My OperaWelcome to 2012
Monday, January 2, 2012 9:02:31 AM
I can't believe that it's been 9+ months since my last blog post. It's not like nothing has happened. I've just been on Facebook and Google+ a whole heck of a lot. It's been great getting in touch with so many old friends and making a few new ones.
Chapter 1: Buying a House
Yes, I'm a homeowner. It only took forty years to come around to buying that first house.
The process started a couple of years ago. That first visit to a mortgage broker was followed, the same day, by an announcement that my old employer was going to lay me off. It amounted to a twelve month setback: two months to find a job, ten months to replenish savings towards the down payment.
After that, it was time to think about buying again. And after that, interest rates started dropping, dropping, dropping. Finally, this past fall rates got low enough that they couldn't get much lower. House prices kept getting lower, but it's impossible to know when those things might ever stabilize.
Summer of 2011, it was time to bite bullet and restart the mortgage application process. It was easier filling out all those forms a second time, but it still takes time for the folks in charge to approve everything.
Once the powers that be gave the final nod, a search began for the perfect abode. It's a big undertaking if the perfect house doesn't usually just leap out at you. The perfect house literally leapt out at the perfect time. It was the right size, the right layout, the right location, and the right price.
The timing was absolutely right, too. It turns out that the real estate market is just about dead at summer's end, and we looked at this house the last weekend in August. Nobody else stopped by during the open house event. As luck would have it, the sellers were highly motivated to close the deal. Our offer said, "You're getting this much and no more." The sellers accepted right away, but the various mortgage entities needed another six weeks to get our deal finalized.
Granted, the place wasn't perfect. It needed plenty of rewiring. It needed a new stove. It needed a couple of leaks plugged in the roof. It didn't need any major work. It just needed a bunch of little fixes, which have added up. Don't get me wrong; it's all been worthwhile. The electrical system is much more stable. The stove is great (induction heat!), and roof doesn't leak now. Next up are insulation in the attic and, believe it or not, getting the hot tub in working order. After that, it's just gravy.
Chapter 2: Changing Neighborhoods
The old neighborhood, Greenwood, was home for about six years. It was an odd transition having had absolutely no personal context and non-ideal first impressions. Many of the houses were older, modular homes. Some were just plain run-down.
Then the good things in the neighborhood began to stand out. It has plenty of great restaurants, great bars, and tons of great people. One of Seattle's absolute best coffee shops, Natalie's Coffee, was just two blocks away and next door to Ashley's original doggy daycare. Even its parks have a special character to them. Good ol' Pocket Park is one of the coolest hangouts, and it's across the street from a very talented artist's house.
It wasn't easy leaving, but it was time to move on. Ergo, the move to West Seattle had to happen, reluctantly and resolutely. In spite of the homesickness, it's been a good move. It doesn't have Natalie's, but it has Dubsea. The Dish Café isn't right down the hill, but Easy Street is only five minutes away.
It's give-and-take. Mostly, it's worthwhile to give so I'll take it.
Chapter 3: The (Proverbially) Departed
It's a bummer moving away from old neighbors. A trip the old Greenwood neighborhood, though, happens with a very reasonable effort. Jenny, Jim, Anette, Mike, Betsy, and a ton of other friends are still in Greenwood or nearby. Some friends, however, aren't as close as all that now.
The biggest downer in the past year has been saying goodbye to a whole family. Friends Pat & Kate had to leave Seattle more than a year ago. Not that they traded down. Pat has a great job with a very cool company in Hood River, Oregon. Their daughter Tera, however, decided to stay here in West Seattle, where she'd bought a house not too long ago.
Tera is a very cool gal, who was until recently a close neighbor. As long as she was here, her folks would be up here now and again, too. And carpools down to Hood River with Tera sounded much more enjoyable than solo trips. Of course, it would figure that an irresistible job offer would come her way. And it did just as soon as we got our house squared away.
It's all for the best. Tera didn't much like her old lab job. She, therefore, tried an IT job. It turns out that Tera didn't like IT work so much and liked the entry-level paychecks even less. Fortunately, somebody called her about an interesting job, one that suited her tech savvy and her people skills.
In sum, Tera got offered a better salary... doing something more interesting... in San Diego, California. Seriously, how is she supposed to turn that down and not get committed to the sanitarium?
That's great for her, but it's a bummer from up here. Oh, well, that's just a reason to visit SoCal.
Epilogue
It's been fun moving in spite of the adjustments. Everybody that visits really likes the new house. Granted, others' opinions don't guarantee happiness, but the validation is nice.
Plus, it helps to visit out-of-town friends when Seattle's just not quite working anymore. In fact, New Year's was spent in Hood River, playing games, enjoying beer, and just having fun with Pat, Kate, Tera, Tera's fiancé Jeff, and their friend Krista. They're great folks, especially since they like my Swedish pancakes.
Yes, 2011 has been pretty good, but its departure was marked with some reluctance on my own part. It's just hard to let a good thing go. I even awoke reluctantly from my dream the morning of December 31st, 2011. In an unusual twist, I became aware of the fact that I was dreaming, took advantage of that realization, and started playing superhero. So, in my sleep-enabled imagination, I started flying all over the place and breathing underwater, impervious to the elements.
