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Today is the first day in 4 and a half years I have not owned a house. I plan to waste time and spend money... until tomorrow, when I will own a different house. If only I had more time, I'm sure I could do a much better job of overspending and being leisurely if I didn't have to work and move and clean the old house for it's new owners. Stupid responsibilities.
I don't remember lines from movies. It took me a long time to notice this about myself, and I only noticed because it seems to me that this is an odd thing. More and more I am surrounded by people who can quote movies they're not even that fond of effortlessly, without even having seen them multiple times. I have seen a handful of movies repeatedly, yet I can't quote to you from them on cue.
There is one exception to this rule, but I don't feel too original for it. I think it's probable that 99% of people my age having grown up in these United States can quote at least as freely as I from the gospel of Ferris Bueller's Day Off. It probably doesn't count.
This doesn't really irk me, but for when it happens to be a movie I love. I should really know all the words to When Harry Met Sally or Dazed and Confused. Combined, I have probably logged hundreds of couch hours watching the movies in my personal top ten. I'm sure if I knew the actual figure I would be appalled. But perhaps the worst part is that when I am able to quote something it is often because I have taken pains to remember that particular phrase. Then I feel like an imposter, a poser, and in fact I am really a great lover of that particular flick.
I think people's differences are beautiful, truly, so it must be all the effort people put into not being different that turns my stomach.
I am just not the kind of person who can be in between. It's not in my makeup, and it actually makes me physically ill at times- headaches, nausea... I'm trying to breath into it, but it's a frustrating place to be. For one thing, the small thing, I'm unemployed. I have savings and I'm okay, I mainly find it frustrating because I like to have work to do. I wouldn't be nearly as frustrated or bored if it weren't for the other thing- my house is taking forever to close escrow. The buyer for the condo that my buyers of my house used to live in is seriously fucked. She's a school teacher, so already we know she has no money. On top of that she's financing the condo 100%. Her original plan was to get two bank loans and a third, rather large, loan from the City of LA, who offers low rates for teachers, etc. Well, the week we were supposed to close, the week of the 10th, it was discovered that her school is not on the eligible list for that third loan. God only knows why, not to mention why it took her so damn long to find that out. So we were scrambling for about a week when it was discovered that her loan agent is a complete JACKASS who has no earthly idea what he's doing. He was replaced and they juggled her loans and found another program she is eligible for, but for not as much money, and so today they finally wrote the loan documents.
Now for those of you that have never obtained a loan obtaining and signing the documents is the first step of getting a loan finalized. It still has to get processed, which takes a few days, and then the money has to come to the escrow company. So the loan docs are in and they have to go to the city to be processed today and of course that's when the city of LA goes on strike! And perhaps the most frustrating thing is that I didn't find out about any of these shenanigans until after I had put everything but my bed and clothes in storage. So I live at a house with no television, cable, internet, kitchen utensils, etc. It's mindnumbingly dull there, but at least it has air conditioning.
And through all of this the escrow for the house I'm buying is in perfect shape. I could take ownership on the 26th, but for not having the money from the sale of my last house. So all I'm waiting for is this one woman who is not even my buyer. If it were a different real estate market, the market of a year ago, I could have dumped my buyers for this and gotten even more money. But now all I can do is wait. Impatiently.
I'm not working now, so when the alarm went off at 8:20 this morning I promptly hit snooze and hopped back into bed, letting my snooze hand dangle off the bed. That's when Spotty came to snuffle my hand, as he used to when he slept in my room regularly. I almost rolled over, but that's when I remembered that I had to wake up and take him to the vet for his surgery. For a few moments we stayed in our places and I rubbed his nose while I heard his tail whipping just above the floor. But then we swang into action... sorry... I swang into action and Spotty found a good place to lump about until we left for the vet.
To properly put in context what happened when we got there I should say that over two years ago Spotty was diagnosed with dysplasia, a problem with the hips, and the vets all made it sound like this would be his downfall and it would only take a couple of years. It didn't help that he was more than 20 pounds overweight, so that was the problem we addressed. I talked to a holistic vet who recommended I cook for them, and I have ever since. So the best part of this morning was getting Spotty's blood tests back and hearing the vet say that he is impeccable health for a dog of his age- his results were those of a much younger dog. Spotty should be around for a good long while. I just keep repeating that to myself as my nervous mommy worryings repeat in my head.
