Archive for March, 2006

The Lan'lawd… (as some refer to him as…)

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seanb
on March 27, 2006
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decided to pay us an uninvited and unexpected visit yesterday.  Not an unwelcome one, mind you; but his appearance-without-request for the first time ever in the 11 years we have lived in this residence raises some questions in my mind about what it is he's interested in.  In fact, it's vaguely harassing that he decides to show up in our final week there… to be surprised that the air conditioning isn't yet fixed.  If you'll read back a few days, I believe I wrote that he was once before surprised that the A/C wasn't yet fixed.  Sorry… I am not buying it a second time.  (I don't think I totally bought the surprise the first time).

 and I, along with AngelBaby and PresciousPumkin' had made ourselves busy the day before moving boxes out of the unit, and cleaning the walls in the boys' room.  We have decided, after much deliberation and discussion amongst friends (thanks, , mom, and someone whom I will name if she gives me permission but not a moment sooner and yes I'm sure she knows who I am talking about - lurker… someone who requested me to refer to her herinafter as “Daria”) to NOT repaint the unit, regardless of some lightly colored walls, but instead to invest our energies and money in the new duplex we're occupying in Coral Gables.  We have decided to clean and patch the walls, and get the carpets cleaned.  Even though it is likely that the first thing the soon-to-be-former landlord will do is rip out the carpet, it's still not our decision whether he replaces the carpet or not.

We've been walking around our neighborhood quite a bit, too.  We've gone on walks three of the past four nights.   took us past the bulletin board at the community clubhouse, and, sure enough, the landlord has posted our unit for rent.  He wants $950 a month.  This is the going rate in our community for units with 3 bedrooms and 2 baths, with fully updated cabinetry and appliances.  Our unit is a 2/2 with original appliances (excepting the new washer he put in 3 years ago, and the new water heater sometime right before that).  I'm hoping he's not planning on someone moving in on April 1…  That person will be sorely disappointed, methinks.  But then that's not my row to hoe, now, is it?  (I must admit I haven't hoed many rows lately… but it is cathartic work when one does get the chance).

In any case, we've got just a bit more to box up.  I will be dismantling the electronics that we have in the house (which includes computers, routers, VoIP phone, etc.) in the next couple days… I'm waiting for the green light from  due to the fact that she's the one who has the boys to deal with, and both have become accustomed to some cartoons and computer games.  So…

We're getting close.  Thursday's the big day.  Friday will be the better of the two days, I think.  That's when we say “hello” to our new place.

I don't feel so bad anymore…

Published
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seanb
on March 26, 2006
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When we told our landlord that we would be moving, he claimed that we were leaving him with short notice. Me, being the paranoid slug that I am, have been replaying that conversation in my mind ever since it occured: March 7 (wow… one month to the day that the A/C stopped working here).

Today, on a trash run, I was talking to myself, as I am frequently known to do, and came upon this little tidbit: When we moved in, we paid $1,300. This covered first and last month's rent at $650. The owner was asking $600, but we couldn't spring to that level of cash, so we worked in the security deposit into the rent. So… in effect, having paid $825 for the month of March, 2006, we really haven't short-noticed him, since he already has our last month's rent.

On a side note, we're very excited about where we're moving. My primary excitement comes in the form of the fact that my commute to and from work will be reduced from one hour driving to twenty minutes by bus. The other excitement comes in the form that we are now within walking distance of SO many things it's not even funny… in a very walking-friendly community. If we find that we can't WALK to a place, chances are we CAN bike to it… and the community is just as friendly to bikes as it is to walking.

We're excited…

It's time.

By the way… Gotta love this music I'm listening to. It's a compilation put together by a friend of mine who seems to have dropped off the face of the earth…

Whoops…

Published
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seanb
on March 13, 2006
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I forgot to say that I miss my family… It's not that they're not on my mind. They are, incessantly… check the time, and you might understand.

On the road again!

Published
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seanb
on March 13, 2006
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Well, I'm on the road again. I'm at the first annual Alliance conference, which used to be called the HEUG conference. This conference was held last year in Las Vegas. This year, it's at the Gaylord Oprrland Resort in Nashville, TN. So far, the town has lived up to its reputation of being very friendly. The resort, while having somewhat dated rooms, is clean - and I will be posting pictures of the hotel atrium.

It sounds like my group may be going to do Karaoke tomorrow night at one of the music venues downtown.

More later!

Per CNN: "Bush: Worried by message sent by failed port deal"

Published
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seanb
on March 10, 2006
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What message would that be?  That Americans much prefer their ports to not be run by governments who harbored financiers who financed the deadliest single attack on this nation since Pearl Harbor?

And we were lead to believe that Bush was patriotic.

So… we're moving…

Published
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seanb
on March 10, 2006
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Yes, indeed… we're moving.  We are leaving Homestead, Florida, the town in which I have lived since I was six, aside from some time at University of Florida (I was paroled from there in 1993).  We are moving to Coral Gables.  From a 970 square foot condo to a 1,500+ square foot duplex.

We told our landlord yesterday (March 9) about our intention to be out of the condo we've rented from him for ten years by April 1.  He noted that it's short notice.  I apologized, indicating that this was something that happened for us suddenly, as well, and advised him that we would clean up the place, make it presentable, and be out by the first.  After getting that out of the way, I asked him about the air conditioner that has been out since 2/9.  It's getting rather warm down here, with highs expected to be in the mid 80s this weekend.  His response was that he thought the A/C had been fixed.  Given that he's never let us down in the past, and understanding that he assumes everyone is a “fire-and-forget” missile (meaning he tells someone to do something and it's done), I believe him wholly.  This still doesn't fix the fact that the A/C has, indeed, still been out for over a month.

Along with the A/C, we've been dealing with busted water, a broken dryer, a rat, and two kids who are confused as to what's happening.  While the landlord doesn't know about the rat (we trapped it ourselves) and has no responsibility for the children (sometimes to our chagrin), the rest of the items ARE his responsibility (technically the rat is too… but whatever).  The slow response we've experienced recently in getting these items fixed played marginally into our decision to move - but the primary reason is due to the fact that we need the space, and it's (much) closer to work.  We're going to be paying 18% more in rent; however, this is offset by the gasoline that is expended in keeping me employed.  My commute will be going from 1 hour one way to 15 minutes one way.  The bus, a direct route from the new place to the university, is only 25 minutes long.

We're excited.  We're delighted.

I'm still sad to be leaving my home.