the jetta has kicked it. fare thee well, $500 tax donation! hello, mazda3 s grand touring!
cars are so blah these days, i couldn't get excited about anything except a benz or a bmw. J pointed out that to go from a '99 jetta with 100k to a brand new 3 series would be a bit much. she also doesn't think we "fit" a bmw. i told her to speak for herself and we went to the dealer. apparently, the salesperson didn't think we "fit" a bmw either. what an ass.
honda, 'yota, mini, mazda. i sort of gave it up to J and she picked out the car that i actually liked! of course, since we've had the luxury of driving my boss David's car (c class), i wanted all the options - heated seats, auto dimming mirror (redheads have very sensey eyes, you know), a good stereo, you know, like, EVERYTHING. and we got it! woooooohoooooooo!
bose speakers! ipod connector! only time will tell if these speakers can hold up to my usage. who cares! it's a lease!
and all at a price point that we can afford. finally. affordable luxury. well, you know, as luxurious as a mazda can be.
Wednesday, November 29, 2006
Thursday, October 26, 2006
visitors!
it has been a whirlwind week. J's aunt was here from nuevo mexico (staying in a cool hotel, with an old *nearly* manual elevator - no pressing buttons on this one) for 2 nights, then her cousin was here from london, then one night off and my sister was here for the weekend, then kp from oz was here! fun fun fun! i love having visitors, it makes me feel like #1 i know my way around DC and #2 i can tell people things about DC that they don't otherwise know. ok, neither worked with kp since she's from here... but still. somehow it makes me feel connected to the city. i want to represent it well.
(wo)man town [read: tv room] is well on it's way to being complete. we picked up a fab couch at the crate and barrel outlet for 45% of the normal price. steal. and a huge mirror for the bedroom, allowing us to see what we look like when we walk out the door. we still need a bookcase, a new desk, and a big piece of art for above the bed. but it's coming along. we have so much wall space we don't know what to do with it. and big art = big credit card bills.
work is fine/slow. the weather took a severe turn for the cold. and all else is great. oh! i have a new theory on gay marriage. how about instead of pushing for equal rights, we just strip str8 people of the rights that marriage gives them (tax benies, survivorship rights, what have you)? then people who remain single for life don't lose out either. i mean, come on, why should you get a better tax rate because you said some vows in front of a group of people?
(wo)man town [read: tv room] is well on it's way to being complete. we picked up a fab couch at the crate and barrel outlet for 45% of the normal price. steal. and a huge mirror for the bedroom, allowing us to see what we look like when we walk out the door. we still need a bookcase, a new desk, and a big piece of art for above the bed. but it's coming along. we have so much wall space we don't know what to do with it. and big art = big credit card bills.
work is fine/slow. the weather took a severe turn for the cold. and all else is great. oh! i have a new theory on gay marriage. how about instead of pushing for equal rights, we just strip str8 people of the rights that marriage gives them (tax benies, survivorship rights, what have you)? then people who remain single for life don't lose out either. i mean, come on, why should you get a better tax rate because you said some vows in front of a group of people?
Tuesday, October 03, 2006
morals
hey, back again after another month off... oopsie. i don't really bring my mac with me to work anymore as i have a (piece of #@!!#@@ hp) 'puder at my desk.. and once i get home, the last thing i want to look at is a screen with tiny words on it. but hey, i have a crackberry, so you can just email me directly when you want an update and i *promise* i will respond quickly.
today i was faced with immoral, unethical and downright nasty practices here in the real estate business. i find it so frustrating, but there is nothing i can do but suck it up for the sale. a woman, licensed in another state, brought her daughter in. daughter purchased. there was a whole conversation about how mom isn't able to get commission b/c she isn't licensed here, yadda yadda, no biggie. the next day, mom calls all upset, telling me her broker (she's a part time agent) wants his name on the contract, they deserve the commission, etc. the law states that as a buyer's respresentative, you have to be the "procuring cause" of a sale. you know, YOU inform them of the property, you bring them to the property, you attend the first meeting, you do all the work, etc. the daughter found out about the property because of an email blast we sent out, the mom's broker never had anything to do with it, it's all BS. but "save the sale" and write them in.
makes me nutso. it's so wrong. not that i am trying to save the big corporation's dollar or anything. i could care less about that. but it's the practice of this other broker, the demands, the game just to get paid on something they don't deserve that makes me infuriated.
plus i am in real estate school now, so i am TOTALLY holier than thou when it comes to the letter of the law. well, as holy as an athiest can be.
in other news, it's nice being a homeowner, the gatos are really happy with the new place (i can tell!) and my big birthday is coming up. not that it's a big birthday per normal standards, but every birthday is a big one to me! wooooohoooooo!
