May 4, 2008
Meeting Real Live Bloggers: Tequila Con 2008
Last night, Mr. BBM and I met some real live bloggers face to face. They did not disappoint. This was my very first Tequila Con and it did not disappoint either. I had plans to make a photo essay out of the whole night, but then I realized that we had over 40 pictures, and there was just no way I could upload them all here. So, if you’d like to see the photographic evidence of our very good time, you can go here. This is where everyone will be uploading their own pictures of Tequila Con. I’ve added a few below, just for fun.
I spent the entire night laughing and smiling almost non-stop. My sides and face hurt by the time it was all over. It really was that much fun. The planning crew, Dave, Jenny, Dustin, Vahid (please forgive me if I’m missing someone) were so welcoming and sweet. We got custom lanyards, pins to add some bling, and even a soundtrack that is just plain awesome (I thought I was the only person who liked S-S-S-S-Samantha Fox).
Just a couple highlights from the night:
-Sneaking into the DJ booth ninja style armed with song requests and $10 along with the help and support of Jenny and Dee Dee.
–Adam teaching me about the joys of being able to bring Karl’s posts to life even in a bowling alley.
-Hanging out with Hello Ha Ha Narf and Vahid.
-Meeting Karl which, well, words can’t even begin to describe.
-Watching Dustin break out the Tequila costume and then work the room like a pro.
-Kicking Dave’s butt, because he put in a special request.
-Meeting one of my favorite readers, Delmer and his friend with very cool shoes Donna!
-Meeting Lisa and her husband and Hilly.
-Being in the presence of Miss Britt doing just about anything, but especially dancing.
-Comparing PT notes with Rachel.
-Trying to make the case for Pete and Mike being serial killers. They’re so totally not.
-Saving Dan at Chucklehut for last, and even sharing a cab back to our respective hotels.
It was great to meet so many fantastic people. Looking back over the list of attendees today, I can’t believe all of the ones I didn’t get to meet last night. I guess there’s always next year!
May 1, 2008
Back on the Floor
I drove Big I to karate tonight and I couldn’t help but think that in just a few weeks, I could be training again. I was daydreaming about what it will feel like to tell everyone "I’m back!" I have not set foot on the training floor since my injury in October. It’s been a really long time.
As I entered the dojo tonight, my teacher commented about how well I was walking around. I told him that I’m getting there and hoping to return (slowly) in June. Somehow the conversation turned to Sanchin. I said I didn’t know it and he said he would teach me. I thought it would be from the sidelines.
I was having a conversation with another Mom in the dojo when Hanshi summoned me from the upstairs training floor. He told me take my shoes off and come out on the floor. I took my shoes off, threw my jacket and purse on the bench and walked out. It felt really strange being back on the floor, but even more so in jeans.
Hanshi explained Sanchin and talked about the meaning of the number "three" within our system and how it relates to pretty much everything in our style. And then we started. In a casual stance, I stood there and worked on Sanchin breathing. Then we added hand motions. When it was time to get into the Sanchin stance, I just kept my feet facing forward and didn’t worry about my stance. I spent about 40 minutes out on the floor walking through Sanchin with the rest of the class, careful not to pivot on my knee or do anything that would cause a problem.
I wanted to be completely immersed in learning Sanchin but I couldn’t help but think about my knee almost constantly. I tried to get into a good nai hanchi stance but it was really difficult to do. Like squats, I continue to put more weight on my right leg, not yet trusting my left knee to keep up with the right. I knew I was going to need some work on basics again but I had no idea how much.
I also tried to stand in cat stance with my weight on my left leg and that was nearly impossible and painful. My knee cap area just started to ache and I backed off. At one point while standing there, I started to think about how good it felt to be back out there again; but then I almost welled up with tears thinking about how difficult a journey it’s going to be to get back to where I used to be.
The reality that it is going to take me months just to get my body to do the basic things that it used to do without thinking is hitting me hard tonight. After knocking out all the things I couldn’t do at home, like carrying Lil C up and down the stairs and even something so simple as alternating steps when going up and down, I mistakenly believed I was almost there.
Going back to karate is going to pose an entirely different set of challenges. Tomorrow, when I go to PT, I’m going to talk to my physical therapist about the stances I’ll need to use and ask him to help me get there. I realized tonight that the mental aspect of coming back is going to be the hardest part, but the physical part isn’t going to be a cake walk either.
May 1, 2008
Verdict
They love our house. We’re their favorite. Are you sensing a "but"? Because there is one.
They are first time home-buyers and they want to see every other possibility in the whole wide world before they decide we are the right house for them. This does not mean they don’t want our house; they do. They just want to be 100% sure and they can’t be if they’ve only seen eight other properties. While they continue to peruse the universe, they want to be notified immediately if another offer comes in on our house.
