Yeah, that's right, eight other offers had been made on the townhouse. I found this out fifteen minutes before the presentation. Bummer. I passed on getting into a bidding war.
The right place for me is out there - I just have to be patient. On a more positive note, I just heard from my opthalmologist's office - my cataract surgery is booked for March 8. Woohoo!
Friday, December 22, 2006
Thursday, December 21, 2006
Home, Sweet?
I am trying very hard not to get too excited tonight. A couple of hours ago I viewed (real estate talk) a townhouse that feels soooooooo right for me. I'm going back in the morning, with my realtor, to examine the development in daylight. I have been looking for a condo since mid-October, and with the housing market booming for sellers here, I've had slim pickings. Didn't help that the first realtor I was working with didn't seem to be putting a lot of effort into making it happen for me - guess my modest pre-approved mortgage can't match up to the half-million condos she handles in trendy downtown.
One of my coworkers at the hospital is a real estate investor, and she gave me the number of a young, up-and-coming fellow. He has been wonderful, searching for places to suit MY needs and wants, and exhibiting endless patience with my questions. I had a feeling the place I looked at tonight might be right - and if there's no pending offer on it, I plan to make one. Conditional, of course, on an inspection and my examination of the condominium documents.
What's it like? Well, it's a two-storey townhouse, built in 1972. It's a bit dated, but I like it, it's from my youth. There isn't a single stitch of carpet anywhere in it (I have allergies, so that's a good thing), and the living room has hardwood. The rest of the place has lino. Older, somewhat shabby lino. No biggie, a couple of years in, I can have that replaced. The dining area is a bit small, but I haven't had a dinner party in - oh, let's see - at least two decades. The kitchen has tons of cupboard space and a big window. The living room is big, and there's a nifty (translation: I'm not sure I like it completely, but I can work with it) room divider thingy separating the front door from the living room space. Three bedrooms, and the master is big, too. 1 1/2 bathrooms. A linen closet big enough to hold a SmartCar. A closet in every room/space, except the living room, and a full, unfinished basement for storage. The washer & dryer are brand new, and the stove and fridge, while a bit older, are both in good condition.
Other pluses - it's at the back of the condo development, and blocks away from the nearest school or bus route = quiet. It also has not one but two trees in the front yard - a huge evergreen (right in front of the living room window, yay for privacy) and a deciduous tree about 7 feet high that I'll identify come spring, if I buy it. There is a very neat retro light fixture in the dining room, kind of an art nouveau thing. Did I mention all the closets? And not an accordian door on any of them, which is good since I loathe accordian closet doors! Bifold, wooden bifold doors everywhere. Wood=paintable. I can make decorating statements on my closet doors.
So, big enough for me, houseguests, and my books and other junk. From my era. Quiet. No power corridor. In my familiar area/comfort zone. Oh, and the price is right, too - in this city's inflated market, at CDN $159,500.00 it's a steal! Everyone, please cross your fingers and toes and eyes for me and pray to whatever deity you worship that this place checks out and that I get to buy it!
One of my coworkers at the hospital is a real estate investor, and she gave me the number of a young, up-and-coming fellow. He has been wonderful, searching for places to suit MY needs and wants, and exhibiting endless patience with my questions. I had a feeling the place I looked at tonight might be right - and if there's no pending offer on it, I plan to make one. Conditional, of course, on an inspection and my examination of the condominium documents.
What's it like? Well, it's a two-storey townhouse, built in 1972. It's a bit dated, but I like it, it's from my youth. There isn't a single stitch of carpet anywhere in it (I have allergies, so that's a good thing), and the living room has hardwood. The rest of the place has lino. Older, somewhat shabby lino. No biggie, a couple of years in, I can have that replaced. The dining area is a bit small, but I haven't had a dinner party in - oh, let's see - at least two decades. The kitchen has tons of cupboard space and a big window. The living room is big, and there's a nifty (translation: I'm not sure I like it completely, but I can work with it) room divider thingy separating the front door from the living room space. Three bedrooms, and the master is big, too. 1 1/2 bathrooms. A linen closet big enough to hold a SmartCar. A closet in every room/space, except the living room, and a full, unfinished basement for storage. The washer & dryer are brand new, and the stove and fridge, while a bit older, are both in good condition.