After making extreme dietary changes, increasing exercise, and carefully monitoring exactly how much gets consumed since April I am happy to report that my retriever mix, Spotty, has lost 12 pounds!!! Yay Spotty!
Unfortunately, this was discovered at a vet appointment today where we scheduled surgery for a mass in Spotty's fatty tissue. His prognosis is really good and the vet said he seems incredibly healthy for a 9 year old dog. But the cause was a little surprising: Tooth Decay. She said drainage from some relatively minor tooth decay he's experiencing had infected his lymph glands and that's probably what had caused the tumor, also known as a lymphoma. So they're going to clean his teeth while he's under anesthesia, too.
People who know Spotty know that I often refer to him as a "lump." It seems even more apropos now.
Things are going pretty smoothly with the home-buying process, so I finally uploaded photos.
It is 11:30 pm and finally I have stopped moving, stopped being distracted long enough to feel the full weight of the day crushing down on me. I just agreed to buy a really expensive house. Rick and I will have to have a roommate until one, or more likely both of us, have been promoted to full editors. I don’t have the luxury of weeks between jobs anymore. I won’t really be paying an unreasonable amount, with the roommates and Rick, but the desire to get ahead in the payments and lessen the loan amount is already creasing my forehead. Quite honestly, I’ve never had to plan financially while living here because it was usually so cheap.
Here is part of the dull ache of unease in my chest. I will miss this place so much. This was my first house, all mine. I bought it for the yard and made the house pretty damn spiffy over the last 53 months. The floors, the kitchen, the paint, the ceiling fans- everyone who has enjoyed them has been my friend or family. I painted the ceiling in my bedroom dark purple even though my mother told me not to. I painted the TV Room red after stripping it of all the wood paneling. I picked out the refrigerator, stove, microwave, dishwasher, air conditioning, all of it. I’ll never forget sledgehammering the old kitchen counter, or pulling up the old floor.
Over the years I’ve had parties, nursed a broken heart, left the house to meet my new baby brother, and sheltered my “baby” sister. I’ve walked everywhere naked. I’ve had sex in almost every room (must amend to do list...). I’ve entered the entertainment industry and firmly established a career. I’ve had two roommates with two dogs at different levels of misbehaved. I’ve rented it out to a friend for 6 months while running off to a foreign country. I’ve run three marathons and started training for a fourth. I’ve thrown a bridal shower for a best friend. I’ve had two and a half boyfriends. I’ve done a million and one things and Casa de Ranchito was the backdrop. It is very hard to let go.
The year was 1972. You move into a family home in a quiet neighborhood near that dirty place known as Venice, CA and decorate it to the hilt. There's already rough stone from ceiling to floor by the fireplace and fashionable popcorn ceilings, but you add metallic floral wallpaper, wood laminate flooring in the dining room and linoleum with dayglo flowers in the kitchen. Then you spend the next 34 years caring meticulously for every detail in your huge 4 bedroom, 2 bathroom home, until sadly, you die. Enter me.
If all goes well I will be the owner of my own 70s flashback in 30 days. And even more exciting than the prospect of scraping off those popcorn ceilings and all that wallpaper is that I'm moving in with my honey! We've already picked out which two rooms are ours and have begun the roommate hunt. The living room suits his need for a spectacularly large television, as it is spectacularly large- but it also meets my need for a fireplace and a beautiful backyard. The kitchen is wonderfully huge and I imagine with a dining room like that we have to have you all over for the holidays. Shit, we even have two ovens. Can you say more Turkey and Pumpkin Pie please?
A lot will need to be done over the next few years, but for now it's not only livable- it's highly entertaining. It's right across the street from a beautiful tree-lined golf course and two blocks down from a large park. I can't wait to do more running in that neighborhood! I actually took it for a test run Monday night and it was wonderful. And the best part? As if this wasn't enough???? It's 10 blocks from the beach.
I'M GOING TO LIVE 10 BLOCKS FROM THE BEACH!!!!!! GAH!!!!!!!!!
There's is a high likelihood of pictures to come soon.
There are so many details that I don't have time to give, but for right now let me just say that I made an offer on a house!!! Please pray, chant, kill chickens, whatever it is you do.
When I find out I'll update with all the info- like who is moving in there with me!
