this could be my life

It has been a great weekend so far and it is not yet done.

I've walked the seawall, drank red wine (not Rachel's of course. Just a my own tasty bottle of beaujolias drank over 2 days), read books, got obsessed with a new TV show (Fringe: it is like the new X Files but not scary), got possessed with owning a TiVo or PVR so I that I could tape more shows and watch them at my leisure and sans commercials, read realestate blogs with some interesting forecasts for the market and had excellent coffee brewed at home. I'm a 20 minute skytrain ride from home but I feel like I'm on vacation. It is like I've tested out Rachel's life for the weekend...without the husband and great cooking skills. And now it is a stat holiday and I am totally relaxed.

These realestate blogs are really interesting. I told my realtor that I wanted to ideally move into a place next spring and I for sure should be waiting to buy a place until then. The blog I was reading was run by two realtors and they pointed out that in one building downtown an apartment sold last week for 310k when, at the peak 8 months ago, the same one bedrooms were selling for 377-385k. Crazy! The women that rejected my 20k off listing price offer is going to be so mad at herself in a few months for not accepting it.

There seems to be two ideas on what will happen to the realestate market; by next summer it will have fallen by 30% from its peak OR in 3 years it will have fallen 50% from its peak. Crazy. But really great for me. A bit awkward as I rave to my friends who bought in the last two years about what a bargain I am going to get. Really hoping to buying something similar to what they bought at 320k for hopefully 250k or less. Did I also mention that I've lost almost 20% of my down payment to this crazy market? It has formed a bit of a roadblock to me buying right now anyways.

In the mean time I need to hunt for a rental apartment. I was going to try to wait until next April to move as I am saving a ton where I am but I don't think I can put a price on my happiness. Even if the market falls and I find something to buy in the spring, I think it would be worth it to break the lease on something I am renting. And I would be much happier downtown, Fairview or Main street. Those are the 3 neighborhoods I am looking at.

Off to cook my cauliflower with cheese sauce for Turkey day at the Dunnet-Holzer's.

Staycation

Let the weekend begin! All of my work emails sent post 2pm were greeted with nasty replies telling me to start my long weekend. Delayed leaving work as I went with the mumma to the oncologist. A good visit for her but disappointing for me as he dropped into the conversation something about his wife. It was really adding to the appointments to believe he was single and one day the appointment would end with him asking me out.

As mum has/is departing for the GF Dunnets and Richard is leaving to see her beau I have decided to vacation in the city. Literally. I am staying at Rachel's for the weekend while she is away and pretending I live downtown. Seeing how the other half lives. There is no pretense that a house sitter is needed. There are not cats, dogs, fish or plants here that need tending. Just a lot of expensive wine sitting around that should really be tasted.

My weekend plans include; getting my highlights done, walking the seawall, reading books, going to a few open houses and hitting the Chach/Dave turkey meal on Monday. I think I am bringing cauliflower with cheese sauce. Just need a great cheese sauce recipe.

Offered on the dream condo and was declined. Their loss. This market is heading into a shame spiral. My 2nd choice condo just dropped by 15k! Let me know your thoughts. It practically has a real kitchen. Pros: set back from the street so it is quiet, decent view, great kitchen, separate storage, parking, and amenities. Cons: no breakfast bar off the kitchen, no balcony for my bbq, strata fee is a bit pricier, and no separate den.

I am still waiting for a December fire sale. Someone has to be getting desperate.

Now going to have a sleepover with Ritchy and then drive her to the airport for 5:30am!!!!!!!!!!!!!

a Sunday in Vancouver

Beautiful day to live in Vancouver. The sisters, mumma and I walked the CIBC Run for Cure and then headed to Provence for a delicious brunch. I was stuffed after and headed out to walk some of it off. In total gmap tells me I walked over 20kms today. A lot more fun than going to the gym! I saw 5 condos at open houses and fell in love with one that is out of my price range. Big debate over the Station St one as they are planning to put in a hospital across the street. That would make it easy to rent out but maybe not so great to live in. The derelict lots on the rest of the block would be developed. No information on where the ER entrance will be...

Now going to enjoy the rest of Sunday and read a National Geographic magazine on travel in Spain. Then I have big plans to make a prawn green thai curry.

back to basics/brunch

How nice to wake up on a Saturday to no rain and a day for leisure. My check list for the weekend is small; workout, get outside, go see a condo and return mom's car. If I get laundry and housework done that is a bonus. It has been a crazy few weeks at work and it is nice to just sit. Last weekend, for the first time in many moons, I just sat and watched a movie. I didn't try and watch the movie while doing laundry, cooking a meal and answering emails. I just watched. It was great.

So this morning I woke up and made my favorite brunch. The only thing that would have made it better was some crispy bacon but I try to only have that on special occasions. My two medium poached eggs were perfect, the coffee has given me a great buzz to carry to the gym and I've had a delicious serving of fresh fruit with yogurt. Not bad considering it isn't even 9am yet.

After the gym I am off to meet with a realtor and having a viewing of a condo on Station st. Check out the link. From the description it sounds perfect but who knows once you get there. I am concerned there may be no common deck and that Juliette balcony will not hold a bbq. I am obsessed with the loft concept condo. It means you have a spacious feel, less walls and the bedroom is generally partitioned by sliding frosted glass doors in the back area. Being a light sleeper I am concerned about being on a busy street with a bedroom that faces on to it. Right now my bedroom is on a busy street and there is a ton of construction. Nothing like waking up to the beep of dump trucks backing up at 6:30am. I think it must be illegal. I will have to look into it.

Happy weekend to everyone. Especially Richard. I can't tell you how it warms my heart to hear her stories about work. You might say my heart is 'glowing'....

