It's finally coming together

I closed on my house on July 30, 2010. I didn't move in until about five or six weeks later. I decided I wanted to take my time and get it cleaned and painted to my satisfaction. And, for the most part, I did just that. Everything was painted and just about everything cleaned before I moved in. I did spend a night at the house here and there before I officially moved in. I was excited that it was mine. :) There was one room and one project that I didn't finish before I moved in that I figured I could work on when I had the chance. The project? Putting up some trim in the dining room. Still not completed, but I'll get to it in the spring hopefully. The room? The office / guest room. Since I've moved in it has had three main pieces of furniture. Two giant (heavy as all get out) bookshelves that my aunt and uncle gave me when they redid their office and a futon that was a house warming present from another aunt and uncle. I knew that this room was going to serve double duty when I bought the house, but had run out of steam by the time I moved in. So, for the last eight months (wow...I had no idea I've lived there that long already!) it's pretty much been the dumping zone for other things that I was A) too lazy to put away properly and B) things that I wasn't sure where to put. Well, yesterday that all changed. I decided that it was finally time to get my ass in gear and do something with this room. It was absolutely the most agonizing room in the house. All of the other rooms and their furniture just kind of fell into place. This room literally tortured me. I could not for the life of me figure out where to put anything. I sat on the futon and stared at the room / bookshelves for what seemed like hours. And then yesterday it came to me! I moved things around, sat back on the futon, and hated it! So, I stared some more. And again I was tormented by my room and what to do with it. I finally gave up and went to read a book. Defeated. By a futon and some stupid bookshelves. Don't get me wrong. I love he futon and the bookshelves, but at this point I was beginning to hate them a bit. Hate is a strong word that I try to avoid using unless absolutely necessary. In this instance, it's necessary. This morning I awoke with a renewed determination to get this room done once and for all. So, I sat on the futon and stared. And stared. And slowly it came to me. So, I started moving things around. First the futon, then the rug, then one of the bookshelves. Well, first the bookshelf had to be completely emptied of its books. No small feat! I damn near filled up the entire floor with the contents of one bookshelf. While I was at it I decided it was time to purge some of the contents and that made me feel like I'd accomplished something. Hopefully the library will be happy to have what I no longer have room for. :) So, once the bookshelf was empty it was moved, cleaned and the books put nicely back on it in some semblance of order. An order that at least seemed to make sense when I did it, but may not tomorrow. As I sat back on the futon and appreciated what I'd accomplished I realized I did not like the next part of the arrangement I had in my head. I once again sat there debating what to do with the other bookshelf. Move it here? Move it there? Burn it? Well it can't go there because of the heat vent. Holy crap! This should not be so hard!!! So, I moved it. And I kind of liked it. So I left it there. Now the dreaded part of the whole process. I had to go move my desk, chair, file cabinet, etc from my Mom's house to my house. I had never bothered to move it before because I didn't have internet at my house (still don't actually) and didn't see the point. I'd have to drag my laptop back there to check my e-mail, balance my checkbook, etc so why move it all? Today I decided I didn't care. I don't typically use my laptop at her house anyway. I take it to the bar. It is a much more exciting place to balance ones checkbook. So, I drug the desk, chair, file cabinet and all of its contents over to my house. I set it all up and thought, "hmm, it's kind of cramped..." and then realized, I like it! Holy crap! I like it! So, I can finally check the office / guest room off of my "to-do" list. I can't even begin to tell you how nice that feels. It isn't anything mind blowing from a design aspect, but it is comfortable and it makes me happy to have it done. Finally. Hopefullyit wont take me another eight months to finish the trim in the dining room. :)
(composed in the newly finished office on Thursday, March 3, 2010)

Tattoos

So, I've been thinking about tattoos lately. Probably don't need anymore, but that's never stopped me before. This picture is of number three (the mandarin characters), number four (the fish), and number eight (the butterfly). I have a total of eight and I'm thinking about a zillion more. Okay, maybe three more. I want something knitting related. I'd like Rosie the Riveter (to honor my grandmother that worked as a Rosie during WWII). And my super secret tattoo that will be in such a light color that only I will be able to see it. Well, and anybody that I choose to share it with. I can't necessarily afford to get a new tattoo, but that's never stopped me before either. So, really this is just a random useless blog because I wanted to see how one would go about posting a picture. So, here it is. If there's any new tattoos... they'll be posted here too. :)

My how time flies...

So, July is almost over. I'm not sure how it disappeared so quickly. If I would've listened when older people said to enjoy life because as you get older it starts to go faster, what could they possibly know, I would've wasted a lot less time. Well, at least I think I would've, who really knows. At any rate, July is coming to a close.