Other pluses - it's at the back of the condo development, and blocks away from the nearest school or bus route = quiet. It also has not one but two trees in the front yard - a huge evergreen (right in front of the living room window, yay for privacy) and a deciduous tree about 7 feet high that I'll identify come spring, if I buy it. There is a very neat retro light fixture in the dining room, kind of an art nouveau thing. Did I mention all the closets? And not an accordian door on any of them, which is good since I loathe accordian closet doors! Bifold, wooden bifold doors everywhere. Wood=paintable. I can make decorating statements on my closet doors.
So, big enough for me, houseguests, and my books and other junk. From my era. Quiet. No power corridor. In my familiar area/comfort zone. Oh, and the price is right, too - in this city's inflated market, at CDN $159,500.00 it's a steal! Everyone, please cross your fingers and toes and eyes for me and pray to whatever deity you worship that this place checks out and that I get to buy it!
Monday, August 21, 2006
Wet, Wet, Wet!
Well, the weekend's Dragon Boat festival is over, and what a weekend it was! We raced twice on Saturday, coming in second in the morning's heat (since we weren't in the dreaded Lane 1) and last - but with a respectable time in the afternoon - Lane 1, again. When the Association posted the day's times on the webnsite, they added the comment that, contrary to rumor, they were not going to adjust any times to reflect the chronically bad paddling in that lane. Boo!
Sunday our first race was at 9:00 a.m. - not a great time to expect the team to be bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, especially since a lot of the paddlers were partying the night before. We knew going into it that we had Lane 1 again - but surprise! The lanes had been shifted, making Lane 2 now 1, Lane 3 becoming 2, and so on. We were cheered by this, and proceeded to not only make our best time so far in that heat, 2:25, but also place second.
For the Sunday afternoon race, the Milo A Final, our team was assigned in Lane 3 (formerly 4). We gave it all we had, reaching and paddling to the utmost of our limits, and we won! For the second time in the 10-year Edmonton Dragon Boat Festival history, the name of the RAH Tide Riders will be engraved on that cup! As well, all team members will be given a "gold" medal.
Was it worth it? Well, despite the T-shirt debacle, and the crowds, and the back pain (sitting on a board seat only about 12 inches wide), despite being soaked repeatedly by the paddlers sitting both in front of and behind me, yes, it was worth it. Would I do it again? If I could start earlier in the whole process, get in on more practices, and if it were to be held on a weekend when my boyfriend isn't working and so could join the team, yeah, probably.
All in all, getting wet isn't so bad. I guess.
Sunday our first race was at 9:00 a.m. - not a great time to expect the team to be bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, especially since a lot of the paddlers were partying the night before. We knew going into it that we had Lane 1 again - but surprise! The lanes had been shifted, making Lane 2 now 1, Lane 3 becoming 2, and so on. We were cheered by this, and proceeded to not only make our best time so far in that heat, 2:25, but also place second.
For the Sunday afternoon race, the Milo A Final, our team was assigned in Lane 3 (formerly 4). We gave it all we had, reaching and paddling to the utmost of our limits, and we won! For the second time in the 10-year Edmonton Dragon Boat Festival history, the name of the RAH Tide Riders will be engraved on that cup! As well, all team members will be given a "gold" medal.
Was it worth it? Well, despite the T-shirt debacle, and the crowds, and the back pain (sitting on a board seat only about 12 inches wide), despite being soaked repeatedly by the paddlers sitting both in front of and behind me, yes, it was worth it. Would I do it again? If I could start earlier in the whole process, get in on more practices, and if it were to be held on a weekend when my boyfriend isn't working and so could join the team, yeah, probably.
