Red Cedar
More apocalypse, less angst
Craving routine.
I’ve been holding my breath and hoping a lot lately which has made blogging a little bit secondary to what has been going on in my head – hence, no post for almost two weeks, and this ain’t gonna be a long one. I’m about to run off and rent a car, drive to the Fraser Valley and then home again this evening – this after just returning last night from a two day trip to Campbell River and Courtenay. Hell, we’re three days outta holidays and I’m already tired. And a little fretful.
This is the last week of the crazy driving-around-the-province ratification vote schedule I have been on – which I will be well glad to see the back of. Meetings continue for the next two weeks after, but all the ones I have to attend are in downtown Vancouver a short walk away from my workplace. This means I can go back to the gym, back to a more or less regular working schedule, back to the routine I love so much. And by this, I am not sarcastic, routine keeps me grounded and healthy – keeps my most paranoid thoughts at bay.
So I am wishing for a return to it about now as it seems quite a long time since I’ve just had a nice, regular pattern to my days that allows for working out, blogging, and other diversions.
In other tensions, I have been waiting for Brian’s house sale to close which is supposed to happen this Friday, and peripherally worrying about the whole thing falling through because I just can’t help it. (His post from yesterday involves a bit more description on what’s been going on.) According to our realtor, everything really is going fine and a small hitch in the financing on their side has been fixed so they can move ahead with the purchase. But still, even a week seems like too long to have the subjects removed when you are waiting for that to happen. Particularly when there is the perfect house waiting for us to go have the subjects removed on next week. Damn, I’m going to be breathing a lot easier when deposits on both sales are paid in full and signed off.
On the plus side, our financing is totally arranged, including the deposit – so as soon as Brian’s house closes and we get our new house inspected we are good to go. That feels pretty good, as does the fact we will be clearing off all our debts upon the sale of Brian’s house in order to bring ourselves down to just having a mortgage and no other high-interest credit in our lives. I think if I was one to make new year’s resolutions, mine for 2009 would include kicking the credit card habit and all those unnecessary interest payments. In the last year I have managed to pay off and cancel two separate cards with this in mind, it would be nice to keep my remaining card down at a zero balance with the exception of traveling costs.
In any case, all things going as planned, we will be moving April 16, 2009 – and by the end of next week I will know that for sure and can stop the fluttering nerves just under the surface right now. Exciting, yes. A little nerve-wracking though in the wait.
Christmas adventures.
It’s been a weird one alright. Not at all what we expected or planned given a number of events that all added up to canceling everything B and I had planned for the holidays – but in the end it’s been a holiday with both relaxation and promise for the new year.
It started last weekend with the combination of a dead starter in my car and the crazy snowfall which left my little Toyota on a sidestreet in Hastings-Sunrise, too icy to tow to the mechanic and thus out of commission until the streets get plowed or the snow melts. Knowing the dearth of snowplows in Vancouver, that means we are still waiting for the warming trend this weekend that will supposedly turn this freeze back into water.
So, we revised our plans – sans car and with the headaches of dog and snowy travel we decided to cancel our trip to Victoria and go next week when I am hopeful we will have a repaired car to travel in. This is good in that we can take Mica with us and do the family thing all together – even if it’s not what we had originally envisioned. We figured, at least we can still do Xmas eve dinner in Surrey with B’s brother, given that skytrains and suburban buses were still running throughout the weather madness.
Yeah, right. Xmas eve afternoon we arrived at Broadway station early hoping to catch a quick train out to New West and then a bus to the brother’s home. (I should note here that B’s brother is a 5-star chef, having been the head guy at Bishop’s for a number of years – we were looking forward to one tasty dinner out there in the suburbs). After 30 minutes or so, a train finally came – but it was so packed full we couldn’t get on. Another 20 minutes later a second train arrived and we squeezed on for the ride which promised to be unpleasant but at least heading to our destination. Just before 29th avenue station, however, the train stopped abruptly and sat on the tracks for a couple of minutes before reversing back and heading into Nanaimo station. An announcement over the loudspeakers informed us there that a tree had fallen onto the train tracks and all service pas 29th ave was canceled until further notice.
At this point, what could we do but get off the train and make some hasty decisions about our course of action? Obviously with the snow still coming down and a non-functional train we were not getting out of the city that night, and even if we did we weren’t sure we could make it back in. And where the train broke down we were only 15 blocks from B’s house anyhow – so the three of us trekked off in the snow, helping a stuck vehicle along the way and picking up groceries for an impromptu festive dinner.
In the end, our Christmas eve was as it should be. Quiet, at home with a fire, a roasted chicken and lots of little treats, and gifts to open before bed (Mica going to her Mom’s in the morning, we had elected to do our gift exchange the evening before). I would like to rave here about the amazing and thoughtful presents B gave me, but this story is already long enough so perhaps I will do that in another post.
