Redwolf's Journal (continued)

Food poisoning twice in one week. *shudder* Not fun.

Redwolf is a Tiny Robot that swallows Aeroplanes Whole, Hovers Eerily, has Four Sets of Teeth and a Massively Swollen Skull, and eats Nuclear Waste. Strength: 1 Agility: 6 Intelligence: 13 To see if your Giant Battle Monster can defeat Redwolf, enter your name and choose an attack: fights Redwolf using Strength Agility Intelligence

So, I'm still poking at the housing market. Bleh. Bleak, bleak, bleak. But I have some measure of hope, and I'm managing to laugh now when I find a property has been sold. Heh. In the last twelve hours, though, I've also allowed myself a little flight of memory-based fancy. For whatever reason, I got to thinking about the Wing Commander games - some of my favorite computer games, and a reason for a moment's confusion anytime someone abbreviates Warcraft 3 as WC3. Great games. Lots of fun. Heck, I even have a Wing Commander hat. And, perhaps in a sign of pre-concious furriness, I always really liked the Kilrathi. I miss the series, but Origin isn't what it was. People have left the company and it's been absorbed by EA. I doubt there'll be another WC game. But I have my memories and imagination, at least. So, I visualized out a the plotline for a story that would overlap with the 3-4-Prophecy timeline. It'd make a good fanfic... if I felt more desire t

So, I *almost* managed to have a 'day off' this weekend without any serious concern. Saturday, I worked for a few hours. I was actually planning to put in about an hour and go catch a movie, but I was waylaid and didn't get out in time, so I stayed around and took care of other details that needed work. Sunday, I did make it to the movie. "Pirates" certainly could have used a shorter name and actually felt... a little long to me, but it was good. It was a reminder that CGI really has come a long way. I still don't find CGI humans convincing in their look or movement, but it makes for excellent undead. People said "no plotholes" and I was skeptical. Having seen it, I can say there were a few parts that stretch belief a bit, but nothing seemed to break it. Impressive, that. What I liked most, however, wasn't the effects or characters (which were good) or the undead monkey. Actually, what I enjoyed most was seeing the character planning, and the

*yawn* Feels like a long day. Looks at three places. 1: Leftover from before. Less brutalized than the other one in the same building. Nice, high ceiling. Still rather bare and nothing special. List price: $110,000. 2: Nearby, a nice little downstairs condo. Two bedrooms, one nice and large. Two bathrooms. Two glass sliding doors (with insulated covers). A fireplace. The kitchen is sorta in the middle of everything, but rather nice. I liked it. A lot. List price: $141,000. That puts it out of my realistic price range. 3: A little farther out on Florida Road. Two bedrooms. Two floors. 1 and a half bathrooms. Reasonably good kitchen. A little wear here and there that could stand to be fixed, but nothing serious. The master bedroom is quite spacious. Nice. I liked this one too. List price: $129,900. That's right around the 'gosh, I might be able to survive on what's left after monthly expenses' line. Far tighter than I would like, but possibly doable.

So, in a few hours, I'll be off to look at the place I didn't get into Saturday. I still don't hold out much hope for it. Unless the kitchen is vastly better than what I saw in the other unit, it's not worth the trouble. And I still don't care for the idea of college students as primary neighbors, and doing laundry in a laundry room. And my dad jumped in a bit. I fear I vented a little much yesterday, and made him plainly aware of my frustration with the situation (though not with him). He contacted a real estate agent he knows. She's working on setting up a viewing for me of another condo this evening. Glancing at the write-up of one in the same complex, it seems okay. It's... at the high end of what I can practically afford, though. With a rough guess at the homeowners' fees (which is lower than some I've seen) and a rough guess of utilities (which is probably a touch high), I'd be watching about $1200 drop to just over $300 each month, that

Mood directly connected to amount of hope in house hunting. Sucks. So that mobile's under contract already too. Fuckin' skippy. With the school year coming up, this really is a poor time to be looking for a house. What choice do I have, though? No one's about to kick me out on the street, but Susan's already had my room measured for carpeting. Of course, to lay carpet, I (and very close to everything I own) need to be out of the way.

