[eskielover]

Sometimes in life, it seems like everything goes wrong, but luckily, I am having the opposite situation right now.......everything is going right.....or at least almost everything.

I have found that being alone here in Kentucky, all the negative things that were around me are gone & when the negative isn't around me, I don't seem to dwell on anything negative. Anything negative really stands out now but that has only been one thing. The negative being my Hertz rental car. When I extended my stay, I called them to find out how much it would cost me to extend my rental. They came back with a cost of $1900. I told them that wasn't acceptable but then called them back to ask about the discount I should be getting, the person then quoted me $1100. Well, when I took the car back last Friday, I got hit with a $2200 charge for the car.

For some reason, that negative really hit me & for almost a week, I was having a hard time functioning. I talked to their customer service, & she got me $400 back but when I questioned her she cut me off as if I should just thank her for getting me the $400. Even that price was what I said I was unwilling to pay initially. I really fell like I got tricked into that situation.....after that, I emailed a very nasty message to Hertz about what happened. As the customer service lady hung up, she sweetely told me to come back to Hertz the next time I rented......That will never happen again. I do learn from my mistakes.

Here, it took me about 1 week to get through those negative feelings.....where in California, that would have just piled ontop of all the other negatives making it all worse.
I am not feeling negative, all the people that I am around & meeting new here in Kentucky are positive, kind, helpful, & totally wonderful.

Things keep amazing me here. I purchased a hose reel & the hose connector was leaking. I went back to the store & the person who worked in the lawn & garden department (who also is a local sherriff for his other job) gave me a hose from another hose reel. He had previously helped me pick out a weed eater & told me then to call him when I needed information about purchasing a tractor. Everyone here wants to help & is glad to share their knowledge & information.

The same thing happens everytime I go to Lowe's for something. It seems that all the people who work there know me & are always giving me help with information about everything.

When I first arrived here, I was keeping notes about everything in a little notebook. When I got to the post office, I didn't have it. When I got home again, I couldn't find it anywhere....so realized that I must have laid it on the back of my car & drove off with it. I walked along the road in front of my house. As I walked back to the house, I noticed the notebook laying on my front doorstep. Where in California would anyone ever stop along the road & pick up a notebook, look at the address & bring it back to it's owner????? Not where I lived.....what awsome neighbors.

Yesterday, I was driving rather fast trying to get to one of the stores before it closed. I wasn't paying much attention to anything & had the radio up high, singing along. All of a sudden, I heard a siren. I looked in my rear view mirror & there was a police car behind me. I pulled over to get out of his way.....& oops, he pulled over too. He asked for my license & when he saw I was from California, he laughed, went back & checked out my license, came back & welcomed me to the area.....suggested that I slow down a bit & be a bit more careful since I was right around the fair area on the highway & didn't give me a ticket.

Today, the owner of the local lumber yard came out to personally measure the windows & doors in my house which desperately need replaced, not just the windows & doors, but all the rotten wood around them. He is going to have the rep from the window company come out & measure everything also.....just to make sure that everything is correct. That also came with a welcome to the town.

I have kindness surrounding me & with all the good feelings that I am surrounded with, all I am feeling are good feelings My good feelings create more good feelings from the people around me. I think kindness & good feelings are catching just like negative feelings are. It seems that when we are surrounded by negative, or when we are negative, that is what surrounds us, but when I break out of that rut, the negative that does happen has so much less effect that it did before. I really love the good feelings I am experiencing & don't want to go back into the negative life style that is hanging around California waiting for me. Looking back, I realize how miserable that negativity makes me feel.....something I didn't realize until I got away from it. My depression, my anxiety attacks, & every other part of my mental health has gotten so much better since I got away from everything there.

Such a major change in my life has made a major change in my own personal mental health & I can't imagine going back to being around that life style any more.
Debbie

[sabby]

((((((((((((((((((((( Debbie ))))))))))))))))))))

It's so awesome to hear of the wonderful change in your life! To have your soul renewed by people who genuinely care and take pride in their jobs and in their contacts with folks can make one almost giddy don't you think?? LOL

No matter how positive your life has become, life will still throw a curveball at you now and again (Hertz). But it's all good, like you said, lesson learned. And you learned you don't need to hold onto that negative anymore, you CAN let it go and move on back to the positive.

