for the 2nd time. These were taken at the beach in Kenai. That morning it was -19 below 0 with a wind chill (chill is an understatement) of -27 below 0. To give you an idea, well dressed...and I mean layered, you are fine for about 4 minutes. Then you start to feel your face freeze....in my case I had ice forming on my beard...no joke. I had to hang it up and head in after about 9 minutes of exposure when my throat started to get numb from breathing in the icey air (my true fear was like you read in the books, when you just colapse from exhaustion and become a 3 course meal for some hungry....ahh you get the point :o ). What was neat that morning out there was that we kept hearing these cries off in the distance. We found out later that it was hundreds of eagles feeding at the mouth of the Kenai river on unsuspecting salmon. Aparently the eagles go on a feeding frenzy in the fall as they don't feed through the winter. Was a very spiritual sound, more so after we found out what it was. The tides in Alaska can be in variance of 40 feet. The white speckles you see in the sand are ice, and in fact the sand there in 2nd photo that looks wet.....its just plain frozen, man! I tried to kick a rock out of the sand...I tried. The other photo is looking out over the Cook Inlet at Mt Redoubt. If you sail off to the left of the photo you end up in the gulf of Alaska....if you sail to the right you will find yourself in Anchorage....if you didn't turn into a friggin popsicle first! ;) Happy days, we are getting excited. Yes Sandy, lots of faith. The whole thing is an incredible leap of faith. We will get by...we will survive.

In its time.

Today was another of what will be many mileposts in our journey. Due to logistical reasons, we planned from day one to sell my work truck, our Bronco, and keep Maryann's Tahoe, while towing my Chevelle behind the moving truck to Bellingham WA, where we would dump the trailer and drive the Chevelle, Tahoe, and the moving truck onto the ferry and then to our new home base once we landed in Alaska. I guess we worried about the two vehicles maybe not selling before we left and the implications this would pose. Major implications. It took 'letting go' and allowing the powers that be to do their work. The Bronco has sold, although we are able to keep it until we leave, thanks to the generosity of our good friends that bought it for their daughter. And today....... :{ ......my truck sold. Honestly it feels like I lost my right leg. Again, thanks to the blessed help and hard work of another very good friend (and the mercy of mother nature and mild weather), I was able to kick in full gear the past month and get allot of the heavy work that required my truck, done. From here on out my work will be workable with the Broco and other alternatives. Now mind you this current event is good....really good. I got a descent amount for the truck, and I don't have to worry about..."what if it doesn't sell before we leave?" So lets take a second and say..."right on, man!" It does close the end of an era however. Anyone who saw 'the big red beast' rolling down the highway thought...."Greg". And anyone who saw Greg thought...."the big red beast!" Many memories, and 'the big red beast' did take good care of me....many times. Lets look at this from the perspective of, in order to 'gain', we have to accept some kind of 'loss'. As humans we tend to fear the discomfort of 'loss', or change. Lets face it, it is uncomfortable and frankly scary. This can easily lead us to fall into a comfort zone, which can cause us to just be content with 'as is' and never seek the gain we may desire. There will be allot of these changes to come for us. For everyone actually. But we have to look at it as letting something go in order to achieve what we truly desire. In order to get that promotion, we have to put in those strenuous hours, kiss the bosses a#*, etc, right!? ;) Case in point, I will find a new truck when we get there, and it will be a new and rewarding experience, and new highways to christen. It will be ultimately in the name of achieving positive gain. That is after all what this whole experience is about. Lets face it, if not for positive gain, you wouldn't be reading this blog! True, I did experience a moment of sadness closing this fabled chapter, but after that brief moment of sadness I was overwhelmed with the joy that this simple accomplishment has paved in the name of gain. No matter the fear or uncertainty, just step back....it will all come together in its time. The big red beast is blazing new territory and memories for a great young man tonight as we speak. God bless.

-Greg

The day after.

Yesterday marked a revelation in my mind regarding this huge undertaking. Not like I didn't already know it, but something about 'May 1st' hit home the fact that we had only 31 days left. Counting today that makes 30....holy crap! :{ As I mentioned we are closing escrow here on the 18th of May, and will continue to occupy until June 1st. I think the '31 day' thing has to do with the realization of how much has to still be done. More than just the obvious packing. Getting insurance on the new home, arranging cut off dates here and start times in Alaska for utilities, arranging for delivery of new appliances to the new place, the continual task of notifying clients that we are gone as of June 1st and referring them to other service people, setting up business there...from here! The list goes on, while we continue to work our business here. I think when you are at day 45, or yet still back at day 60 (those were the days!) it is less intimidating because time is on your side. Ironically it is a dreary rainy day, so it only helps amplify the 'day after' effect....blah! Oh, it will all pan out, it will. There is still plenty of time. I think 'May 1st' was a reality check, which in reality checked 'the day after'. Nevertheless it is a day to go down in blog history.

Also, I would like to retract yesterdays entry of daylight hours. Seems I got confused with the trauma of the 'May 1st' backlash and quoted more or less our daylight hours here. Actually there was 16 hours and 5 minutes of daylight in Kenai yesterday, with today being 16 hours and 10 minutes...and gaining! Thanks for all of the support and comments. We do appreciate it. Tracy, it was great hearing from you and we hope you stay in tune with us throughout. To all of those who remain silent....now we know who didn't raise their hands in class! We know your there.... ;) Stay focused with your goals. Love ya, Greg

No shame in that name!! Their moto; "We pack'em, rack'em, whack'em, and sack'em" I would say those folks have a good sense of humor....but I think they're serious! This unique store is located on the 'spit' in Homer. What is a 'spit' you ask? The 'spit' is a thin (about 100 yds wide) stretch of land that extends roughly a mile into Kachemak Bay. Kind of like a 'land wharf' it has restaurants, shops, fishing guide companies, commercial fisheries, ect, and one spectacular view. You can fish, camp, motorhome.... a very user friendly and fun place. We spent alot of time on the 'spit' while we were visiting both in June and November. As of now, the temp in Kenai is 49 degrees with 14 hours and 5 minutes of daylight....and gaining! :)