Long Drive

This morning I am checking out of another luxury hotel in Atlanta.  I'm headed back to my new home in Clearwater.  This hotel definitely needs a mystery shopping program.  The view from the 26th floor in midtown Atlanta is pretty nice, but the service has left much to be desired.  I used the hotel's car service to pick up a case of Two Buck Chuck (Cabernet Sauvignon, from Trader Joe's) to take home with me since Tampa/Clearwater doesn't yet have Trader Joe's.  I was excitedly walking through the lobby of this $229/night hotel and was stopped in my tracks by some snooty supervisor who confiscated my case of wine.  Can you believe the audacity?  I had no plans to pop the cork - the mystery shop includes a bar visit so why open my own?  He told me he assumed I was having guests in my room and he did not want to be responsible for someone falling off the balcony.  The only thing is, none of the rooms have balconies and I am shopping the hotel alone.  All of a sudden this highfalutin hotel has transformed itself into a pay-by-the-hour no name motel patrolled by overly aggressive ex-paratroopers turned cops just itching to crack their batons on some crack whore trying to shoot up some primo dope.

Stepping down from my soapbox now...

I've got an 8+ hour ahead of me.  Soon I will crank up the dial on mystery shopping.  I have a few debts I need to take care of before I can really slow down.  I don't plan to shop like I did back in Birmingham but I do need to keep busy the next few months.

View from the New Office

View from the 3rd Floor of Clearwater Library

Until I break down and purchase home Internet service, my office overlooks a park and Old Clearwater Bay.  A short walk across the bridge leads to Clearwater Beach and the Gulf of Mexico.

The library is a 30 minute walk from the house.  I can also walk to the grocery store, bank, dozens of restaurants, the historic Capitol Theatre, and so much more.  Soon I will purchase a used bicycle.  With that I can just about go anywhere I need to go.

I moved from a home in the outer suburbs.  Outside that neighborhood there were no sidewalks and it was a 20 minute drive just to buy groceries.

Today marks a New Beginning for this Frugal Miser.  I'm going to get in shape, pay off my debts, and be happier.

Chicago and Atlanta

Ace Hardware Paint Plant, Matteson, IL

Yesterday I checked out of a hip little hotel in Buckhead (Atlanta).  The charges were over $600 and will be reversed as part of my mystery shopping agreement.  This was a 2 night assignment, which is somewhat unusual as most shops are for one night only.  It was easier than I expected, plus it paid a small fee.

Before that I was in Chicago for the Ace Hardware convention.  It was a blast, and a huge conference with 17,000+ attendees.  Ace paid my expenses - 2 nights at the Hyatt Regency, meals and travel, plus a token honorarium.  We had Chicago deep dish pizza with Ace's spokesperson, Lou Manfredini, on Tuesday night.

Then Wednesday we took a road trip, visiting an urban Chicago store, large suburban store, and lunch at Portillo's (I had Italian Beef - red meat, yes... one can indulge every now and then).  After lunch we toured the Ace Paint Plant, which was really neat.  The trip ended at 5 PM and then we had the night to do whatever.  Another panelist and I were going to mystery shop a casino, but we missed the bus and he rescheduled.  Instead we took a cab to a nightlife area and hung out for a few hours.

On Thursday we attended the Ace Hardware convention at McCormick Place.  Roy Spence gave an inspiring keynote about "finding one's purpose". He is the founder of the marketing agency (GSD&M) that does advertising for Ace as well as Southwest Airlines, the U.S. Air Force and others.  I flew home late Thursday night.

Today I'm scrambling to tie all those loose ends.  I have a check-up at the dentist, 2 merchandising assignments, and am trying to finish up the townhouse and get it rented.  I've run a little behind with the townhouse but yesterday we did a good bit of catching up.  All that's left is new carpet and a final cleaning, then I can show it.  I already have a potential tenant who I am hoping will be the right fit.  I also need to visit my grandfather to drop off some clothes and mow the lawn at his house.

Not sure when I'll be able to post again.  I'm only in Clearwater for a few days before I return to Birmingham.  I made plans for Mom's birthday month's ago, plus I have to drive the Corolla back.  With everything going on I don't know when I'll have time to be online.

Moving as a Cleansing Process

Scene from the office:  All packed up!

With barely a week to go before the big move, the Frugal Miser Homestead has been turned upside down.  Unlike most people I enjoy the actual process of packing up and moving my things.  It's a cleansing process, a way to analyze the "things" in my life and question whether they are worthy of coming along for the adventure.

On Friday we took a huge load of donations to the Salvation Army.  Gone are the cheap desk I've hated since the day I bought it, the stack of almost new CDs I came to own after finding them in the attic of one of my properties, and dozens of perfectly wearable clothes that I haven't worn in years for various reasons.

I've resided at my current home for just over four years.  Fortunately I haven't amassed a ton of new things since I've been here.  I was able to whittle down the "office" to just what will fit in a four drawer filing cabinet (what you see in the photo are the boxes full of things that will go back into the filing cabinet when we reach our destination).  And since we are moving south, I purged the majority of my winter clothes.  A side benefit of that is the fact that winter clothes are generally thicker and take up more room, so this frees up a ton of space in my closet.

Slightly off topic but I wanted to mention:  I compared moving trucks from Budget, Penske and U-Haul.  Based on reviews and personal experience, I wanted to avoid U-Haul if possible because of the age and condition of their fleet.  Eventually I settled on Penske.  Since my move date was flexible I played with the dates on their website to find the best price.  For whatever reason, I managed to find dates that were 50% less than all the other dates available.  The move from Birmingham to Clearwater is 500+ miles, but the truck rental is under $200, including taxes.  Guess it pays to compare.