Lingering Thoughts

Time:

6:37 pm.

I don't know if anyone is interested, but I have a bunch of stuff that needs to go.

1. dresser - free

2. White shelving unit with four shelves. It has doors. I got it about 6-7 months ago, if not before at $100. It's not free, but it's cheap (B/0)

3. Dining room set. The table is black iron in an ivy design and it has a glass piece to go on top of it. It comes with four chairs, which are a bit beat up. It also has a matching serving table that is black and glass. I just need to make sure I can find the screws to put it together. Again, cheap and B/O.

4. Black and glass coffee table with matching corner tables (2). Cheap/ B/O

5. Lots and lots of clothes. They are free.

6. Books. I couldn't stand to part with most of my books, but I do have some, including some Buffy books I picked up at a yard sale and never read. Again, free.

6. Lots and lots of random crap. Most of it free.

Is there some quote or something that says, "On man's trash is another man's treasure?"

Anyway, if you're interested in any of it, let me know and come by the house tomorrow night. Tomorrow is our final packing night, so we plan on being home to get everything ready for the movers. Just let me know if you want to come by and take a look at anything.

You know where to find me.

Comments: Read 9 or Add Your Own.

Subject:	bounce
Time:	2:51 pm.

I just called to check on my car payments and I found out that I only have $900 left to pay on the car!

This is good for several reasons:

1) I will officially own the car.
2) I will have successfully completed my first loan, having never been late with a payment. This will improve my credit, which is something I am anal about.
3) I will have an easier time selling the car because I won't have to worry about transferring the loans or anything like that.
4) I will have one less monthly bill to pay.
5) While the car has needed to be fixed several times, there was only one outlandishly expensive time. The car is been pretty good to me these past few years and it's been worth what I have paid for it and it will continue to do so since it is still in good condition.

My monthly payments are only $163.89 a month, so I could take my time and finish it off in the next 6 months or so. I am really tempted to just pay it off now, but I am not making any major spendings until I have some form of income. However, I had already planned to pay the KIA off as soon as I started making money. I just expected to still have a few thousand dollars left on it.

Yay!

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Subject:	I should just go to bed.
Time:	12:33 am.
Mood:	ready to drop.

I am completely exhausted. After signing the closing, I packed up the entire van on my own and then drove it to Waltham and unpacked the entire thing on my own. I could have waited for

network to get home from work, but I wanted to get started. I think I get a sense of satisfaction from moving. I like the manual labor and the heavy lifting. I like that I can carry heavy things and I enjoy pushing myself to the limits.

The problem is that I don't notice when it's pushed beyond the limit. By the end of the night, I was ready to drop. I hadn't eaten very much and I had been running around all day. I became somewhat cranky and irritable.

network encouraged me to slow down and pace myself because I was speeding around. We also ordered food, which helped.

Now I'm just tired. I'm not in a bad mood, but I am more likely to frustrate quickly. I found out that they shut our phones off early. So, we now have a phone in Waltham but not here. This is less than thrilling, as I had set aside tomorrow morning to make a bunch of job-related phone calls tomorrow. I can use my cell phone, but I really don't like doing that. It's too small and for some reason, I find it harder to focus on the phone call when I am using it (yes, I know this is me being crazy). It's possible that this is because I'm not used to using it or I don't like holding something that small against my big head.

Whatever, I'll deal. It just didn't help my cranky mood.
However, sleep will help. My muscles are sore and I have blisters, but sleep will help.
Thankfully, we have movers to do the big stuff.

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Subject:	Well that was interesting.
Time:	3:51 pm.

We had the closing this morning. We did the walkthrough and then headed to the lawyer's office for

network to sign what seemed like a million papers.

A bit of background info.
The previous tenant was Vin Baker, former basketball player for the Celtics.
The owner is some big sports club owner/manager who lives out in California and couldn't be there for the closer.
Those attending the closing including

network, myself, the scummy broker, and the owner's lawyer.

The scummy broker showed up and then tried to leave within about 5 minutes, but C's lawyer requested that he stay. Originally, the house was supposed to be repainted (to cover some of the damage done when the previous tenant moved out) and cleaned. While the place was swept, it was definitely not clean and we have to hire a cleaning crew to come and scrub down the walls, windows, carpets, etc. Since the owner didn't have enough time to do all of that himself, he was going to give us the money to paint it and clean it ourselves. He made an offer of $500, which would only cover the paint. When we tried to argue for him covering the cleaning chargers, his broker kept arguing and playing hardball. He said that he purposefully left us the food in the cabinets and the previous tenants socks and dog food and such because we may want to keep them as souveniers or auction them off at Ebay. Umm, no. Thanks but no thanks.

