Stuff

We are having the final walk-through of our new condo on Thursday afternoon, then we close on Friday morning.

I am thinking about bringing flowers to Georgette at the closing. She's so sweet. I wonder if she will bring her daughter to the closing? Her daughter is visiting from Spain.

After the closing, we are going out for Thai food with Hazel. Hazel is from China, she came to America in 1989 from Hong Kong, when it was still a British territory. Funnily enough, that's the same year I went to the summer publishing program at NYU and then moved to Orlando from VA. I guess Greg would have been a sophomore in High School. :)

We have the new floors all set to go in as soon as we close, we have the movers set to move us next Thursday, we have the new furniture being delivered next Friday, we have OUC set to turn off at the old place and Fl Power set to turn on at the new place, we have everything taken care of... I hope. I'm trying really hard not to get all stressy. It's exciting! And scary. I'm looking forward to it! Especially after the moving is over.

"To Do" Now That I'm 40

Become poised, unselfconscious adult woman who behaves correctly in all social situations, and does not spill food on self

Go to Paris

Maintain swingy haircut with regular trims, instead of letting it grow just out of fascination at how mutantly fast it grows

Always wear sophisticated, matching underwear/bra sets

Become Kung Fu master

Behave as adult, not flopping into chair as a teenager; also do not make unattractive "oof" noise when getting back up from chair

Get new job that is creative and well-paid

Remove nail polish promptly at first sign of chippage

:-(

I'm so tired. I have been working the opening shift this week, which means I have to get up much earlier than I'd like. I haven't been going to bed early enough, so I've been getting sleepier and sleepier all week. Then the last couple of nights I've had a little trouble sleeping, I'm a little stressy because of all the condo-buying stuff.

Last night I stayed up to watch something on tv that I had been really looking forward to. It actually ran late, so it was close to midnight when I finally got to bed, and my alarm was set for 6. I went right to sleep, but I couldn't stay asleep. The last time I woke up was around 5 and I never did get back to sleep after that. I probably got around 3-4 hours of sleep.

I am so tired and sad. I remember learning years ago that there are three things that must be true before making any kind of serious decision: You must be sober, you must not be hungry and you must not be sleepy. Any of those three things affects your ability to think clearly. I'll try not to do any thinking while I'm at work today.

I am sad, too.

I went for a walk outside, and it's such a beautiful day. It's mid-80's, sunny, a little breezy. I listed to Stiff Little Fingers, Ying Yang Twins, Nick Drake, Bubba Sparxxx and T'Pau... What a completely psychotic combination.

I hate being sad while wearing my new Death Eaters t-shirt, it's so cool. Although being sad is somewhat comparable to eating death... I always thought the name "Death Eaters" was more about being in control of life, being able, and enthusiastic, to bring about death. Being depressed feels like eating death in the embracing, consuming despair, sense.


Yummy death... :-(

Condo By the Lake... In the Sun

Hazel (our realtor) talked us into making an offer so low that I felt guilty. It was way below the asking price, and we are taking advantage of the fact that poor Georgette is elderly and desperate. Her condo has been up for sale for months, two times others made offers and then couldn't get the financing, and she has already paid to move into an assisted living home at the end of the month.

Hazel said that it was an offensive offer and we are taking advantage of her, but it's business and that's what you do. I literally had trouble sleeping last night. But we kept thinking she wouldn't just accept it, she would make a counter-offer and we would end up meeting in the middle somewhere.

But she accepted it! She was thrilled that we wanted to live there because she likes us so much, and apparently Hazel kept mentioning the fact that it's Greg's birthday... Oh, boy. I seriously want to give Georgette a present or something... like a check for $10,000.

I am so happy! I can't wait to move in! We ended up spending way less than we expected, so maybe we can afford to get new kitchen appliances sometime soon. And replace all the floors, and put in the screened-in patio in the back, and get new living room furniture.

Maybe I'll take Georgette more sunflowers at the closing. I hope nothing goes wrong, everything seems so complicated. Hazel is like a bulldog, though, I'm sure glad she's on my side. She would NEVER have let Georgette accept that offer.

I'm trying so hard not to worry about poor Georgette.

Yay, new home! :-)

Georgette's Condo

Greg and I are going to our realtor's office this afternoon to draw up an offer for the condo in east Orlando. It's a cool condo -- it's more like a duplex or a townhouse than a condo, really. It's in a quiet community (lots of old people), on a little lake, close to the pool... It only shares one wall with neighbors, and it has a big attic. It has mail delivery to the front door, and trash pickup at the curb.

The one deal-breakingly bad thing about it is the kitchen. The condo was built in 1974, and the kitchen literally hasn't changed a bit since then. It has a gold and white vinyl floor, avacado colored appliances (including a trash compactor), and white/yellow/orange wallpaper. It would be fascinatingly kitschy if it weren't about to be mine.

It's also a galley kitchen, which is a big negative for two people who want to be in the kitchen at the same time. If Greg and I wanted to cook dinner together, it would be a challenge... especially with a cat underfoot. It's also completely closed off from the living room, which I really hate. When I'm in the kitchen doing dishes or cooking, I hate feeling closed off from the rest of the house.

But it's still the best place we've found. It has a great sun room in the front, big windows in the living room, two full baths with lots of counter space, tons of storage, a patio (that's just waiting to be screened in) overlooking the little lake in the back, 2 big bedrooms and a big living room. It has a little dining area that is mirrored, which sounds kind of bad, but it is opposite big windows so it's actually pretty nice. It has ceiling fans and an alarm system, and quiet neighbors.

It's a very small complex too, only 44 units. It'll be a great place to go for walks in the evening after work. Plus it's not at the top of our price range, so we can still afford to replace all the carpets with hardwood or ceramic tile, buy new living room furniture, and get the back patio screened in.

It's owned by a little old lady named Georgette, she's 84 -- the same age as my mom. She keeps the hot water heater turned off at the switch, and never turns on the A/C. She wears a plastic necklace with an alert button on it. She's never had a job, she used to fly planes, she loves sunflowers, and speaks several languages. She's originally from Peru. Her daughter lives in Spain. She doesn't have any pets, but she has a stuffed motion-sensor cat that makes a meow noise whenever anyone walks by, and she talks back to it.

She's very sweet -- she's selling her condo and moving to an assisted living home in downtown Orlando. Maybe we'll have her over for dinner one day.