I'm so glad you are loving where you are in life now, both physically and emotionally. It's wonderful to hear the positive side of folks here....very uplifting!

May you have continued success and may positive influences rein down on you always!

Hugsss
J

[EJ711]

Hi Eskielover,

It sounds like your are encountering the joy of Southern Hospitality.

I would love to go back to a Southern environment just for that reason.

We moved to Kansas from Florida (which a lot of people don't think of as the South), and just about everyday I miss the sweetness of the southerners. I would move in a heartbeat, but husband loves having 18 acres and two horses.

Glad things are going so well for you.

Hugs,

EJ

Debbie, i never did believe in "geographical cures" and in fact, told my patients that it didn't work......they were all substance abuse people and i still don't believe it works for that.......BUT, moving to Texas, from that narrow-minded Oklahoma, was the best thing i could have done for myself.

welcome to the south. we do go out of our way to help people out......i did in Oklahoma, but it didn't get me anywhere.......

so glad you're feeling so good........

[Fuzzybear]

((((((((((((((( Debbie )))))))))))))))

[DePressMe]

Debbie , I am glad things are going so well for you. People can be really amazing sometimes. I lived in a narrow minded small town and 1999 moved to a larger university city. The people here are so much more open minded...I am so much happier. I really consider it my home. Sounds like you are really getting a lot of work done around your house. Have a good Sunday.

[Wants2Fly]

So glad things are turning around for you.

i just love what you're telling us. i'm certainly experiencing it here in Texas. i am so glad that i moved here..........xoxoo pat

[Greenleaves]

I'm glad you like your new home.

[eskielover]

EJ, Pat, DePressMe,

It's nice to know that you have encountered positive effects with your moves too.....it does seem that sometimes a big move ends up shaking us out of the ruts we get into & once out of the rut, then things can only go better (or at least a majority of the time).

I have more good things to report (and of course some bad that good comes out of) . Go figure...Hertz responded to my email. They are refunding the rest of the amount down to what I was quoted over the phone. What a shock......the email sat in my inbox for 10 days before I realized it was a response to my email. When I read it today, you could have heard my "yahoo" across the US. I had to read of over several times to believe what I was reading. This continues to reinforce my behavior of sending messages when I am unhappy about a situation & feel that I have been wronged.....without totally striking out rudely....I just state things I feel are wrong.....& I seem to get positive results.....AMAZING!!!!

Of course...as always there has to be a "not good" (or more like "that was stupid") thing in my life....just to make sure I am still human. At the end of last week, I was backing the little rental car out of my garage to go pay my power bill which was past due because I hadn't received the initial bill. I put it into reverse & my doggie was in the passenger seat, distracting me also. The car wasn't moving....oh yes, the emergency breakwas on. Just as I was thinking about that, I heard a thump on the rear of my car.....it was the UPS with a delivery (the auto power cord for my GPS unit) that Garmin had sent out to me to replace the one that got messed up by the heat from the windshield. I was excited to get the package, opened the door of my car, got out to pick up the package. As I got out of the car, it started backing up. What in the world??????? I looked into the car & dummy had left the car in reverse & while thinking about releasing the parking break, I actually had released it as I got out of the car. I was right next to the car & was able to jump right back in & put on the parking break....it only backed up about 5 feet, but that was enough distance for the door to catch onto the wagon I had attached to the back of my lawn tractor I had parked next to the car.

I heard the crunch & thought the wagon was done for......it wasn't the wagon that got damaged....it was the door of the rental car.....it jamed the door forward, bent the bottom tip of the door & the hinge ended up gouging 2 huge areas in the metal.....so the door has a hard time closing & makes a horrible crunching sound as the door scrapes against the front fender........I mean....how stupid could I be??????