today i was faced with immoral, unethical and downright nasty practices here in the real estate business. i find it so frustrating, but there is nothing i can do but suck it up for the sale. a woman, licensed in another state, brought her daughter in. daughter purchased. there was a whole conversation about how mom isn't able to get commission b/c she isn't licensed here, yadda yadda, no biggie. the next day, mom calls all upset, telling me her broker (she's a part time agent) wants his name on the contract, they deserve the commission, etc. the law states that as a buyer's respresentative, you have to be the "procuring cause" of a sale. you know, YOU inform them of the property, you bring them to the property, you attend the first meeting, you do all the work, etc. the daughter found out about the property because of an email blast we sent out, the mom's broker never had anything to do with it, it's all BS. but "save the sale" and write them in.
makes me nutso. it's so wrong. not that i am trying to save the big corporation's dollar or anything. i could care less about that. but it's the practice of this other broker, the demands, the game just to get paid on something they don't deserve that makes me infuriated.
plus i am in real estate school now, so i am TOTALLY holier than thou when it comes to the letter of the law. well, as holy as an athiest can be.
in other news, it's nice being a homeowner, the gatos are really happy with the new place (i can tell!) and my big birthday is coming up. not that it's a big birthday per normal standards, but every birthday is a big one to me! wooooohoooooo!
Monday, September 11, 2006
moving!!
after a lovely little text message calling me a blog slacker, i decided to bring back my blog! it's been over a month. sorry. i know you 3 readers out there have been missing me. :)
big news indeed - we've moved! (again) this time we did it right - with money. we hired a moving company to haul our crap out of the old place and into the new! it was quite nice to sit back and order my things to be placed where i wanted them. no back pain, no pulling jessica off the back of the truck accidentally, no blood, no sweat, no tears. at least not for us! well spent cash, for sure.
that was saturday. sunday was less fun. in order to get our deposit back (since we are breaking our lease), we agreed to paint our entire place and steam clean the carpets for the landlord. the sweat and tears came in abundance. sometimes, i think we plan too many things in one day. we patched holes, painted, cleaned, steamed, had to clean again, and ran around in circles trying to complete our work while out-running the homo depot deadline to return the steam cleaner. with one hour to spare, we completed our tasks! now i have to pick up all of our food and the vacuum and a few cleaning supplies, and we will be completely done with our old place! relief. well, once i get the check from the landlord.....
our new place is freakin' awesome but there is no running water in the kitchen right now. dunno why. no one else has this issue. we had running water the day we bought the place. where did it go? allegedly the developer is looking into it, but no word yet and it is just about noon. hmmmm. if that isn't fixed by the time i get home today i am not going to be a happy homeowner.
i can't wait for visitor! i can't wait to host dinner parties! we have rooftop terrace that's covered, so we can use the outdoor space well into the cold weather. i had my coffee up there this morning. ahhhhhhh. love it.
there's my update. a big move, purchasing a condo (details of stress far too many to repeat), oh and jess got a fabulous job that she loves! life is ok. indeed.
big news indeed - we've moved! (again) this time we did it right - with money. we hired a moving company to haul our crap out of the old place and into the new! it was quite nice to sit back and order my things to be placed where i wanted them. no back pain, no pulling jessica off the back of the truck accidentally, no blood, no sweat, no tears. at least not for us! well spent cash, for sure.
that was saturday. sunday was less fun. in order to get our deposit back (since we are breaking our lease), we agreed to paint our entire place and steam clean the carpets for the landlord. the sweat and tears came in abundance. sometimes, i think we plan too many things in one day. we patched holes, painted, cleaned, steamed, had to clean again, and ran around in circles trying to complete our work while out-running the homo depot deadline to return the steam cleaner. with one hour to spare, we completed our tasks! now i have to pick up all of our food and the vacuum and a few cleaning supplies, and we will be completely done with our old place! relief. well, once i get the check from the landlord.....
our new place is freakin' awesome but there is no running water in the kitchen right now. dunno why. no one else has this issue. we had running water the day we bought the place. where did it go? allegedly the developer is looking into it, but no word yet and it is just about noon. hmmmm. if that isn't fixed by the time i get home today i am not going to be a happy homeowner.
i can't wait for visitor! i can't wait to host dinner parties! we have rooftop terrace that's covered, so we can use the outdoor space well into the cold weather. i had my coffee up there this morning. ahhhhhhh. love it.
there's my update. a big move, purchasing a condo (details of stress far too many to repeat), oh and jess got a fabulous job that she loves! life is ok. indeed.
