"I'm Leaving on a Jet Plane, don't when I'll be back again" - NOT!

No photos today since I can't find my pluggy inny thing for the computer. It must have been packed or something. I'm feeling a little stressed today since I was informed by American Airlines that they DON'T ship live animals when the destination port is over 85 degrees at arrival time.

After checking on Weather.com I found that St. Maarten will be 87 at approximately 2pm on Wednesday. The airlines said to have someone available to retrieve Maggie, Baxter, Duchess and Princess should they not be able to fly on Wednesday. Good Lord!

Looks like I will be staying with the pets until the temperatures cool down to below 85 in the islands. So, guess that means I will be here through the Holidays! And since I sold all my winter clothes, given up the house and cars you'll probably see me pan handling outside Halo or Nellie's for warm socks or alcohol.

The final Week End!

Today has been a busy day! I had to hand carry some of the artwork downtown to the auction house but got caught in horrible traffic due to some stupid bike race right through the middle of DC. Once I finally got there, the "fine arts specialist" (aka - rude and hateful bitch) informed me that I was 40 minutes late and she no longer had time to deal with me and, besides as she said, nothing I delivered was worth spending too much time on. Can you believe it?

Once I got back to the house I was relieved to see that the breakfast stamina foods and beverages were being put to good use.

It is really weird to see parts of the house totally empty now. We are donating the beds to a worthy cause.

It's almost empty and just in the nick of time since we depart our lovely Nation's Capital in only 3 days, 18 hours and 11 minutes.

Tickling my Ivories (No, NOT ovaries)

Today is the big Piano move day.

It is fascinating to watch these guys dissect the piano and take it apart and watch them hoist it up and over & maneuver it down the curved staircase to lower it down. We were going to send it to auction but the piano mover convinced us to have them store it and market it for sale. They think we can get more moolah for it that way.

I say more moolah for Chris and Paul is a good thing so go for it.

It's a shame that I actually get excited by a "big event" like this now. I think I need to find a hobby.

Going to the Po Po

One of my tasks for yesterday was going to the Fairfax County Police to get a criminal record on none other than ME! We need a clear police record for final application of our resident alien status on the island.

After years of making fun of all the illegal aliens here in the good ol' US of A, I certainly could NOT be put into that category on Saba.

Of course I let my imagination and fears run wild as I went out there. All I could think of was seeing my name misspelled or my first name inverted with my middle name and it matched some child molester or other kind of felon. My mind was running amok envisioning me be hauled off to the County pokie while I was screaming "It's not me, I'm innocent". Luckily that didn't happen and we went and had lunch instead and enjoyed a delightful afternoon at the spa.

Rub a Dub Dub

Well, all of this packing and hauling has really taken a toll on my mind, body and soul so I was very excited to find these gift certificates in my In Box on my desk I was clearing out.

I decided that a Mani, Pedi, Facial and Massage is just what the doctor ordered. I'm quite sure that "simple island living" will NOT afford me the luxury of something like this in the near future so off I go to Soma Fit in Georgetown for a little half day of beauty. The massage therapist has indicated that fat rolls are easier to rub than muscle so they will definitely have an easy time working on me today. Gosh, I hope they have an extra strong toxin remover program on their menu of services.

Cut the Cord

Knowing that I was going to write my thoughts and reflections on the island I asked Paul to help me buy a new laptop computer. I wanted something that allowed me to go for a walk around the island and write while viewing the Caribbean Sea from some mountain top and not be tied to a desk and "plugged in". We went through all the different models that Dell offered and the various options you can get. Seeing the list of Microsoft YXCMG downloads, wireless something or others and what not all I really cared about was whether I could get it in the Ruby Red color.

Now as I go around with my new toy people will ask me about what it offers and what kind of gigs and megs the laptop has and my stock answer will be, "isn't it pretty in red?"

