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Coldwell Banker Awards Night

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As background, this was from last year’s entry:

In 2004, Onslow County had something like $285,000,000 in sales (approximately 2800 homes). Our office did (approximately) $44,000,000 in 2004 (compared to like $32M in 2003). Of that $44M, my boss was responsible for 25% of that, or $11,000,000 (give or take a few thousand)

In 2005, Onslow County had something like $445,000,000 in sales (~3500 homes). Our office did ~$67,000,000. Of that $67M, my boss and her partner were responsible for ~$20,000,000 of that (or almost 30%). Damn.

Oh, and this year since I was dieting, there were NO alcoholic drinks, no hot wings, and no dessert. The only thing I cheated on was my chicken cordon bleu (pre-ordered before I knew we were starting the diet) which came breaded—but I did skip the rice, dessert, and an open bar (OPEN BAR!). So I think I was pretty good! I tell you, it’s easier to say no to stuff if I do it cold turkey. I did, however, have a momentary lapse when the waitress came around and asked if we wanted dessert—and I asked what they had. As soon as she started talking, I thought “What the hell? Why did I even ask when I’m not getting anything?” But it didn’t bother me to say no.

Again, the only bad thing about the night is that I now smell like smoke. Blech.

It’s a small world.

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A client came in today that I had to help with something—and at one point, she wrote her cell number down and I saw it was 989 so I said “Are you from Michigan?” Yes, she said, so I proceeded to tell her I was from Grayling, parents are in Grayling, Traverse City, and Kalkaska, etc., and she’s nodding her head yes, she knows these places. So then I ask where she’s from and she says Bay City. Can you believe that? So we go through the “who do you know” routine and we didn’t hit on anything until I said “Do you know Besons Market?” Of course she did. I said my cousins owned that—and asked if she knew Timmy. She said she knows OF him—her best friend worked there for quite some time. She also recognized Frost Drive when I said it was across the street from Handy. (She went to Western, so she didn’t know Uncle John—although she might actually be too young to have been there during his time anyway.)

It’s such a small world and it’s always neat when something like this happens.

I miss Mongolian BBQ

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There’s a new place here that just opened which is similar to bd’s Mongolian BBQ found in Michigan (and other states)…but nowhere—NOWHERE!—near the same. My bosses and I went there for lunch today, and it only made me more sad because it SO wasn’t the Mongolian BBQ I am used to… No tortillas, frozen meat, no eggs, NO DRY SPICES AT ALL, very few oils/flavorings (and the ones they did have seemed really watered down), they added water to each bowl when grilling, and they only did one order at a time—and they just walked it around the grill—there was none of that cool stick work. Hmph. It was decent, but now I have a hankering for the REAL stuff…

Mmmmmmmm. Chocolate cake!

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So yesterday afternoon, someone was walking around eating a piece of grilled chicken that everyone thought was chocolate cake (trust me, it really did look like chocolate cake from a distance). After that moment, I was CRAVING chocolate cake. Of course I wasn’t going to buy one or make one, but I kept thinking about it. Fast forward to today when I find out someone has a birthday today…and…they requested chocolate cake!! Oh my, was it deeeeelicious!!

We’re officially for sale!

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Our house is officially for sale! (Of course, there’s a long and convoluted story behind it, but suffice it to say the house is the cleanest and most organized it’s ever been!) The good news is that no one expects it to last until the weekend, and no one would be surprised if it sold today. The bad news is that the house we put an offer on is still taking backup offers (again, long story) so there’s a chance (although extremely small) that we could lose it.

Okay, so you want the long and convoluted version? Here goes. Let me try a list—it may help simplify things:

  • One of our best friends (and previous neighbor), Roger, is an up and coming real estate agent.
  • It’s been known since Day 1 that if/when we sell our house, he will be the agent.
  • I now happen to work for one of the top agents in the city.
  • We planned on doing a FSBO (we thought we had a buyer) so Roger would get a 2% fee and we’d save some money.
  • I had to break it to my boss that I was listing and buying with another agent. It was awkward and she was surprised but overall it went okay.
  • The FSBO fell through and, due to a contract contingency for our new house, we had to have our house sold or listed by Monday.
  • Roger couldn’t go down to 4%, which we needed in order to make what we wanted to make on the sale of our house.
  • I had to go crawling back to my boss to suck up and ask if she would sell our house. (I actually cheated and took the wuss way out by having Roger call her!) 😳
  • She agreed with no hesitation (phew!).