All in all, getting wet isn't so bad. I guess.
Friday, August 18, 2006
Dead Water Sucks
So, in a moment of total insanity, I volunteered to join my hospital's Dragon Boat team, the Tide Riders. Mind you, I joined up in the final week and a half before the festival itself, so I haven't had the amount of practice time the other paddlers have. My first and only practice was yesterday evening - I came close to a full-blown asthma attack only once, but I did refine my stroke and learned that I need to use at least a 48" paddle.
The gal who ordered the T-shirts for the participants has a rather Barbieesque view of things - considering she's barely twenty-five, I guess I can't fault her. She ordered mostly size S and M shirts, on the premise that all the women wearing them would be those sizes; any woman who didn't fit into one of those sizes must be an obese hog, so the only other size available is a 2XL. Now these shirts are cut fairly generously, and since I am only 40 lbs overweight, I could have fit into a L, but instead I am stuck with wearing something that would fit me and my niece under it with room to spare. And it's green - NOT one of my best colors.
Our first race was tonight, at 7:30 p.m., the first Health Care Challenge heat. Okay, there are extra bodies available, so my asthma and back and I chose to sit it out and cheer from the shore. Our organizer and tireless leader also sat this one out. She hadn't eaten all day and had worked a full shift on three hours' sleep. The Tide Riders were in lane 1, closest to the shore. Their timing was excellent, all paddles moving up and down in absolute unison. Unfortunately, the North Saskatchewan river is low this summer, and has very tricky currents. Close in to the shore is a channel of 'dead' water, one that resists the paddles' efforts and almost bogs a paddled vessel down. Even though our team had the finest form and the neatest (Norwegian, yet!) chants, we came in dead last.
Tomorrow we race again at 11:10 a.m., then, if we qualified among the three fastest in Health Care (Ha! fat chance) again at 11:40, and once more at 3:00 p.m. Wish us luck!
The gal who ordered the T-shirts for the participants has a rather Barbieesque view of things - considering she's barely twenty-five, I guess I can't fault her. She ordered mostly size S and M shirts, on the premise that all the women wearing them would be those sizes; any woman who didn't fit into one of those sizes must be an obese hog, so the only other size available is a 2XL. Now these shirts are cut fairly generously, and since I am only 40 lbs overweight, I could have fit into a L, but instead I am stuck with wearing something that would fit me and my niece under it with room to spare. And it's green - NOT one of my best colors.
Our first race was tonight, at 7:30 p.m., the first Health Care Challenge heat. Okay, there are extra bodies available, so my asthma and back and I chose to sit it out and cheer from the shore. Our organizer and tireless leader also sat this one out. She hadn't eaten all day and had worked a full shift on three hours' sleep. The Tide Riders were in lane 1, closest to the shore. Their timing was excellent, all paddles moving up and down in absolute unison. Unfortunately, the North Saskatchewan river is low this summer, and has very tricky currents. Close in to the shore is a channel of 'dead' water, one that resists the paddles' efforts and almost bogs a paddled vessel down. Even though our team had the finest form and the neatest (Norwegian, yet!) chants, we came in dead last.
Tomorrow we race again at 11:10 a.m., then, if we qualified among the three fastest in Health Care (Ha! fat chance) again at 11:40, and once more at 3:00 p.m. Wish us luck!
Sunday, June 18, 2006
Rocky Mountain High
Update from the land where the bears shit in the woods........
We were unfortunate enough to have some of the participants in a James Dickey-esque backwoods redneck wedding housed in the other half of the duplex unit we're in. Partying loudly until all hours of the morning, beer-swilling commencing at rising and continuing until all supplies of brew are exhausted, and tattoos. Many, many garish tatoos. And that's just the females!! Seruiosly, a rig-pig wedding is not what you want going on when peace and quiet are your goals.
