Waiting

So I made an offer on the condo on the Friday of Memorial Day weekend. Sellers accepted it on Wednesday. As it stood, except that the fridge and washer/dryer aren't included after all. You can never tell from the listings if things were just forgotten or if they're not included. Guess I should have asked.

So the offer is at the bank. I offered less than the bottom of the "value range", but I still think the price/sq. ft is high. But the location is workable, and so is the space. Condo fees are low.

I'm not in love with the place, and if I don't get it I'll be ok with that. For one thing, they have cats...which means a lot of extra work deep cleaning to get rid of the allergens. And the carpet in the bedrooms will have to go, meaning another $3,000 or so for a new wood floor in the bedrooms. All the online advice I can find says you just can never get the cat saliva, dander and F1 (or whatever the compound is) out of carpets. But I can wash down all surfaces, ceilings, walls, etc., clean the air ducts, and run a HEPA system. But that makes me more reluctant to dicker on the place. It would be ok for a couple or three years.

Nothing else on the market in my range that's interesting.

I think I have a job interview...at least the head honcho says his staff will contact me to set one up. Boy, a "job" job would solve a lot of problems...like maybe allow me to spend a bit more to get the size condo I want. Not to mention relieve some stress and give me something interesting to do. :)

Dinner tonite at the home of a guy from the Chorus...and a birthday party tomorrow afternoon. So I'm starting to get connected here.

The guy who is buying Mom & Dad's place put a couple of his existing places on the market this week. He's trading up to purchase this place, with a 1031 exchange (some kind of realty investors tax dodge). He already has an offer, so he must really have priced them well. But he has 7 months from the close on his old property to purchase his next property. So if this closes, he'll need to own this place by January. Sorting and tossing continues apace, and the pace is heating up.

Of course, they could rent here until the unit at the new place opens up, but sounds like I'd best find a place of my own sooner rather than later. Too bad most of what's on the market is overpriced drek. Everyone is holding off hoping for a rebound in the real estate market. But the bank-owned inventory is mainly not on the market yet. And when it hits, the comps are going to plummet. I already see the bank-owned properties come on lower than the short sales and investor owned.

So, waiting on a job interview, waiting on a condo bid. Tired of waiting. Whatever happened to instant gratification?

Job survives the first year in San Diego

Well, I've been here a year.

I survived the broken collar bone
I survived my Ex's brain injury and related business and family craziness.
I managed to obtain individual health insurance, despite the best efforts of the insurance and medical establishment to not treat me. And only $650/month, such a deal!
I survived the October fires, and my lungs recovered
I made it through my first Chorus concert, even if I was medicated to the eyeballs and basically deaf.
I got my car smashed up, dealt with the aftermath, and got it fixed
My insurance company, finally, this week, agreed that I'd sold the Chicago home last year and refunded the premium they mistakenly deducted.
Oh, and the dog died.

You just gotta laugh. This is as much drama as a daytime soap opera. Any time now I expect to discover that my long lost brother (that I never knew about) has had a sex change operation while in prison in Mexico and now wants to marry me. Hey, this is Hollywood territory.

Goals for the next year:

1. Get some income
2. Get a place to live
3. Get some friends
4. Get healthy...fewer respiratory infections, more activity, less depression.
5. Get a boyfriend.

So, no big plans. :)

Seriously never expected it to take this long and still not be at all settled. I am starting to make inroads with people met through the Chorus. And my volunteer work is going well and appreciated. I'm just running out of steam, between the years dealing with my Ex and then the breakup, and then this year. I need some fun times, and a good healthy dose of redecorating something. I can't even shop for tchotchkes...I have so many in storage, there will be more coming when the parents move to a senior facility, and I don't have any place to put the tchotchkes anyway.

California Supreme Court Says Gay Partners have right to use "Married" to describe their relationships.

The Supreme's did it! They decided that the State Constitution gives people the basic right to form long-term relationships known as marriage. Further that this right applies regardless of sexual orientation. They reject the Attorney General's contention that separate but equivalent (married vs. domestic partnership) terminology is sufficient.

What an amazing thing. I've thought that was logical for years, but finally the court of one of the country's most populated states agrees. Of course the right wing will go nuts on this, arguing that's why we need a constitutional amendment, but I think the logic holds.