Christmas day we managed to get a cab after an hour waiting outside (our first cab was sent to the wrong address), and Mica went up to her Mom’s place leaving Brian and I to some afternoon cuddling and a dinner of take-out chinese from the Pink Pearl. Bronwyn and Leo came from down the street and joined us – and much rice was eaten and wine drunk before they left to go get their van unstuck from where they had left it on their journey.
So this was the holiday, which on its own was a little bit of a miracle in making do – but interspersed through the last three days we have also been dealing with house stuff. In that we have been making offers and counteroffers since Xmas eve afternoon – signing paperwork and faxing back and forth. This morning at 9 am our realtor called with a final counteroffer and we agreed to a price we think is fair to both parties. All verbal right now because the sellers are away, but on Monday we will pay the deposit and sign the paperwork, which means we have to get to selling B’s house pronto to close the sale.
For those of you curious folks – the house is located on Charles Street, right around the corner from mine and you can see pictures here. The house looks smaller in the pics than it really is, but still we will have to be creative in space use in order to fit all our bits and books in. But of course, none of this is a reality until we sell the other house – the advantage being that both houses are being sold by the same realtor which gives them an extra push to get B’s off the market.
So it’s been a funny few days really, a Christmas quite different and more memorable than I would have expected. A promise for the new year of a home for us, some quiet moments for reflecting and loving, and proof that no matter what happens we can compromise and make new traditions on the fly. That’s a pretty good end to 2008 if you ask me.
Life on the contingency plan.
Hm.
I’m suddenly in a place with a lot of contingencies on moving forward. A whole host of “this will happen *if* this other thing happens first” – and quite honestly I’m not the type of person who feels comfortable in between possibilities. I prefer much more that things are locked in, clean, simple, not hanging on the whim of fates. You get the idea.
But as of this weekend even my xmas plans are contingent on the weather and my car getting repaired (again) – so I’m just having to roll with it all and not think about houses for sale and being offered on too much. It could drive me mad, this in-between living space. It’s certainly not conducive to my creativity or productivity as my mind churns through “what if, what if, what if”.
I feel like I just have to list all the things going on, since it’s been such madness and it will illustrate exactly what I’m talking about above (these aren’t all things involving contingencies, just what’s going on at the moment):
- I’ve just spent the last two weeks on the road doing union meetings – which fortunately are over until the new year;
- There is no water in my house following a pipe-rupture on Saturday. Apparently having no water puts you low on the priority list with plumbers because there are all sorts of people in town who can’t figure out how to shut their water off and have burst pipes flooding their homes. We might see a plumber today but I think it’s unlikely.
- My car refused to start on Saturday night as we were readying ourselves to get back to Brian’s from a part before the snow really started to fly. Only a week ago I had the starter replaced, so I’m assuming this is a related issue. This morning I called Drake towing and have let my mechanic know the car is coming it.
- While I was fucking about with the car on Saturday night I fell on the icy road not once, but twice – really hard. I am bruised and sore still as a result, but at least I didn’t break anything
- The weather forecast isn’t all that much better for the rest of the week which might mean cancelling my vacation plans to Victoria. If the car doesn’t get better soon, we might not be able to go anyway because we’ve got Brian’s dog and this becomes a much more complicated trip with a vehicle.
- On a better note, we went to the bank on Saturday and this morning have been informed that we’re pre-approved for a mortgage, contingent on the sale of Brian’s house. We’ve got actual numbers to work with now, which helps a lot.
- B’s house was listed for sale on Friday and we’ve got it all sparkling clean for showing. There was some interest right away but the viewing fell through at the last minute – I am hopeful though about the sale of his home. It’s in very good shape and priced right.
- This evening we’re looking at the house we’re interested in offering on, which as I mentioned before would be an offer contingent on the sale of B’s home. As a result I’ve got an application in for a small line of credit as we would have to put a deposit on the sale and we’d be hard pressed to find ready cash right now.
So you can see, it’s all a bit of a schmoz right now – and I have no idea where I’m going to be this week let alone in the new year. I am excited about all the potential, but also nerve-wracked by the uncertainty so you know, I’m just trying to get through the list of “have to” without turning my head to look at the list of “what if”. “Have to” is fix my car, finish my xmas shopping, wrap presents, make sure the Charles St. house is one we want to offer on. “Have to” also includes some sleeping in over the holidays, and some time spent with friends and family. The rest of it can wait for the new year, or at least until the Christmas madness passes – and I can fret myself into nervousness anew.
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.
Red Cedar 