Oh, the trials and tribulations of real estate! 🙂

Wheeee! Golf!

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I did something yesterday I’ve never IN MY LIFE done before…I went golfing! My boss invited me and Tom to play in a local golf scramble with her and John…and we had a blast! I have always wanted to learn to play, but the one time Tom tried teaching me (way back in Lansing before we were married), there was so much arguing and yelling just trying to hit a bucket of balls that we decided it wasn’t in our best interest if we wanted to remain a couple. (He’s a righty and, although I’m right-handed, I’m a lefty when it comes to batting and putting, so it was quite difficult to try and teach me anything.)

golf cart

So the main challenge of yesterday, aside from NEVER HAVING PLAYED BEFORE, was that I didn’t have any left-handed clubs—and the country club didn’t have any—so I was relegated to either playing right-handed (which was not comfortable at all and got quite a few laughs) or using my very own left-handed putter in lieu of a driver, a wood, an iron, or a pitching wedge! John had a nice driver that ended up working pretty well, even using it backwards. John is an avid golfer and Tom can hold his own as well, so we mostly used their shots! That said, regardless of me not having the correct clubs, I didn’t do TOO badly and got some nice, straight shots—and amazingly enough, we even used some of them for scoring!

golf shot

Aside from having fun “playing” golf, one of the really fun things was driving the cart—I had a blast! Some of the course was a little hilly, so every time we went flying down the trail, I’d let out a little “Wheeeeee!” and we had a laugh. The only bad thing about the day was that it was quite hot and humid—if it wasn’t for the nice breeze, it would have been hell. So, when I was waiting for Tom to hit or whatnot, I’d drive around and around in the cart—it was the best way to get a nice breeze and cool down!

Anyway, throughout the day I kept thinking “I wonder how I could do with real clubs…??” and I really thought I would be interested in learning to play—or at least renting some left-handed clubs to see how it felt. So at the end of the day, we decided to look into finding me some clubs. We stopped at Sam’s to see if they had anything—nope. We didn’t feel like braving Walmart but hit Target and they had nothing for left-handers. We checked out eBay when we got home and seriously almost bought some—they had really great prices on new sets…but I told Tom we shouldn’t rush into anything. There’s a golf clinic coming up on base (that someone at the scramble told me about) so I figured I would do that…and if I still wanted to try golfing, then we’d look at getting some clubs. On the other hand, if the 4-hour clinic changed my mind, we wouldn’t be out $150 for clubs. Then I had an A-HA moment and thought “My dad is left-handed and I know we’ve talked about his clubs before. I wonder if he still has them and if he would ship them to me?” I called but there was no answer.

In the morning, we remembered a local golf shop—and were excited because they deal in new and used clubs. We asked about left-handed, and he said he didn’t have any women’s, but he had a men’s set—and since I was fairly tall, those would probably work fine. I got excited, but was leary because we had decided we didn’t want to spend money on clubs yet. Then he told us the price ($50) and the fact that as long as we kept the receipt, we could always return them and get credited for an upgraded set so I would basically be using the clubs for free (providing I liked it and wanted a better set)!! That was the clincher, so now I have my very own golf clubs and bag! He said we had perfect timing, as that set just came in yesterday—from someone who had done the same thing I did and was finally upgrading! I figure even if I end up not liking it or not playing very much, we only spent $50! (Well, $60—I got some colored golf balls!)

So we’re planning on going to the driving range either tonight or tomorrow and then I have the clinic at the end of the month. I’m really looking forward to this and I really hope I like it. I’ll be sure to keep everyone updated!

