Random Stuff

I’ve tried starting this blog for several hours now and for some reason, I’ve been stuck on a title.  So forgive the vagueness, but it’s really just random stuff on my mind.

Did you hear about the head on train collision that happened on Sunday?  You must have as it made national news.  When I heard about it, I thought about the guy that worked for the railroad that I dated several years ago.  It turns out that he was one of the three fatalities.  We only went out for a couple of months, but it seemed to just fizzle in the end.  He was the first person I dated after the first break up with Marty.  While I think my feelings for Marty might have played a part in in, I think I realized that he simply wasn’t the right person.  We didn’t really have a lot in common and he lived almost two hours away.  But all the same, it is sad that he died.  It seems he did find someone and remarried at some point so I’m glad he found someone special. 

Josh and I went shopping yesterday and I bought a new swimsuit at Kohl’s in hopes that I would be encouraged to start swimming.  So today I walked down to the pool, but found that the gate was locked with a bicycle lock.  So no swimming.  It was frustrating.  Since I’m not an official homeowner, I have no means of contact for the HOA to find out if the pool is unofficially closed or if this is something a local resident did.  So I’m looking into other options for swimming.  I’m thinking of buying a pass where I can swimming a local community college pool.  That way I can go even when the weather doesn’t permit. 

Matt and I went to the movies last night and we saw Seeking a Friend for the End of the World.  It was pretty depressing overall.  I guess I was just hoping for a happy ending of some sort, but it didn’t happen and I didn’t really buy the relationship that supposedly developed between the two main characters.  Oh well, at least Matt went with me to a chick flick.  I was supposed to go to band, but rehearsal was cancelled because of a gas leak on that side of town.

Back to regularly scheduled vacation

Well, my family has left and now I’m back to my regular summer vacation.  Though this is year it still isn’t “regular” since I actually have a boyfriend that likes to spend time with me and do things.   I have no plans for this upcoming week other than a band rehearsal and then a concert on the weekend.  I can’t actively house hunt for a few more weeks until I’m close to closing on the Canyon house.  Matt’s favorite house seems to be off the market but he has the hope that it is going to foreclosure rather than under contract.  I guess we’ll see.  I’m still trying to decide which communities I’m willing to live in. 

Matt, Josh, and friend of Matt’s have gone to the movies to see Prometheus.  When they get back, Matt is going to grill some chicken and I am going to teach Josh to make fettucine.  It should be a good dinner.

I have about two weeks off with nothing particular planned.  I’m going to try to do some reading now that I have some time.  On July 8th, I leave to fly to Boston to go to a workshop at Harvard.  I’ll get back on the 11th and then will probably start the house hunting around then.  I hope to find something by the end of July so I can move in August or September. 

Matt still hasn’t heard from his mother so I guess she is not interested in meeting me.  I’m not sure what kind of trip we’ll take this summer, but I think we’ll go somewhere even if it isn’t to see her.  That will be at the end of July or early August.  Other than that, I’ll probably spend the summer packing if I find a house. 

Family Time

So my family made it.  They got in Wednesday evening and we all went to dinner.  They finally got to meet Matt and they really like him.  Dinner was good – we went to a Mexican restaurant on this side of town that was voted the best by locals.  It was good, but not amazing.  I still like a couple of other places here better.  But it was good to visit and spend time with family that I don’t get to see very often. 

Yesterday was a full day of activity.  We headed to a kiddie park in the morning with my cousin’s three young kids to celebrate their birthdays.  It is a mini-amusement park with rides just for kids.  They seemed to enjoy it and had a nice time.  We had cake and opened presents and everyone was happy.  After that, we went to downtown and had lunch at Chili’s on the Riverwalk. I was disappointed in my meal, but everyone else’s was o.k.  After that we took the boat tour on the river.  It was interesting and I got more out of it after living here this past year.  We then went to marble slab for some ice cream.  We made a brief stop at the Alamo before heading back to the hotel.  (You have to visit the Alamo if you’re from out of town and never been there – then you can say “I remember the Alamo.”)  We then went to dinner at Johnny Carino’s.  By then I was pretty full so I only ate half my dinner.  My aunt and uncle and cousin’s family came over to the house after dinner.  I was glad they could finally see my place with the new furniture and stuff.  The last time my aunt and uncle were here, I hadn’t even gotten unpacked.  Of course this may be the last time they see this house.  Hopefully I’ll be in a new place in another month or two. 