So while the scummy broker is bitching and moaning about how we're just trying to get more money. He insisted that he had some people come in a clean the place, but when I asked him to provide a receipt for services, he said he didn't have one. Meanwhile, the owner's lawyer (who was really nice), calls the owner in California and tells him the situation. Without hesitating, the owner offers us $1000. No problem, as that was what we had felt was a fair price. Thank god the lawyer was sane, because the scummy broker has been so difficult throughout this whole thing. C, his lawyer, and I were ready to kill him by the time the whole thing was over. Thankfully, after two hours, everything was settled and signed and we now have the key! It was definitely an interesting experiment in negotiation.

Then C and I ran over the UHAUL to hire a small van so we can take some stuff over tonight. C went to work and I headed back to the Somerville house. When I got to the house, I realized I didn't have my house keys. Crap. Luckily, one of the windows was unlocked, so I was able to get in, although I set off the alarm.

Then I loaded up the van with some of our breakables and clothes and stuff. That was definitely my exercise

Now, I'm exhausted and I'm going to try and slip in a nap before C gets home and we drive the van over to the new place.

*bounce* Yay house!

Comments: Read 7 or Add Your Own.

Time:	11:14 pm.
Mood:	excited.

Due to the rain,

network and I didn't go to the lilac show. Instead, he ended up working and I ended up packing. We're in pretty good shape for the move. The movie room, my room, the dining room, and the living room are pretty much all packed up. The kitchen is almost done, except for a few pots and pans and the food. We're going to do the final walkthrough of the house tomorrow morning and then we're going to sign the papers and (hopefully) get the key. Neither of us trust the seller's broker, so we're a bit worried he'll try and screw us somehow. So far there hasn't been one episode where he hasn't been shady, so we'll see.

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Time:	8:09 pm.
Mood:	pleased.

Today went really well.
I was asked to give a talk about culture differences in internet communication at a conference today. It was just a little conference and I only spoke for about 15-20 minutes. Still, it went really well. Several people approached me afterward to ask for my card and to ask if I would ever consider speaking at larger conferences and/or if I would consider consulting to grade school teachers on how to help kinds learn how to use the internet.

I had a whole Powerpoint presentation and a bunch of handouts, all of which they felt was valuable.

I don't know if anything will become of the people asking me that, but it was nice to know that they enjoyed my presentation, liked what I had to say, and wanted me to say more.

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Time:

3:49 pm.

I can't help but wish that I didn't have to do that training tomorrow. I know it will be fun, but right now it just feels like an obligation. Still, it will be a nice resume builder and I can pimp out Leadership Consulting.

I've been trying to figure out how I want to build my career. Right now, I'm looking for a job, so I haven't really been focusing on the career aspect. Some may ask what the difference is. The difference is in my area of expertise. I consider doing things like tomorrow's training to be a career builder. In some ways, a job in HR will help me with that, but it's not entirely what I want. If I could do anything, I would want to do local consulting, trainings, and talks. I'm part of several professional organizations and I want to give talks at the conference. Eventually, i want to be able to focus enough to write a few books. Essentially, I want to become a name in the field of I/O and/or Internet communication.

I know I've been a bit busy and distracted lately, but it might be a good idea to take this time of no employment to work on career stuff.

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Time:

6:27 pm.

That little black furrball of a cat is going to be the death of me. Anytime he hears me coming, he books it out of the room. If I don't expect him to come whizzing past me, he ends up scaring the hell out of me. This has happened several times now.

We finally decided to officially call him Batman. This was the name we had originally like, but we were not sure if it fit him. After several months, we decided it does.

In addition to the fact he's a black cat, he's definitely got the whole angsty traumatic childhood thing (he was feral), and he really only comes out at night and then slinks away, and he's not terribly social. Plus, the way he zooms all over the place is somewhat Batmanesqe.

So, his name is Batman.

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Subject:	Moving update
Time:	1:31 pm.

This moving thing is confusing. I can't tell if we're in good shape or bad shape. We've been busy packing boxes, but there is still so much stuff around. Yet, most of that stuff will be gone when the movers take care of it. So, as far as things that we can actually put in boxes, I think we're doing okay. It just doesn't seem like it I guess part of me expected that the house would look empty or something. It just looks like it usually does, except there are boxes everywhere.

