08/17/09

One week closer! Friday we took the RV to Lovells to get the washer/dryer fixed again.  The motor mount was worn out and the technicians said the whole washer/dryer was pretty much worn out.  But the extended warranty would not cover a new one.  That’s silly – it would cost them less in the long run to replace it instead of keep repairing it.  We worked with Lovells and ended up getting a new washer/dryer for cost and subtracting the amount that the warranty would pay for a repair, plus they took off $98 for our old washer/dryer.  So we have a new one that is 7 years newer than our old one, for $600.  It’s very expensive, but the price isn’t too bad when you consider that is less that half the retail price. This is a luxury, not a necessity, but as long as we can afford it, I intend to enjoy it.  

Saturday we rented a carpet cleaner and cleaned the carpet again.  It is so hard to keep it clean. We spent the rest of the day generally cleaning the RV.  I cleaned windows, window sills, bathroom, kitchen, and organized some drawers. 

We are almost finished with the pile of paperwork on our table – there is a lot to organize, in order to retire.  Sunday we finished our wills and power of Attorney forms.  We have applied for health insurance, so hopefully that will be resolved soon.  Randy and I are both getting all our doctor visits caught up.  We might end up returning to St. Louis for yearly checkups, unless we find doctors in another area we are likely to spend time in, such as Arizona.

Work is still going fine.  I try not to let my upcoming retirement impact what I’m doing.  There is still a lot to do and they are still paying me to do it, so it’s business as usual.  But at the end of a hard day, I just let it roll off my shoulders now.  I’m making plans to spend my days drawing, making jewelry, taking photos, and napping.  I think I can handle that for awhile!

Spent the last week at work tying up loose ends.  I already completed the reviews for my 5 team members and for the 7 Bridge team members.  Now I’m cleaning up my desk, Outlook, and disk drives.  I’ve accumulated a lot of stuff in 15 ½ years!  

Folks here are giving me a great send-off.  On 8/12 I attended a team lunch with my development team - Lisa Eggemeyer, Zhengyan Cao, Ranga Chakka, Jason Luo,   and Betsy Bernard.  We went to a Chinese buffet called Emperors’ Palace.