Today we went to Sea World.  It was fun, but hot.  This morning wasn’t too bad, but it seemed to get hot after lunch when we finally went to ride the coasters.  After that, we mostly sat.  We left around 4:30 then went to the store to get a few groceries to get us through the next few days until payday.  Matt grilled some brats for dinner.  Josh had a crisis moment when he couldn’t find his receipt for his PS3 that has broken.  Luckily, he found it and there was much rejoicing.  He bought it less than a year ago and it has stopped working so at least he can now get it repaired or replaced. 

Tomorrow is the big reunion/birthday party for my uncle’s mother who is 95.  Matt, Josh, and I are going up to Austin in the morning.  We’ll have lunch in at this diner/cafe that we saw on the show Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives.

Well, it’s been a long day.  I think I’m going to take a shower and then call it a night. 

Cleaning, rest, cleaning

Today is cleaning day for me.  My family from Albuquerque and San Diego are coming in tomorrow evening.  I did sleep in this morning which was lovely, but I’ve been pretty busy.  I’ve done laundry, cleaned kitchen and bathroom counters, vacuumed the bedroom, more laundry, sorted through papers, and on and on.  But now it’s time for a break.  I don’t have to get everything done tonight I guess – I do have time tomorrow, but I’ll focus more on carpet cleaning then.  I’ve made an appointment for Mollie and Max to get trimmed tomorrow.  I have band rehearsal tonight and I don’t really want to go.  I will, though. 

I should finally be under contract with selling the house in Canyon by tomorrow.  I’m really hoping that we can close within a month or less if possible.  I can’t really consider any of the houses here until the closing can happen.  I’ve been sent lists by my realtor and drove around several neighborhoods this weekend.  I was able to eliminate several areas so that should make the house hunting a little easier. 

I’m excited about Matt finally getting to meet my aunt and uncle.  I’m sure they will just love him.  Matt still hasn’t heard from his mother.  He sent her a letter a few weeks ago indicating that we were interested in visiting this summer, but she’s been silent on the issue.  If she doesn’t respond, then I think he will pretty much cut all ties. 

Well, I guess I’ve rested enough.  Time to do more cleaning.

House Hunting Delayed

Well, I may not be able to buy a house as quickly as planned, but hopefully everything will work out sooner, rather than later.  I’m going to get a contract done for the sale of the house in Canyon and have my uncle get it to his lender ASAP.  If all goes well, we’ll try to close within 30 days.  That means I probably can’t make an offer on any houses until then.  I’m hoping to push them to get it done faster.  Unfortunately, Wells Fargo doesn’t have a good reputation for closing on time. 

I did meet with my realtor yesterday and it looks like she will be great.  She gave me a lot of good information and I’m looking forward to looking at houses with her.  I just wish it were sooner rather than later. 

It was nice to sleep in today – unlike yesterday when I was awake at 6:00 a.m.  So far I haven’t done much aside from looking at houses online.  I’ve loaded the dishwasher but need to get busy cleaning the house.  Since I have company coming next week, I need to get busy. 

Not sure what plans I have for the evening.  Matt will probably come over and then we’ll eat out leftover meals from Maggiano’s.  He mentioned going to a movie, but I’m not sure there’s anything I really want to see.  He wants to see Prometheus, but I have no interest in it.  I might see The Avengers, but won’t be crushed if I don’t. 

I think I’ll do a little reading today.  It’s been a while since I’ve gotten to read for pleasure.  I have a few books started and I want to re-read Harry Potter this summer since I didn’t get to last year.