As usual, so much has been happening since I last wrote that it's hard to wrap my head around it all. Let's see, the bank approved my offer on the house. I close in less than a week! I'm so excited and nervous and stressed out that I can barely stand it. Mostly excited though! The closing will either be on Thursday the 29th or Friday the 30th. I'm torn. I want to get it over and done with on Thursday so I can get to work on cleaning and painting. Yet I'd rather do it on Friday because if I'm off on Friday they can't ask me to work on Saturday, therefore giving me the weekend to get started on cleaning and painting. Thing is that I will have a mortgage to pay and should therefore be glad to work on Saturdays from here on out! :) We'll have to wait and see what the verdict is. I'll hopefully know tomorrow. My lawyer has to contact the seller's lawyer and find out which day is available. I originally told my lawer, Peter, that I'd prefer Friday, but honestly which ever day they tell me is fine with me.

I'm going to have dinner with one of my dearest friends, Susie, on Thursday evening. We're calling it our closing celebration dinner. I figure that regardless of whether I'm already closed by dinner time or going to close the next day it's a good reason to celebrate.

We were on strike for almost three weeks. Let me rephrase that, the laborers and operating engineers were on strike for almost three weeks, and we honored their picket lines. It worked out well because there were things that needed to be done at the "almost" house to get approval for the loan. That gave me plenty of time to get everything taken care of. At the same time it sucked because I had no money coming in and lots of money going out. Wasn't the best feeling when I knew I'd be closing on a house by the end of the month. Fortunately, the strike ended late Monday night and we went back to work on Wednesday. Hopefully it wont take me too long ot catch up and replenish my savings account. Don't want to leave myself short when it's time to start paying my mortgage. That sounds crazy! LOL It's hell growing up and being responsible!

There are tons of other things happening. Will try to write more sooner rather than later. However, right now I feel an extreme need for a nap. So, napping I go. :)

May

So, it's the middle of May already. How does that happen?

I found a house! This is the second house I've put an offer on. I loved the first one and was super excited about it... only to find out a week later that there were lots of other offers and they picked someone else. That was devastating, but as everyone kept reminding me... things happen for a reason and there's a reason that house wasn't meant to be mine. Any idea how irritating that is when you're the one actually in the situation? I will admit it, they were right! So, I kept looking. Nothing fantastic was jumping out at me and I was beginning to wonder if I was being too picky because nothing came close to the one I bid on. Then two weeks ago we're out with our list of houses and the second one we come to is rather cute... from the outside. So, in we go... or not. The key was missing from the key box. Apparently this happens a lot. Someone will see a property that they like and their realtor will take the key so that no one else can view the property. Shady, but it happens. So, my agent calls the listing agent and she tells us to try the back door. No luck. So, I try the basement door and hit pay dirt. We're in! And the basement is a good size with very tall ceilings. And, oddly, very clean for a basement. Oh, and it also comes with a washer and dryer! Can't beat that! So, we head upstairs. We come into the kitchen which is actually a nice size. Older and in need of some updating, but nothing that has to be done immediately. It has a fridge, stove and dishwasher... sweet! The dining room is a good size and it's right off of the kitchen. I think it's likely that it used to be a bedroom and they turned it into a dining room, but that's cool with me and likely what I would've done anyway. There's a full bathroom and a bedroom towards the front of the house on the first floor and a good sized living room as well. The stairs going to the second floor are in the living room. The second floor has two bedrooms and another full bathroom. The backyard is HUGE for a city lot. The garage is small. Not too concerned about it. I can fit my truck and bike in it so it'll do for now. So, I will admit that when I walked into this house I didn't get the "oh I have to have this house!" feeling like I did on the first house I put an offer on. I did however really like this house and I could see myself in it with no trouble at all. So, after we finished our tour of the rest of the houses on the list I came home and crunched the numbers. Called my agent and the next morning we wrote up the offer. By the time we were done I admitted to him that I liked this house even more than the first one. He said he did as well. So, off I go all excited again. Although this time I think I was a little more prepared for the likelihood of not being accepted again. We find out the next day that there are two other offers for the same amount. One is identical to mine. Same type of loan, etc. The other is a cash offer. Cash offers win. I was crushed. However, I was told that the cash offer asked to have some time to get their ducks in a row and the other offer that was identical to mine didn't seem interested anymore. So, we waited.... and waited... you get the idea. Finally a week later we find out that the cash offer either lost interest or fell apart and so in turn they ACCEPTED MY OFFER! No shit!? So, I have a contract on a perfectly wonderful house! It's a short sale so now we're waiting for the bank to approve it (keep fingers crossed!). Once that happens we'll have 30 days to close. So, the process is rolling. Short sales can take a long time, but I think this house is worth it. Plus, I don't have to hurry to get out of my current living situation. My landlord, aka Mom, will not throw me out and I don't have to give a crazy amount of notice to leave. That and the fact that she may be more excited than I am (likely because she wont be the one paying the mortgage) puts me in a good position. So, that's where that stands. I'm very excited! When I found out that there were other offers on the table I said to my boyfriend, Metal Dave, that I guessed I wouldn't start picking out paint colors. I'm thinking I may be able to start doing that now. Still trying not to put the cart before the horse... but it's hard. And I'm excited!

