Two Steps Forward, One Step Back

Well, the container finally showed up at 3:45 today. I was lucky to get a time extension on the liftgate truck I rented, but I have to have it back at the rental yard by 7AM, tomorrow. So much for sleeping in after a hard day of moving. But it was a good day. We were able to unload the entire rental truck, get the refrigerator, washer, dryer, mattresses and all of the living room furniture loaded into the container and we still have room. I guess its back to the stores to shop. You can't have any space left in a container when you ship it. It's just not right! Maybe I will get that golf cart after all. Now if I can just get it by Customs as a household item so I don't have to pay taxes and duties on it.


Our 6'X 8' Shed, filled to capacity

The 7'X 16' second storage area, filled to capacity

Our "POD" temporary storage unit, almost filled to capacity

The garage storage area, almost filled to capacity

Back of the rental truck, half filled to capacity

Our container

Starting to load the container

Moving from the rental truck to the container

But as the title suggests, it's not all good. We found out today that escrow will probably not close until next Tuesday, not Friday, as planned. So that means that we will be living in an EMPTY house until then. The container will be packed and on its way to Belize, and we'll be sleeping on an air mattress, with a leak. I had planned to fix it someday, but I guess that day should have been yesterday.

But with those extra days, we'll pick up any items we may have forgot and it will give me a chance to do a little bit of flying before we go. Who knows, maybe I'll even get a chance to solo. I can hope. It was something I wanted to do before we left for Belize, so this may be my last chance. I hadn't flown since late July, but I just had to get up one more time, before we left, so I went flying with my friend, Jeff. Thinking this would be my last time, Jeff let me do a little flying myself. It feels so good to get back in the air. I do miss it.

And on a sad note, I'd like to remember my friend, Gene. He passed away last week, several weeks after an emergency bypass surgery. He was good friend and pilot at our ultralight airport and he will be sorely missed. He had just bought a new, 2 seater, QuickSilver ultralight, just four days before his emergency surgery. He never even got the chance to fly it. He took me on my first flight to the Santa Paula airport. It's something I'll always remember. So Gene, here's to you, my friend. Fly High!!!

Three More Days

Time continues to fly by and we are now down to three days before the closing date on the house. As we scramble to get ready for the move, things don't always go as planned. We had made arrangements for the container to be delivered at 3PM on Friday, had rented a truck with a lift gate and had several friends to help move the heavy furniture. But the best plans have built in leeway, just in case something does go wrong. Well it did. The shipper failed to contact the local cargo company to drop off the container, so here it is, Tuesday morning, and we are still waiting for the container to be delivered. It's cutting it close, but if it shows up as scheduled, by 1PM, we should still have a few days to fill it. But it sure does add some unnecessary stress.

On a good note. We were approved for the QRP program as of September 17th. Now we are waiting for the paperwork on our dogs to be approved, and we'll be good to go.

But for now, it's back to getting things in the moving van so we can transfer it to the container, whenever that arrives.

Watching the Days Count Down

It's now down to 17 days before the move and we are scrambling to get things done. As we keep checking things off our list, more things seem to creep on to it and it sometimes seems like we're getting nowhere.

We finally have the SOLD sign on the house, now that all the contingencies have been signed off.




A garage sale is planned for this Saturday to get rid of all of all the excess stuff we've gathered over the years. We've also been using craigslist to post some things for sale and I've been pleasantly surprised at the volume of calls I received from the ads. A lot more than the ads I had to pay for.

And since we're still here, it's time again for the Los Angeles County Fair. Last year I thought would be our last time to visit the fair, but things always seem to take longer than expected, and we're still here. So, on Friday, it's off to the fair we go. Look at all the goods for sale, little betting on the ponies, a couple of beers and a big ol' turkey leg. I love the fair.

After that, it's back to the grind stone. September 24th is coming up fast.

Four More Days

The last of the inspections was this morning. We passed the building inspection with only a few changes and repairs to be made. Some are from the new laws in effect now that were not there when we bought the house. Others are just from wear and tear. The best thing is, there was nothing major that needed to be done. Now we wait until Tuesday, when the contract becomes binding. Then it's time to PARTY!!!! Beware Belize, the Chows are on their way!!!

The Inspections Have Gone Well...So Far

It has been a busy week, getting the house ready for the inspections and the appraisal. I know this will soon be behind us, but it sure is a pain right now. We passed the termite inspection, with only a couple of spot treatments and repairs and the appraisal came in at the price we needed. So two of the three inspections are done, with the building inspection due today at 10AM. This is our last hurdle, then we can really begin to get ready for our move to Belize.

