The Pods Return--My Stuff Comes Home. The Good Life For Me, But Not So Good for the Gophers

In addition to a nice relaxing soak in my new Jacuzzi/bathtub, the other great thing about my remodel was watching the storage company bring my two storage pods up from the street this evening.

Much of what I missed dearly in the five-plus months I lived in my den is packed in those two storage pods.  Essentials like: the LCD TV I had in my bedroom, the cable converter, my Monsoon outdoor speakers, my hyper accurate scoped Beeman pellet rifle, My good suits, coastal approach charts that I’ve annotated and marked with locations where I’ve caught various Thunnoid family members and large halibut, my two hand made custom fishing rods, the sofa and coffee table that use to be in my den, and if I remember correctly, my favorite mission style chair, and my personal DVD collection.

Good Lord, I’ve missed my stuff. But now it’s back home locked in two storage pods in my front driveway. And starting early tomorrow morning it gets loaded back in my house, one trip at a time.

It’s funny how much stuff you can accumulate rather quickly.  My general rule of thumb is this: if I don’t use something for two years, it gets tossed or donated. As I loaded the pods last winter, I carefully put “stuff” I didn’t need in donation piles and then had my son run them to AmVets as soon as he had a truckload. In all, he made three runs to AmVets. That’s a lot of stuff and it made me aware of my tendency to be a packrat.

Unpacking tomorrow gives me a chance to reexamine my “stuff” all over again.  I anticipate at least one more run to AmVets since I really don’t need heavy winter coats living here in San Diego.

But there are some things I’m anxious to see and put to use again.  High on thi list is my radio controlled model plane, which the local hawks don’t like one bit. And I really like my six-foot spinning rod. It has exactly the right center of balance and guides I need to put iron ( a lure) where the yellowtail swim.  And catching a Pacific yellowtail on a jig is one of the real “Wa Hoo” experiences in life.

Oh, and while my stuff has been in storage, there’s been an explosion of gophers and voles, down in my yard.  Just as soon as I get my pellet rifle out tomorrow morning I think I’ll engage in some pest control.

Too bad Mr. Gopher and Mrs. Vole, Caddy Shack is on tonight and that’s all the inspiration I need.---Jim Forbes 05/02/2008