I guess that's about all for now. Time to get back to cleaning and throwing stuff away so it'll be easier to move (regardless of whether it's this house or another one).

April

I guess I've been a little busy! I just realized it was October the last time I sat down and wrote anything. So much has transpired in the last six months it's hard to know where to start. I guess I'll just start and it will likely be in no particular order. :)

The bar... things were going well! Were being the operative word. Business was starting to pick up and we were starting to attract new customers. All signs pointed to a good spring and summer to come. Then Bill happened. Bill is the guy we were in the process of buying the bar from. He's kind of a stupid man. A drunk... surprise, surprise! He decided to be a jag off and closed the corporation that held the liquor licenses. What does that mean? The bar got shut down. And not just shut down, but shut down on St. Patrick's Day. One of the best days of the year to own a bar. We had tons of people coming to the bar for live music, drink specials, food, etc... and the drunk son of a bitch had us shut down. Really?! Really. He fucked himself really. He no longer has a corporation that holds liquor licenses so we no longer have anything to buy from him. Therefore, he gets no more money. And, what money we did give him... we'll likely sue for. He really is that stupid. So, we're in the process of trying to get new licenses so that we can get the place back up and running. It's been a nice little "vacation" for the last month, but at the same time... I miss my bar. I walked in a couple of weeks ago after not stepping foot inside for a couple of weeks and the first thing out of my mouth was, "I love my bar!" Fortunately, I wasn't alone or I would've thought myself crazy. So, we'll just have to wait and see what happens.

What else? I've been working pretty steadily until this week. It's been a really good couple of months for my company so I've been working a solid 40 since the end of November. Felt good to have a job to go to and a paycheck every week. :) Unfortunately, a lot of our jobs came to an end at the same time and now we have too many folks waiting for the next job to start. Hopefully when I call in this afternoon he'll have some place for me to go on Monday. I'm kind of hoping for one of our downtown jobs (for personal reasons that I'll get into in a minute), but at this point I'll go anywhere and be perfectly happy.