We are working with a shipping company to move our household goods to Belize, but as of right now, they will deliver and pickup a container to our house in Camarillo but will only ship it as far as the Belize border. From there we will have to find transportation from the border to Consejo. Not sure if that's the way we want to go. We still have a few more options.

Going... Going...GONE...We've SOLD our Home!!!

After only 12 days on the market, we've sold our home! Now we begin the process of moving out of the country. Yard sales, freight forwarders, banking, bills, the list just goes on and on. But with Mischelle's help, we can tackle anything. Our official closing date is......September 24th. Hopefully that will be the date that we pack up the truck with the dogs and head to Belize. If all goes well, we should arrive in Belize sometime between October 1st and October 5th. We plan on taking our time in the States, then crossing over into Mexico and making that part of the trip in 3 days. The dream has finally come true. Well, almost. We still need to pass the home inspection, pass the termite inspection and the 14 days in which they can cancel the sale for reasons found in the inspections. I don't think we'll have problem, except for the termites. Just too many of them around here. Most of the houses are tented when they are sold. Maybe we'll be the exception. Yah, right. And now we need to find a container and a shipper. The fun has just begun!

Almost There

Our house has now been on the market for 12 days. We've had over twenty showings, five have come back for second viewings and one has come back four times. There has been quite a bit of interest in our home and we've had four offers already. We have focused on two of them as the most promising and are now in the process of going back and forth with counter offers. We may, in fact, take one of the offers today if everything works out.

It's so stressing trying to keep the house in immaculate condition while we are living in it. And on top of that, we have Mischelle's mother staying with us and our neice, who is on leave from the Army, came down from Washington state to visit us for a few days. I'm ready for this to be over so we can get back into a normal routine.

A Good Start to Selling Our Home

Now that the weekend has passed, our house has been on the market for 4 days and we've had 7 viewings with three more scheduled for today. Three of those have come back for a second visit and we have two offers on the table. We have countered the two offers and are waiting to see what the rest of the week will bring. It was a slow weekend here because the Ventura County Fair opened this weekend and the Point Magu Naval Air Base had an air show with the Thunderbirds performing.

With the dog incident behind us, we need to get a container soon, so we can start packing our household goods. Both offers want a 30 day escrow, so things could happen fast. There are so many things to do and 30 days seems like an awfully short time to get everything done. But you gotta do what you gotta do.

My Baby Girl's In Trouble

The viewing of our home creates a small problem with the dogs around. We need to keep them out of the way when the house is being viewed. Luckily, our neighbors across the street are more than happy to accommodate us and the dogs, while we wait for our home to be shown. On average, it takes around 40 minutes per showing. But when there has been a couple of back to back showings, it may take a couple of hours before we can go back home.

Most of the time, we all sit on our neighbor's front porch, watching the people go in and out, and wonder what they are thinking. Then afterwards, going back home, we're giving the dogs only limited access to the house, until we are sure there are going to be no more showings that day. But this new routine has put tremendous stress on my female dog, Coral. We got both her and Timber over ten years ago, and as they both approach 11 years old, their age is a factor in both their lives. Timber has severe arthritis, but the medication we are using has brought him welcome relief from the pain and has actually made him feel better and more like his old self. He runs and plays, and once again become the social butterfly he once was.




Coral, on the other hand, is more of a home body. She would rather spend the day lounging on the bed, keeping Mischelle company. She doesn't like change and has her own little routine.




But with the changes going on around the house and the changes in her routine, she was not a happy camper. But Mischelle and I didn't think too much about it. She had the other dogs to keep her company and she was in a place she knew, at our neighbors, during the time of the showings.

The trouble started around 11:30PM. Mischelle was hearing strange noises outside and Timber was using an unusual bark that seemed to indicate trouble rather than just mice or possums. As Mischelle went outside, she found Coral in a full seizure, drooling profusely, jaws locked, legs stiff, eyes rolled back and twitching violently. As Mischelle yelled for me, I came running, having no idea of what to expect. I had been the first contact when someone, at a job I was at, went into a full seizure. But I know what to do there. Roll them on their side, make sure the airway is clear and clear the area of any obstacles and call 911. But what do you do when it's your dog?

I had told Mischelle when we were looking for our first dogs, "No Black Dogs". I didn't want the dark, shedding fur all over the house. But, of course, the first dog she fell in love with was a big, black fur ball, that we eventually named Coral, after the unique black coral found in the ocean.




