Replacement Parts

NOW AVAILABLE, originally uploaded by lalapapawawa.

My dad had his total knee replacement surgery on Monday. Both parents insisted I not be there. I could see their point. My parents have an amazing community of friends. It has always seemed to me, in the past, that mom was the social glue in our family. She was the one who made the introductions and the friends. But this is not the case here. Both mom and dad have skin the game, and both participate in their community.

So, the last time I was in a hospital with them, those people were there, keeping us company whle mom had her bypass surgery. This time, I knew they'd be just as attentive to my mom, while dad went through his surgery.

The results was a mixed bag. First and foremost, the knee surgery was successful. The doctor remarked that he should have had it five years ago, that there was so much mess behind his kneecap that it took lots of cleaning. But underneath that, solid bone. The day after surgery, the old man was up on his feet. And walking. And that's something.

Unfortunately, it seems dad also suffered a heart attack. He displayed an inverted T-wave and elevated enzyme levels, and during surgery he sweated down on the table. He was kept in ICU to monitor his levels before being released to a regular room. We are hopeful that it will not result in too much damage. So far, he's been without symptoms.

So this month gives me alot to be thanful for. I have great folks celebrating my birthday with me. My dad begins a new, less painful chapter in his life and all seems to be moving forward. The boss I had back in college tracked me down the last few weeks, and I've been able to reconnect with a really good guy. In three days, I will be driving my mom back to my house for a nice visit while dad does his rehab. It sounds like it may be shorter than we originally expected, but for all the right reasons. And in a little over a week, I will be exploring vistas two time zones away from here, even if just for a weekend.

More on that later. I have some packing to do.

Random Wednesday

In stark contrast to last week, this week has been without turmoil. My car passed emissions, work has been steady, and I've made more headway toward paying off my student loan ahead of schedule.

Plus, tomorrow is my birthday.

Birthdays for adults aren't the same as for kids, eagerly awaiting the excesses of toys and sugar and party games. I think for me, they serve as reminders, as a time for evaluation and assessment, and as a way to set milestones. For example, I spent one birthday with friends in a plaza in Madrid. This year, I will spend it with friends in a restaurant in Buckhead.

There is special significance to my birthday this year. I decided in the last few days to tailor my original statement about being in Colorado by 2009. I looked at my driver's license as I was driving home a few days ago and I realized that it will expire on my birthday next year. So I decided to be more specific. I decided that I will not renew this driver's license. My next license will be from Colorado, and I will celebrate my birthday there. It will take some time before I know if I will make my birthday with months to spare or if I will make it by the skin of my teeth. We'll just see.

I suppose it sounds sentimental to set a goal like that around your birthday. First, I'll tell you that I did it because I'm realistically on track to make it happen. Even after months, I am still on track to pay off debt #1 by January. Clearing debt #1 will free up reserves for debt #2.

I realize that clearing debt doesn't get me moved, but I've made progress there as well. I've spoken to someone who is buying homes in the area, not to fix up and sell, but to fix up and rent. It turns out that this economy has required many people to rent because they can't qualify for loans. It turns out, there are property managers out there who will take care of my property, and it turns out that I can afford them. As I was saying to my mother, heck, I'd love to have those people manage my property NOW. The point however, is that I'm no longer worried about the house. It will rent until it can be sold. I will put it in hands more capable than my own to maintain it, and I will move. The house will not hold me back.

Will I transfer with my company or get a new job? Well, hand me $150K and I'd buy a franchise in one lucky Colorado city, set up shop and live off ramen until the business began to prosper. Odds are, however, that not only will no one hand me $150K, but no business started right now to sell birdwatching supplies would prosper. But I realized one thing recently. I really don't need to wait for market conditions to begin my life. I can pinch pennies just as well in CO as I can in GA. How exactly will I do this? I don't know, today. All I know is that I will do it. With debt#1 and debt#2 gone, I will need a lot less to live on for a while, and that will help. A job will not hold me back.

So I refined my arrival date to "by October 2009" because I realistically believe I can manage it alone. But I'll tell you, I don't mind if the goal is a little sentimental too. I'm a sentimental person. As much as I like taking care of business with my head on straight, I also like being cared for. Because, the truth is, while I can do this alone, with discipline to pay off these debts and courage to put my house in the hands of a property manager, I don't want to do this next year alone. I'm sure I will need the patience and support and encouragement of those who love me, because there's something I believe is true: if those who love me will have some faith in me and invest in me this year, I will be richer than if I'd been handed $150K. And I sincerely believe that they will be too. By a longshot.

So on the eve of my birthday -- to all those who've been a gift and a blessing in my life this year -- I love you. Thank you for all the support you've given me. I hope I have done the same. Here's to another year.

- Laura

A Real Goal Getter: Part I

We’ve all heard the saying that if you don’t know what you want, you won’t know when you get it.

Now there are those people who maintain an unconflicted existence where this is concerned. They always knew that they wanted. At six-years-old they found their passion and set themselves like a planet in its orbit onto their goal.

Then there’s me.

Maybe you can relate to my story, so I’ll share it with you. When I entered college, my goal was in journalism, ideally an investigative reporter or the more lofty title “foreign correspondent.” I felt I had the natural curiosity, creativity and sense of humor to be good at the job. I envisioned being a roving NPR reporter.

At least until my novel sold.

Somewhere along the line I got sidetracked. And I’ll tell you what happened, because it took me a while to put my thumb on it and maybe I can save you this mistake – the School of Journalism required an assigned advisor, and my issues with authority figures were so intense that I switched majors rather than submit. That’s a regret I’ve carried for a long time, that I resisted an authority figure put in place specifically for my benefit. But see, I was learning to navigate my own ship under my own steam and I was doing a pretty sloppy job of it. I didn’t want anyone to know that (like it was a big secret), nor did I appreciate what I viewed as scrutiny.

So yes, as time passes, there are definitely those days when I wish I could walk back to my college campus and say, “You know, I really didn’t explore my options while I was here. How’s about we start again, because now I know what I don’t know.”

When I think of how pretty my Colorado campus was, and how much time I wasted hiding incompetence I was supposed to possess at that age, I feel pretty silly. I guess everyone looks back with that observation.

More on that next time…

--Laura