"As past cases establish, the substantive right of two adults who share a loving relationship to join together to establish an officially recognized family of their own — and, if the couple chooses, to raise children within that family — constitutes a vitally important attribute of the fundamental interest in liberty and personal autonomy that the California Constitution secures to all persons for the benefit of both the individual and society

Furthermore, in contrast to earlier times, our state now recognizes that an individual’s capacity to establish a loving and long-term committed relationship with another person and responsibly to care for and raise children does not depend
upon the individual’s sexual orientation, and, more generally, that an individual’s sexual orientation — like a person’s race or gender — does not constitute a legitimate basis upon which to deny or withhold legal rights. We therefore conclude that in view of the substance and significance of the fundamental constitutional right to form a family relationship, the California Constitution
properly must be interpreted to guarantee this basic civil right to all Californians, whether gay or heterosexual, and to same-sex couples as well as to opposite-sex couples."

The Court points out that this is a question of civil marriage, not religious marriage. It seems to me that's the key to moving forward on this issue. What rites the various religious want to perform around their relationships should not determine the legal relationship and rights accorded to all (even non-religious) citizens. The churches should stay out of property rights and inheritance rules, and health benefit rules, and stay with questions that apply strictly to their own members...their members relationships with their God and within their community.

Now I recognize that most religions also say something about a believer's relationship to the larger community. And I affirm that. But in a heterogeneous society, with multiple religions, there needs to be a distinction between the specific beliefs and practices of one religion, and the rules the larger community agrees upon.

Therein lies the rub, of course. Where should that line be drawn. But if we say that a specific religion can set the rules, then why not let those Texas polymagmist sects determine how we all should marry. Or maybe Food & Drug laws should be determined by Shiite Muslims. There are good reasons to argue for separation of Church & State. Those christians who try to break down those barriers are in for a rude awakening. As the US becomes more culturally diverse, and whites move into the majority, the separation becomes more important. What about communities that are majority Muslim, or Buddhist, or Hmong, or Pentecostal. Can all students in a Muslim-dominated suburb be required to wear head scarfs to public school? The Xn Right's argument implies that.

But then I seldom see them following their arguments to a logical outcome (at least not an outcome that takes the real multicultural 21st Century into account)

But anyway. I think this is a step forward for the US, in the midst of so many steps backwards.

That said, on the religious front, I don't think any of the local church bodies (except maybe Unitarian and UCC) allow blessed unions as a matter of course. Even the Episcopalians don't do it. So the religious folks here are considerable behind the curve on this one.

Back to square one, one car repair later

So I got away from SD and went to Tucson for a weekend. Stayed with friends and hiked in the mountains and had a good time. BUT, my friend backed out of her garage and scraped the side of my car. In all the dust, it didn't look too bad. But the autobody places wanted $1500 to repair the scrapes and dents...two doors, each with two panels. Who know?

So my friend said she'd pay,and I took the car in. But Friday she hadn't paid yet, so they wouldn't give me the car, and said they'd call her. Today she still hadn't paid (and who requires faxes of ID cards for credit card purchases anyway) So at 4:20 still no payment. I have a job interview first thing in the a.m. Yeah!

So I got on the phone to the friend, who hadn't made it happen yet. And then drove to the autobody shop, determined to get my car, even if it went on my credit card. After all, it wasn't my fault, and if she really wanted the miles she'd have taken care of this 10 days ago when we discussed it.

I handed them my card, sweet talked them into holding the charge in case she didn't come through. But then the fax rang. She didn't send everything they wanted, but enough that they'd release my car. And the credit went through.

So, much trauma and drama later, and I now have a car in the same shape it was a month ago. All this tsurris to get back to square one.

Now the rest of the story, as Paul Harvey says:
When I discovered how much the repair would cost, I emailed copies of the estimates to my friend. She couldn't believe the price. (Neither could I) I guess a lot of the price is because now they take the whole panel off, apply the bondo, paint it and put the protect coat on, and then send just the panel through the drying process, rather than the whole car like Earl Scheib. And she managed to hit 4 panels in her panicked backup down the driveway.

So she asked for photos. Of course, photos don't do a good job of showing dents and gouges...which is why insurance companies use onsite inspectors. So she's saying that there isn't any significant damage. Even calls the autobody place trying to get them to say it wasn't bad. Besides, I probably already had damaged the car, and was just trying to get her to pay to fix up problems she hadn't caused. Say What? So I'm cheating her and lying to her? Oh no, she's not questioning my integrity, she just thought I was lying to her. ?? I don't get the distinction.

And of course, this shouldn't be handled through insurance because she'd get a ding on her rates. Maybe I could get it paid for by my insurance?

Well she did eventually agree to pay, but by this time the friendship is seriously damaged, and I've had more aggravation.

Seems like par for the course when Job moves to San Diego.

I know, whine,whine,whine.

So, tomorrow I'll ace the job interview, get a really great job at a good rate of pay, and get back to having a normal life.

Hey, it could happen.