My mother, my friend

Posted on 02/17/2008 by RLW3

My mother made a special trip out from New Jersey to see the house before it sells.

I must tell you that this is so touching. I know that she has little to no discretionary income. She is not doing this as a frivolous thing.

She and I have had MANY candid conversations over the years regarding the difficulties and discouragements that I have encountered in finishing this house. She has visited several times over the years and seen the house in various stages of incompletion. The fact that she wants to see what I have built even though it will cost her to do so means a great deal to me.

One of the challenging things in life is that we often go through it alone. It is very difficult to find people who really care about what you do. I have at least one.

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What did I just do???

Posted on 02/17/2008 by RLW3

Well, what would life be without a little self-made adventure…

As I lay in bed, SO grateful to God for the idea, SO excited about surprising them, a dark cloud formed in my brain.

My anniversary is on March 1st…

The state tournament is next weekend.

I BOOKED TICKETS FOR 2/28! I WILL MISS THE TOURNAMENT!

WHAT THE HECK WAS I THINKING? My leg was not long enough to really kick myself as thoroughly as I deserved.

Somehow, in the early morning fog, the two events conflated together in my brain…

In desperation, I called Travelocity. In her best Indain accent, the customer service said, “Yes. We canl change the ticket for $125.”

“NOOOOOOO! That’s how much the ticket cost! I’m asking you for help. I just made a terrible mistake!”

After several minutes on hold, she came back and changed the ticket to 2/21 for a $5 fee!!!

I called Southwest. They changed it for a $48 fee. Fortunately for me, both flights were still available!

The emotional roller coaster wore me out! I am going back to sleep!

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I am sooo the man!

Posted on 02/17/2008 by RLW3

 I woke up at 3:30 A.M. this morning! I was unable to go back to sleep.

Gradually, it dawned on me that I should fly to Kansas to see my son wrestle. I mean, this is the state tournament!!!

I got so excited! I would be able to surprise my son at the state tournament and surprise my wife on our anniversary! Man, am I going to get to play the hero or what!!!

I booked the flight to KC on Friday night through Travelocity on United Airlines. I booked the non-stop return flight back on Southwest. Both flights were at the perfect time. I was thrilled!

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I’ve made my decision

Posted on 02/15/2008 by RLW3

When I went to bed last night, I was all twisted inside.

A house one block away from mine sold for $35K less than mine just seven months ago and it is 900 square feet smaller with no upgrades at all! However, I have put so much work into this house. That just tears me up inside.

But the reality is that the housing market in my area is terrible. A realtor friend that I have been looking to for advice told me that he is listing a house in my area that is fairly similar to mine for $240K less than my offer.

When I woke up this morning, everything became clear. I need to accept the offer and join my wife and two youngest children in Kansas City.

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He’s was NOT surprised!

Posted on 02/14/2008 by RLW3

I called one of my best friends to get his advice as to what I should do concerning the low offer. After all, he is an accomplished residential real estate appraiser and former mortgage banker.

I told him about the offer and the circumstances that lead me to meet the prospective buyers. He then told me that last Thursday the Lord had told him that if he would anoint my house with oil and pray, the house would sell this week! Although he did not want me to leave, he came over and prayed and now I was calling to tell him that his prayer had been answered!

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Take it or leave it

Posted on 02/14/2008 by RLW3

Well, now I am in tough spot now!

Our counter offer was rejected.

The buyer’s realtor spent the entire day yesterday trying to persuade him to accept it but he didn’t budge. He said that he could only afford what he offered. It is basically a “take it or leave it proposition.”

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We received an offer!

Posted on 02/12/2008 by RLW3

We received our first offer on the house!

It is $35,000 below our already reduced price!!!

We are going to make a counter offer tomorrow. I am mentally prepared to drop the price another $10K.

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Very interesting

Posted on 01/23/2008 by RLW3

I have noticed that my two mile times are actually faster when I am using Heavyhands. The pumping of my arms seems to act like a reminder to keep my pace up.

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How did this happen?

Posted on 01/21/2008 by RLW3

I was laid off from my job last Friday.

That has never happened to me.

If I am honest, I cannot say that I am surprised. I could see that the new management clearly didn’t have me in their plans. And, I could also see how my new manager was steadily and progressively absorbing my responsibilities even though she was not performing well on what she already had.

However, I guess that I naively thought that I could perform my way out of the obvious.

Well, now that I am home and unemployed, I realize that I was wrong!

As I sit here and reflect on what has just transpired, I can only shake my head.

16 months ago, in the opinion of most of the management team, I was the most effective Program Manager at our company.

15 months ago, I was promoted to be the Master Scheduler and Planning Manager.

10 months ago, I was openly praised by the General Manager as THE driving force for positive change in our company.

But then 9 months ago, the company hired its first COO. Three months into the job, he  brought in a new general manager.

It was two full months before the new GM ever met with me. The meeting was short and sweet. He clearly did not want to hear my perspective on anything.

Four months later I was essentially told that I have no value to the company!

Although it doesn’t change my situation, it in interesting to note that the GM was himself laid off on Saturday.

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Fitness for Old Farts: Phase 2 begins

Posted on 01/14/2008 by RLW3

Now that my aerobic routine is getting established, I am going to add a calisthenics program based on Dr. Ellington Darden’s book A Flat Stomach ASAP!

Because of the additional stress this will put on my body, I am going to reduce my aerobic program to walking three days and Heavyhanding three days. Dr. Darden says that one of the key factors in a successful exercise program is allowing for adequate recovery time.

I am also going to be following his diet. I want to maintain the 17 lbs. I have already lost and lose an additional 9 lbs.

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