Mischelle may have picked her out, but she was to be my little girl (a spoiled one at that). And here was my girl, going through a violent seizure. What do I do? As I held her, I tried to pry open her jaws (DO NOT DO THIS) to make sure she had a clear airway. Only later did I find out, that is not the thing to do. In that state, the dog may bite anything or anyone. So I held on to her, speaking softly and reassuring her that I was there. At that point, I was afraid she was going to die in my arms. All I could do was hold her close and offer a soothing voice.

After about 2 minutes she started to come around. At first, the seizure had caused temporary blindness, but you could see in her eyes that she was beginning to recover. It's so strange, but at some point, they come out of the fog of the seizure, look around and almost seem to ask " what's everyone doing hanging over me?". This was the first time I had encountered a dog seizure, so I went online to find out what to do. I didn't really want to try and load Coral up in the car and drive her 20 miles to the emergency pet hospital, take her into a bright room and leave her with people she didn't know. It would just add to her stress.

So, after going online (http://www.dogseizures.net/) and reading about canine seizures, I found out that they are not that uncommon and there's not much you can do while they are happening, so you just need to let the seizure run its' course. It's kind of an electrical storm in the brain sometimes related to stress. Bingo. She had "tonic clonic" and fit the description to a "T". We had noticed the early stages a few hours before but thought she was just hot and thought nothing of it. But after reading about the seizures, I found out excessive drooling is one of the first signs of a seizure.

After that, we decided not to take her to the emergency room and wait until morning to see our regular vet, Dr. Heath, that she knows well. But just before our trip to the vet, she went through another mild seizure, so we waited for an hour or so before we brought her in. Finally, we got her to the vet. I'm glad we waited because Coral was calm and Dr. Heath was very reassuring. He gave her a shot of Valium to calm her down and break the cycle of seizures. We needed to watch her for the next 24 hours to see if the seizures returned. It's been almost 24 hours now, and she is back to her normal self. What a relief.

A Couple of Nibbles?

Our house officially went on the market on Thursday. It started with what is called a caravan. That is a day of the week, usually a Thursday between 9 and 2, when all the local Realtors tour the houses that have come on the market that week. We had 17 realty agents stop by and two of them came back for showings later that afternoon. Both of them brought their clients back for a second viewing and out of the five agents that have brought their clients to view our house over the last couple of days, three have come back for a second viewing. Hopefully that is a good sign. And weekend is still ahead.

It Finally Happened

After a couple of months of remodeling, we have finally completed the tasks and are moving on to the next stage. This is where it gets scary. We just put our home, here in Camarillo, on the market.




Our house could sell at any time and the escrow could be as short as 30 days. That means, we would be outta here as soon as mid-September. Are we ready? I just don't know. But I guess we'll have to be.

With the interest rates at record lows, you would think that there would be lots of buyers in the market, especially with homes selling at the lowest prices in years. But the banks are holding their money and lending has become quite tight. Lending does happen, if you can jump through a few hoops, so hopefully our real estate company will make sure everyone is pre-qualified. The realtor is having all the local real estate agents here tomorrow for an open house, so Mischelle has been busy getting the place ready.

I'm really hoping our home goes quickly. We're in a good location and the old real estate adage is, location, location, location. So if you know anybody that wants to move to California, I have a place for you.

Amazing Advances in Technology

Being a phone man for thirty years, I have watched many changes in both the telecommunication corporate world and the technology used to drive the phone business. From AT&T to PacBell, then to Pacific Telesis and then SBC and then finally back to at&t (small letters), I have seen AT&T go from the world's largest phone company, only to be broken up into seven regional companies, then reformed back into one of the world's largest phone companies, once again.

But it is the technology that has really been the game changer. I started out with good 'ol tip and ring (phone speak for positive and negative), dial phones and a new technology called touch tone. Then they started adding calling features to the phone service. Voicemail, caller ID, call waiting, all added to the the phone experience. Then came the faxes and pagers. Again, this sparked a boom to the industry, but with that boom came the next problem. Not enough telephone numbers. So to help alleviate the problem, they first started by requiring that a "1" be dialed before the area code. That lasted for a while, but soon a new technology was to arrive...the cell phone. Again, the number pool was getting smaller, so now it was time to add more area codes. This was usually not a pleasant undertaking. People and businesses had to change phone numbers that they may of had for years or even decades. In some cites, you need to dial 10 digits, just to call a neighbor across the street. But the change was needed to expand the availability of phone numbers.

