All over the map.

Gosh. I’ve got so many things on my mind at the moment. House-hunting, the psychological value of a good pair of boots, the blatant cronyism of Flaherty’s new economic advisory panel. Where to start? What to leave off this little Friday rant of mine? It’s a head full of stuff and I’m feeling a tad unsettled, mostly due to the sugar I ate at lunch. Woahya!

I’m at work for the first time in a week, having just come off a union tour that included Prince George, Terrace, Prince Rupert, Kamloops, Victoria, Sidney and New West. Suffice to say I’m glad we did the north before the weather got really bad, and that mostly people seem okay with the negotiated agreement. We’ve got until the 22nd of January to finish the vote which means more dates in the new year, many of which I seem to have finagled my way out of (in exchange for doing some other union work in February, not just because I’m lazy).

So it’s weird being here after all that bouncing around and I’m a scatterhead today, despite the fact I have lots to do over, what with a Mach 31st deadline on my project and all. I think mostly I just need a weekend off to let things settle, which is probably not going to happen this weekend after all.

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Brian and I have been looking at houses and thinking about offers lately, despite the fact his house has just now been listed for sale. Of course we’re talking conditional offers, which give almost no promise of being able to close anything until Brian’s house is signed and sold. And although conventional wisdom says it’s a difficult time to sell, we also know a number of people looking to buy at the moment – which means the market isn’t quite as dead as the media would like us to believe. It’s just not hot like it was two years ago when people were psychotically buying dodgy real estate for outrageous prices. Fair enough, I would hazard to say that while we will get less for Brian’s house now, the market is a tad more relaxed and a lot more accessible than it was. Which is nothing to get hysterical about unless you thought you were going to do 10 k of renos and turn your house over for 100,000 more this year – a practice I’ve got little sympathy for.

So we’ll see. We’re lucky that we’ve got a little room to move on the price point, and we are listing at about 20,000 less than the next closest thing in his neighbourhood which should at least get us some people into view the place.

Either way, we’ve identified the home of our dreams and are seriously considering making an offer – which means a visit to the bank and another tour of the house are on order this weekend even though all I want to do is curl up and sleep until christmas eve at the moment. If it wasn’t for having to sell the other house first I’d be a bit more enthusiastic, but I’m afraid to invest too much of myself here in case someone else comes along with a better offer in two weeks time. On the plus side, there’s lots of interesting stuff for sale right now and this little exercise is forcing us to get the credit checks and mortgage rates in order.

Despite all that, I am feeling pretty confident that Brian’s house will sell in the new year as the price should attract some interest.

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Doing a little digging along these thought lines, I’ve found that my credit score is way higher than it used to be even with the error I found on it – and apparently I’m considered a good lending risk.

I’ve also just discovered that my house on the Sunshine Coast seems to be holding its value if the other MLS listings are anything to go on.

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This week I’ve been wearing a pair of Daytons I bought back in the summer for the first time (the tall brown pair for those of you who remember the photo) – twenty-two holes of surefooted leather, I’d forgotten how much a kickass pair of boots changes one’s stride and demeanor. I’m quite liking the extra smidge of self-confidence I’ve been experiencing the last couple of days, particularly as I’m otherwise exhausted and a bit crabby. The boots are the little bit of magic I need to get through the next week of running about and holiday prep, after which I can take them off and retire to a cozy bed with Brian for a few days. It’s the runup to Christmas I hate, getting to the 25th being an olympic feat rewarded only with the fact no one expects you to do much for a few days afterwards. (At the very least, Brian has elected not to put up a tree this year which is one less thing for us to fret about right now.)

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And so it’s Friday and I’ll be poking out of here soon enough to go see if I can find some picture frames for my brother’s gift and a few nice cards to distribute next week as we make our rounds. This fall has been crazy and I’m hoping that work will relax its grip by spring so I can move house and take some small holidays over the summer. Camping, kayaking, the things I was not able to get to last year – with all these vacation days saved up I should be able to get some small days of peace in the not to distant future.