Hmm... feeling a little better today, though I can tell my mood's going to be topsy turvy for a while. Another viewing or two tomorrow. I have little hope for the condo we're off to see - the one I didn't make it into Saturday. The entire complex is too... college student-y for my tastes, but I'm still going to have a look. The other possibility at the moment is a mobile home. Now... I don't really care for mobile homes as a general rule. They're getting better as time goes on, but they just don't compare to a nice, solid house in my mind. But I'm looking anyway. Why? Well, it's a 3BD/2BA with more square footage than any place I've looked at yet that's closer to the center of town and cheap enough I wouldn't have to take out a loan at all. Location and access to city utilities is a little more important to me than traditional, sturdy construction - how much more important remains to be seen, I still have standards. If that looks like

So, of the three places I looked at Saturday, I sorta liked the first. Well, it's under contract. I've gone hunting further online and tracked down another that looked promising. It's under contract. I would have predicted this would be a difficult process, but I'd have thought it would be due to my own issues. Instead, it's the competition that seems to be killing me now. One thing after a-bloody-nother.

Mrrf. Feeling seriously down this morning. Here I am at work, feeling nothing for the place and convinced the company feels nothing for me. I've glanced at online property listings some more and things don't really look much better/cheaper for maybe thirty miles or so. It's sinking in that house-hunting it going to take time. And more than almost anything right now, I want this to just be over. *sigh* And that's not even going into the physical tension and headache I've had on-and-off since yesterday.

So I asked to view three condos, having seen write-ups on them. My real estate agent suggested a fourth too. Okay. So off we went. Property 1: A little pricier than I would have liked, but within the range of being worth making an offer on. One covered parking space, plus uncovered ones. Ground unit in a building with two downstairs and two up. The complex seemed quiet for being right off a fairly major road. The fireplace wasn't really an issue for me. The living area seems... cozy, but adequate. I found a small washer and dryer in a closet - handy, that. The kitchen area seemed a bit small too, but then I'm not expecting roominess in this price range. Refrigerator, electric stove, and a dishwasher that's seen better days. Okay. One bathroom in the hall, one off the main bedroom. All-in-all, it seemed fine. I had a couple questions that I've e-mailed to the listing agent. We'll see how that goes. Property 2: Right nearby, in a much larger complex. Two parking s

Well, I've often said being a computer tech sometimes approaches religion more than science: http://www.popsci.com/popsci/computers/article/0,12543,464015,00.html And they put what in whose pants?: http://www.popsci.com/popsci/science/article/0,12543,464024,00.html

Meh. Not much progress on a personal note today, been busy with a work crisis. "Upgrade Solaris or your circulation software won't work at the end of the month." So David upgraded it last night and guess what? Our circulation software stopped working today. Ugh. Contact support and it's "Oh, THAT. Yeah, Progress 8.3b has problems like this with Solaris 7." One of those things that would have been useful to know beforehand, eh? After much work, though, things seem to be to a point of stability once again. And people wonder why I get nervous about 'upgrades.' I need to set up a chance to look at a few prospective residences. I can do that now, with some measure of confidence. I still don't like putting myself in a position where Ramen may become a part of my diet, but it may be required. I knew I couldn't live a life of luxury for ever. *pout* Not likely to be much bailing out friends or payments to 'starving artist' funds anymore

And while I was out, my real estate agent stopped by. So, after a brief call, I walked over there (handy having everyone I need to talk to in a two-block radius from work). He made note of a condo offered by his agency, saying the owner would probably take less than the asking price, and it would be a good deal if they did. It was still more than I'm really looking for, but worth considering. So what's the punchline here? Well, he went on to mention his background was in biology. Fair enough. And he talked about how a wolf hunting caribou will often chase several before taking one down. O.o Okay... I can sorta see the comparison to looking at multiple properties before finding the right one, but I just couldn't bring myself to comment "Yeah, and the wolf is likely to bring down one that's old or sick." Somehow, that just didn't seem polite. Nice guy and all, but I can see I'm going to have to do more work and directing on the property side of thi

Well... went by the bank today. Pre-approval for a $80K purchase price? No problem. $110K? Why not? $125K? Sure. Seems lenders are willing to let me borrow whatever I may want (within reason). Somehow, I expected that to be a barrier. It's not. It's good news, and a relief, but it isn't a happily-ever-after just yet. The limiting financial factor is now: What do I feel comfortable paying every month? That's always been there, it's just now *the* bottom line as far as money goes. Scary. Exciting.