Fun Friday Night

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It started in the afternoon, with a team shopping trip to “the staplers” as we like to call it! I was extremely excited, because our list included a new laser printer and new scanner for me (upgrading from an inkjet all-in-one)!! Of course, I also enjoyed talking with all my buds there—I really miss them! Then, since we had all driven there separately (long story), Sue decided to call it a day and thought we should all head for Chili’s! So, we did! A few margaritas later, I actually had to leave for dinner with friends—my usual sushi buddies wanted to do something different, so they had picked Mexican. As luck would have it, it was at a restaurant right down the street! So I left one gathering to join another! In Jacksonville’s version of It’s A Small World, my friends brought one of their friends—actually, a classmate from a college class—and turns out, she knew Sue, my boss! She was the daughter of one of Sue’s old co-workers! We had a good time, then I headed back over to Chili’s where the gang was still hanging out having fun! We had a few more drinks and whatnot, and I’m just now getting home at 10pm! I made some comment along the way of “I won’t be able to do this as much when my husband comes home because I’ll want to go home to be with him…” and Sue said “No! He can just come join us!” Cool! I love my new boss!

T&W Oyster Bar

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$ • 2383 N.C. Hwy. 58, near Cape Carteret • (252)393-8838
Since 1971, T&W has had customers coming from near and far for steamed oysters served in rustic surroundings — even a roaring fire when the weather is right. Try the combination of two or more seafood items, steak, chicken or a burger. Guests will also find sandwiches made with fried shrimp, oysters, scallops or fish. T&W serves beer and wine and has an ABC license for brown-bagging. Don’t let the line fool you — the restaurant can accommodate close to 250 people, and the bar can handle anyone who stops by to feast on steamed oysters. Banquet facilities are available on site.

I had a few firsts tonight.

  • I ate oysters that were shucked for me (no self-shucking, thankyouverymuch).
  • I ate the best scallops of my life.
  • I choked on a Rooster.
  • I left an unfinished bottle of Smirnoff Ice on the counter.

Let me explain.

T&W’s was supporting Relay for Life by donating 10% of the night’s take. Jane and Dick wanted to go…so we went (and I’ve been wanting to try this place since it was recommended to me right after we moved here). Oysters aren’t my favorite seafood, but they’re not bad, so I was game. The cool thing? I discovered that they’re much better when someone else does the shucking! And I learned the proper way to eat them is on a cracker. Who knew?

We also ordered scallops and spicy shrimp. And the scallops were just TO DIE FOR! I haven’t eaten scallops many times in my life, but these easily topped the scale. So much so that we quickly ate the first side order and ordered another (which, unfortunately, we had to stuff down because we got so full—but we refused to let them go to waste).

So we’re drinking and eating and drinking and eating and the talk turns to a Rooster. What’s a Rooster, you ask? It’s their “specialty”—it sounded fairly hideous but with all the joking (including joking with our shucker), it was determined that I would do one. I tried to say no, but they weren’t having it. So, he starts building this in front of me: a saltine cracker topped with horseradish (then more horseradish—probably 2 TBS), topped with an oyster, sprinkled with pepper, sprinkled with two types of hot sauce, cocktail sauce, jalapeno juice, then a jalapeno slice. 88| I AM NOT KIDDING YOU. (There may have even been another few layers of hot sauce but I lost track.) It was literally 2″ tall so this wasn’t going to be a quick throw down. It looked pretty bad, but Dick said it wasn’t THAT bad (he’d had one the last time he was there). So, I went for it. OH. MY. GOD. You know when you watch TV shows and contestants have to choke something down and it looks like they’re going to upchuck right in the middle of eating it? Well, friends, that was me. IT WAS FREAKING DISGUSTING. I was sweating, my mouth was burning, my nose was running—and in the middle of all this action, I actually had to physically stop myself from throwing it up right at the bar. Jane and Dick were laughing and pointing and telling me I was turning red. Oh, what fun! LOL. I managed to choke most of it down, but spit out a huge chunk. Wow, horrible. (I honestly think it wouldn’t have been that bad without all the horseradish.)

So…then our second order of scallops came out and I wasn’t really that hungry anymore and it was all I could do to not vomit just thinking about that stupid Rooster (two hours later and I’m still a little squeamish about it). So it was about this time that our shucker guy came back, saw that I did the Rooster, and brought me another drink. I had said “no more!” but he brought it and opened it anyway. I was so full and so nauseous that I could only take about 4 sips of the drink and I left the rest there. (An unfinished bottle—alcohol abuse!)

