Updates on all the things

Writing this from my office. I usually blog from the couch but I sold my coffee table.

The garage sale was a lot. It was hectic and fun and hot and in the end, I made $175 and got rid of a lot of random stuff, including the bed and mattress in the guest room, most of the furniture, lots of home decor and kitchen items, and the Christmas stuff went super quick.

Ashley and I had bets on what would sell and what wouldn't. I won on the bags of socks and the girdle. People buy some weird stuff at the right price.

I was surprised that some 50 cent crystal wineglasses did not sell. I wound up keeping those. I have enough wine glasses, but that was obviously the universe saying that I should keep them.

Other news:

House- Still no appraisal. Not sure if that will delay closing and I'm tired of keeping my house clean. Went and looked at 2 houses that came on the market and neither one was right so the hunt is still on. Considering a remodel but... oh that's a lot.

Relationship- Been helping FG de-clutter and move things around in his house so that it can be painted. He wanted to refresh Nicole's room, so he sold the furniture and we cleared it all out. We will put my current bedroom furniture in there, since I was considering selling it anyway, and get a new bed. I felt a little sad when I took her clothes out of the closet. She had a cute style. Sweet girl. I wish I could have known her better. 

It's been kinda weird bc we are also planning for when I move in temporarily until I find my house. He's been clearing out space in his dresser and talking about where the litter box will go, things like that. 

So we're making plans for the immediate "when I move in until I find a house" and also for the future "when I move in forever" and the lines get blurred sometimes and we both forget that the current plan is that I'm still looking for another house. 

I still think that it feels right to move in with him, and I'm very tempted to commit, but also like that safety net so I haven't said anything yet.

Travel- I think we will cancel our trip to San Diego because the flights got screwed up and the city is mostly still shut down due to Covid. That's ok, because the timing is not great and Dad needs to come see us anyway.

Work- BIG NEWS! I checked my email tonight and we officially got word that Big Reference Lab does NOT need continuous support anymore! Yay! What a huge weight lifted off our shoulders. Whew.

Punk- She decided to start eating again. Of course I mixed some tuna in with her wet food.

That's all I have for now.

Key West and back to reality

Key West was fun, relaxing, happy, and wonderful.

I loved chilling by the pool, walking around the pretty town, riding bikes to the beach, drinking cuban coffee, going to the Hemingway house to pet the 6-toed cats, and watching the random chickens and roosters wander the streets. 

We both needed to get away for a minute. I wanted to stay an extra night but there is this thing called work and although I'm on PTO this week, FG had to get back.

Then we came home and even though I'm on PTO I checked my work emails and there's one to myself and Helen from my boss basically saying, "Hey who wants to work night shift at Big Reference Lab next week? Lol it has to be one of you." Oh, but if you pick days you have to work Saturday so either option sucks. We should have been done with this a month ago but someone higher up than us decided we need to keep doing it.

Helen and I have talked and we decided that we're done being walked all over. We both responded with reasons why we don't want to work nights or Saturday, so now it's up to him to decide what to do.

I have updated my resume. If there was an end in sight I'd feel better but this is starting to get ridiculous. If I wanted to work nights and weekends, I'd still be in the lab. At least then I'd get overtime pay and a shift differential.

Not sure what will happen, but we did buy a lottery ticket in Florida so maybe tonight we'll be rich and work won't matter anymore.

questioning everything

I think it's terrible that we live in a society where, when something happens, the first thing I do is question the validity of the information. 

Is this something blown way out of proportion as a political move? Another sensationalized news story to distract from another issue? The conspiracy theories are sounding more plausible than what we're fed by the media and (ugh) social media.

Also, this is 2020. Wash your hands, cover your cough, and no one should be fighting for equal rights regarding race, gender, sexuality, etc. Enough already! I'm sick of the circus. I'm becoming increasingly disgusted by humanity and the corrupt societies that we build... and support.

In other news...

House- The buyer and I came to an agreement which involves more money out of my pocket, and some slightly shady under-the-table stuff, but when it's over I'll still be pretty happy to get this house off my shoulders. Today we went and looked at a really, really cute house but it smelled like cigarette smoke, like they smoked inside. You can never get that smell out of a house. Uck. Not meant to be.

Relationship- There has been constant thought and discussion regarding the living situation, mostly on my part because FG knows what he wants and is waiting patiently for my brain to calm down. Here's the most recent update:

We have had many discussions about the logistics of living together and it evolved to the point where it seemed like I would move into FG's house, because it works. To the point where I know which room will be my office and we are choosing paint colors to repaint the whole house. It's actually been a lot of fun.

But. In our most recent conversation, I told him that I didn't feel like I was 100% there yet. I felt rushed. I didn't want to risk ruining our relationship because we moved too fast for me. I needed to make sure it felt right before I made this big huge life change and commitment. At the end of our conversation we agreed that I should still buy a house near him and live in it until we're ready to merge lives for good. Which we are both confident will happen, I just need a little bit more time.

It's funny though, because once we had that talk, most of my hesitations went away and living with him didn't seem so scary. Once I actually got the extra time, I didn't feel like I needed it.

WTF, brain.

I hesitate to tell him all of this because I've been so back and forth he might just think I'm nuts... which I might be. I might sit quietly on these thoughts for a while and see how they evolve.