On the vacation side of the story, we have had two lovely, albeit familiar hikes - Maligne Canyon on Friday and the Valley of the Five Lakes yesterday. The weather has been perfect for hiking, not too warm, good cloud cover, and the rain has been miraculously holding off each day until we were safely off the trails. Can't ask for better than that.
Today the boyfriend unit and a buddy of ours are doing the Overlander Trail - 9.6 miles but relatively flat - while I, in BF's car, am in town attempting to aid the economy of the local retailers. Shopping rules! The plan, should they both return unscathed, is for all of us to try the Italian restaurant in town for supper tonight. Thank goodness, the wedding party et al have departed, never (hopefully) to be seen or heard from again, so the evening should be a quiet one.
We were unfortunate enough to have some of the participants in a James Dickey-esque backwoods redneck wedding housed in the other half of the duplex unit we're in. Partying loudly until all hours of the morning, beer-swilling commencing at rising and continuing until all supplies of brew are exhausted, and tattoos. Many, many garish tatoos. And that's just the females!! Seruiosly, a rig-pig wedding is not what you want going on when peace and quiet are your goals.
On the vacation side of the story, we have had two lovely, albeit familiar hikes - Maligne Canyon on Friday and the Valley of the Five Lakes yesterday. The weather has been perfect for hiking, not too warm, good cloud cover, and the rain has been miraculously holding off each day until we were safely off the trails. Can't ask for better than that.
Today the boyfriend unit and a buddy of ours are doing the Overlander Trail - 9.6 miles but relatively flat - while I, in BF's car, am in town attempting to aid the economy of the local retailers. Shopping rules! The plan, should they both return unscathed, is for all of us to try the Italian restaurant in town for supper tonight. Thank goodness, the wedding party et al have departed, never (hopefully) to be seen or heard from again, so the evening should be a quiet one.
Wednesday, June 14, 2006
Well, I'm off to the Rockies in the morning, with my xenophobic man in tow. Rather than hire my usual house-sitter, who comes in every couple of days to tend to the plants indoor & outdoor and collect the mail, I'm paying my 21-year-old niece to stay here. She's spending the summer crashing with uni friends here and there, and I daresay she's looking forward to a week of privacy, unlimited long distance calling, and Movie Central.
We'll be hiking (of course!) and relaxing, trying to lose some of the stress we've both been dealing with for months and months. I'll try to update re: scenery, hikes, and anything else remotely entertaining that occurs.
We'll be hiking (of course!) and relaxing, trying to lose some of the stress we've both been dealing with for months and months. I'll try to update re: scenery, hikes, and anything else remotely entertaining that occurs.
Monday, May 22, 2006
On Gratitude
I say "please" and "thank you" a lot. Partly because I was raised to be courteous, but also partly because, as a character in Blast From The Past said, "Manners are a way of showing others we respect them." After all, courtesy is the lubricant that greases the wheels of civilized society.
So far today I've talked to multiple people on every floor of the hospital. I've said thank you to most of them. There was the family that I thanked for waiting until visiting hours actually started to come in for a visit, the staffing clerk who found some extra nurses for evening shift, the charge nurse who assured me it would be no problem to take a bunch of new admissions as long as she got extra staff, just to name a few. To my way of thinking, I am saying that I approve of these people's actions. I realize they don't need my approval, but when I'm on the receiving end of sincere thanks for merely doing the job I'm paid to do, I feel all warm and fuzzy inside. That's a feeling I like to share. It takes no effort to be nice rather than nasty. Most days anyway.
There was a preteen boy ahead of me at Tim Horton's just a little while ago. After he'd made his purchase and walked away, I asked the counter lady if he'd said "please" or "thank you" to her. No, he hadn't. She and I commiserated on the lack of basic courtesy in some people's children. Why is it that so many parents aren't teaching or modeling good manners? It isn't rocket science, you know. Common sense, after all, if you're nice to others they will ususally respond in kind, coupled with the Golden Rule learned as toddlers: Do Unto Others.........