But, all in all it was a fun time. I will definitely go back for the scallops (I think I’m off oysters for awhile).

Is it over yet?

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Oh. My. God. How dreadfully boring. Not that there was really EVER any question in my mind as to whether or not I was into politics, but last night definitively confirmed it. Neither Jane nor Dick are political, either, so we had fun making fun and talking amongst ourselves.

PartyThe best part of the night for me was being able to dress up for the occasion.

Turns out the only reason we were there, really, was because the head commissioner or President of the Republican Committee (or Head Poobah or whatever his title is, I forget already) is also a builder who “gave” Jane some new construction listings…if she bought these tickets! (You have to figure $100 is a small price to pay for the eventual commissions!)

But this meant we had to sit through THREE HOURS of The Glorification of all Things Republican, hallelujah to God Almighty. (When things seemed over-the-top, I had to remind myself that we were the ones out of place. We were in the middle of 250 staunch republican supporters.) There were introductions and awards and more awards and speakers and music (hoo boy, the music—I actually said to Dick “These people either know the mayor or they gave a large contribution.”) and then finally dinner. A BUFFET. What? A buffet dinner for $50? Oh, that’s right. What was I thinking? We were at a FUND-RAISER, which means the dinner is half that and the other is a donation to the Party. Eeesh. But the food wasn’t too bad (I almost took a full plate of mashed potatoes, then stopped myself!).

We passed the evening nicely by drinking (and drinking…and drinking)—in honor of Tom! Yes, it’s true! Dick and I drank Tom Collins’ all night!! Jane was buying, so I figured why not? There have to be SOME benefits to this evening, right? (I also told her later that these benefits were MUCH better than any I ever got at Staples!) During dinner there was more music (we were right next to them so they were TOO loud and therefore way too distracting) and then more awards and more talking and blah blah blah blah blah blah. I swear I felt like I was in Charlie Brown’s class—you know how the teacher sounds!

Then it was time for the keynote speaker—some guy who didn’t win governor but is apparently going to be running again. Lovely. Oh my, did he talk WAY TOO LONG. You can’t keep people’s interest for 25 minutes right after they’ve eaten a big meal—especially if you are a losing gubernatorial candidate. (But then again, I’m not Republican. Maybe they thought he was great.) He wasn’t a great speaker, either—good, but not great. I could listen and pay attention to any great speaker talking about anything…but my mind wandered with him and I just keep looking at my watch. And drinking.

Then, mercifully, it was over…and we were out the door like a shot…across the hall back to the bar! (Can you see a pattern here?) I was done drinking by that time (since I had to drive home later) so I just finished my drink while we visited and Jane went around talking to all the people she knew. I got to talk to Dick and learned more about him and his life, so that was cool. About 11, we headed back to Jane’s and started to watch a movie. I was getting tired and really wanted to come home (although she said I could crash there if I wanted) so I was home by midnight.

So, it was a fun night out with friends…but I never need to go to a Republican fundraiser again!

Republican Dinner

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You’ll never guess what I’m doing Saturday night. 🙁

Going to a Republican dinner. HA. HAHAHAHA, I know.

I sort of got suckered into it…one of those sorta-work things that I found it hard to say no to to get out of. Jane just came in and said “Can you rustle up a date for this Saturday?” Long story short, she has two tickets to this Republican dinner thingy (at the Country Club—ooh la la) and a local celebrity (store owner) said he’d give her two more tickets if she wanted them. I told her I doubt I could rustle up anyone (especially not on such short notice) so Kathy (another agent from down the hall that’s close with Jane and Dick) is going to go. So, I didn’t really say I’d go or that I wanted to go, but it was just sort of assumed and before I could weasel my way out of it with some great excuse, I was meeting them at Jane’s at 5:30.

Oh boy.

Not only am I NOT political in the least, if I had to choose, I’d go with Democrat. Like I want to waste a night of my life listening to politicians babble about who knows what, just for a free $50 dinner?

But just think, Tom…you’ll surely get roped into this shit when you come home!!!! BWAHAHAHAHAHA.