Summer Vacation – Finally

I finished my last day of work yesterday so now I’ve officially started my two month summer vacation.  Remember the days when we used to have a full three months off for summer vacation?  Well, I guess I can’t complain about getting two months.  It will fly by, I’m sure.  I was supposed to meet with my realtor yesterday, but she called and rescheduled as she had a bout of food poisoning or something.  Matt took my out to a very nice dinner at Maggiano’s last night.  It was very good and the cool thing is that when you order a classic pasta, you get a free pasta to go.  Now I have leftovers for the next few days. 

Of course I didn’t sleep in the first day.  For whatever reason, I was wide awake at 6:00 a.m. this morning.  I will probably go back to bed for a bit sometime this morning.  I think I will do a few more neighborhood drive-bys this afternoon.  My appointment with the realtor has been rescheduled for this afternoon instead. 

I have family visiting next week.  They won’t be staying with me, but they will be staying in SA Wednesday through Friday.  I’m glad that they’ll finally get to meet Matt.  I don’t know if Matt and I will get to visit his mother this summer.  He hasn’t heard back from her yet.  He sent her a letter indicating that we were interested in coming up there, but she has yet to respond.  He thinks that she might not respond at all.  I think she’s still mulling it over. 

Finally Coming Home

Josh was supposed to get in last night at 8:40, but his flight out from Tasmania was delayed so he had to spend an extra day in Sydney.  Luckily the airline covered the cost of a hotel for him and some meals.  He will arrive in SA around 5:15.  It will be good to finally have him home. 

I helped at the Folklife festival for the last two days.  Basically it’s a large multicultural celebration with all sorts of food from different cultures, vendors selling different things, entertainment, and services.  I helped with the library table where we would look up the origin and meaning of people’s surnames.  It was kind of interesting.  They would also print certificates with the information for them as well.  I started out as a greeter, but I preferred being a researcher where I looked up the names for them. 

I have three more days to work before I have my summer vacation.  I hope I can get everything done that I need to do.  It will be a long three days.  I have to get focused and get busy on Monday and Tuesday so I can get my inventory and end of the year final reports done.  Wednesday will be spent cleaning so that the office staff and principal can move in to the library in July while work will be done in the main building. 

Well, I should get some work done before Josh gets home.  I need to do a little cleaning. 

I’m blessed

Sometimes we don’t realize that a major upheaval in our lives is a good thing.  A year ago, all I wanted was to find a library job.  I really thought I wanted to stay close to home.  Close to the familiar.  The comfortable. But I realized with the severe budget issues in the state that it might be difficult to so I had to expand my horizon.  It was about a year ago that I submitted my application to SAISD.  I got a call for an interview mid-June, then interviewed at the end of the month and got a job offer the next day.  A month later, I was moving down here. 

Since then life has been completely different.  I have a job that doesn’t require (or even allow) me to work on weekends.  I rarely stay late.  Though it’s a rougher school than I’ve ever dealt with, being a librarian is so much better than teaching. 

And then there’s Matt.  I didn’t expect to find and fall in love with such an amazing person.  I think this move allowed me to finally be ok with being single.  The first few months I was on my own and though at times it was a little lonely, I was ok with it.  I went to the movies by myself.  I worked on the house.  I watched t.v.  But I gave online dating one more shot in hopes that I could maybe go on a date or two.  And I did.  And I met Matt.  He’s certainly not perfection, but he is pretty close.  I finally understand how good relationships are supposed to be.  You’re supposed to want to be together and enjoy the time that you spend together.  You’re supposed to have mutual affection and respect for each other.  I couldn’t be happier in my relationship with him.

And now it’s time for me to set down permanent roots here.  I’ve decided to stay so I’m going to find a house to buy.  I met with a lender today and everything looks good in terms of financing.  My credit has been rebuilt so it is in excellent standing.  I was pleasantly surprised that I can get approved for the amount that I was thinking would be my top budget.  Now it’s time to actually start looking at houses.  My agent should get in contact with me tomorrow and we’ll start setting up times to look at houses.  I don’t know how long it will take to find “the one” but I’m excited about the process.  After years of watching house hunters, I finally get to do my own.

