(no subject)

This weekend was rather disappointing in the real estate department. Not one realtor showed the house! We made it a point to tidy up and run errands and such so there wouldn't be any pressure of getting a phone call and scurrying about to make everything pretty than pulling a disappearing act. We received some recommendations from the wife-half of our realtor team on how to move the furniture around and make the place look more 'showplace' rather than 'lived in'. Mindy doesn't agree with some of the recommendations, but I think we should do them since the lady does have a Masters Degree in Interior Design. We'll see what we (meaning 'she') decides to do. On the husband-half of the team, he called last night and said he would be bringing about some brochures detailing our property and such. I plan on asking him about directionals to lure prospective buyers onto our culdesac.
-----
We drove down to Charlotte on Saturday and looked at some apartments. We checked out four different communities. The first one was a place I checked out last week and I spoke with the office rep. They had a three bedroom I wanted to view, but it wasn;t ready. She told me if I came down on Saturday it would be ready and she would let them know I was coming. So when we got there, I was a bit dismayed when the rep on site told me she didn't have a three bedroom to show and all they had was two bedroom model. I explained to her that I had come by earlier in the week and was told I could see it, and she gave me attitude. Mindy wanted to see the two bedroom, so the girl asked for our Drivers Licenses. Slightly annoyed, but always trying to lighten the mood I replied, "Why? We aren't going to drive the apartment, just look at it." It's our policy. So I went to get mine out of my wallet and hand it to the girl, but Mindy had left hers in the car, so I told her not to worry I had mine. The girl was rather rude in her tone and said she needed to go and get hers also. I decided I didn't like the attitude, the fact that I was told I could see the three bedroom and was now told I couldn't, and the whol drivers license thing was bugging me. "Y'know what? Never mind," I said with apparant disdain, "This has already been too much of a hassel." And we left. So we we drove to a couple other properties and I noticed similar signage and I suspected the properties were run by the same company. They were, but the site reps were much friendlier and more helpful. The last place we looked at was a community that Mindy's cousin had lived in while she and her fiance were in Charlotte (they were the ones whose wedding we attended in Hawaii). Mindy LOVED that community - and of course ti was the more expensive of the four we visited. We could afford a two bedroom, and Mindy was already trying to make a case to do that instead of finding a three bedroom somewhere else. We'll see what transpires, since we don't have an offer on the house yet and it makes no sense to fill out applications and such until we are contracted to sell the house.
-----
Yesterday I did yard work.  Fun stuff!  That is one thing I think I will both miss as well as enjoy not having to do.  There is something about making the outside of your own home look nice, and when it is all said and done you can step back and admire the results and think to yourself, "I did a good job!"  Of course if I had the funds, you can bet your sweet bippy I would pay someone else to do it and than step back and admire the results and think, "That $x.xx did a great job!"

Fatherhood - Why Boys Rule and Other Things

Hello Little Man!

In all fairness, I looked back to when your sister was still a bun in the oven and I figured out that I needed to write some more stuff for you so you don't grow up thinking that your Daddy likes your sister more than you.  In order to make sure you grow up balanced and secure in yourself we must not play favorites.  With that in mind I think it is important to let you in on a few secrets that I couldn't share with your big sister.  So, let me tell you why it is so cool to have a Y Chromosome:

1 - You can write your name in the snow.  Gross as that may sound to some, being able to write your name in the snow is a talent that the ladies don't posess, and if they do you may want to check them for an adams apple and a wig.  Penmenship is key, as is cursive handwriting ability - if you spot someones signature in print, they may have prostate issues - or else they have practiced their Kegel's.

2 - No monthly visitor.  While on the surface I would say this is a plus, you will grow up in a house with two females so you get to experience some of the 'joys' that are anything but.  If anything, it'll just prepare you to deal with it when you get older and have a spouse of your own.  But there is no reason to worry about that until you are much, MUCH older.

3 - Electronics.  Say it slow my son...  Home Theater...  Plasma Screen...  Surround Sound.  *Agh Agh AGH!*  I think that sums that up.

4 - You have an older sister.  Now, I never had an older sister, so I can't speak from experience but I will say that I have a number of friends who have told me what it is like.  With that said, when you hit peuberty, you're sister will be three years older than you and she will have friends.  More than likely, at first, they'll think you are cute in an annoying way - but once you hit those 'peak years' I am willing to bet you will be an object of desire for a handful.  It'll be rough for your Mom and I, trying to help reign you and your teenage hormones in so you stay out of trouble, but just wait.  Those college years (when your sister's friends will be older) will be worth it.  Trust me...  Emily will be bossy, pushy, and everything an older sister is supposed to be growing up - but once you hit adulthood, her friends are gonna wanna get to know you. ;-) 

Now, some things that I have shared with your sister but I want to share with you as well:

5 - I am extending the same offer I made to your sister.  Say 'Dada' first, you get a car.  Nuff said about that one.

6 - I wasn't a huge jock or anything when I was growing up, but if you want to play sports I am all for it and I'll support you.  I am all about you getting good and getting a free ride to a University of your choice.  However, if you decide you want to learn about computers, networking, and all the fun stuff associated with that I will support that as well.  If we have the funds, I'll even send you school in the summer so you can have a jumpstart on an IT degree before you graduate from High School.

7 - Many kids out there have those overbearing parents that like to live vicariously through their children.  I promise you, I am not that way.  I will push you to excel in anything that you want to succeed at, but I will also let you try and fail as you try to experience what life has to offer.  this mentality that people have about winning at all costs is a recipe for disaster.  People need to fail now and then so we can appreciate it all the more when we do succeed.  We learn from failures and apply those lessons to other things we want to do.  So no worries about me standing behind you yelling at you to succeed - I know you will succeed, it is just a question of if you have learned how to do it right and being there when you do.

8 - No matter what, your mom and I will love you.  We'll love you so much that we're going to want you love who you are and who you will become.  We're going to want you to learn responsibility, not only for yourself but for the people that you love, so that you will be able to stand on your own when the time is right.  You'll learn about work and work ethics, about bills and the need to pay them on time, about credit and how it works for you (and against you), and about respect (for yourself and everyone around you).  These lessons take a lifetime, so don't worry if you don't master them in the first ten years.  You have plenty of time.

Well, that is enough for now.  I don't want to overwhelm you with too much.  Keep developing and growing, and try not to make your mommy too uncomfortable.  Remember that her bladder is not a toy for your personal amusement.  Be a good boy.

Love,
Daddy

Star Wars: The Empire Brokeback

[Error: unknown template video]
LOL!