To Mow or Not to Mow, This is the question

In my self described funk that I've been in over the last month or more and the decision to wipe the slate clean of my current life and move away I have, to say the least, shirked my yard duties just a tad.

This is evident by the thistle that now stands almost as tall as me as you can plainly see.

I was rudely reminded of this as I sauntered to the mailbox only to receive a notice from Fairfax County informing me the someone (John, you next door neighbor M*&%#R FU*)@&G B$%TA$D) complained about my lovely yard. The County gave me 7 days to remedy the problem or be cited.

I was calmly delivering my violation notice with a few carefully chosen words to the cry baby complainer but Paul wouldn't let me. He said we only have about 10 days left and just be nice.

Now I'm definetley NOT mowing the grass... oops weeds....

I think I need a breath mint

Boy, all of this purging makes me think I should go and brush my teeth or something.

Here's a sampling of about 10 of the 25 or so bags of clothes, shoes and linens that are going to Goodwill. Do you think I can exaggerate on my donation tax chit?

And boxes and boxes of real estate files and office supplies to go to my office for needy, I mean greedy agents to paw through and take.

UPS came and took away a whole bunch of "must keep" items that are going to Florida for shipment onto a container to the islands. The auction company came yesterday to inventory the remaining items. He said it was mostly "not very special" stuff that would have to go into their Regular Weekly Sale but a few of the things, he could MAYBE hold back for a catalogue auction. I know deep down in my heart that I'm Just Regular but really hate being told that....I want, I mean need to be told I'm Special....

A Little Preview of Saba

Since we're in the final countdown before the big departure I thought I would share a little "sneak peak" at my new home!


Here is an aerial view of the little island called Saba (pronounced Say-Buh). The entire island is 5 square miles and has roughly 1,400 full time residents and also houses an accredited medical school which adds another 1,200-1,400 people between students and faculty.

This is the largest plane that can land on the island. The runway is a little longer than an aircraft carrier and holds the record for the shortest commercial airport runway in the world. Luckily there has not ever been a crash! So, I'm sure my flight will break that track record.

The island adheres to a fairly strict architectural "code" and most of the homes on the island are white clapboard with green shutters and red roofs. It is so freakin' adorable it makes me want to vomit.



The island is a dormant volcano so there's lots of cliffs around that I can throw myself off from when the boredom sinks in.

And speaking of drastic changes...

My friend "Jack" decided he had helped out all that he could for now. I was sad to see him go but was thankful for his assistance through this whole ordeal.


I knew I needed a break from the house purging chores and had to get a haircut anyway so I ventured out. At first, I thought if I was going to live the island life that I should just let my hair grow out and try a "new island do" but didn't think that Rasta Chris was a good look.

I ultimatley decided for the "easy breezy, nice & easy" look for my new adventure. The sad outcome of this daredevil act via #3 clippers is I now look like a cross between a serial killer and a lobotomy patient.

I knew I should have stayed home to keep from injuring myself.

Yes, I'm Freaking Out!

I've come to the realization that we leave in 13 days, 21 hours and 14 minutes and I'am officially freaking out!

Who knew that selling, packing and preparing for such a life change was this much work. It's a good thing that my good friends, Jack Daniels, Johnny Walker & Jim Beam are here to help.

Let's Make a Deal!

I was really trying to off load a bunch of stuff from the week end and was ready to wheel and deal.

Unfortunately, I did not find a buyer for this one even though the price was severely discounted. Off to Goodwill, I guess.

The auction companies come in this week to inventory other remaining items and start clearing out the remaining crap.

Special Guest Appearance

The final day of the estate sale provided some much needed humor. Paul and I were sitting in the Living Room and saw this "stunning creature" walking up to the door. I felt as if I was in the front row at Ziegfield's from days gone by....