PITA New Home Buyers

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Wow. Having worked in real estate for just over two months (just over one if you don’t count my vacations!), I have to say that certain new home buyers are a TOTAL pain in the ass! We have one lady in particular…her file is about 1″ thick with all her correspondence about what she wants and doesn’t want and things she wants changed and added and deleted and things that don’t meet her approval. Oh. My. God. Every time she calls you know it’s going to be another problem. Nothing can be simple.

You want upgraded carpet padding? Fine. But not her…she only wants it on the second floor. Which necessitates a call to the builder to see if we can even do that and how much it is. Then she wants to buy her own windows. No. How about just the one picture window? No. Can you take this wall out? Yes. Can you change this wall to include an arch so we can put a window there? No. Where are those windows that are supposed to be there? You didn’t ask for them in time. Well I want them now. We’ll they are $250 each since they have to be reframed. I’m not paying $500 for two windows. Well then you’re not getting two windows. And I could go on and on and on.

You know what? If you have THIS many specifications, why don’t you build your own house from SCRATCH. Don’t come in to a pre-designed house and make 42 million changes. It annoys us AND it annoys the builder.

Granted not everyone is like this… but I certainly hope WE weren’t this bad!

Coldwell Banker Awards Night

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We got free dinner at Ducks, a local hot spot, so why not go, right? 🙂 It was actually pretty good—I know more people now than I did at the Christmas party, so I didn’t feel quite as uncomfortable. And of course, Jane and Dick saved me a seat with them, so that was great! (They are so cool—I love them!) There was an open bar (great!) and great appetizers (the garlic bread and crab dip was TO DIE FOR). Let’s just say it’s a good thing I saved up my carbs all week for this night…three Amaretto Sours, probably a half loaf of the yummy garlic bread, and Pasta Alfredo! DEE-licious!

But the most awe-inspiring part of the night was the awards. The staggering amounts of money involved overall were unbelievable (well, maybe just for a newbie to real estate). Of course they had Top Rental Agent and the Million Dollar Club, but that’s nothing compared to the level my boss is at! In 2004, Onslow County had something like $285,000,000 in sales (approximately 2800 homes). Our office did (approximately) $44,000,000 in 2004 (compared to like $32M in 2003). Of that $44M, my boss was responsible for 25% of that, or $11,000,000 (give or take a few thousand). I knew she was a player, but I didn’t realize she accounted for 25% of the entire office’s sales! She received Top Lister, Top Sales, and International President’s Premier (I think it was). Phew!

Jane then thanked her “team” and gave Dick and me a card and gift certificate! (Tom, we’re going to Rucker Johns when you get home!) Then, to top off the evening, Countrywide Mortgage (the mortgage people in our building) had a drawing for a $40 gift certificate to Pier One…and I won! YIPPEE! I also got to take home one of the glass fishbowl centerpieces!

There were only two slightly not-good things about the evening (and I say not-good because they don’t really even classify as bad). First, it was cold and very rainy…and we happened to be on the enclosed patio…so they had those large patio heaters going…which created condensation…so we were constantly being dripped on throughout the night! Second, and I didn’t realize it until I got home…I smelled like smoke! There was NO smoking in our room, I didn’t smell smoke the entire time I was there, and the only access I had to smoke was on the 10 second walk to the patio and the 10 second walk back outside. Yuck!

But, all in all a very nice night!

Tom’s Daily Grind

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My day usually starts around 9:30pm. I jump off the top bunk and get on my shower shoes, get my shower kit and towel, and head out to the community showers. The showers aren’t anything like MASH and they aren’t buildings either–they are mobile shower trailers with 16 stalls per trailer. They are nicer than some of the camp sites we have stayed at (pics will come later). The trailers also have six sinks in the middle of the trailer that separate the eight pairs of shower stalls. After I get cleaned it is back to the house, Building 223, where I talk to my roommates and get dressed. After some always enjoyable conversation I head out to the Palace/COC (Operations HQ). I check in with the outgoing watch and then head to late dinner and then hurry up to start my watch.

