Where has JavaMan been and what the heck has he been up to

[JavaMan]

Here are the announcements I alluded to in OLJarheads thread.  TLDR: financial ruin was avoided, different project(s) in the works

Things have changed dramatically in my life in the last how manyever months I've not been on here. 

First, no, I did not (or at least so far have not) contracted the bug that is plaguing the world.

So last summer (2019) I made a crazy decision to switch jobs because someone waved boat load of money at me... and 2 months later the job was gone.  Was scrambling and then "the end of the world!" hit... By that time I had burned through the savings (which really wasn't much - was just finally getting head above water) and was working two, physically demanding jobs just to be able to tell a couple creditors "you'll get yours eventually", when it happened.  Worked those two jobs until April (I think), and then my internet provider needed some development work.  It is part time, we struck a deal and I do phone support and development now, part time - oh, and collect Social Insecurity (as of Feb 2020).  Yep, had to "retire".  UC was gone, so there it was.  At least 2 years before the optimal plan and 1 before what I had pegged as the earliest. 

Oh, and it's a job I can work from where ever there is internet access.

I think the two physical jobs were helping my immune system to stay strong (one had me running about 40-50 flights of stairs each night, 5 nights/week - I called it my "running the stadium job"). I had been working them for a month, or so when I got some sort of respiratory thing, that laid me out more than usual, but it was gone in three or four days, and I was back to top speed.  One involved working retail (big box hardware/lumber - colors orange), the other was picking up garbage at apartment doors and taking them to a compactor.  Talk about exposure to a lot of bugs!

About a year before the pandemic happened, I had met a great gal - wants to help me with all me dreams. Encouraging, gorgeous (no, truely), affectionate, etc... Girly girl, and yet, a bit of a tomboy... and we had gone to my property together last June, 2019, before the job change ... And she was excited about helping me finally build the cabin up there.

Now, in the back of my mind, before I met her, I had been toying with the idea that I can only get in there with the truck 6 months out of the year.  And it is very remote.  So I had been kicking around the idea of shifting my focus to either getting a different property or changing directions altogether.

After we went up to the property, things sort of went back to "normal"... kind of autopilot.  But I was still paying on the property.  And it was "hurting" a bit financially after the fiasco that started at the beginning of this year.  I decided that my finances would be better served by selling the property and getting some cash out.  Which I did - it closed last month.  I took a small amount and paid off a few bills...  And then pivoted to a completely different direction.

I bought a boat.

Been dreaming of cruising warmer climes since I was about 14... So, bought a 37' boat.  We are refitting her, and may decide to flip it (if we think we can make a decent profit on it), and buy a better one, or... just take it and go.  My timeframe is to untie the lines sometime between end of April/start of May and the first of August. I will become a digital nomad... of sorts.

Of course this doesn't preclude the possibility of buying land and building something - she wants to build tree houses! ... so we'll see.

Anyway folks that's the update...

Oh, and the guy that bought my property lives not all that far from it - doing some "hobby farming" as he calls it... And was asking some questions that are very similar to the ones I wanted answered when I first came on here... so look for a new member showing up soon.  I told him OLJarhead was the guy to ask about regs, etc.. in Okanogan County.

I'll still be hanging around.. If you'll let me   I am sort of doing an Owner/Builder thing with the boat ...

As for retirement... I'm seeing a lot of youtube vids that are like, "retire and live on $511/month in the Filipines!"  LOL - don't know how true that is, but it might be tempting...

[Ernest T. Bass]

What a whirlwind--glad you're doing well and chasing your dreams! I found myself thinking about this forum recently and kind of longing for the 'good ol' days' when it was really buzzing. We've all switched to facebook, but somehow it feels more empty and trite. I wonder if forums will make a comeback at some point..

Congrats on finding a great sounding partner. I haven't given up hope, but I've decided I'd better learn to be happy without one.

[OlJarhead]

Sorry about the troubles, glad to see you still active though!

As for Facecrap, no thanks.  I left there months ago and have NO regrets

I did join Mewe.com since the old man is there but am far less active there and more interested in forums.

However, I dumped my forum of some 18 years because it just wasn't worth the effort (and money) to keep it going for 4 people and I just wasn't playing darts anymore.  Certainly not like I used to (My dart habit paid for a lot of my cabin build ).

Anyway, good luck with the boat and the new gal!