Then came the Internet, and phone lines were being used for a whole new technology, DSL. With the explosion of the Internet, faster data transmission was needed to accommodate the advances in web page design. More and more transactions were moving across the Internet and the phone lines. But this technology was a double edged sword. With the higher data transmission speeds came a new technology called VOIP (voice over Internet protocol) that would allow you to bypass the normal phone company to make phone calls that were free or very low cost. The traditional landline phone was fast becoming a dinosaur. And since that was the division of phone service I was in, I too, was becoming a dinosaur. As the company downsized, I became part of the discards.

After that short history lesson, it brings me to the original point I was writing about. The VOIP service, Skype. I've had Skype for a while now, but didn't really use it a lot because it required me to sit at my computer to make a call and it required the person I was calling, to be at theirs. Did a few video calls to my friends, but that was about it. But last week I bought a subscription to Skype that allows me to make calls to any land or mobile phone in the US and Canada, for free. So now, the people I call on Skype don't have to be at their computer to receive the call. Then, I took the next step and bought a local Skype phone number, so now our friends can call us, where ever we are, even in Belize, as though it's a call to the 805 area code. And it comes with all the features, such as call waiting, voicemail, etc. And to add to the experience, I bought a Skype phone, made by Logitech.



The land line phone, the cordless phone and the Skype phone



It works just like a cordless phone, dial tone and all. In fact, it has better range and quality than my cordless phone. I just pick it up and dial, or I can choose from my Skype list. And with all the features available, the $5.00 a month access with a phone number and the portability, I can see why the land line is becoming a dinosaur. And you can pick your telephone number from anywhere in the US or Canada. You want a New York, New York telephone number, no problem. How about Miami or Vancouver? Again, no problem. At the airport with wi-fi access? Starbucks? Got Skype there too. Just bring along the phone and you have a cordless phone for on the go, able to receive calls anywhere in the world.

Not the same 'ol phone company.

The Pieces Are Coming Together

It's been over a month since my last post and we are slowly progressing ahead. We are done with all the fixes to the house and are ready to put it on the market on Monday. We have a realtor coming to the house on Monday and that should put the ball in motion.

I sent off the paperwork for the QRP (qualified retirement program) yesterday, so I hope in a couple of months we will have our application accepted so we can begin the big move. We have begun storing boxes, appliances and furniture in and area about the size of a 20 foot container and right now it's about 3/4 of the way full and we still haven't packed Mischelle's shoes and purses. We're going to need a 40 footer for sure.




We also needed a new vehicle for Belize, because our 2003 Avalanche was too old to qualify for the QRP. It's a shame, because I love our Avalanche. A fully loaded dream truck. But with the duties and taxes on an eight cyl. somewhere around 80-90% of Blue Book, it didn't make sense to keep her. Oh well. Time to let go and find a new love.




I was not looking forward to the process of finding a new car, the salespeople, the time, and all the different vehicles, options and of course, prices. But the Internet helps with that and has made quite a difference shopping for a car. You can look up reviews and prices. Makes and models. When you go to the dealership, you can be well armed to stand your ground for your make, model and price.

After looking at all of options in our price range, we decided the Nissan Xterra was the best truck for us. Not at the top of all the ratings, but a good, sturdy truck that has been around for a while with a nice V6 motor that has been well tested.




We ended up getting a 4X4, figuring we will use it quite a bit in Belize. I wasn't too happy with the color (I would have preferred a lighter color), but the price was right, and the only other car in a light color was 600 miles away and a $900 flatbed towing rate to get it here. No thanks, I'll take the darker color. Just knock a few hundred off, if you want to sell it to us. With the Internet, you can find out what others are paying across the nation and just play a little hard ball with the dealers. But after all was said and done, the car buying experience was not that bad. We had a good salesman, there was a good factory rebate and the last of the 2010's had to go to make room for the 2011 models.

So now, we are a little bit closer to getting to Belize.

Summer's Here!!!!

(I'm a little late in posting this, but it's only a week late, so I'll just say I'm on Belize time.)

Today is the first day of summer and here in Camarillo, we have what they call the June gloom. The fog lingers until late morning, clears up for a little while in the afternoon and then returns in the early evening, sometimes for only a couple of hours, sometimes all night. The high and low temperatures will only be a few degrees difference, usually in the low 60's (16-17C) to the low 70's (20-21C). But next year at this time, I will probably wish for days like this. Consejo is in the 90's (32-34C) right now with high humidity and just a little wind. I don't think we'll mind the heat too much. Just learn to adapt and take naps or swim during the heat of the day.