I might be slightly exaggerating about the number of homes they intend to see; but I am a woman on the edge here. I am a woman who is seriously sick and tired of vacuuming morning, noon and night and constantly putting dishes and clothes away. I am a woman on official bed-making strike. I am done. . .
. . .until we get another call for a showing and then I’ll turn right back into Martha again, spelling out "buy me now" in the carpet with the vacuum and baking perfect chocolate chip cookies that the girls aren’t even allowed to smell.
In the interest of completely changing the subject so that my breathing can return to normal once again, what does one wear to Tequila Con 2008? Because I have no idea, and somehow I’m imagining that asking Karl might be a bad idea.
April 30, 2008
What’s the what’s the what’s the scenario?
The agent who showed our home for the third time on Monday night has yet to make contact with our realtor. Despite it being their third time here, and taking pictures galore, nothing, still. My agent called today and he sounds as baffled and frustrated as we do. So in the interest of keeping my sanity, I’ve come up with some possible scenarios:
1. The buyers came and were disappointed by the brand new flooring in the kitchen and the new carpet. Apparently they like the "rustic" look of faded linoleum and 16-year old worn pink carpet was just what they were looking for. They also planned on making Lil C’s blue ocean room into an in-house beach so they were disappointed to see it painted so neutral and non-ocean-like. Because they must realize the work that we put into the place, they are trying to figure out a way they can ask us to retrieve the pink carpet from some landfill somewhere and put it back. They’re also trying to figure out how they can get us to repaint the ocean room.
Scenario result: Mr. BBM and I will launch empty paint cans at them from afar and tell them to kiss it.
2. The buyers are psychologists and/or have studied the psychology of buying a house. They want our house badly but they are being careful not to appear too eager. Instead they will wait and wait and wait to appear "neutral." Their agent has asked our agent to call him if another offer might be forthcoming so they are going to just wait it out until that happens hoping we might drop our price and they might get our place for a steal (which it totally already is losers).
Scenario result: This "psychology" is really starting to tick us off. So much so, that any offer that’s not full price and without contingencies will probably be scoffed at by the BBM family. Psychology doesn’t work on people like us. In fact, no psychologist would even attempt to try to figure us out. We’re just that weird. End result? We will probably tell the buyers to kiss it. Are you sensing a theme here?
3. The buyers were on their way to the office to write up an offer when a gigantic T-rex came storming out of the forest and devoured them whole, agent and all.
Scenario result: The BBM family will probably still talk badly about potential buyers because they should have written up an offer a long time ago, which would have helped them avoid the night of the dreaded T-rex.
4. The buyers are working on getting a pre-approval and haven’t had time to sit down and write up the offer because they are busy, busy people.
Scenario result: Waiting makes BBM’s unhappy so we will probably counter offer 10K above asking, just for stressing us out. Jerks.
5. Like in "Lost", the buyers and their agent have been whisked away to some planet that looks like Earth and feels like Earth, but it’s totally not. Perhaps in that world, they’ve already made an offer and our alternate selves have accepted it and they’re already moving in, so there’s no need to come back to this Earth and go through the whole process.
Scenario result: Locke is totally going to take one of them out and the surviving one will come crawling back to this Earth to try to get our house. We’ll be so sick of waiting that we’ll probably tell them to kiss it anyway.
Why can’t some other buyer come in and make us an offer we can’t refuse? I’m sick of dealing with these people and their lousy communication skills. Please take the afternoon off from crossing everything for us. At this point, I think it’s more likely that a T-Rex will buy our house.
April 29, 2008
No News is Good News?
No, not a question mark! No news is good news. Period. That’s my mantra and I’m sticking to it. . .
Oh, who am I kidding?
Today my stomach has been in knots for the entire day. We’ve heard nothing yet. Nothing. These people are seriously killing me. "Killing me softly with no word, killing my house hopes, with no word, killing me softly. . . make an of-of-of-offer." Yes, I do believe I’ve lost it. The cleaning chemical fumes, the stress of it all. . . I’d like to move into a new house at some point but I’ll probably just need the crazy house by the time this all happens. My family will need therapy too, from being yelled at one too many times for messing up my perfect vacuuming lines.
I know your muscles are all cramped up, but if you could just continue to keep crossing your arms, legs, eyes, eyelashes and private parts for luck, I’d really appreciate it. If you do, I’ll buy you a beer at Tequila Con this weekend. I’ll need photographic proof of course, that you held up your end of the bargain (eyes, arms, legs and eyelashes only. Please keep your private parts, well, um, private). But yes, I’m going to Tequila Con to meet some real live bloggers and that is seriously the only thing that is getting me through this on-edge week.
No news is good news. No news is good news. No news is good news.
***To kill the waiting time, head over to The BBM Review to check out the latest reviews and find out how you could win an IPOD Nano!
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