Yes, I am still alive

Thanks for asking.

I have not posted to my blog since July 26 – 6 weeks! But I have been busy. VERY busy. Mostly with work and our rental property, but also with planning our future.

Just to catch you up on our plans: we are heading to Florida for the winter. We will be there from mid-November to mid-April. After that… not sure, though most likely we will be back in New England somewhere. We have committed to attending the National Escapade in Essex Junction, VT, from July 24 to 29, 2016. But the rest of the summer… dunno.

This uncertainty is due to my intent to retire at the end of September which meant that being in a place where I could commute to Cambridge was no longer a requirement. I had already informed my boss of my intention but had not yet given notice. But that plan is now moot because on Tuesday, 4 weeks to the day before I expected to retire, I was laid off!  Before you cry for me, Argentina, understand that this is actually a huge boon as I am receiving 9 weeks of severance, plus a cash-out of nearly 3 weeks of accumulated vacation time.  I was expecting to get the vacation cash-out (though I was planning to take some vacation days this month) and also expected 4 more weeks of pay, but the layoff gives me 5 weeks of pay that I wasn’t expecting.  Sweet!

I suppose it is possible that the company did this because it benefitted me, but more likely it is because it is a huge corporation that simply wasn’t aware of my intentions.  Don’t know, don’t care.  I will take the money and run.

It also means that I don’t have to work in September.  To me this is the same as getting an additional 4 weeks of PTO – another huge boon!  I have a long list of tasks that need to be completed before heading south and I was worried about finding time to do them all.  I am no longer worried.

We did not sell our rental property and have not yet found tenants for the 2 empty units, so getting that situation stabilized in my most urgent concern.  I will probably be spending at least 4 days on site there in September, painting, fixing, cleaning and interviewing.  I also have a number of financial and RV-related chores.  But I now have time for all of them.

The trip south is planned for 41 days and includes a week in Bushnell, FL, which we will use to establish Florida residency.  As of early November, we will no longer be Massachusetts residents!  For me that will be the end of a 48-year residency.