I was kicking myself all the way to the power company, frustrated with how stupid I had been & that I had declined the extra insurance charges on the rental because I have ever needed them before. Wouldn't you know, after all the huge car rental expenses I was already frustrated with, I added a deductible charge for my own insurance to cover the damage. The trip wasn't all bad however....the power company was great & reversed the late charge so there is always at least one good thing that happens everyday.

The next day, I needed to get some things we needed for fixing up the house. I took the person who is doing my painting so I would get the right things. On the way home I stopped by the local Chevy dealership to get an estimate for the damage to the rental car so I knew how bad it was going to be. While we were waiting for that we looked around the used car lot at the trucks. He introduced me to the car salesman who had sold him his car. I told him what kind of truck I was looking for....& wouldn't you know.....they had the perfect fit.

I took it for a test drive & of course, I fell in love with it. I couldn't get the price down much lower, but it was reasonable similar to others with the same low mileage & good carfax information. Told the salesman I would have to think about it over night & go over my finances to decide if I could buy it now or wait until after I sold my California home. They had already let me take do the test drive alone, then he told me to take the car home & drive it while I was thinking about it. That was a really strange concept for me....really felt uncomfortable especially after what I had just done to the rental car......but the dealership insisted. Going over my finances, I decided I didn't want to run myself that short on cash, so decided not to take the truck....then thought about possible getting a loan temporarially until the house sells, then pay it all off....(can't justify paying $33,000 for an $18,000 car which is what a loan does). I talked to my credit union on Saturday & NO loan!!!

I told him I wanted to bring the truck back.....didn't think it would work out....but he insisted on my keeping the truck until they looked into getting a loan set up on Monday. I was too nervous to drive the truck much of anywhere, but got brave enough to drive it to the county fair Saturday night. That was just after a good rain.....got mud all over the beautiful clean truck that wasn't mine.....then when trying to get out of the parking place, it was so tight.....it took me more than 12 turns to manuver my way out without hitting anything.

My logic told me there was no way they could come up with anything that would work, but Monday afternoon, I got a call, & they came up with financing that was going to work & also get me the extended service policy that is pretty important. So now I am a Kentucky farm Gal, with my awsome truck that is just what I had been wanting.

Go figure......it seems like the way things are working out here.....when something not good happens, something really good comes from it. I feel like I am still living in a dream....but .the nightmares were all left in California......all the dreams even when they have their rough spots all have good endings.

When the time is right, the right things come into my life....& the rough spots aren't as rough as they used to be now that I am not making a big deal out of them.

I have to admit, I am getting a bit stressed about having to go back to California this week (Thursday). I have run out of my prescription, so have to see the Dr on Friday. I have to get things ready for the movers & pack up at least one u-haul & a majority of my doggies. I haven't planned the move out completely yet.....or exactly how I am going to get the California house ready to sell without putting a small fortune into that. I will need to do a lot of the work myself since my husband isn't exactly capable of doing anything handy to help. The trick will be to get him out of my way so I can accomplish what I need to do....that is a whole other issue.

I don't want to loose the "ME" I have found here.....& I am not willing to go back to putting that amount of energy into the relationship. I really like the phone. I can hang up & get away from it. I definitely don't want to bring any part of that life back here to Kentucky. There is no place here for that kind of life now that I know that this is possible. I can't imagine going back to California now.....it seems so far in the past (even though it has only been 2 1/2 months)

I will keep up my Kentucky thoughts & keep the positive going strong, knowing that my home is here in Kentucky now & nothing can change that. Hope to only be in California for about 1 month & not get bogged down in the junk. The good things are in my life now, not just my location (even though that really helps being out of that rut).

Thought I could just give you an update...that so many good things are continuing to happen....will add a photo of my new truck to my group of photos,
Debbie

[biiv]

hi eskielover,
i just wanted to let you know ive been reading up on all your updates from kentucky and they have really brightened my day. i look forward to hearing about your adventures there like a little story of peace among the cruelties and harshnesses in the world. i always finish a post from you with a smile on my face. i suspect sometimes you might just be living a life very close to the one i dream for myself! except i really hate small towns, coming from one myself. but you even make them sound wonderful!
so basically thank you for sharing your joy here. its a precious thing to let someone else glimpse.
and im sure you will be able to keep the memories and energy of kentucky alive for the little while you have to go back to california. i believe experiences like those you re having settle themselves in your soul eventually so you can draw on them whenever you need. good luck to you!
biiv

[eskielover]

I returned back in California last Thursday. Before I left, I was worring that my time in Kentucky would be just a dream....& that when I left, that was the end of my new reality....& that is really a scarry feeling. I always felt the same way everytime vacation was over when I had to leave my time share vacation condo in Jackson Hole Wyoming & come back to the reality of my life......it was over until the next year when that period of time would come again.