So, let's get into those personal reasons...
Back in January I was sent to a job by the airport. I was the only woman on the job. Nothing new. The guys from my company always talk to me. Why wouldn't they? I'm a cool chick! The guys from the other trades didn't and that's totally normal. It usually takes a week or two for the other trades to talk to me. Not sure why that is, but that's the way it goes. So, after being there a day I was surprised when one of the guys came up to talk to me. He said he'd worked with me on a different job. Small world. That's actually happened to me a lot in the last year. At any rate, we started chatting and picked up right where we'd left off two years earlier. We actually worked on that original job for two years together so we'd gotten to know each other quite well. After a couple of weeks he told me that there was an electrician that was really interested in me. Oh really? So, I try talking to the sparky, but he's apparently really shy and it's like pulling teeth. I find out shortly there after that I'm leaving the job. So, I gave Sparky my business card and told him he should stop by the bar. It took a couple of weeks after that, but Sparky and I started talking. He seemed interested and nice so I was smitten. I usually avoid guys on my jobs only because I assume they're all married. Makes things easier if I'm just there to work, like one of the guys. However, I figured since I wasn't at that job anymore and it was very unlikely that I'd go back I'd give him a chance. In the meantime, I bounced to a couple of different jobs and finally landed at one downtown. Same scenario, different job. Oddly enough, not everyone from the other trades were afraid to talk to me! What a pleasant surprise! A couple of the older electricians were very friendly. One of the sheet metal workers was also friendly right from the start. I avoided him like the plague! Don't get me wrong, he was extremely good looking with his long hair and dimples, but he had this bad boy, biker look happening and I just didn't have it in me to go down that road again. I figured the only reason he'd be talking to me would be to get in my drawers and I wasn't interested. I wasn't rude to him either, but I wasn't making much of an effort. He on the other hand gets an A for effort. :) So, after I'd been there about a week he says to me, "Wanna go for drinks on Friday?" I looked at him and said, "It's only Monday, Friday is a long way off." and proceeded to walk away. What?! Who said that?! Me!? I don't come up with shit that quick or actually say it! But I had! And I was proud of myself! He just chuckled as I walked away. Next day he says, "So, how about that drink on Friday?" and me being the apparent bitch that I've turned into says, "It's still a long way off." and walks away. He didn't bring it up again after that, but we kept chatting. He really was making an effort. lol So, Thursday rolls around and I find out that I'm getting pulled off the job. Darn the luck! So, the Tinman (tinner is a nickname for a sheet metal, just like sparky is what we call electricians) says to me in passing, "I'm going to give you my # before the day is over." I'm like, "okay" and leave it at that. Shortly there after, he gives me his number. I think to myself, "What the hell am I supposed to do with this?! I don't have the nerve to actually call someone!" So, I'm in the elevator with my favorite elevator operator and I'm pacing. She asks what my problem is and I briefly tell her that the Tinman gave me his number and I don't know what to do. Her response? "Girl! That boy is FINE! And he's so nice! And he has great dimples! Girl! Give him your number!" I laugh...nervously... say I will and get off the elevator. Tinman is gone. :( They've left for the day and I lost my chance. Wait? Maybe not. I grab a business card and walk back towards the elevator. Here come the tinners walking towards me! Jackpot! And the Tinman happens to be the first one, so I hand him my card on the sly, he smiles and I walk away. We chatted, mostly via text, all weekend. Sunday he asks me to meet him downtown when he gets off of work for dinner and cocktails. I figure, what the hell! So, our first date was at Timothy O'Toole's on a Monday night. :) I was petrified ALL DAY. The strange part is that as soon as I laid eyes on him my stomach stopped doing back flips and I was perfectly at ease. We sat there and chatted for hours. It was very nice. More texting and phone calls after that and date number two followed two days later. Again all nervous and freaked out before I saw him and as soon as I laid eyes on him I was totally relaxed. Most bizarre feeling ever! Well, apparently I now have a boyfriend. He's a sheet metal worker and we call him Metal Dave. Not because his name is Dave, lol, but because one of my girl friends couldn't remember his name, but remembered that he worked with metal and decided Dave was a nice name. She's nuts! And that's why I love her! He's a man so he still wants to get in my pants, but the nice surprise is that isn't all he wants. Very glad I gave him a chance. Haven't talked to Sparky since the night of my second date with the Tinman. Don't miss him either. :)

All right! Now that all of the crazy girly crap is out of the way... I'm buying a HOUSE! Holy crap I've lost my mind! I'm pre-approved and everything! I haven't slept a whole night since I got the pre-approval either! LOL I've been out to see a couple of houses, three to be exact. One is definitely in the running, but I'm going out this afternoon to see six or eight more with my new realtor, Jim. I'm looking forward to it. He turned me onto a couple of houses that I hadn't seen in my online searches before. They have a lot of potential based on their pictures and descriptions so it'll be interesting to see them all in person. I'm kind of hoping that by the time I get home today I either have a bid on a house or will by tomorrow or Monday. Will update!

I think that's about it for now. No guarantees, but will try to write more before another six months has come and gone!

October

I guess I've been a little busy because it occurred to me earlier today that I haven't updated this in a really long time. So, while I have a few seconds I thought I'd rant a bit about the past couple of months.
Where to start? Well, I think I pretty much left off with... I got a new job and J & I broke up. So much has happened sense then. In August my brother, step-mother and I were presented with the opportunity buy a business. In a whirl wind of a deal (literally 24 hours from first thought to final deal) we bought a bar. It's just a neighborhood bar on the Northwest side of Chicago, but it's ours! It's been a lot of work. Most of which I expected, but exhausting nonetheless. We opened the last Saturday of August and have been going non-stop ever since.
Shortly after we bought the bar I was laid off from my carpentry job. Unfortunately, not surprising with the economy the way it is, but disappointing. It actually worked out kind of well because it then gave me time to get some things fixed and cleaned at the bar before we opened the doors. I was off work for about seven weeks and was just called back the beginning of this month. So, things have definitely become more challenging trying to figure out how to balance both.
What else? Well, J & I aren't best buddies, but we have talked since breaking up early in June. I'm sure at some point we'll be able to be good friends again, but I don't see that happening in the very near future. I do hope it happens down the road because he is really a great guy. He just doesn't know how silly he is for deciding to call it quits. Whatever! It is what it is and I think we're both better for it.
Speaking of dating... I am! Went on a date Saturday night with a very nice guy. Will hopefully be seeing him again this week (Wednesday). So, we'll see what happens.
The only other thing I can think of is that I turned yet another year older on the 11th. Don't feel any different than I did on the 10th. Guess that's a good thing. I think I thought I'd be further along than I am, but all in all I'm quite content with where I am in life. Albeit a little tired. That said, goodnight.

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