Work consists of watching the many communications links from our adjacent units and our command unit 1MEF. We have software that lets us know when something goes out and how long it has been down. I then have to contact our Systems office and find out the problem and estimated time of recovery. When that is complete, I log in the entries into our log as well as 1MEF’s logs. I also wait until the problems have been fixed and update the logs accordingly. I also am incharge of the Help Desk in the COC. I have four marines who fix the various computer issues that arise in a state of the art war-fighting center.

Around 5:30am, I head back to the chow hall for my last meal of the day, breakfast. One thing about the food out here? It is outstanding! For breakfast I usually have the egg chef make me a western omelette, and I get sausage and hash browns. Yummy! Then it is back to the office, where I wait for around 7am (0700) and the usual round of enemy mortars to land in the Euphrates river behind me. They aren’t very good shots, really. They have to run into their positions and fire as quickly as they can and run away before we lower the hand of pain on them. We can quickly triangulate their positions and fire on them with 155mm high explosive artillery, usually around 6-8 shot vollies. A 155mm shell is roughly the size of a 2½ foot long coffee can. I would not want to be anywhere near that display! Needless to say those little buggers don’t have time to aim, so we stand back and watch the show.

My watch ends at 8am and then I have a meeting at 9am. I then get my lifting partner, a Warrant Officer, who is a programmer and has the watch before me, and head out to the gym. We have started going to the gym about six days a week, this breaks up the daily grind! After the gym, I try to fall asleep and turn over a new page in my Iraqi notebook.

Good news…and bad news.

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So I get a call at work today from one of the managers at the Jacksonville Staples. He basically just called to say hello, let me know they were excited to get me, and let me know he got the paperwork—and to see if I had any questions for him. I asked about the letter for the mortgage company and he had no idea. Lovely. I said all the information was faxed at the same time as the transfer paperwork…but he didn’t get that part. Okaaaay. So I explained to him what I needed and said I’d refax the info to him and he said it shouldn’t be a problem. Then I explained about my start date—why it would probaly be July 1 and he was okay with it. He did tell me that they really need someone now, but they will hold the position for me until I get there. So, that’s good. But then he says “So, did Todd talk to you about salary at all?” and I said no. He said “I see here on your paperwork that you make $9.25 an hour. Unfortunately, the highest I can start you at is $8.00—which is $2/hour more than I normally start people at.” My heart almost stopped. I mean, I had known in the very back of my mind that it was possible, but I honestly didn’t think it would happen. He went on to tell me that the Specialists there make about that much (as I make now), so he couldn’t give me that. Then he said “How does that sit with you?” And I told him I didn’t really have much choice as I really needed the job. But man, that’s a huge pay cut for me. It’s like starting all over—back to when I was hired. And that really sucks. He gave me the song and dance about how the cost of living is cheaper down there and all, but still. That’s a huge pay cut for me. But what can you do? At least I can be thankful I have a job.

Staples transfer in progress.

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Tom had called our mortgage guy the day before just to check in and see how things were going. Everything was going fine, except that he said he was still waiting for a letter from the Jacksonville Staples regarding my transfer. Um, excuse me? Still waiting? He had told me before that we would probably need the letter, but he would let us know for sure. We hadn’t heard anything so I wasn’t worrying about the letter. So, now I had to. I talked to my General Manager and explained everything, so he called the Jacksonville Staples right then. Of course, I was paranoid that they would say they no longer had room for me…so imagine my surprise when it was the total opposite! Long story short, they would take me today if I could be down there. When my GM told them my start date would probably be July 1 (a sensible date I gave him, since we’re moving on the 19th and are planning at least an 8-day trip to Michigan)—the manager said if I could get there sooner, it would be appreciated. Hoo boy. So, I’m not sure what I’m going to do about my start date, but at least it’s great to know they still do want me and are looking forward to me arriving. So the paperwork has been faxed, and I’m giving it a few days before I call to check on their letter to the mortgage company.

On an actual house note, Tom called our contractor to check and see when the house would be done (since no one has given us a date so far). He said it should be completed by May 13, which is about two weeks before closing. We are trying to decide whether or not to go down that following weekend to see everything, or just wait until closing. I hate to make two trips so close together, but I don’t think either of us will be able to wait until closing!