I knew that I wouldn't know how to put the Cosmopolitan black line across her eyes to protect...ummm... the guilty so I asked her to put on this Venetian Carnival mask so I could take her snatch-shot. Notice her voluminous Ta Ta's! The next image was even a little too racy even for my blog to post but when she bent over to look at something on the coffee table we got the bird's eye view of her T-back thong. Most fun I've had a weeks!!!!!!!!!!

We did sell the treadmill to a young lady who obviously liked to exercise. She looked anorexic to me. Regardless, I was glad to sell it because dusting the damn thing every week was getting really old.

Estate Sale Part II, Day 1

Yesterday was a good day for the second round of the estate sale. We got lots more stuff sold but I am getting to the point of just wanting it all gone.

I was excited to see 2 of my better clients, Juanita Juarez and Guadelupe Lopez at the sale. I was quite sure they were to going to pick up the James Tyler seascape painting but they settled for a half empty box of Tide and a broken laundry basket (that wasn't even for sale!)

Come to think of it, I wonder what they did with my dirty boxer shorts that were in there???

The Big Purge

and, NO I don't mean last night's dinner!


Paul and I spent this morning going through YEARS worth of real estate files. It was kind of entertaining to remember (OK, not really) all of our past clients.

We filled about 25 large trash bags of cases, contracts and settlement sheets.

Wow, this is interesting to see nearly 20 years of my career reduced to nothing more than shredded confetti!

Tomorrow brings Round II of the Big Estate Sale so I'm sure to have some interesting reflections from the week end.

Pick up and Delivery

People started picking up things from the estate sale that were purchased over the week end. Several large pieces of furniture have made their way out of the house and this morning Paul and I delivered one of the rugs to a lady who bought it.

Last night I started to dismantle the chandelier to get it ready for pick up. This was a little sad for me as I was taking all the crystals down.

I actaully shed a tear or two. But when the tears hit one of the crystals and made it sparkle, like my personality, it made me feel much better!

The good news is that the estate sale is making a tidy little nest egg for the big adventure. Mostly ones and fives though.

The Big Estate Sale

When we began preparing ourselves for the big move Paul and I spent an entire week prepping the house for the big estate sale. I carefully packaged our fine linens, sheets and towels together so everything would be perfectly displayed for our high end, quality buyers. What a wasted effort! By halfway through the first day everything was ripped open and torn apart. I think our elite clientele was busy shopping the Nordstrom's sale rather than perusing our vast amount of treasures throughout the house.



We did offer for sale this beautiful hand painted Limoges china service. I was a little nervous when the mini van pulled up full of children. They were from Annandale (that means Chinese in Falls Church"ese") I was scared to death that one of them was going to knock over the whole table. Luckily we didn't have any PACIFIC RIM items for sale so they didn't stay for very long.

My favorite story of the day was this woman who brought up 4 packages of paper napkins from the basement and I told her they'd be $1.00 a piece. She exclaimed she could buy these same napkins at CostCo for less than that. I told her to go ahead and waste the $7.00 worth of gas it would take her to drive that big SUV down there and buy them there.

I am finding that being nice and cordial to people in the DC area is getting tiresome. That's why I'm on the short list for our Nation's Capital.

3 Weeks and counting!

In beginning my blog of thoughts and reflections by Chris Fries I though I'd give you a quick run down of how I got here.

I have been selling real estate in the DC marketplace since the last market crash of the early 90's and have had steady success with it. My partner, Paul joined me in real estate in early 2002 and our business flourished through the boom in 2004 through early 2007. The ball has been rolling downhill ever since!

Our state of the economy and the real estate market has suffered significantly through mid 2007 until present and I have suffered severe burn out and a (self diagnosed) mild, I mean serious mid life crisis.

That said, I have decided to leave the Washington, DC area and start life anew in Paradise. I am moving with my partner, Paul and our 2 dogs to a tiny little island in the middle of the Caribbean. Our new home will be on Saba, The Netherlands Antilles beginning October 1st, 2008.

3 Weeks and counting! We begin my story.........