Monday night we went to Jordans and got really comfy couches, some small tables, a mirror, a dresser, and a rug. I am okay with decorating some things, but I'm not sure how the whole rug thing works. A lot of the rugs just seemed to be very busy and patterned. I tend to like simple and elegant patterns. However, I have to be careful that doesn't melt into bland, especially since we're going with a lot of beige and cream tones, with maple furniture. Still, I am learning that I have style trend and what things are very "me." C is pretty open to whatever, just as long as there isn't any wicker or I don't pick out anything too floral or unattractive. As that stuff doesn't really interest me, it hasn't been a problem. It's amusing to me that I end up picking out stuff that my mom would like. I love the way my mom decorates, so I guess that isn't too surprising. Now I just have to see what it looks like in the house.

Anyway, next Monday is the closing. Then we move on Thursday. Next week will be very busy, as we have cleaners, an electrician, a security guy, roofers, and the Jordans delivery people coming to the house.

I guess it's good that I am not working at the moment. It gives me more free time to pack and be there for this stuff.

Okay, back to packing.

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Subject:	Thoughts of the day
Time:	2:54 pm.

1. I added an internet access plan to my phone so I was finally able to get some decent ringtones. My phone came with some of the worst rings tones ever, including one that was of a screeching cat. I now have Fur Elise and some Enya tones. Happy.

2. I just watched a woman driving massive cadillac turn around on our street and then proceed to drive the wrong way up the one way street. Our street is formed like a U, with a dead end at the end of the first street in the U. Instead of taking a left to get out of the block, she drove to the dead end and did a three point turn with her massive car and then, instead of taking that left, drive the wrong way on a one way street. I am struck my how huge those cars are. When she backed into the curb, the end of her car covered the entire width of the sidewalk. Unless, you're carting dead bodies around, I'm not sure why one would have a car that big. Then again, after watching her driving, maybe I shouldn't even be bothering to bring logic into this.

3.

network passes papers on the house next Monday. Hopefully, by this time next week, we'll have the keys to the house. The movers are coming the following Thursday, so we need to have the house all packed up and ready. The last time I helped to move a whole house, I was 10. I can't help but feel a bit overwhelmed and disorganized, which I know it normal, since moving tends to be a chaotic thing.

4. I had a good time in Scituate. It was quiet and a little boring. My mom was sick, so I am really hoping I don't catch whatever she had. I got home at about midnight last night, after watching the Survivor finale with my parents. Go ahead and mock Survivor as you will, but it's still interesting to watch from an organizational behavior perspective. I'm glad All Stars is over, so a new season with new people can begin.

5. The job search is still going. I keep checking and sending resumes each day. WinterWyman sent my resume to the place in Mansfield, so I may be hearing from them soon. I am really hoping that something else will come up, as a daily commute to Mansfield isn't exactly top on my list of things I want to do. Still, a job is a job.

6. I'm still working on decorating ideas for the house and I am having a lot of fun doing it. In a way, it's my form of art, since I have no drawing skills to speak of. I enjoy decorating and putting little touches around the yes. Yes, that is my domestic side coming out.

7. This week is going to be busy. Tomorrow, I have a meeting with my advisor and then class. I have to a paper to write, an interview to conduct, and a conference/training to prepare for. Thursday, I am hoping to have enough time to play softball with

quinnclub. Saturday, I am presenting at the conference, and then Sunday

network and I are heading over to Lilac Sunday at the Arboretum. In between all of that, I will be packing like a madwoman.

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Time:	1:51 pm.
Mood:	calm.

It's been a nice day so far.

I was woken up at 8:30 but some construction people working on one of the docks in the harbor. I was able to put on my headphones and go back to sleep until 10:30, when I was woken up by my dad. As some people know, I am not an instant morning person. I usually need about 15-20 minutes to fully wake up. So I stumble out into the kitchen to pour myself some cereal, when my dad insists that I go and sit outside on the balcony. This concept is a bit too advanced for me when I am still half asleep, but I go along with it, and sit outside, instead of back in my bed, where I wanted to be. It actually turned out to be quite nice and refreshing. It's beautiful outside and people are out on their boats. It actually woke me up and put me in a good mood for the day, despite my usual aversion to people insisting I wake up.

I then took a long bath in the hot tub and then went for a walk in the harbor. It seems everyone is outside and enjoying the day. I wandered through the little shops and bought my mom a Mother's Day gift. Then I drove to Dunkies (yay, Scituate has one now!) and got an ice coffee. Then back to the condo to sit outside and enjoy lunch and my ice coffee.

Now, I'm resting a bit and enjoying the warm breeze in my room, until my parents get home.

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