Dream House

So, last night I had a dream that we bought the house we really like, and it turned out to be haunted.

Obviously, I have issues.

House Hunters

We've decided to take the big leap and buy a house. At first it seems daunting, but I think we have things pretty well organized and whittled down. We saw a bunch of houses Saturday, and we're reviewing three of those houses tonight, plus two other new (to us) ones. One of them is our No. 1 house, by far, and if we find nothing that knocks our socks off in the next week or so, I think we'll move on it. I'm not going to show it to you though. Cuz then I might get my hopes up or you might swoop in and buy it out from under us. Suffice it to say, it's all remodeled and in a great location. I think I could be happy there.

Except I'd have to move again to live there.

Sigh.

It's very exciting so far. And very expensive! Crap. I don't know where all the money is going to come from yet, but we'll pool our resources and figure it out. Maybe dig in the couch for some spare change, take on a weekend job washing dogs, sell my extensive collection of cheap poster art.

All this to say, I'm making a commitment. Not to my fiance, but to a house that I can't pick up and take with me anywhere (yes, I can pick up my fiance and take him with me anywhere). Which means I'm going to be here for a while. I'm okay with that though for 8 months out of the year. The other four I want a winter home on a warm island with cabana boys. Yeah?

So, I'll keep you updated. And if any of you want to help me move and/or paint, if necessary, let me know. I won't pay you anything, but there may be a peanut butter and jelly sandwich in it for you.

Things to do when you wake up at 4:30 AM

• Take your friend to the airport, which is why you're up this early
• Battle what the weatherman predicted to be flurries but is actually blowing snow and uncleared roads.
• Head to work very, very early because by the time you'd get back home, it'd almost be time to head to work anyway.
• Get the best parking spot because no one in their right minds is at work yet.
• Discover your key card does not, in fact, get you into the building.
• Call security.
• Be informed by the security dispatcher that she will send someone, but she's not sure if they'll let you in if your key card doesn't work. "Even though I have an ID here right with me with my picture on it that says which building I work in?"
• Stand outside in the cold for a bit until a kindly custodian from the building next door lets you in to stand in the entryway while you wait for security to maybe let you in. Or maybe not.
• Run like a madwoman to your office building when you see security come in and look around and head back out.
• Catch the security guard who, thankfully, lets you in after you say, "Trust me. I work here. I would not want to be here at this hour if I didn't."
• Scare the crap out of another kindly custodian when he comes into your office to empty your trash can.
• Take an hour nap in your office chair.
• Still have an hour before anyone in their right minds arrives at work.
• Answer a few emails, including one to your realtor.
• Email your assignment to your professor.
• Write this post.
• Contemplate coffee.
• Still have 45 minutes before anyone in their right mind gets here.

A bit on icy conditions...

So, we have rain today and the temperature's hovering right around 32 degrees. Of course, that means some icy conditions are bound to occur.

The traffic guy on the radio this morning referred to some side streets as "fairly treacherous."

Excuse me?

To me, there are four types of road conditions: ideal, ok, bad, and treacherous. The word treacherous conjures notions of hazard, danger, peril, extremely bad, etc. To say something is "fairly treacherous" just doesn't compute. I mean, either it's treacherous or it's not, and if it's not, it's just bad or ok. That's like saying fire was fairly hot. Or something.

I don't know. I just thought it was a weird way to put it.

But maybe I'm still pissed that I fell right on my ass on the sidewalk the other day due to the fairly treacherous conditions.

Whew.

So far January has been a month of goal-setting, to-do lists, projects, planning and crappy weather. My blog has suffered a bit due to this, but I do have two others to maintain at this point:

1. Our wedding blog. For guests and other nosy people.
2. Susie and my book blog. This stemmed from a vast email conversation about how the two of us, with our 12 years of higher education between us, should be able to put our writing talents to good use and come up with something better than some of the drivel out there. At the very least, we could entertain our mothers.

So you'll have to forgive me.

Oh, and I've also started a graduate class in information design as part of a graduate certificate in technical writing. Why? One, because it's free, and two, the reason it's free is because of my job and let's just say my job is -- unsatisfying? Unsatisfying, yes. So I'm taking pains to take advantage of the benefits I have and gain more skills to move onward and upward.

Oh, and we're buying a house. We've just tip-toed into the process so far -- met with loan officers, found a realtor. We haven't physically looked at any houses yet, but we've seen a few online that we're really looking forward to see for reals. So there's that too.

Oh, and did I mention we're getting married in 8 months and 10 days? Yeah. So we're planning for that too.

It's all good, though. I'm very excited about all the things going on right now, and though I'm sure there will be times of stress, but it's all part of what's shaping up to be a very good year. I'll be married, own a house, have a book draft and, hopefully, more professional opportunities when all is said and done.

Wish me luck!

We're writing a novel!

That's right! My good friend Susie and I are putting our skillz to good use: we're writing a book in real-time on a blog! And you get to give feedback on our progress!

We haven't quite gotten ready to publish the first post, but you can check out the blog and project here: http://midwaythenovel.blogspot.com/.

I am really excited about this project, and I hope you are, too! Check it out. And then keep coming back for more...

Happy New Year, Internet!

Hey-oh! Happy 2010, people. I've been in absentia for a bit, and for that you can thank the holidays, this God-forsaken winter sapping my motivation, a wedding, a class, a possible house and a big, new project I'm working on this year with a good and talented friend! I'll reveal a little bit more about it this weekend on our launch date, but let me tell you, dear readers, it's going to be big. I can feel it. And I'm going to be devoting a lot of time to it, so posting here might be sparsical -- but I promise it will be worth it. And the project will actually involve YOU, too! Confused? Excited?

Yeah, me too.

So stay tuned, friends. Stay very tuned.