Condo/No Condo

I went from the nose, to a bike, to a condo. Back on the condo searching kick. The market is finally 'softening' and I could actually afford something in Vancouver! When I previously looked I could afford an old one bedroom in a 4 storey in east van or a new concrete condo in new west. But that was it. Over the last 7 months the new condos across the street have dropped by 30k! Exciting times for me. Maybe not as exciting if you are already in the market.

I really want a loft. Not a two level loft but something open, but not a studio, with high ceilings, lots of windows, in a concrete building. I want the impossible of a storage locker, parking spot (for my friends with cars to visit), my own balcony so I can bbq and over 650 sq ft. And I don't want to be on the first floor. Or even the 2nd for that matter. I really want to be on the third or higher.

Have to get back to watching the season opener of Grey's Anatomy.

cruiser/no cruiser

Now I know Chach just bought a bike but I am not copying with my post here. My friend Renee and I have been talking about buying cruiser bikes for a while now.

I am in a debate with myself over my transportation needs. I currently have a 30 minute walk to work. Not bad, adds an extra hour of walking into my exercise routine, costs me nothing and is usually a refreshing start and end to the day.

But lately, lately I am not enjoying it as much. I am busy, want to get into work fast, and hate that I leave for work at 7:15am and by the time I walk in, change when I get there, redo hair, it is 8:15am and I am at my desk. I want some ease. I want to speed things up. And the fact is, that no matter how enjoyable the walk is, when it starts pouring out it is 30 minutes of annoyance.

So I want to buy a commuter bike and turn that 30 minutes into ten. And have panniers to carry all my stuff. But I have to find the exact bike. I can't lean forward due to my neck and shoulder. But all the cruiser bikes that are a great position generally don't have enough gears, or they have coaster breaks, or they are made of steel and weigh a ton. I want to spend less than $500 all in. Right now I spend $40 a month on transportation. That is mainly in the form of transit. Occasionally I indulge in a cab. The bike would add an extra cost of $40 a month for a year. I can live with that. All in I am still paying less than JUST to insure a car each month, never mind gas, maintenance and car payments.

The bike attached is the Santiago by Norco. MSRP $375. It has 7 speeds, V brakes (coaster just ain't safe in my opinion), and is made of steel. I think it will do the job. I just need a rat trap on the back to hang panniers. It is getting to the end of the season and I think I could get it for a deal. But I am also saving up for my nose. So which to get first. It is about to turn into our rainy season. I am not looking forward to suiting up in Goretex and getting soaked over 30 minutes. I would much rather get rained on for 10 minutes.

Might have to call around and see if any stores have them in stock...

i'll have to wear it for the rest of my life

Earlier this month I went to see a facial surgeon about my nose. I had been referred by the ENT doctor. I went to the ENT doctor because one side of my nose is slowly closing and I am at the point where it is making it tough to breathe. I have nightmares where someone tapes my mouth shut and I slowly suffocate because I get so little air. As Richard can tell you, I sound like Darth Vader when I workout; even when I am training 20 times a week and in the best shape of my life. My dentist can also tell you about how my gums are dry due to my mouth breathing all night and they bleed easily because of it. Apparently this is not a good thing.

My nose needs to be 'functionally corrected' due to one of the Miyoshi kids. I think it might have been Jimmy but I'm not sure. When we were in elementary school there was a random snow day or two. One of these days all of us children were sledding on the banks leading to the grass fields. I can't even recall who I was sledding with but we were taking turns sledding down together and then would alternate pulling each other up the bank. On one of my turns to recline in comfort while someone dragged me up the hill I got taken out by a sled coming down the bank. I clearly remember it literally running me over and seeing the underside of the sled. The rest of the details are fuzzy but I remember having a nose bleed and my nose having a scrape on it and being swollen and sore. There were other accidents to my nose, a basketball or two to the face, but the sledding accident was the one that kicked it off.

My septum was shoved over to the left side of my nose and a bump on my bridge formed from scar tissue. This is the one difference between my nose and Rachel's. While I have found out from the plastic surgeons that the bump keeps the end of my nose from looking extremely bulbous it also means I hate my profile.

I've had the septum checked into before. Was told to try nose spray. But over the last 5 or 6 years it has collapsed in even more to the point that the inside walls of my nose are actually touching on my left side.

The ENT took one look in August and told me it needed to be fixed. That the turbines needed to be cauterized too. I asked about taking out the bump at the same time and he referred me to a plastic surgeon for the whole deal. The first surgeon was good and told me all the right things. Then his assistant told me how much it would cost. I figured at these prices I should shop around and make sure I am getting my money's worth. If I have to wear it for the rest of my life I want to make sure I picked the best person to perform the surgery.

Today I went for another consult at a plastic surgery clinic. There were two surgeons; one is retiring and is mentoring the other one for a year. They studied my face intently. They both looked up my nose. They drew diagrams of my nose. They explained in detail how my nose was working functionally and cosmetically. They enjoyed the term bulbous to describe the end of my nose. They normally use the word 'blunt' but it doesn't accurately describe my nose. They agreed the septum needed to be fixed and gave me a detailed explanation of how to fix it. They were great. I looked into their faces and felt confident they would give me something I could wear for the rest of my life.

Of course their quote was higher that the other surgeons. But to quote Pape when I talked about getting a deal on laser eye surgery 'Is surgery really something you want to be saving money on?"

I still need to mull it over. It would mean no travel for the next year and some staycations. The scooter I am daydreaming of buying would have to remain a dream. Might not be able to move out of the current apartment into my own. This means everyone coming for the Games would have to find other accommodations or sleep in my room on the floor.

No answer tonight on this one. To be continued....