I know in my mind that Kentucky is a real thing & is going to be my life in only a few months.....it just all seems so nebulous without having actual dates to aim for. The hardest part is that my old life in California has been a 32 year rut.....& a new 2 1/2 months is a short time to realize that as my new life.

The reality of Kentucky is with me however......the motivation has not let up, nor has my ideals for the life I want in my future.....but more than that, my new friends in Kentucky are making sure that my new home in Kentucky is staying a reality in my life. The person who is finishing up the painting of my house & working on the interior part of the window installation is definitely a true friend. He was kind enough to drive me in my new truck to the airport last Thursday & make sure that I got off ok (the best I could do in return was to make sure he & his driving companion that came along had money enough for a good dinner....not just a fast food place...lol). We played phone tag a bit with the time difference, but he wanted me to call & make sure I arrived safely.

I got a call yesterday, to let me know how everything is coming along at the house......I was in shock.......he spent his own time finishing the mowing of my yard & doing some of the weedeating. He is getting the house setup so that when they put in the windows, all my new carpet won't be destroyed.....it is going tobe a huge job since all the framing & some of the rotten wood around the windows has to come out. He is also making sure that my house looks somewhat lived in & also watering my plants & making sure the bird feed in in the feeders so my birdies won't go crazy looking for it. He cleared off the hill next to the pool so the weed seeds wouldn't keep falling into the pool. Also the morning before I left, he helped me plant the 2 new maple trees I had purchased for shading the dog runs. I had the hole dug for one, but hit rock that was beyond the capability of my wimpy tools.

Finding friends that true in such a short time has left me understanding that caring really does exist in this world......& that is doesn't stop when I'm not there....& that I really am a part of the life there.

With that friendship comes my caring in return also.....& my prayers & all other prayers are needed since his mother is having problems with a mass they found in her abdomin. They were to have tests today to help determine what the mass is, but since she had previously had surgery for breast cancer, the outcome won't be surprising.

After just going through the cancer with my Mother, I know what that future would hold. I need to be strong & supportive for him & his family.....& maybe with the experience I had, it will help me be much more understanding & sensitive to their needs. I am blessed to have been given these people in my new life & they are now a part of my life...no matter where I am located at the time. I have come to care very much about my new friends & have learned that even though I have gone through some horrible experiences & had my faith in humanity shaken over the last few years, that is not what has to be & I am not willing to hang onto that way of looking at life.

I have also had a good experience with my own daughter who is going through a rough time in her life when her boyfriend broke up with her while owning a house together. We have had a rough relationship.....she always had a mother (me) who was only interested in her career.....she has been willing to open up & talk to me about her situation & ask for support as to suggestions on handling the situation. Being emotional & letting emotions get in the way of what needs to be done is not me....I have always been the logical person with the answers......I guess this is the right time for that since it seems to be helping ground her into what the facts are in the situation & to try & put the emotions aside. It was hard at first because she just wanted out of the relationship....giving away what should have been hers. I talked to her about that at first, but she wasn't able to lhear what I had to say at that time.....now she is at the point where she is more open to listening to logic. I am so happy that she feels able to come to me & talk.......our relationship is growing too,

Good things are continuing to happen no matter where I am,
Debbie

[eskielover]

Just had to add an update on the condition of my friends Mother......the mass isn't cancer......she is going to be just fine. I had tears in my eyes when I got that good news tonight when we were talking on the phone.

I am blessed by God to have such wonderful friends in such a short time of living in Kentucky. I am continually being blessed everyday & good things are continually happening to be so thankful for.

Debbie