Friday, April 01, 2005

Calming down a little

So, my dad submitted the drawings to the Somerville building department to get our building permit. It's a process that he's helped a lot of people through. The permitting application was less expensive than we anticipated, however we have to get a stamped survey, which will cost about a grand. It's so weird how all the different cities have a different set of requirements. Cambridge, which is far more conservative than Somerville with its building practices, does NOT require a stamped survey. But Somerville does. But Cambridge charges 10x as much for the permit as Somerville, so maybe they have their own surveyors and they do it themselves.

Our contractor is getting the pricing together based on a list of subtractions we gave him. So, that's moving right along.

I'm thinking of going to "Residential Design 2005 to check out the latest and greatest things we can't afford in home design. But I've been really getting interested in architecture and design lately. I thought it would be really fun to walk around and see all the exhibits. Maybe they'll have samples of copper countertops.

But don't tell my father!!

Thursday, March 31, 2005

To FREAKING EARLY!

God help me. Eric got up at 4:45 this morning. It's getting worse, not better. We thought 5:45 was bad. However, daylight savings is on the way. So, 4:45 becomes 5:45.

Thank goodness for that. Rich gets up with him, and I'm so thankful for that. However, my night's sleep is pretty much hosed after that whether I get up with him or not. This morning I dreamed that I went to visit this strange family and I realized that their son was the father of my baby and that he had sole custody and they wouldn't let me see him and I started to cry.

I still like my baby even though I'm tired.

Tuesday, March 29, 2005

OK Breathe...

Rich sent me the following e-mail in response to my stress about selling our house:

Yeah. I'm thinking of this very much the way I thought about my job search. Our goal (and Helen's goal) is to make sure that all the realtors and serious home buyers in the area know that this place is on the market, what we want for it, and what it's all about. The ads and open houses are making that happen. Once "the word is out" it's a little out of our control until we get nibbles. Then once we get nibbles it's up to Helen to convert at least one of those to a sale. So I think we're doing the right stuff now. And I think a period of uncomfortable waiting is ahead of us.
In other words
Step 1: Open House
Step 2: (shrug)
Step 3: Profit!



I really do feel better now.

Monday, March 28, 2005

The theme of the day is STRESS.

We had our second open house yesterday. Each OH requires hours and hours of preparation and cleaning. And 2 people showed up, and neither of them liked it.

I hate feeling out of control like this. I don't like the way my broker is marketing the property. I think she could be doing a lot more. But she is a "closer" and I know that's important.

We're having another open house next Sunday, and then I'm taking a break for a couple of weeks.

In other stressful news, I tried to get a home equity loan and found out we have a blight on Rich's credit report for A LAWSUIT THAT HAS ABSOLUTELY NOTHING TO DO WITH US. That's right folks, a man with a similar but by no means the SAME name as my husband was sued in 2003. These people don't even live in the same town as us, and this is on my husband's credit report until Experian deins to clear it up, sometime in the next 45 days. (theoretically) Even though I have a certified copy of the lawsuit showing that it was NOT us, and that it was paid, we still have a crappy credit score. The bank won't manually adjust our score based on our evidence. How completely unfair and stupid is that? We can still get the loan, but a ridiculously high interest rate. We can borrow it off of a credit card for that.

And, I'm really worried about daycare for next year. The place we are now will no longer be convenient to our new place. There are really only have 3 options that are convenient to the new place. One, is Oxford Street Daycare Cooperative. It's a nice program, but it's prohibitively expensive and they require 4 hours per week of parental volunteering. So, I'd be paying $300 more per month than most comparable programs and I'd have to work there as well. The other is Harvard Yard Childcare, but I think they have a pretty hefty volunteer commitment as well. I want to send him to Bigelow Coop in Harvard Square, but they only have one slot, and I don't expect to get it.

Why is this so hard?

I think I have to let this stuff go. There isn't anything I can do about it.