i did it

I joined the gym! Now I just have to go. Baby steps.

I'm beginning a new apt hunt after this weekend. I'm trying to not be discouraged over shady real estate brokers.


I tried unclogging my bathtub using natural products: baking soda and vinegar. It worked for a day but the damage was too advanced. I gave in and bought "Drano." I feel like this sets me back even though I've been good about bringing my own bags to the grocery store. I'm going to start doing the vinegar and baking soda mix monthly or every other month as a preventive measure.

I took off Monday and Tuesday of next week. Going to have a mini-vacation, well not really, a mini-family reunion. Let's see how that goes.

all is now well on the western front

i surprise myself

Every now and then I want to slap myself. I know better, I really do, but I don't always do better.

It's always a very humbling experience to fall flat on your face because you have momentary lapses (sometimes for even a weekend at a time) of judgment and decision-making.

When I dig a hole, I apparently like to dig a deep one.I was refraining from calling myself stupid, but I can't help it sometimes.

I hope to get my brain back in a few days.

hold on now

The shady broker just contacted me and said to "stay put" and not cancel anything with my attorney. It looks like there is something not so easy about the other bid's loan. We shall see.

grrrr

They went with the other offer and will keep me as a backup. Whatever. I was up last night looking at other properties, just in case, so plan B is forthcoming this weekend.

Real estate in nyc is an ugly beast. I made an offer on an apartment and it was accepted. Since the offer was accepted, I did all of the following:

1- Got an inspection
2- Hired an attorney (who by the way, his fee is two times my monthly rent)
3- Locked a rate on my mortgage (this by the way has involved a lot of paperwork, some of which is not even completed)
4- Stopped property hunting

I spent two hours reviewing the contract with my attorney. The seller's attorney, Mr. I Don't Use Email in 2008, neglected to fill out the contract in completion. One thing that was not included in the contract paperwork were the building financial reports, "Offering Plan", oh, and the correct spelling of my name, of course.

The seller's broker has the Offering Plan and two year's worth of financial statements but is withholding it until she receives my signed contract? This may not sound alarming until you realize what an Offering Plan is. It is a legal document "provides full disclosure of all relevant information regarding the property." In other words, she thought my attorney would agree to sending over my executed contract without fully disclosing "all relevant information ", you know, little things like, is the architecture of the building sound.

The seller's broker, also informed me that I would have to give in a new offer because there were two new offers on the apartment, higher than mine, and that the seller wants to do a "Best and Final Offer (BAFO)." This was all amazing news to me because you know, since my offer had been accepted, and the broker had assured me many times that they wanted to complete the deal with me, and kept hassling me about when the contract would be signed, (I had to remind them that Mr. No Email practically sent my attorney a blank document to sign), I had to wonder if these other two offers really existed.

I really didn't know what was going on, but I thought something isn't right. My gut told me that she was just trying to get me to bid higher on the apartment. After consulting my attorney and my loan officer (who is also one of my bestest friends in the world, Kevin), they both concluded based on their experience that the broker is trying to turn this into a shady deal at a profit to her.

This week's motto is "Don't fuck with me. And don't fuck with my money." I signed the contract so my attorney can turn it in as soon as he's able to review the Offering Plan. I did not raise my bid. My attorney called Mr. No Email to inform him of how his broker's blatant withholding of information was preventing a deal from being finalized. I hope to know by tomorrow if my second offer was also accepted.

101 things

Sojourness passed along this great idea to me. I haven't quite made it to 101, but the following 18 are keeping me busy thus far.

1. learn to swim
2. ride bike
3. grad school entrance exam - study, take it, score at 85% +
4. learn to sow
5. make a skirt or a tote
6. fix all the clothes in my closet with holes and such
7. learn to put on eyeshadow
8. learn to cook ten more dishes
9. buy property
10. scan all non digital pics
11. grow my hair
12. get a proper curly hair layered haircut
13. get my eyebrows done regularly
14. read more books, one book a month,depending on length
15. go to gym three times a week
16. eat more vegetables, start with two servings daily
17. blog regularly
18. volunteer

funny little thing

Sweetheart and I are on good terms post breakup. It has been a while since we've stopped speaking or have gotten angry at each other ---both are very good things. Today I saw , for the first time, a childhood picture of his which he posted online. He looks to be about four years old but the look captured is the same as one that he still does to this day. When you catch him off guard he displays confusion with a certain frown and hangs his mouth slightly ajar. Needless to say, the picture is absolutely adorable. The picture is so adorable that for the first ten minutes after seeing it, I wondered if he and I could work out after all, because I think we could make beautiful children together;I want a little boy that looks just like the 4 year old in the picture.

i'm being a vegetable today. this is what i completed this week when i wasn't being a vegetable.

I've made it my personal project to spruce up Kevin's studio at any chance I get. He's given me the green light after I surprised him with the makeover that he really wound up liking. I've been on the lookout for chairs for his "dining room." Being on a budget of zero dollars made this a task that would not be completed overnight.

Last weekend, Kevin was in my car when I abruptly stopped and told him to get out. I had spotted two chairs on the curb for garbage pickup. They looked like they could use some TLC (new cushions, and lots of elbow grease). Though we have yet to actually fasten the chair cushion to the chair, we're quite proud of the finished product. Total cost: $10 for fabric. We used an old pillow for the cushions, and he already had a staple gun.

I also started and finished the Autobiography of Malcolm X. What an amazing book. I'm ashamed to admit how little, nearly nothing, I knew about Malcolm X. I've never even seen the movie - this is soon to change.

As I got near the end of the book, knowing he was about to be assassinated, I couldn't help but tear up at the betrayal about to occur. It also saddened me because I thought of what more he could have accomplished with his post-pilgrimage message, had he lived longer. I spent some time on Youtube after finishing the book, listening to him speak.

I found a picture of his "conk" and "Red" days.

And for the last unrelated topic: property ownership. I have a lawyer, an inspector, and an accepted offer on a 1br co-op apartment in Brooklyn. I also have occasional cold feet on signing the contract. The inspection is scheduled for 4 days from now, so let's see what develops. Hopefully nothing will and we can proceed with paperwork. I am sometimes in awe that this is really happening. Less than six months ago, I was unemployed and crashing in Kevin's studio with Kevin and his brother. Cozy. Crazy.