Tag: moving

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Hotels and Wasps

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Right now we are getting new floors, new paint and a bunch of other things done while we get ready to sell the house. Because of that, we are staying a few days in a hotel. But we are not enjoying this stay. It isn’t Ventura, that’s for sure. Our bathroom smells like someone has been smoking in it. We are only minutes from our house and we have been driving back and forth constantly. We go back to see the progress, talk with the people doing the work, check the mail, let the dog run around more, etc.

It’s a little bit of everything happening all at once. The amount of things we are juggling is crazy. Will’s in school. Did I mention that? So he has online homework. I have a new job that starts Monday and I am currently waiting for a computer to be delivered to work from home. And of course with all the work being done little surprises come up. Leaking refrigerator. Broken garage door spring. And it’s all more $$. We are trying to balance getting a good sale price but also not by spending too much of our money to get there.

Just before we began out hotel stay, I was stung in the lip by a wasp. The HOA had someone out redoing the trim on the outside and they power washed a wasp nest onto my balcony. I didn’t know this and I headed out to clean the balcony before the inside work got started (it was covered in ash from the fires). As soon as I opened the screen door, angry wasps flew up and at me. One landed on my upper lip while of course freaked the hell out, and it stung me. It hurt like hell. I took a Benadryl. After that I couldn’t do anything but lay down while trying to ice it.

Will and I are definitely stressed and getting a little short with each other. Mostly we have to choose to let things go. But after this is…a lot of uncertainty. We know we are going to Washington but we aren’t 100% sure. Will has applied for license but it’s pending. He’s looking at jobs but without the license, he can’t actually work. The Canada process is slow. They rejected my official copy of my birth certificate because there was no seal on it, even though that’s how that county sent it to me.

But in the back of all this, we are excited about the future. It’s a weird kind of excitement. Anxiety and excitement.

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2 Steps Forward…

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Back in 2000, when we moved to SoCal, it really didn’t seem complicated. Back then, my husband took a couple trips to SoCal and found a place for us to rent. I don’t think I even saw it. I just trusted his decision. I think I used my tax return money to rent a u-haul. And I moved. I don’t remember forwarding mail and I left most of my furniture. He drove the u-haul and I followed in his Honda CR-V. Everything about it was exciting. I don’t remember thinking it was hard until months in when I realized it was hard not to live next door to my BFF anymore.

Skip to 20 years later, and our lives are so much more complicated. For one, moving to a different part of the state is way easier than moving to another state… and moving to another country? House hunters international makes it look so easy.

Every week I have different tasks to keep track of, all moving parts to juggle. Will’s license application, my assessment for licensure, selling the house, moving out one adult kid, creating a good savings fund…and all of these can be broken into smaller parts.

One big thing in front of me right now, is that we have so much stuff. Like closets of it. It’s a lot to go through. I know I can’t take it all, bit what do you do with your stuff in a pandemic? I have given a few things away. I went to the Goodwill website and I thought I figured out which one was open, but after I drove there, it turned out not to allow donations.

Getting my copy of my ID notarized.

Somedays, I get really stressed and overwhelmed, but other days I get very excited. Today I completed all of the identity documents for my assessment. I finished my portion of the education documents and I am waiting on the schools to send their documents. Next up: documents from places of employment. That one stresses me out because trying to get a hold of HR people who work from home about the very specific forms I need completed and mailed has proven to be a challenge. And one large company has a phone message with push 1-8 for these options (none that work for me) and a chance to leave a message. No talking to an actual person. Ugh.

But I keep plugging away.

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The Moving Plan

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🇨🇦 🇨🇦 🇨🇦 🇨🇦 🇨🇦 🇨🇦

My oldest was recently accepted into an art school in Canada. They (My oldest users they/them pronouns) are starting in September. They also have applied for their study permit, which is no small feat. Most countries require money as an important part of a move. So my oldest had to show that school was covered and that they had like $10k in the bank. This was accomplished with a lot of savings and some parental donations. My oldest lives at home, pays rent and doesn’t have a car. So their living expenses aren’t too high.

My youngest is moving in a week to NorCal for grad school. They also have saved up. They saved and got a car. They also put down their deposit and rent for an apartment they are sharing with a classmate. They have been working remotely all summer for the school and will continue to work and do school remotely.

I began my application for a license in Canada. We decided that was the best entry route because nursing is a high demand job. It’s a lengthy process to get the license so I am starting with that. $650 for the application, plus fees with all of the documents. Official copies of my identity documents, official transcripts, copies of the school curriculum, etc. This process isn’t fast, but it’s even slower in the pandemic. Everything is by mail (and have you heard about the mail lately?).

Eventually, once they have everything, it will be evaluated to meet Canadian requirements. Then I can apply for my license (more $$). Then I can apply for a work permit/job.

In the meantime, we are looking at selling our house. I applied for a job that is work from home through 2020. Its more money because it’s full time, but at least it’s at home.

Will is going back to school. He needs a BSN in Canada for a license, but has been working for the last 20 years as an ADN nurse. So online school it is. And then he will need to do the same this that I have done.

A big kind of process like this is a lot of moving parts and a lot of changes. All along the way I find new challenges and issues to address, but overall I am hopeful. Hopefully next year we will be living up north!