Well, gee... I had a long and detailed entry about my current status, and just lost it. Not sure I feel like writing it again. Feh. Summed up then: - Talked briefly to real estate agent - Message back from loan officer, sounds positive, trying to get in touch today for details - Converted savings bonds into funds in savings account, going to have to pay tax on the interest eventually - Learned much about homeowners associations - Concerned about miscellaneous expenses: cable, phone, internet, (whatever utilities not covered in HOA dues), food, purchasing of cookware/furniture as needed - Serious ups and down lately in emotion and confidence Yep. That sums it up.

Well, I just saw someone I haven't in years. It was a bit startling to hear "There's a Nikkie here to see you." Sure enough, there she was, passing through more-or-less on the way to an SCA even this weekend. That's enough to bring up some old thoughts and mixed feelings. And yes, pink hair. On the other front in my life, I'm waiting. I don't like it, but that's the way it goes. I was told pre-approval on a loan wouldn't take but maybe an hour, so I'd expected to hear something back by now. I have an appointment tomorrow afternoon with a real estate agent to discuss options and maybe dive right into checking out properties. So for the moment, I wait and see.

Talked to a mortgage loan broker this morning. I was nervous going in, I felt better coming out. I'll get in an application today or tomorrow and be pre-qualified for some amount probably on Monday. That's something.

My parents are getting that house after all. They made an offer and it was accepted. The closing date is th 29th. So... What sort of deadline this places on me is a little more vague. They may have things they want to do there before starting to move. They definitely want to do things to the house here before selling it, though we're talking things that require me to be out of the way to some extent. Heh. NOW they're going to finish the upstairs as a real bedroom. No, I'm not actually bitter about it. It means I really have to start the process ASAP. Probably the pressure will help me DO something. It is a bit stressful, though, to go from 'probably having to move sometime in the next 6-18 months' to 'any day now would be a good idea' in the space of about a week. They're offering help, and I'm reluctant to take it. I want, maybe even need, to do as much as I can on my own. We'll see how this goes. That part of my mind that's so very go

I don't handle change well. I'd probably blame that on moving with my mom time and again as a child. A psychologist could probably find a dozen other things to blame it on too. Whatever the reason, I don't like it. I get stressed out over the mere thought of lifestyle changes. I've worked at the same place (albeit different jobs) for over nine years now. How many people under age thirty can say that? But a little bit more background into my current state of mind. Last night, my dad and I went for a walk. It's a pretty rare event these days, and it was for the purpose of talking about the future. Not even the distant future. More talk about the possibility of my parents moving. He assured me it had nothing to do with me. He's good that way, and it had never crossed my mind. He also mentioned they were looking at a house. Now, looking at a house and looking at a lot on which to build a house (as they had been doing until recently) are very different things.

Is it a bad sign when you wake up after a weekend from a dream in which you chose not to go to work that day and love it? How about if you find yourself thinking, after your morning shower, your previous job may actually be better over the long haul? It got me thinking I might actually want to get my position in the production department back the next time it's available. It was stressful at times and I worked late once in a while, but I was never called in on the weekends or a day off. I'd be more likely to get a larger raise there with someone who actually does reviews and appreciates good work (as opposed to my position now where I have only upper management-types above me that just say "Is it that time again? Here's your three percent"). I would rather not interact more with the advertising manager, but as I'm assessing this it actually seems like it might be worth it. I don't know... If there were the opportunity right now, I'd feel guilty for

Friday: Not bad, even though I was driven from my room by uncomfortably high temperatures. Grilled steak for dinner. All-in-all, better than a work day. Saturday: Fairly nice, though no RPing - our GM was feeling ill after a couple games of Magic, so we wrapped up. So, April, Nina, and myself ended up chatting for a while and going out to dinner. Nice and relaxing. Sunday: Spent some time tweaking Morrowind. During the afternoon, I sat down and turned on the TV to find Terminator 2 starting. After watching a few moments, I thought "Gee, I could go watch T3 instead." And thus I did. Decent action flick, but it gets into actual paradox areas where the previous two managed to not go beyond the making of temporal loops. My least favorite of the three, though. And for as much destruction as they cause in their requisite car chase, I preferred the highway scene in Matrix Reloaded.