We are in the middle of our move. Things aren’t looking too good. The movers are coming Wednesday, and we have a lot of packing to do before then. The logistics aren’t easy. On Saturday, we rented a UHaul truck and hired workers to load and unload. They took our outdoor furniture, barbecues, gardening equipment, and other bulky items. By doing this we saved the expensive movers an extra van. As it stands, they say they need two vans and two days. The load on Wednesday and unload at our new house on Thursday.

Tomorrow, our handyman is coming to uninstall our water filters, thermostat, ham antenna, and other stuff. He returns to the new house on Tuesday to reinstall that stuff. Logistics, logistics, logistics. That’s been my job. On Saturday, after the UHaul was unloaded, Mrs. Lion and I set up the new WiFi in the house. It works! That means our household automation will be plug-and-play when we move in.

The big, scary part is packing. I don’t think we will be ready on Wednesday. We have to be. Maybe we will make it. We’re spending Wednesday night in a hotel. All of our stuff will be in the moving vans, We have a large credit from a travel agency. I’m using part of it to pay for a suite in a Tacoma hotel. It will be a nice treat after a day of loading a truck. We plan to unload and set up as much as we can on Thursday. On Friday, Mrs. Lion can return to our old house and clean up.

We are both unhappy that we only got to stay here for four years. We expected to be in this house twice that. Neither of us is very good at change. We like things to stay constant. Moving is pure stress. Mrs. Lion is working hard to stay calm, but the effort is taking a toll on her. I wish I could do more to help. Meanwhile, we stay happy and very much in love. I’m very grateful that I found such a wonderful mate.

As you might imagine, we are struggling to get ready for our move. My role is minor. The most important job I have is to make our new house smart. The key components we need in place are our internet connections and home network. Our current network is rather old and I am replacing all of the key components. Because of that, I can have our WiFi up and running before we move. That will allow all of our Echo devices to function just by plugging them in.

I made a discovery that might be helpful if you are planning to replace your old network equipment. It turns out that business-grade components are cheaper than the home versions. For example, I bought a TpLink router for $49 and a business-grade access point for $79. Most home “routers” are actually a combination of a router and WiFi access point. The combination of the two commercial products costs $130. You can’t buy a cheap home “router” for that price. Sometimes I think I should start an electronics blog.

The setup was pretty easy, and we’ll install it before we move in. We’ve agreed to put the spanking bench under the living room bay window. Our plans for the new house are coming together. I’m still having trouble finding my way around. It will take me a while to figure out where to go.

Since I started using Edex, our sex seems to be on a twenty-day schedule. Mrs. Lion is agreeable when I ask if we can do something, but she doesn’t initiate any more. I worry she’s tired and has sore shoulders, so I don’t ask too often. I suppose this works, but a lot of the fun seems to have gone away. I’m considering just stopping.

We are less than ten days from our move. At this point we have to focus on getting everything done, not sex or spanking.

We are trying to get ready for our move. It looks like we are way behind in packing. I’m starting to worry that the movers will arrive and the house will be ful of loose stuff that will cost a fortune for the movers to pack for us. To make matters worse, my vision has deteriorated substantially. I can hardly read my computer screen. Forget the laptop. I need further surgery to try to save what little I have left. Not a good time for us.

I can’t help at all with the packing. That leaves it all on Mrs. Lion. She is reluctant to get rid of stuff we haven’t used in a long time. Right now, the house is full of loose items sitting on every surface. I’m considering hiring movers to come in sooner to just pack things. We have to be out of here shortly. It will exhaust savings to do this, but we may have no other choice.

Meanwhile, sex and BDSM are not happening. I have a chastity device to review, but can’t get to it because of the chaos here. This is one of those times when I’m in over my head. I’ve never had so many physical issues before. Dealing  with them takes time for doctor visits, etc. We can’t afford to delay our move. We are paying rent for two houses this month. We can’t afford to do that in March.

Anyway, just wanted to give you a quick update.

Next year, it’s going to cost us almost $1,000 to renew our car registration for one year. The actual amount is estimated at $950. That’s insane. There is something called the Sound Transit RTA tax. It’s an excise tax calculated on the MSRP of each car that is within the Sound Transit zone. This zone covers the most populous part of Washington. Currently, we live a few miles outside that zone. When we move, we will be just inside its border.

Our state has no income tax. All of our taxation is regressive. We have high state and county sales tax. It’s 10% in our current county. Gasoline taxes are among the highest in the US. Gas is over $5 a gallon here. Where we are moving, gas is a more reasonable $3.50 a gallon.

We drive a plug-in hybrid vehicle. It runs on battery power for about thirty miles and then goes to hybrid mode. I think we have the best choice to reduce emissions under current conditions. Our state realized that people like us don’t buy as much gas. Isn’t that a good thing? Nope. It cuts back on gas tax revenue. So, our state government added a $150 charge to our annual registration to make up for the gas we aren’t buying. We also pay more because part of the cost of registering a car is based on its weight. Batteries make a car heavier. The state of Washington penalizes people who are trying to help the environment. A gas-guzzling, 6,000-pound pickup is exempt from the RTA tax and pays no surcharges like we do.

The reason we will have to pay an extra $590 a year is to pay for light rail expansion. This is the Seattle subway system that is supposed to connect people in the RTA tax zone with efficient transit service. My new address is in this tax area but is not served by any of the transit options. That’s right, no subways, buses, or anything else. We are expected to cheerfully pay for services that we will never get a chance to use.

It gets worse. Because I can’t drive due to my poor vision (glaucoma) and I can’t walk very well, I’m eligible for special transit options. Where we live now, that means a small bus or van will come to our house and take me where I want to go within the county. This is under a Federally mandated program. A similar system exists where we are moving. I applied and was accepted. I got a phone call that explained that I was outside of the Sound Transit pickup area, so if I wanted to use the special transit option, I would have to find a way to get to a location inside the service area to be picked up. They proudly informed me that the United Way offers such a service.

Getting the picture? We will be living inside a special taxation area that is paying for transit services for that area. However, our house is never going to be served by any of the services we are paying for. I’ve used the special transit services where we live now. It made it possible for me to get physical therapy without forcing Mrs. Lion to lose a day’s pay in order to drive me to the appointment and then take me home afterward.

If I want to do the same thing from our new house, I have to schedule a United Way pickup to drive me about a mile to a Walmart that is inside the transit area. I have to allow a 30-minute window for the pickup. I have to allow another 30-minute window for the transit van to get me at the WalMart. I need to make sure that I leave early enough to ensure I’ll reach my final destination in time for my appointment. So, if I have an 11 AM doctor’s appointment, I would need to get the United Way van to pick me up between 8 and 8:30. The earliest I could request a pickup at WalMart would be 9 AM. The driver could arrive at 9:30. I have to allow at least an hour for the trip to my destination since the transit van will be making other pickups and dropoffs before I get where I’m going. Exhausting. I have to repeat this process to get back home. If my appointment is over at 11:30, I will probably be lucky to get home at 3 PM. Not worth the trouble.

The disabled transport service is mandated to pick up people within one mile of the nearest bus/train stop. I am outside of that range, yet I have to pay for the transit system that will never serve me.

A car is an absolute necessity where we live. Using registration fees to support huge public works penalizes people who are struggling with marginal income. The law doesn’t care if you are a disabled vet living on Social Security or Bill Gates. If you want to be able to drive, you have to pay the piper. Mrs. Lion and I are well above the poverty level, yet a hit for $1,000 to register our car hurts. We’ll come up with it, but it will force us to do without something else that we need or want. Where else does it cost that much for license plates?