Plan Update

From looking through the posts on here I have realized that it has been a long time since I updated people about our plan.  Since we started dating Christina and I have always planned for the future, with such choices as deciding that the mortgage on our first house would be small enough that if either of us lost our jobs the other could afford (just) to pay the mortgage.  This worked out well since I was laid off on the day we received the keys for the house.  We have also made sure we saved money on a regular basis, avoided credit card debt, bought only the car(s) we need, and made sure that we have generally done things that we wished to do (foreign trips, hot tub, flying to concerts and to see friends).

A little over three years ago Christina was informed that we could move to Houston or have no income.  We spent a long time deciding which choice to make, and it was a difficult choice.  We decided to move to Houston for a number of reasons, obviously the financial reason, secondly because of Christina's seasonal affective disorder, thirdly because of potential for advancement for Christina that would lead to being able to be financially secure pretty close to anywhere in the USA, and finally because living in Texas would be like living in a foreign country - an adventure.

The results on these four reasons are as follows:

1)  Financially we have greater income than ever before and we have avoided the pain, worry, difficulty, and financial collapse experienced by many people during the recession.  However, our house has probably declined somewhat in value, it is a difficult time to sell a house, and we have spent many thousands fixing problems with the house.  To sell the house we will need to spend thousands more on landscaping, duct work, painting etc..  There has always seemed to be something that stops us from getting ahead (ahead of a very lucky position) and so Texas has been substantially more expensive for us than Portland was, but probably not more than it would have been to stay. 

2)  Christina's seasonal affective disorder has essentially disappeared in the sunshine.  We still keep a close eye on the situation but there has been a dramatic difference.  It is easy to forget how much of a good thing this is.  It is a very good thing indeed.  While my bipolar disorder got substantially worse just over a year ago and peaked in a very disturbing manner about nine months ago, thanks to the support of my wife and sister I have a medication that is working very well.  This is also a very good thing.

3)  Christina has not so much advanced as moved laterally in her profession.  This means that while she hasn't become anyone's boss, she has an astonishingly broad range of skills that should stand her in good stead going forward.  It has been (to me) surprising that her attempts to find other jobs have not succeeded as yet.  Still, at some point the economy will improve, reducing the competition for jobs, we will be able to sell the house, and therefore have a realistic opportunity for Christina to find a decent job in a nice place.

4)  We can now say we have lived in Texas.  Texas sucks, but I still have moments, such as looking out at a palm tree waving in a balmy wind in January, that I am truly living abroad.  Texas will be something we can tell stories about over the next forty years.

What is the plan going forward?  It isn't really much different than it has been, other than delayed, less profitable, and more painful than we had imagined.  What we need to do is save some money, which will take a year or two, in order to make the house presentable to sell and so that we don't have to be in it while that happens.  Christina's work is in the process of a muddled downsizing/increased efficiency process/impending sale which means that there is some anxiety there.  I have much more of this anxiety than Christina, which also makes me somewhat anxious.  The work environment had been unbelievably atrocious, but Christina has moved to an untouchable, unassailable position -  an absolutely vital one person department run more efficiently than ever before -  and Christina is approaching zen master status.  So, if the position remains intact over the next couple of years that will be fine, and there isn't a negligible chance that the incompetence elsewhere will result in a promotion.

I have tried a number of times to meet people, be social, play music etc..  It has all failed.  The closest thing to a friend I have is a guy we meet in the bar on Thursdays, and a nice guy he is.  However, I am basically at peace with living in  a vacation home and talking to my wife.  It's good enough and there isn't much I can do about it anyway.  Adding everything up I have a much less exciting, fun, interesting life than I did in Portland, but I think I am now substantially more serene.

We still have our plan of living near a small college town in the Appalachians.  At this point Christina should be able to run the energy needs for an entire county (yes, really) which would be about the most secure position I can imagine.

In the short term we'd like to go to our favorite place in Costa Rica but we have to find out when Christina's parents will be visiting since they are arriving at an unspecified time right around when we are planning to go.  And we are going even if it gets us into debt for a bit because some things are just important.  I had hoped to go to Portland for one last gig with the old band (since the "final" gig didn't materialize last summer) bu that seems to be beyond our resources at the moment.  Mostly we'll be chilling by the pool, watching the palm trees in our little haven, surrounded by the horror beyond the gates.