Tuesday, August 08, 2006
chubs
OMG, i have gained weight. for real. everything feels a *little* bit snug. and visiting the family this past weekend confirmed it. they hold nothing back. so today i bid a sad goodbye to second dinner. now i can only have first dinner. so sad. food tastes so yummy.
we went to provincetown, showed J the atlantic - well, she claims she's been in it before, but come on, that was when she was 4 years old. that totally doesn't count. had a lovely time, my bro came with us which was wicked cool. and my sister rented a honda pilot. unfortunately, me and my girl got stuck in the "way back" due to our shorter legs. to think that we used to fight over the way back as children. that vechicle is more truck than SUV. and yes, they are evil and waste gas, but i think one SUV with 7 of us in it uses less gas than 2 cars, right?
los gatos were alone all weekend, save for C and L feeding them. i fully expected gato attitude last night, but instead they were snuggleheads! soooo cute. i almost forgot what it was like to sleep with 2 cats pushing against my legs. needless to say, it's easier to sleep without them.
but i love them! love them!
we went to provincetown, showed J the atlantic - well, she claims she's been in it before, but come on, that was when she was 4 years old. that totally doesn't count. had a lovely time, my bro came with us which was wicked cool. and my sister rented a honda pilot. unfortunately, me and my girl got stuck in the "way back" due to our shorter legs. to think that we used to fight over the way back as children. that vechicle is more truck than SUV. and yes, they are evil and waste gas, but i think one SUV with 7 of us in it uses less gas than 2 cars, right?
los gatos were alone all weekend, save for C and L feeding them. i fully expected gato attitude last night, but instead they were snuggleheads! soooo cute. i almost forgot what it was like to sleep with 2 cats pushing against my legs. needless to say, it's easier to sleep without them.
but i love them! love them!
Sunday, July 16, 2006
use a damn toothpick
went for a bike ride today. 5 short miles, ALL HILLS. that's the thing about living at the highest point in a city - to go anywhere, you go downhill. to get home, you have to go up those same damn hills that were so much fun to fly down. i am in pain. J is in pain. we made pizza tonight, and after bending down to check on it as it bubbled up in the oven, i was stuck. j had to come pull me out of my crouching position. if 31 is this bad, 32 isn't looking too promising.
i love making pizza at home, but i think next time i'll make the dough too. trader joe's has decent, cheap dough ($0.79) but it wasn't quite good enough. plus i love to do everything from scratch. i even made the sauce! yum yum!
our tomato paste had some, uh, penicillin qualities to it, so j and i ran over to whole paycheck to pick some up... and have our appetizer of cheese and cakes and whatever they have on sample. j was trying to get a toothpick to get (yet another) cheese sample, and some pushy DC preppy ignorant chick walks up and reaches in WITH HER HAND!!! i say to her "there's a reason you should use a toothpick, that's nasty" and she giggles and walks away. i continue with "i don't want your disgusting germs on my food you stupid bitch." she didn't hear that last part and j reprimanded me, but i was so so so crazy mad! i mean, j was obviously trying to get a toothpick out because that's what you are supposed to do. and that she not only stuck her nasty fingers in there, but she cut in line! i wanted to kick her in the shin!
and that's when i realized that i needed a nap.
i love making pizza at home, but i think next time i'll make the dough too. trader joe's has decent, cheap dough ($0.79) but it wasn't quite good enough. plus i love to do everything from scratch. i even made the sauce! yum yum!
our tomato paste had some, uh, penicillin qualities to it, so j and i ran over to whole paycheck to pick some up... and have our appetizer of cheese and cakes and whatever they have on sample. j was trying to get a toothpick to get (yet another) cheese sample, and some pushy DC preppy ignorant chick walks up and reaches in WITH HER HAND!!! i say to her "there's a reason you should use a toothpick, that's nasty" and she giggles and walks away. i continue with "i don't want your disgusting germs on my food you stupid bitch." she didn't hear that last part and j reprimanded me, but i was so so so crazy mad! i mean, j was obviously trying to get a toothpick out because that's what you are supposed to do. and that she not only stuck her nasty fingers in there, but she cut in line! i wanted to kick her in the shin!
and that's when i realized that i needed a nap.
Sunday, July 09, 2006
jade
J and i were inspired by all the futbol watching (poor france - but i daresay italy's win is tempered by the fact that it was through penatly kicks. in other words, don't go celebrating too much italy. it was a keeper's game in the end.) she suggested we go outside and break in my new glove. oh my, i am a bad lesbian. if i can't throw a softball from 1st base to 2nd base, then i can't make the team... if i was trying out for a team, that is. J says i'm good, but after 20 minutes i hurt. i think i pulled my shoulder.
and in other bad news, when trying to catch a stellar throw, the ball hit my jade bracelet spot on, cracking it in three equal pieces. i know that jade bracelets are worn to promote health and long life, but what does it mean when it breaks? a quick google proved futile. (yes, i am using google as a verb in that sentence.) one site suggested that broken jade means harm was heading my way, but the jade broke in place of me.