We went out for Chinese food the other night and my fortune cookie for told our future. Now we just need to make it come true.




The kitchen remodel continues, but I can see the light at the end of the tunnel and I hope we can finish it up by Friday. It's a week later than I wanted, but the paint on the cabinets is taking longer to dry than expected.





In the mean time, while Mischelle works on sanding and painting the cabinets, I started to work on the tiling for the counters, back splash and flooring. The design for the back splash will require a lot of cut tiles but it will be worth it in the long run.










And finally, the finished kitchen.





We ended up spending around $800 for everything, but it looks so much better than before. If we remove the microwave, it will give the appearance of a larger counter space. We figured they will probably remodel the kitchen at sometime in the future, but at least it's not too bad for now and everything looks fresh and updated.

A couple of houses in our tract have recently come on the market, both offered by the same real estate company. I don't know where these people have lived for the last couple of years, but the prices they are expecting to get are a little bit out there. Maybe they could get that 2 or 3 years ago, but now....???

But it raises the standard for the neighborhood and if we price ours right, we'll be out of here in no time.

Not Much Left To Do

We received a new batch of pictures the other day showing the progress on the house. From what I can see in the pictures, there is not a whole lot of construction left to do. It looks like it's all finish work now. We had sent down another tile medallion that we were hoping to install later, in the patio area, but the guys were able to do it now without any problems and it saves me from having to tear up the tile later.




The patio doors arrived from WinDor to replace the ones that were originally three inches too short. They have been installed, so that now, the entire house can now be secured.




The bathrooms have yet to be finished, but we have the shower floor tiles up here with us in the States, so the showers won't need to be finished for a month or more. We went with a pebble tile for the shower floors that massages the feet while you shower (at least that's what the salesman said), and we couldn't find anything like it in Belize or Mexico.







The kitchen and bathroom sinks and the toilets have all arrived , but have yet to be installed. Same with the fans. But at least they are all there.




I may have to schedule a trip back to Belize in the near future so I can do a final walk through. We won't finish the pool until after we are there. Too much maintenance, especially if we're not there, although my neighbors might like it. Same with the stairway to the roof. We'll put that off until early next year. We just want to get the occupancy permit.

Behind Schedule

Well, here it is, the first week of June and we still haven't got the Camarillo house on the market. We've decided to upgrade our dated,'70s kitchen and do a visual update. We didn't want to replace the entire kitchen, including the cabinets and appliances, because we were afraid we wouldn't get back the money we'd invest into it, plus, the time involved in a complete overhaul was too long. So we are repainting, removing the old flooring, installing tile and redoing the kitchen counter tops. I figured that will give us the most bang for the buck. I'm trying to keep the cost under a $1000, but we'll see how that goes. And on top of that, I want to be done with the kitchen remodel by next weekend.





I started by removing a box florescent light that just screamed 70's decor and replaced it with can lights with CFL bulbs. Just as much light for one third the wattage.




We had replaced the kitchen window with a garden window last year, but as usual, I had put off doing all the finishing touches, saving it for a later date (like today).





And after pulling up the existing vinyl flooring, expecting to see cement underneath, we found another layer of vinyl flooring. The pattern alone was mesmerizing.



At least the master bathroom is finished. The shower and tub came out great, but again, I'm just sorry I didn't do it sooner. We really have enjoyed using the bathtub.




Master bathroom before the remodel.


After the remodel.

I just need to focus on the prize at the end of all this, finish all the remodeling and get this house on the market. July will be here before we know it.

So Close, But So Far Away

I just received some new pictures of the progress that is happening around the house. As the completion date gets closer, it just seems like we have such a long way to go until we can move in. It's amazing all the details that are involved in the move from the US to Belize. And we are just at the beginning.



Front door and entryway with tile medallion.


Kitchen cabinets with center island.



We are just getting together all the information required for the QRP application and hope to submit it to the Belize Tourism Board (BTB) around the first of June. This is a copy of the application, the documents that are required to be submitted with the application, and the fees that are due at various stages of the process.












That is also the date we have set to put our house on the market. We hope to have all the improvements and painting done by then. Some of the things we did to improve the look of the house have been so easy, I wonder why it has taken me so long to do it. So, we improve everything, make it just the way we like it, then move. At least we won't have to improve things in the new house. Just everything outside the house.