Well, today we went out to Portland (TN, not OR) and looked at some houses. Zoni is really excited about getting a house, and while I think it’s STILL premature, I really want to get into a house. It’s FAR past time that we got out of rental situations and out of apartments. I’m hoping that American Home Mortgage can actually come through for us and get us something. Of course, we went and looked at houses in the 150s-160s, and there’s basically no way on earth we’ll be able to get that much of a loan, especially with virtually nothing down, so it was just a big tease.
We did realize though, that Portland is WAY the heck out there, and really too far away from Nashville. It would be at least a 45 minute commute in each day, each way, and while that’s short compared to some people (i.e. Bostonians, New Yorkers, etc.), it’s still just too much for me. It would end up like we were in Spring Hill where I just dreaded getting up every morning. Of course, that could have had something to do with where I was working (ahem) Dell (ahem).
Great news on this front: Chris Westmoreland called Friday and he passed the bar!!! (Now, if we could just get Zoni’s brother David to do the same thing, though in a different way). I now officially have an attorney (who can help me with closing on a house. We’ll have to work out some kind of trade for a website or something. Go figure. Hopefully, he and Sybrina will find something they like soon.
As of last Wednesday, I’m back in the office at cj fulltime. As with nearly everything, there are both pros and cons to the situation. The pros are that I can actually get a lot more work accomplished, communications with co-workers are no longer strained, and I can get some time away from the house. The cons are GAS money (visit www.nashvillegasprices.com, I’m a regular submitter for Smyrna), being away from the family and not being able to set my schedule essentially however I want. I definitely thing I’ll be more productive in the office, I already have been. I’m realizing how good of a thing it is that I went ahead and started using ASP.NET 2.0 before it goes RTM. It is SO much easier to work in, and I’ve found myself shying away from using the codebehind, even when I shouldn’t. That’s probably a bad thing overall, as codebehind is where developers live, but in this case, I’m glad to be able to do things quicker in the designer. It’s making me think more object oriented in everything, even in the MECA site. I’m taking it to base classes for my next version/redesign. This one I’m going to code first, and design second. It should make the site more user-friendly, and hopefully, more effective.
Car notes: I’m selling my DSM BOV (that’s Diamond Star Motors Blow Off Valve for the uninitiated) and injectors that I got with Quentin’s CSX. We need the funds, and I’m not gonna really ever use them. I hope they sell quickly. I’ve got to replace the power steering pump, as the ENTIRE underside of the car is covered with power steering fluid. Additionally, it needs an O2 sensor so it doesn’t think it’s running lean all the time and suck down gas like a Dyson Vacuum. Oh, and a clutch. Hey, the car has over 165K miles on it, it’s about time to replace some stuff. I just wish I could upgrade more rather than OEMing.
Hey, we went to church today! It reminded me why I want to move out of the Smyrna Ward. I just don’t feel comfortable in this ward. Of course, that’s my fault as much as anybody elses, but the overwhelming feeling of discomfort in this ward makes life difficult. Hopefully, that will be done soon.