So I have to say that I am extremely blessed.  Life is good and I think moving to San Antonio was one of the best decisions I’ve made. 

Last Day of School

It was the last day for the students, but not for me.  I still have another week to work.  I am exhausted.  I worked non-stop today.  I’m going to need the week to get everything done.  I’m making progress, but it seems endless. 

Matt is here and he’s grilling Brats for dinner tonight.  I’m getting spoiled by not having to do much cooking.  And I’m still gaining weight.  I need to get busy with some exercise soon. 

Josh gets back on Saturday.  I’m ready for him to be home.  He said that it’s the coldest its been there and he’s ready to get back to warmer weather.  Well, he’ll get what he asks for as it is hot here. 

Tomorrow is my meeting with the financial person.  I’ll find out how much house I can afford.  I’m a little nervous about it as I don’t think I’ll qualify for as much as I’d like.  I’m hoping with interest rates as low as they are right now that I’ll be able to get more than expected.  I’m anxious to start looking at houses, but there’s so much that has to be done before that can happen.  I’ve got to get a contract on my house in Canyon and then pay off some of my debt.  I’m hoping I’ll be able to stay in my rental and rent on a month to month basis so that I can take time if I need to and possibly pursue a short sell house. 

I’ve been disappointed in the Spurs.  They have to win tonight in OKC and it’s going to be tough.  I know they have it in them, but for some reason they keep turning the ball over.  I hope that they give it all they’ve got and pull it out tonight.  It would be great to go to a finals game. 

Lazy Weekend

I think this is the laziest weekend I’ve had in a while.  Friday I went to dinner with Matt and his friend Ira.  After dinner, I came home and went to bed as I was pretty tired.  I slept in a little on Saturday, but not too late.  I went to bed so early and slept pretty well that I was up by 7:00.  I didn’t do much of anything on Saturday.  I did a little housework, but not a lot.  At 6:15, I drove across town to take my rent check to my rental company.  Then I went to Matt’s to watch the Spurs game.  It was disappointing as they lost for the 2nd time.  I played three games of Scrabble with one of the guys from our weekly scrabble clubs.  I won two of the three games.  This morning I slept in and took it easy.  Matt and I went to church at noon.  We went back to the local church and they had a youth choir which was actually pretty decent.  After church we went to the grocery store and then fixed lunch.  We pretty much both sat around most of the day.  We watched a lot of Mythbusters and then read books this evening.  It’s nice to have someone that doesn’t mind lazy days because I certainly like them. 

I have a lot to get done this week, but I guess it will happen whenever it happens.  I think I may need to spend a few late hours there this week.  This next weekend will be busy.  I’m helping Matt at the Folklife Festival going on on Friday.  Josh gets back on Saturday.  My last day of work is the 13th and then I’ll be free for about two months.  I meet with the loan company on Thursday this week.  Luckily I have all the paperwork I need except for a contract on the house in Canyon.  Hopefully we’ll get that started this week. 

Need some rest

I’ve worked really hard this week.  Matt came and helped me all day yesterday and I think he was surprised by how much I do in the library.  It was nice to have him there though.  He helped me out quite a bit.  I spent almost all of today calling parents about overdue books.  This is the first chance I’ve had to do this all year.  I need to make additional calls next week, but probably won’t get the opportunity.  I have to start pulling all the computers and equipment out of the classrooms. 

I’ve started the process of getting pre-qualified for buying a house here.  My uncle is going to send me the money for the profit on the house I’m selling him in Canyon in advance and then I’ll pay him back when the house is actually sold.  I am going to talk with the lending agent on Thursday and see what I will qualify for.  There’s a house that Matt and I looked at last weekend that is a short sale.  It just dropped in price by $15000.  I really want to take a look at the inside of it.  A short sale worries me, but it is a huge one story house on a cul de sac. 

Tonight I’m going to have dinner with Matt and his friend Ira.  Not sure what the plan is for tomorrow, but I’m thinking of driving around neighborhoods again.  I really would like to have a specific list of houses that I want to view.