Now I’ll admit, I work very hard not to be too prideful about my own opinion. It just always seems to me that this one thing avoids a lot of mess, overall, and in particular, the unfortunate circumstance of thinking your opinion is somehow “naturally” better than anyone else’s (because, you know, we all think that unless we work at it). But, on occasion, I’ll riff something out without letting “the editor” get her hands on it and, on even rarer occasion, that something I look back at a day or two later and say to myself, “Wow, you know, […]
Just call me “Cassandra” (grins to you-know-who)
On September 3rd, 2011, the prediction made long ago came true: To anyone who might still be reading this newsgroup: Over the past few years, a couple of us have been funding the panix account at which the moderation software for this newsgroup is hosted. Given the minuscule traffic here, and what looks like the imminent death of usenet, it’s hard to justify the $100/year that it’s costing us to keep the lights on here. The billing cycle has the account up for renewal on 9/15/2011 and our current intention is not to continue paying for the account. If there’s […]
Yet another reason I know I made the right choice
As you may know if you read here, I recently decided to change jobs/companies and began with a new company in February. Among the many reasons I did not and will not share, I now have another to add which I will share, as I am sitting here both astonished and disgusted (though, admittedly, given the many reasons for this change, I probably should not be surprised). While with this previous company, I opened an FSA account. The account was funded fully by my own contributions, with no employer contributions or matching. Having experienced the benefit of being able to […]
Adventures in housing… continue!
So… as of roughly ten minutes ago, we have mutual acceptance on a contract to purchase a house. Two weeks of vigorous back and forth and more terms, counters, and revisions than expected, but here we are…. now, it’s waiting on final construction to complete, doing the buyer’s walk through and deciding if I accept or reject the final construction outcome and, if so, THEN the remainder of the actual contract kicks in with all its ten days to formal housing inspection, five days for loan completion, etc. Fortunately for me, I was doing most of that loan paperwork and […]
Offending sellers (oh my!)
I mentioned in a previous post that we are back on the house hunt. Our first offer went in this morning and, whaddaya know, by noon we had a response. A little backstory here… We went to view one house, noticed another was under reno, and due to a curious encroachment of a fence between the two, discovered both had the same owner. A quick call to inquire and lo! The reno house was available and they were interested in entertaining an offer on a pre-sale contract. We were scheduled to meet the agent and the contractor at the house […]
Annnd here we go again!
Back to the house hunting, we go! Have the eye on a house which is undergoing current renovation and offering quite a few perks above and beyond what one would normally find on market. Met with the owner (!) today and walked through, talking about options, preferences, color choices, etc and, based upon the discussion, we’re sending an offer over tomorrow that incorporates the items from the discussion and the usual contingencies. I find I’m much calmer on this than I have been in the past. I suppose two years of looking, finding, offering, going under contract, only to have […]
Sleep deprivation due to sickness
You ever been so sick that you couldn’t lay down (because your nose closes up), sitting up makes your head hurt, and semi-prone just invokes some level of both? Well, that is where I am at the moment and have been since roughly Friday night. Ugh. I felt that familiar “tickle” in my throat on Thursday and ignored it. Shoulda known better. Today, the fever finally broke. Now it’s just the aforementioned discomfort and getting some semblance of moisture in my sinuses. So, for lack of being able to do much otherwise, I set the laptop up and gamed from […]
Nascent foolishness and fun
A morning at the “salon” for cut and color finds me feeling decidedly un-aged, hah! To commemorate the moment, the following shots of frivolity and general vanity; I must say, a dash of color and a new do really shift my perspective. :) [singlepic id=1032 w=160 h=120 float=] [singlepic id=1033 w=160 h=120 float=] [singlepic id=1034 w=160 h=120 float=]
Fuego, fripperies, and fun
Today was a fun-filled day; buckwheat pancakes and morning bounciness followed by a day touring the town center and goofing off along the way. We wound up goobering around in Fuego, a franchise shop specializing in fun things for pretty much any occasion and found these ridiculous bits of head-gear that, apparently, are quite popular with the snow-boarding crowd (of which my daughter is now a firmly ensconced member). Needless to say, with her iPhone handy, it wasn’t long until a memory in pixels was made: After this, a spot of lunch and roaming aimlessly until time to pick up […]
Homeward bound…
Today, I am one step closer to once again being a home-owner. We have a soft acceptance (paperwork being completed today to make it firm) on the house and the last night was spent prepping, scanning, and sending up the paperwork required to begin the rate lock and underwriting process. Tuesday is the home inspection (with all manner of incense being burned and generally energy being spent toward mindful neutrality… mostly failed), and with all good fortune, we’re ready but for receiving the close date and actually getting down to the business of actually moving (which will likely be sometime […]