Homeowners No More!

After months of well-documented stress, we finally closed on the sale of our house yesterday. The check was quite the pittance but we were happy just to sign and close the deal. (Appraisal number one came in at a certain amount but the deal with those buyers fell through. Appraisal number two, one month later, came in significantly lower, coming nowhere close to representing what we had been paying in property taxes.) But like I said, we were happy just to put this thing behind us and move on with our lives.

Apartment living is so nice. My work commute used to be 60 miles roundtrip a day. Now it takes me a week to put that many miles on my car. We both can be to work in less than 20 minutes (12 for me), we don't worry about lawn care or the cost of maintenance. In season, we have two beautiful swimming pools from which to choose and there are a couple of modest workout facilities that I can always access. En route to work each day, I cross over the Percy Priest dam and have the most beautiful view of the lake and the plethora of boats upon it. (Note to self: Make friends with someone who owns a boat.)

We're still as broke as ever and all of a sudden my car is stalling each time I come to a stop or near-stop. So there's some more money to be spent immediately. I just hope it holds out long enough for me to take it to the dealership tomorrow or Friday. I've been late to work every day this week to care for kids with fevers and I'd like to make it on time today.

I don't see us rushing into homeownership for quite a while. Our experience was just too hard with this sale. If not for the loudest walkers in the world above us, this would be the most perfect living situation for us right now. I think our upstairs neighbors have nightly midnight races from the bedroom to the kitchen and back.

Now all that's left for me is to get a better job. As soon as I get my resume into Southwest Airlines, I'll feel like I am really doing something good for me and good for my family. I rarely meet a SWA flight attendant who doesn't have a genuine smile. They love their jobs and have a blast traveling from city to city. Unlike my current situation, there is such a thing as seniority and even though the hours can be quite long, the schedules are quite flexible. When they are at work, they are away from their families. But when they are home, they are home for three to four days at a time. My family would love actually seeing me that often. Funny how a traveling job could allow me to have more family time than the one down the street.

Chez Bez
Factotum Extraordinaire