So let's all decide to make someone else's day - say thank you to someone and watch them glow with appreciation. It doesn't cost anything, and I can say from experience that the warm fuzzy feeling goes both ways.
Thank you for your attention.
So far today I've talked to multiple people on every floor of the hospital. I've said thank you to most of them. There was the family that I thanked for waiting until visiting hours actually started to come in for a visit, the staffing clerk who found some extra nurses for evening shift, the charge nurse who assured me it would be no problem to take a bunch of new admissions as long as she got extra staff, just to name a few. To my way of thinking, I am saying that I approve of these people's actions. I realize they don't need my approval, but when I'm on the receiving end of sincere thanks for merely doing the job I'm paid to do, I feel all warm and fuzzy inside. That's a feeling I like to share. It takes no effort to be nice rather than nasty. Most days anyway.
There was a preteen boy ahead of me at Tim Horton's just a little while ago. After he'd made his purchase and walked away, I asked the counter lady if he'd said "please" or "thank you" to her. No, he hadn't. She and I commiserated on the lack of basic courtesy in some people's children. Why is it that so many parents aren't teaching or modeling good manners? It isn't rocket science, you know. Common sense, after all, if you're nice to others they will ususally respond in kind, coupled with the Golden Rule learned as toddlers: Do Unto Others.........
So let's all decide to make someone else's day - say thank you to someone and watch them glow with appreciation. It doesn't cost anything, and I can say from experience that the warm fuzzy feeling goes both ways.
Thank you for your attention.
Tuesday, May 16, 2006
I Just Don't Get It
I just don't. I'm referring to the madness that has overtaken this city regarding the Oilers' progression to the Stanley Cup semi-finals. The hysteria, the near-riots, the screaming, stamping of feet, and outright noise this series of events has spawned mystifies me. For God's sake, it's just bloody hockey! It's not like the ultimate fate of the universe depends on this series of games, people!
What's ironic is that the knuckle-dragging denizens of this city don't even raise an eyebrow about the tragedies going on every day. They register no excitement about the new advances in diabetes treatment or cancer-fighting that occur here. There is no jumping up and down about how many young people are living on the streets. Abused women merit no reaction from the sports fans, either.
No, I just don't get it. Every time a hockey game airs right now, there is excessive booze-swilling, much honking of car horns, and of course, fistfights and other violence committed against opposing fans. Don't we have enough to do in our ERs without this insanity? Isn't there enough rude behavior on the streets without using a hockeygame as an excuse for more? What's next - murder in the name of sports partisanship? No, wait, someone tried that already last week.
It's a damned shame this much energy is never expended in the name of the really important causes. Oh, and in case you didn't get it, I hate hockey.
What's ironic is that the knuckle-dragging denizens of this city don't even raise an eyebrow about the tragedies going on every day. They register no excitement about the new advances in diabetes treatment or cancer-fighting that occur here. There is no jumping up and down about how many young people are living on the streets. Abused women merit no reaction from the sports fans, either.
No, I just don't get it. Every time a hockey game airs right now, there is excessive booze-swilling, much honking of car horns, and of course, fistfights and other violence committed against opposing fans. Don't we have enough to do in our ERs without this insanity? Isn't there enough rude behavior on the streets without using a hockeygame as an excuse for more? What's next - murder in the name of sports partisanship? No, wait, someone tried that already last week.
It's a damned shame this much energy is never expended in the name of the really important causes. Oh, and in case you didn't get it, I hate hockey.
Thursday, May 11, 2006
They're not ALL pervert axe murderers.
The title is in reference to a comment my redneck boyfriend once made regarding my expressed intention to actually meet in person some of the people I 'knew' from the internet: "Anyone you meet on the internet is a pervert axe murderer!" He's wrong, I have several friends that I initially met online, and none of them is a pervert or a homicidal wielder of axes.
