Squirrels in the Brain! And Suddenly Birds Singing Outdoors! And Meetings and Classes!

My first four months in Asheville were so calm, so quiet, so gentle. Just two-three major snowstorms, the holidays, the broker class for two of those months, a few job interviews that went nowhere, and now, here we are - it's Spring!

And the cloudy skies lifted, the windows are open, the birds are singing, and I'm in a training class with an international real estate brokerage firm. I'm not sure how that happened - just kidding. I went to an interview with the office team leader and she told me they had a class starting that week, and that afternoon I was in it. Somehow, I was just assimilated into the collective, and I'm loving it. It's fun, and exciting, and I'm suddenly going the independent contractor route, but supported by a really amazing company. Of course, I don't have the actual license yet, so I also have to make time to study for THAT pesky little detail, but yeah, this is huge fun.

And I've had to think hard about how to handle this, with the blog, I mean. These Damn Innernets are SO connected - both a blessing and a curse. I've been blogging since 2003, and Bossy Little Dogs is the longest-running diary I've ever kept, ever, yet I've kept it mostly a private clubhouse. Even now, if I Google myself, I don't find it - and I'm on Facebook and LinkedIn, etc. This semi-private space is where I have talked about everything from my husband's death to my leaking roof, politics and home repairs, knitting and, of course, the dogs, and I love everybody who reads along - I really do think of you as friends. I have no intention of changing it to "OMG, look at these houses! Call me!" This is the place for knitting and pics of my granddaughter and ranting, and of course the dogs. Always, the dogs.

This is my personal space. I will be creating a website for my business and am working on a database/contact list, where I will be ON DUTY! If you want to be on the contact list for any reason at all, from maybe just thinking about moving to the mountains, knowing somebody thinking about it, or even just idle curiosity, please send me an email at bossylittledogATyahooDOTcom with whatever contact info you want to share (but at least your name and an email) and you will be added to my database, and I'll let you know when the page is up and running. (There, I hope that run-on sentence caused just a few spambots to go all 'splodey.)

And that's as much self promotion as I plan to do here. I may stick an abbreviated version of that paragraph in my sidebar, but that's about as much of my work life I plan to drag in here.

So. Onward.

Yesterday it was 50 degrees, damp, gray and breezy. Today it was 80 and sunny. It appears we will split the difference in the next week or so - 70s, then rain, then a drop to a high in the low 60s, then creeping upward into the 70s again. Today, for the first time in THIRTY YEARS, I did the seasonal wardrobe switch, put away the sweaters and unpacked the rest of my wardrobe, which was residing in those nifty little zippered bags under my bed (storage being at a premium here). It was almost like going shopping! I sorted through all the stuff I brought with me from FL, and tossed out an entire trash bag of "Why the hell did I move this?" faded t-shirts and such. I made a smaller pile of things for Goodwill - I realized that I don't wear sweatpants. Ever. If I didn't put them on when it was 7 degrees and we had a foot of snow, I don't think I need to keep them, but they are just about brand new. Living in a smaller space with a lot less storage is both annoying and liberating. And I may as well get used to it, because when I do find a house for myself, I'm thinking it will be a sweet little old house in West Asheville - and while they often have basements, they aren't big on closet space.

Today was a very positive day, and my feeling of overwhelmed-ness at what I was taking on (oh yeah, just move to a new city and go into real estate when you know 12 people and the market is slow - timing has NEVER been my thing) evaporated when we started actually talking about doing business. I may be new to the area but I know this real estate stuff, and I really, truly love it. And I have skills that will make up for being the new kid, er, new grandma. So it'll be fun - not easy by any means, but FUN.

Oh, and just to add a little spice to the upcoming adventures of 2011 - I've been sitting on this news for a few weeks, but have official permission to share now. I'm going to be a grandma again! Girlchild is an expectant Girlmama!

Of course, the "timing is not our thing," thing is definitely at play here - Boychild's wedding is scheduled for October 22. Girlchild's due date? October 14. It seems highly unlikely that they will be able to attend her brother's wedding, and highly likely that I will be on I-95 the day after the wedding. And I thought 2010 was My Craziest Year. The first grandchild and the wedding and the move were just sort of the warm-up for what is apparently The Foreseeable Future.