Brief update... [23 Dec 2009|01:12pm] schmi 1. Met thevfrchick's mum last night for dinner at Annapurna and had a grand time. S. and I both wished we would be quite that cool when we got to be her age. :) 2. Things are dead at work as everyone's taken off for the holidays. It leaves me with quiet time to work and job hunt. 3. Christmas will be at S.'s place this year. It's nice to finally have a place to go to and belong at this time of year after many dismal Christmasses spent alone. I bought presents for him and his family and for Lucy when she comes over next week. 4. I am making good progress on my book and am getting a brain dump from mrsoles in January on the getting published aspect of it. 5. I am thinking about purchasing a cheap car. Being carless has been good for the past two years but come winter and not being able to ride my bike much, I start feeling trapped in Seattle. What can I get for $5000 these days? 6. I am currently reading Breeding Better Vermonters by Nancy Gallagher, which is an interesting account of the history of eugenics at the University of Vermont. 7. I have also been reading about the history of salons - gatherings of intellectuals and people from eclectic backgrounds from back in the day and wanting to start my own. 8. I have been wanting to switch teams for a long time now and today I finally took the first step. I applied for this one job on a team that really excites me and when I looked up the hiring manager, it turned out to be SOMEONE I WENT TO ENGINEERING SCHOOL with in Bombay!!! I don't know if this is good or bad, but I'm crossing my fingers and hoping things go in the right direction here. 9. And finally - I *think* that my big adventure next year will be riding a motorcycle through Europe. I haven't figured out any details of how to get a motorcyle there (ship mine, rent or buy one there etc.) or really any details, but the more I think about it, the more it feels right. 5;    &spectators

Year end meme [21 Dec 2009|01:25pm] schmi 1. What did you do in 2009 that you'd never done before? - Rode my motorcycle across the country - Met Skjalm :) 2. Did you keep your new year's resolutions, and will you make more for next year? I kept the one where I wanted to have a grand adventure. I kept the one where I wanted to meet new people and reconnect with friends from my past. I didn't run a marathon or get anything published. But those will be next year's resolutions. 3. Did anyone close to you give birth? Not someone close, but one friend did give birth. 4. Did anyone close to you die? No, but for the first time ever, someone I knew in real life passed away. RIP, tmercenary 5. What countries did you visit? Canada. :P Okay, Quebec sounds better than Canada, no? 6. What would you like to have in 2010 that you lacked in 2009? - A writing career - A new job in a group that excites me 7. What date from 2009 will remain etched upon your memory, and why? Nothing stands out in particular. 8. What were your biggest achievements of the year? - Riding solo for thirty days - Achieving balance in my life - Meeting many, many good old friends from my past ( The rest... ) 4;    &spectators

Mountain pr0n! [21 Dec 2009|09:11am] schmi For the climbers out there, here are the 15 most spectacular rock climbs in the world: http://www.hottnez.com/the-15-most-spectacular-rock-climbs/. The photos are fantastic enough to make climbers out of the rest of us. :) 8;    &spectators

Question on condo listings in Seattle [18 Dec 2009|02:00pm] schmi I'm half-pondering buying a condo and have been scouting around my neighborhood for condos for sale, especially because I heard that interest rates are as low as 4% these days if you know where to look. I found these further down the street from me in the same building block. I am leaning towards the top two because of the lower prices even though the bottom two have a "view": $179,000: http://www.redfin.com/WA/Seattle/308-E-Republican-St-98102/unit-707/home/17038407 $185,000: http://www.redfin.com/WA/Seattle/308-E-Republican-St-98102/unit-607/home/17080812 $220,000: http://www.redfin.com/WA/Seattle/308-E-Republican-St-98102/unit-606/home/12543731 $225,000: http://www.redfin.com/WA/Seattle/308-E-Republican-St-98102/unit-904/home/21686606 Could those of you knowledgeable about real estate - especially condos in Seattle - give the listings a looksee and give me your opinions? Things I am mostly firm about: 1. Living on Capitol Hill (good location, walkable, all my friends live here etc.). These are the *only* ones I found on all of Capitol Hill that are somewhat affordable, have decent square footage (614 sq. ft., same as my current apartment) and have parking spots. 2. Buying something that has good resale value (these ones seem to have the following on their side: location, swimming pool, rec room, parking) 3. Buying what I can afford. I cannot really afford the downpayment on anything much higher than $200,000 and would like to keep my costs below that. I also do not want my monthly payments to be significantly more than my current rent and want to put down 20% as far as possible. 4. Needs to have at least one parking spot, which these do 5. Not getting something that needs a lot of fixing up Things I have concerns about: 1. Why are four people in this building wanting to sell? Problems with HOA/condition of the building/upcoming expenses etc.? 2. Are the HOA dues fair? They are almost $300/month, including property taxes 3. Is now a good time to buy? I keep hearing this but I'm not sure. I feel like Seattle is one place where condo prices kinda hold, but I don't want to end up making a rash decision because of limited knowledge. Thanks in advance! 36;    &spectators

Surgery tomorrow! [16 Dec 2009|10:51am] schmi So tomorrow is the big day that I get my wisdom teeth extracted, after years of being nagged at by several dentists. I'm only getting out two on the right side to save money and to allow me to chew solids on the left. I'm taking Thursday and Friday off sick to recover and hopefully I'll be right as rain by Monday morning. I'm going to hit the grocery store after work today to stock up on semi-solid foods that I can eat during recovery. I'll try my best to convince them that I don't need sedation and to make do with local anaesthetic, so I don't have to deal with any unpleasant after-effects. Hopefully I have some arnica at home that I can take pre-surgery to help with any potential nausea and inflammation. I think I'm in good enough health that I should recover quite well, in time for Christmas next week. And I guess I'm such a veteran of surgeries that I'm not very much apprehensive about any aspect of it. :P I *would* love to have visitors to come see me though, so if any of you want to drop by and fuss over me, I'd greatly appreciate it! It's always nice to have friends around when you're not feeling 100%. :) I will be home for most of Thursday through Sunday. Edit: Anyone else who has gotten this done, do share your experiences. :) ( List of stuff I think I can eat post-surgery. ) 36;    &spectators

Save save save!? [16 Dec 2009|08:44am] schmi I got an "exclusive offer" from this furniture store that I have made purchases at in the past that said: Spend $100, Get $10 Spend $150, get $15 Spend $200, get $20 and my thinking went: BUT If I don't spend $100, I save $100 If I don't spend $150, I save $150 If I don't spend $200, I save $200 Somehow I don't think I'm the right kind of customer for this type of advertising. :P 4;    &spectators

navigation [ viewing | most recent entries ] [ go | earlier ]