I figure what will happen is I will find a great house and if I want to move into it, then my gut is saying take more time. If I don't want to move into it, then my gut is saying it's time to start building a life with FG.

There ya go. Moving on.

Travel- We're going to take that long weekend vacation in Key West and we've booked a bunch more trips. Making up for lost travel time!

Work- I get a week of PTO on the horizon so I'm going to enjoy our trip, then get ready to sell most of my crap in the garage sale and spend as much time with Pumpkin as I can.

Punk- She's had a rough few days. Hasn't been eating much and mostly takes naps in the heated cat bed. She's done this before and bounced back, but she's so much skinnier now and I feel guilty leaving her alone for a few days. I don't want her dying alone but I hear animals do that, so it is what it is. 

Right now she's curled up in the sunbeam covering her eyes, looking happy.

con artists

You know, I told my realtor that I had a bad feeling about these buyers right from the beginning.

Sure enough, the day before the option period is up, they come back with a list of repairs (all of which were disclosed on the previous inspection report), asking for $15k.

The worst part is, 2 years ago my inspector noted some foundation movement and said that it didn't need repair, just to water and monitor. The most recent inspector noted the exact same foundation movement, but he said that it needs to be fixed. 

Judging from the way the initial bargaining went and my intuition, I think the buyers wanted to find something wrong so that they could get a better deal, and I think they made sure the inspector delivered just that. I really have a feeling that this inspector is crooked, not the foundation. I could be wrong, but it's what my gut is telling me.

There is no difference in the foundation in the 2 reports, just 2 different opinions. Of course the buyers are going with the opinion that gives them more bargaining room, and insisted that the foundation be "fixed," to the tune of $10k- cash at closing.

I want to tell these people to hit the road with their con artist demands, but the problem is, now that a "foundation issue" has been "identified," I will have to disclose it to any future buyers. Even if I get a third opinion who says that it's fine, that one person saying it needs work is enough to raise a red flag.

Essentially there is now a big fat scarlet letter on my property. Which means I either have to make an expensive deal with these people, or put it back on the market with "foundation issues" and everyone will run away.

Still negotiating, but it's going to cost me a huge chunk of money either way. These people fucked me.

 

I am so mad but at this point if I can just sell it and not have to deal with it anymore, it might be worth the extra money. 

cleaning tip

I have to share. 

I have a white comforter with a stain in the middle. Cat puke that sat for a while, eew. Then I washed and dried it before noticing that it left a stain.

I tried all kinds of things. Spray & wash, bleach, peroxide, etc. But nothing took the stain away.

Then I had a thought: You know how those zit creams with benzoyl peroxide will bleach your towels and clothes, if you're not careful? Well, that's exactly what I needed.

I rubbed a little bit of zit cream on the stain and let it sit for a while. After I washed it, the stain was gone. Awesome!

Friday whew

My stomach is bothering me and I'm out of CBD so I tried one of those edibles that we smuggled back from Vegas on our last trip. Well, about 1/20th of an edible. I'm so cautious about stuff like that. I'll be taking a personal drug test tomorrow and in the meantime, hoping that little nibble is enough to settle my stomach. I don't want to get high, I just want some digestive relief!

House/Relationship update:

I think it's odd that I've been keeping an eye on the real estate market since January, watching cute houses come and go in FG's neighborhood, but now, when I'm ready to buy one, there are NO houses on the market. What the hell. FG says the universe is telling me to move in with him. Not only would it be financially better for both of us, but I would get coffee in bed every morning. And when the mortgage is paid off in a few years we can get a lake house. Great plan, right?

Well, we had another talk about that and I openly aired all of my concerns. After our talk, I feel better. If I moved in I, he agreed that I can change whatever I want, redecorate, organize, make it more "ours" instead of "his," and he's ok with it. I can probably deal with that but I suppose we'll see what the universe has to say. 

Right now I would really like my own space and I don't really want to make Pumpkin (or myself) live with a dog.

BUT first- I have to wait out this option period. I've heard nothing since the inspections, and I'm trying not to get too anxious.

Work update:

I worked my last scheduled 5am shift and holy shit I'm tired. I hit a wall today. I can't do this anymore and I'm glad it's over, or at least I get a break. I have a couple of things scheduled for next week and then I'm hoping to get some office days. 

And THEN, I'm on PTO for a week and we're supposed to go to Key West. We considered rescheduling due to the covid madness, but things are opening up and we need a break. Even if we have to hang out on the balcony socially distant with grocery store wine, I think the change in scenery is necessary. 

Ok, I'm starting to feel more relaxed. G'nite.

brains

Hello.
Yes, I'm still a zombie. My sleep schedule is all over the place.
Working that 4pm-midnight schedule made for calmer mornings, but late nights and more lost sleep still suck. I do not adjust well! As it stands, I have 3 more 4am days scheduled for next week and then, just maybe, we might be done with this.

I accepted an offer on the house last week. It wasn't a great offer, but it was within the range that I said that I would accept. I've learned not to get excited until after the option period.
Inspection tomorrow, which normally means it's time to get nervous. I don't expect anything new to be wrong with the house, because the last inspection was only 2 years ago and the buyers have already seen it. However, this is when things typically get hairy. There is always something that comes up after an inspection.

I'm not stressing. Either they want the house or they don't, and everything can be worked out. If it's meant to be, by June 30th I will be homeless.

If not, then I'll be making my bed for a little longer.