regardless, i am without a jade bracelet now. i haggled for that thing! i played the game with a street vendor in thailand for my jade bracelet! i officially put it on and did not remove it when i moved to DC, to help me find a job. and now that it's broken, i fear negativity on my horizon!
what kind of atheist am i? i don't believe in god but i believe in a jade bracelet? oh dios mio!
and in other bad news, when trying to catch a stellar throw, the ball hit my jade bracelet spot on, cracking it in three equal pieces. i know that jade bracelets are worn to promote health and long life, but what does it mean when it breaks? a quick google proved futile. (yes, i am using google as a verb in that sentence.) one site suggested that broken jade means harm was heading my way, but the jade broke in place of me.
regardless, i am without a jade bracelet now. i haggled for that thing! i played the game with a street vendor in thailand for my jade bracelet! i officially put it on and did not remove it when i moved to DC, to help me find a job. and now that it's broken, i fear negativity on my horizon!
what kind of atheist am i? i don't believe in god but i believe in a jade bracelet? oh dios mio!
Thursday, June 29, 2006
blast from the past
last night at a work event (in real estate, for those of you who still hold me in high esteem and think i took the not for profit job, sorry to disappoint but i changed my mind!) i was approached by a couple saying "are you from boston?"
they used to be friends with an ex of mine and now they live here in DC. weird. they are from so long ago, a world ago, and i am such a different person now. strange how running into an old acquaintance can do bring me right back to the past. right back to dancing at the upstairs lounge to cool 80s tunes. right back to crazy fun and then crazy crazy times when my life was turning upside down as i watched.
it all makes me miss boston terribly. i don't miss those times, i just miss knowing where to go and how to get around and, strangely enough, i miss my old apartment on commonwealth avenue with a fierceness that surprises me.
they used to be friends with an ex of mine and now they live here in DC. weird. they are from so long ago, a world ago, and i am such a different person now. strange how running into an old acquaintance can do bring me right back to the past. right back to dancing at the upstairs lounge to cool 80s tunes. right back to crazy fun and then crazy crazy times when my life was turning upside down as i watched.
it all makes me miss boston terribly. i don't miss those times, i just miss knowing where to go and how to get around and, strangely enough, i miss my old apartment on commonwealth avenue with a fierceness that surprises me.
Sunday, June 18, 2006
creative litter box
i can't tell if one of the kitties is a genius or is a complete and utter fool. the other day, J changed the litter box but left the old litter in the bathroom trash can. she tied up the bag but since it was rather late, she decided to wait until the morning to bring the trash to the dumpster.
when i got up to go to work, i found a little kitty fecal treat on top of the tied trash can. somehow one of the kitties jumped into the... can... and took a dump atop the old litter sitting in the bag.
either his sense of smell was particularly acute this morning or he was sending a message to J about taking out the trash in a more timely manner. he must have been wondering why his moms bought a new round litter box that was really tall and hard to poo in.
when i got up to go to work, i found a little kitty fecal treat on top of the tied trash can. somehow one of the kitties jumped into the... can... and took a dump atop the old litter sitting in the bag.
either his sense of smell was particularly acute this morning or he was sending a message to J about taking out the trash in a more timely manner. he must have been wondering why his moms bought a new round litter box that was really tall and hard to poo in.
Tuesday, June 13, 2006
here's the carrot, again
ok, my boss countered AGAIN. with a HUGE increase. i sort of think that if i wait a few more days, i'll be offered six figures.
i am torn and i don't understand why... i can't say where my heart is at all. it's nowhere. the money? it's significant. the long-term happiness at either position? unclear.
pro/con list:
pros to staying in real estate - $$$, a whole new field that i actually enjoy, challenges, working under an amazing guy
cons to staying in real estate - not using my MPH, potential to be burned by sales
pros to taking MPH job - using my degree, networking nationwide, returning to my non-profit roots
cons to taking MPH job - living poor again, not feeling 100% sure about myself in this position
i have tonight. i have limited time to un-do my acceptance and sign a contract for a year in real estate.
i have a tummy ache.
i am torn and i don't understand why... i can't say where my heart is at all. it's nowhere. the money? it's significant. the long-term happiness at either position? unclear.
pro/con list:
pros to staying in real estate - $$$, a whole new field that i actually enjoy, challenges, working under an amazing guy
cons to staying in real estate - not using my MPH, potential to be burned by sales
pros to taking MPH job - using my degree, networking nationwide, returning to my non-profit roots
cons to taking MPH job - living poor again, not feeling 100% sure about myself in this position
i have tonight. i have limited time to un-do my acceptance and sign a contract for a year in real estate.
i have a tummy ache.
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