Unless we head to the store tonight, and find some new blinds, we will have no privacy when we go to bed. I’ll have to wear my long johns, and maybe another extra layer just in case.
Unfortunately, the blinds which protected us from prying eyes have been pretty much destroyed. Whom did it, you may ask? I’ll never tell.
Ladies and Gentlemen, it’s time you knew… I am the shower stall cleaner in this relationship. My wife went to deliver a delicious banana cake to one of her visit teachees (that’s a Mormon term, feel free to email and ask), and on the way out the door, she breezily but emphatically asked me to scrub the shower stall. She said it was even more important than clearing out the dry bar. I, wise man that I am, took her word for it.
I took pictures to document the truly unbelievable transformation, but they are not for the faint of heart: (more…)
I drove a neighbor out to the airport yesterday, and he mentioned an episode of This American Life on NPR which was all about the state of the economy and the sub-prime lending crisis and how it’s really not just the fact that banks were lending subprime loans, but there were other factors.
It opens with the fact that in 2000 the global supply of money was $36 trillion. By 2006 the global supply of money was $70 trillion. It doubled. And all those people behind all that money wanted their money to grow.
Frankly Sharole and I are right in the middle of this. We bought when housing prices were high, artificially high for two reasons: 1) people believed that in America housing prices would continue to go up and never go down, and 2) in part because of the pressure to give mortgages to unqualified buyers which if they are unqualified, they’re unqualified no matter what the ridiculous amount. While we can afford our mortgage and continue to do so, the fact that so many have foreclosed, having been based on bad lending practices, results in a huge backlash of increased scrutiny over mortgage lending, and a market correction in prices, downwards.
At last month’s meeting of condo owners, a representative from the developer, the company that refurbished our condos and sold them, said that Realtors were telling them that $180,000 was a more reasonable price for the condos that have not yet sold.
The webpage with a summary of the episode is here. You can listen (sorry deafies) to the broadcast via free mp3 here.
Most people go through life not knowing what they want. For me, that ended today.
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cOXlF1t1ZyI
Last week it was getting warm so I turned off the thermostat controller and therefore prepared to save zillions of dollars which otherwise would have been poured into the HVAC heat-pump thingy.
The last few days it’s been bright but chilly. We’ve been shuffling around in our winter duds once again. All of us, except for me, who doesn’t mind being cold, but then has to pee, and TJ, who took off his jacket yesterday– defying the chilly condo air so that his arms may breathe.
When Sharole reads this entry it will probably be the first time she realizes what I did to the thermostat.
Picture does not represent what ours looks like, it’s just a visual aid.
Now the flooring is in, and it’s stacked in the most logical place in the largest room of the condo. Logical, practical, and very sensible, I might add. However, it took TJ about 30 minutes to realize the stacked boxes were actually a stepladder right up to where we have our DVD shelving.
As you may or may not know, TJ takes his job very seriously. That his job is self-appointed is irrelevant. His job, as he understands it, is to toss well stacked objects into disarray, loudly if possible, with help from Gigi if possible, but let nothing deter him from his purpose. Every absence of parental oversight is a chance to excel. Every moment that passes without disorder is catastrophe. Every object not thrown to the floor is silently calling him.
I should add, however, that TJ has attacked the DVD shelf only once that I have seen. This contradicts my expectation. Could it be that some form of reason has taken shape in his brain, and related his father’s displeasure to the shelf mining operation, and thus he made some decision to desist? It defies the fabric of time and space.
Our new hardwood floor is in pieces at the Great Indoors. Right now Sharole and I are playing a game with them called, “How long will they keep it at the warehouse until we decide to get started?” Two issues will have to be resolved.
I guess that was three issues. Planning workshop is scheduled for this weekend, during our diaper changing and baby feeding summit.
