Cars and Suitcases

I woke up at 4:30 during one of those nightmares where I’m sleeping on a rough, creaky little bed with something ominous lurking behind me. Knowing I need to wake and turn to face it, I’m completely paralyzed and unable to roll over. The pressure to wake and turn grows more forceful and desperate and I woke up suddenly to find myself in the guest room breaking a sweat. I tried to get back to sleep, but my mind starting playing projections of the things I’ve yet to accomplish on this trip that ends in two short days. It didn’t help when the accountant began sending e-mails shortly after 6:00 letting me know that the collection of possible tax forms we sent yesterday weren’t going to do the job.

I arose at 7:00, smeared some peanut butter on a piece of toast then got myself ready to take the Honda over to Big Red’s Automotive to get the power steering line replaced. Balanced the bank account, paid the Visa bill and transferred some cash to the international banking account. Got caught up in writing checks and processing the medical paperwork to get reimbursed for Saturday’s doctor visit and I was a few minutes late getting out the door.

Ken’s business is booming. He gets a lot of good press on Yelp and other review sites. That and word of mouth keep him running from morning to night. He got me right in and I read the paper while the mechanic got everything put together. He’s a good friend and has been taking great care of my vehicles for years. We talked for a while and checked out his Harley out front. Paid up my tab and headed back to Casa Raymundo to do my laundry. Copied some receipts and other paperwork to send to the insurance company.

I called PJ and we were trying to figure out what tax papers Martin needs. She hates this stuff. Stressful calling companies, trying to find the right person and actually getting the right answers to our questions. Over the afternoon, the flurry of e-mails she put out must have gotten things right because we got the o.k. to sign and complete the taxes for 2016. Next year should be a lot simpler.

In the afternoon, I went over to Oceanside to spend some time with the sister-in-law and her friend Cheryl. They were in the midst of packing up the house for Kim’s upcoming move. Enjoyed a cup of tea as we sat and caught up for a couple of hours. Kim donated a large suitcase to our cause so we can haul our pile of stuff back to Mexico. She also gave us some clothes and books to use back in Bucerias. It was a warm and pleasant visit and before I knew it, it was time to head out the door.

From there, I headed over to the Weds. night men’s meeting off Cassidy Street. I was worn and a bit out of sorts with the deafness, but I had to return my friend’s jacket before heading home. It turned out to be the right place for me to be. Received lots of encouragement and got to say farewells to the crew. Zombie drive home and a quick post before laying down for, hopefully, a better night of sleeping.