Sad
and
Glad

September 21 , 1999

Hey look, there's me, and my very messy office in the background.

Chuck bought a new toy for me today. A web cam. Just exactly what I need. OK, so he doesn't shower me with flowers and jewels, but I have more home electronics then any girl could hope to have.

This one is actually kinda sucky and is getting exchanged tomorrow--keeping Chuck's track record with purchases and returns from Fry's at a solid 100% (I frantically searched for a link to his entry about this but alas turned up empty; if you really care, go peruse his archives yourself).

I figured you were all wondering what I look like. Well, wonder no more.

Not much has been said on these pages about the impending sale of the house except to say that it is happening. Well, tomorrow is it. We close. And not without more than my karmic share of nightmares. All I'll say is that the first attempted sale very nearly ended our marriage before it (the sale) fell apart.

I am a big believer in karma. I thought I had a balance in the big karmic bank in the sky but clearly I was wrong. I must have done something very evil to deserve the kind of buyers we seem to attract. I don't know what it is about this house that seems to draw stark raving lunatics to it.

Details from the first attempted sale were chronicled by Chuck and I talk about it a little here.

Well, a new agent and a new perspective do a lot for a girl.

Escrow has been moving along slowly but was progressing. Until today.

It seems that the buyer for my home is the most obsessive-compulsive anal-rententive person on the entire planet. My escrow officer told me only this afternoon that it took this man 3 1/2+ hours to sign his loan docs. That is after he'd already had them for three days. You can be certain that every i was dotted and every t crossed.

Well, in order to sell a house in LA county you need something called a Form 9A. This is a form that is issued by the City of Los Angeles and stipulates, among other things that the house is connected to city sewer lines. The thing is, it takes about 12 weeks to get a Form 9A out of the City. Most escrow's close without it. The buyer signs a release and that's that.

Not my buyer. Until 3:45 this afternoon he was going to bag it all because he couldn't get the Form 9A and he WOULD NOT sign a release. Oy.

The tenants were out. The house was clean. It had been tented for termites. All my ducks were in a row. And, it was very close to once again becoming a huge money-sucking hole in our lives.

As my final paperwork was coming through the fax at the escrow office the escrow officer called and said the buyer had just signed the release. The money would be at title in the morning, and they would wire-transfer my funds to me tomorrow afternoon.

Perfect.

Until 4:30.

I find a voicemail on my cell phone from the escrow officer. The bank sent the money to the wrong title company and the funds would not be to the correct place until tomorrow afternoon. OK, I can live with that. I'll have the money in my account on Thursday.

We're very very very happy.

It's not as much money, after everyone takes their share, as I'd hoped, but it's better than a poke in the eye with a sharp stick.

Chuck, Zoe, and I went to the house this afternoon. One last check of the premises and to pick up my extra refrigerator.

I was outside with Zoe talking to one of the neighbors as Chuck was slaving away. Once the fridge was in the truck Zoe and I went to find Chuck in the backyard.

OK, so compared to the size of my new backyard it's a postage stamp, but it was my very first very own backyard. The heirloom roses I'd carefully selected and nurtured were doing great. The pool, though a bit dirty, looked mighty inviting. The columbines were full and bushy, just waiting for the weather to cool so they could bloom (a little gardening tip: you can't kill columbines, the official state flower of Colorado).

One last walk-through of the house and we'd lock it up and walk away forever. Suddenly I felt very very sad.

I remember the feeling I had when I found the house. I loved it. It seemed so large and spacious.

We were happy in this house. We cemented our relationship, got engaged, brought Zoe home from the hospital, and a lot more in this house.

It was our home for 4+ happy years.

Until next time. . .

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