I have to explain that I came to computer geekdom late in life, as when I went to high school a mainframe occupied an entire floor. It wasn't until my employer put me in a temporary position that involved the use of a pc that I discovered the internet. Being older and cautious, I approached the whole thing carefully, first setting up a Hotmail account so I could post on a travel board without using my work email (the only email account I had at first). In early 2002 I took the plunge and got my own computer at home, and the world wide web beckoned.
It was in November of 2002 that I met my first internet acquaintances in the flesh. A meeting, called a "pissup", had been planned by some of the posters on a particular board who lived in our city. Sadly, the instigator of the event wasn't able to attend, but I did meet another who lived here, as well as a very kind, courteous, and fascinating gentleman from Wisconsin, and two delightful ladies, one from Illinois and the other from Saskatchewan. It certainly allayed any slight apprehensions I may have had when the Wisconsin visitor plied me with very delicious sharp cheese from his home state. We all met for a walk, then later that evening had drinks and sandwiches together. Not one axe in evidence, either!
August of 2003 was when I really took the plunge - in addition to being one of the planners of another pissup here, I had two of the visiting attendants stay at my place. Needless to say, I didn't let this fact out around my hyper-paranoid boyfriend. Surprise, surprise, no perversion or murders were committed the entire weekend. One of my old and dear friends joined us, and so enjoyed the company that he became a regular on the bulletin board we all frequented. That friend has just returned from a holiday in the Caribbean with a couple of our mutual internet buddies.
I'm not a wide-eyed naïf, nor am I gullible by any stretch of the imagination. I know that there are unscrupulous types out there who use the internet for criminal and nefarious means, and that sexual deviants roam the web, preying on the easy to con and the young. I do know, though, that if I am sensible and judicious in where I visit and with whom I communicate, I run a good chance of making more good friends in cyberspace. And there's not an axe murderer in sight.
I have to explain that I came to computer geekdom late in life, as when I went to high school a mainframe occupied an entire floor. It wasn't until my employer put me in a temporary position that involved the use of a pc that I discovered the internet. Being older and cautious, I approached the whole thing carefully, first setting up a Hotmail account so I could post on a travel board without using my work email (the only email account I had at first). In early 2002 I took the plunge and got my own computer at home, and the world wide web beckoned.
It was in November of 2002 that I met my first internet acquaintances in the flesh. A meeting, called a "pissup", had been planned by some of the posters on a particular board who lived in our city. Sadly, the instigator of the event wasn't able to attend, but I did meet another who lived here, as well as a very kind, courteous, and fascinating gentleman from Wisconsin, and two delightful ladies, one from Illinois and the other from Saskatchewan. It certainly allayed any slight apprehensions I may have had when the Wisconsin visitor plied me with very delicious sharp cheese from his home state. We all met for a walk, then later that evening had drinks and sandwiches together. Not one axe in evidence, either!
August of 2003 was when I really took the plunge - in addition to being one of the planners of another pissup here, I had two of the visiting attendants stay at my place. Needless to say, I didn't let this fact out around my hyper-paranoid boyfriend. Surprise, surprise, no perversion or murders were committed the entire weekend. One of my old and dear friends joined us, and so enjoyed the company that he became a regular on the bulletin board we all frequented. That friend has just returned from a holiday in the Caribbean with a couple of our mutual internet buddies.
I'm not a wide-eyed naïf, nor am I gullible by any stretch of the imagination. I know that there are unscrupulous types out there who use the internet for criminal and nefarious means, and that sexual deviants roam the web, preying on the easy to con and the young. I do know, though, that if I am sensible and judicious in where I visit and with whom I communicate, I run a good chance of making more good friends in cyberspace. And there's not an axe murderer in sight.
Tuesday, May 09, 2006
There's One More Angel in Heaven
This is going to be about one of the remarkable people I've met via the internet. I've met a lot of good people that way, some I've even had the pleasure of meeting IRL, but this person,
The lady's handle on the forum in question, really more of an online community for us regulars, was "onmicindy". She lived in the New Orleans area, had a husband, two mostly grown-up sons, and a couple of cats. She also had leukemia.
Since I learned of
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)