Seriously, y'all, I was a total badass and my Subaru was a submarine with a warp drive. That's ten kinds of cool!
In light of everything else that's been going on, how cool is it to end the year with a lucid dream?
Chapter 1: Buying a House
Yes, I'm a homeowner. It only took forty years to come around to buying that first house.
The process started a couple of years ago. That first visit to a mortgage broker was followed, the same day, by an announcement that my old employer was going to lay me off. It amounted to a twelve month setback: two months to find a job, ten months to replenish savings towards the down payment.
After that, it was time to think about buying again. And after that, interest rates started dropping, dropping, dropping. Finally, this past fall rates got low enough that they couldn't get much lower. House prices kept getting lower, but it's impossible to know when those things might ever stabilize.
Summer of 2011, it was time to bite bullet and restart the mortgage application process. It was easier filling out all those forms a second time, but it still takes time for the folks in charge to approve everything.
Once the powers that be gave the final nod, a search began for the perfect abode. It's a big undertaking if the perfect house doesn't usually just leap out at you. The perfect house literally leapt out at the perfect time. It was the right size, the right layout, the right location, and the right price.
The timing was absolutely right, too. It turns out that the real estate market is just about dead at summer's end, and we looked at this house the last weekend in August. Nobody else stopped by during the open house event. As luck would have it, the sellers were highly motivated to close the deal. Our offer said, "You're getting this much and no more." The sellers accepted right away, but the various mortgage entities needed another six weeks to get our deal finalized.
Granted, the place wasn't perfect. It needed plenty of rewiring. It needed a new stove. It needed a couple of leaks plugged in the roof. It didn't need any major work. It just needed a bunch of little fixes, which have added up. Don't get me wrong; it's all been worthwhile. The electrical system is much more stable. The stove is great (induction heat!), and roof doesn't leak now. Next up are insulation in the attic and, believe it or not, getting the hot tub in working order. After that, it's just gravy.
Chapter 2: Changing Neighborhoods
The old neighborhood, Greenwood, was home for about six years. It was an odd transition having had absolutely no personal context and non-ideal first impressions. Many of the houses were older, modular homes. Some were just plain run-down.
Then the good things in the neighborhood began to stand out. It has plenty of great restaurants, great bars, and tons of great people. One of Seattle's absolute best coffee shops, Natalie's Coffee, was just two blocks away and next door to Ashley's original doggy daycare. Even its parks have a special character to them. Good ol' Pocket Park is one of the coolest hangouts, and it's across the street from a very talented artist's house.
It wasn't easy leaving, but it was time to move on. Ergo, the move to West Seattle had to happen, reluctantly and resolutely. In spite of the homesickness, it's been a good move. It doesn't have Natalie's, but it has Dubsea. The Dish Café isn't right down the hill, but Easy Street is only five minutes away.
It's give-and-take. Mostly, it's worthwhile to give so I'll take it.
Chapter 3: The (Proverbially) Departed
It's a bummer moving away from old neighbors. A trip the old Greenwood neighborhood, though, happens with a very reasonable effort. Jenny, Jim, Anette, Mike, Betsy, and a ton of other friends are still in Greenwood or nearby. Some friends, however, aren't as close as all that now.
The biggest downer in the past year has been saying goodbye to a whole family. Friends Pat & Kate had to leave Seattle more than a year ago. Not that they traded down. Pat has a great job with a very cool company in Hood River, Oregon. Their daughter Tera, however, decided to stay here in West Seattle, where she'd bought a house not too long ago.
Tera is a very cool gal, who was until recently a close neighbor. As long as she was here, her folks would be up here now and again, too. And carpools down to Hood River with Tera sounded much more enjoyable than solo trips. Of course, it would figure that an irresistible job offer would come her way. And it did just as soon as we got our house squared away.
It's all for the best. Tera didn't much like her old lab job. She, therefore, tried an IT job. It turns out that Tera didn't like IT work so much and liked the entry-level paychecks even less. Fortunately, somebody called her about an interesting job, one that suited her tech savvy and her people skills.
In sum, Tera got offered a better salary... doing something more interesting... in San Diego, California. Seriously, how is she supposed to turn that down and not get committed to the sanitarium?
That's great for her, but it's a bummer from up here. Oh, well, that's just a reason to visit SoCal.
Epilogue
It's been fun moving in spite of the adjustments. Everybody that visits really likes the new house. Granted, others' opinions don't guarantee happiness, but the validation is nice.
Plus, it helps to visit out-of-town friends when Seattle's just not quite working anymore. In fact, New Year's was spent in Hood River, playing games, enjoying beer, and just having fun with Pat, Kate, Tera, Tera's fiancé Jeff, and their friend Krista. They're great folks, especially since they like my Swedish pancakes.
Yes, 2011 has been pretty good, but its departure was marked with some reluctance on my own part. It's just hard to let a good thing go. I even awoke reluctantly from my dream the morning of December 31st, 2011. In an unusual twist, I became aware of the fact that I was dreaming, took advantage of that realization, and started playing superhero. So, in my sleep-enabled imagination, I started flying all over the place and breathing underwater, impervious to the elements.
Seriously, y'all, I was a total badass and my Subaru was a submarine with a warp drive. That's ten kinds of cool!
In light of everything else that's been going on, how cool is it to end the year with a lucid dream?
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