The further adventures of an earthbound alien

Yes! The housing loan that we have been pushing up that big hill has finally been approved. It was a long hard paper-filled journy and I won't go into too much detail... but let me tell you about how I felt, when about 30 days into it, when the mind numbingly, over regulated and sorely bused mortgage company we were using went up against the bureaucratic black hole that is my former employer. Oh, how the paper flew and the unreasonable demands were slapped away.

If you really want to know what the pit falls are of buying a house in this market and having to deal with gun shy mortgage companies, who's solution to all of their self-imposed internal turmoil seems to be to not approve anyone, please ask. But make sure you do it over drinks, and leave the children at home.

The end result of this tail of this nice family of four who make good money, have bought five houses and have sold two, and who have immaculate credit and have never missed a mortgage or even a rent payment is...
We have a new house.
Caution, actual house may be less, "barny" and the location slightly more, "Burbanky".

I'm not sure but I think the rigors of moving for the 31st time will be a dog-shit free walk in the park compared to the loan process.
So, what have we learned?

Good time to by because:
1) Prices are low
2) Interest rates are low.
3) Realtors are desperate (but they'd never let you know it)
4) The new stimulus package offers a $15,000 intensive to first time home buyers (that's 10% on a halfway decent home anywhere in the US besides California)

and it's a bad time to buy because
1) Mortgage companies are run by baboons.

Horay!! Let's all move!!!

I wrote, over there on Facebook, that I'm getting ready to move for the 31st time in my life. Hard to believe I know but it's true. There was a point there where I lived on a guys floor for a month and spent five months in Germany in three different places. So there!
I've also read recently on a fiends blog, handy moving tips when you have friends help you. It was very detailed but, as far as I'm concerned, bring in the professionals. That's right if you have the doe, just box it up and have some under-payed moving guy hump it up the steps.
It's what I'm doing this time.
Take it from a guy who's moved around a lot.
will I miss this place? no, not really. It smells and I'm convinced it's killing me. Besides, I haven't really done any yard work in two years, and I miss it.

Sid Viscous:Yes, I know it's a Doc Martin's add. Would Sid have cared? I think the question is, would Sid have noticed?
Sid was a junkie who couldn't even play the bass. And he's been dead all these thirty years.
I don't think he'd really gives a shit.

Unless you're some kind of super computer freak who spends way too much time on the web and with emails you probably don't have time to keep a Blog updated or, at least, free from run-on sentences that are redundant and never seem to end... like I do. It could be the old George Carlin bit about how people who drive slower than you are idiots and people who drive faster are maniacs, in this case (and for the purpose of this very confused posting) substitute cars for Blogs and the rate of speed with frequencies of posts.

It used to be, once a day I'd answer emails and look at the Great Lakes Maritime Academy webcam to see how the weather is in Traverse City. (In case you're wondering, it's crap.) Then, if I feel I have something to say or a picture to show, I post a blog.
So yeah, the idea of the Blog was just to put anything, no mater how stupid or insignificant into writing. And examine the crap out of it in an offhanded way. Then for the next week or so I would use my observations in conversation. The end result is a sort of pre-strike on stupidity. Or, as we call it in animation land, "Humor."

These days, the time I would normally spend on my computer has been replaced with an iphone. Normally I don't use the phone so much. If you want me, text me. When I call you, I won't leave you a message. If you see that I've called just text me and say, "Sup?"

Now, with facebook and email on the phone my communications have shrunk to three word replies. What used to be, "I looked at the pictures you sent of the picknic by the lake. My, how little Vicky has grown! She embodies the lovelyness of her mother more and more every day. I fear that she will be an adult by the time we return to Alaska." is now, "wow cool pix!" Naturally, the word "pix" will probably be auto-corected and you'll end up with, "Wow cool pie" and get all offeneded. Next thing you know, no free place to stay when I visit Alaska.

So, to those who have been subject to this sort of communication, I must apologise. Rest assured I haven't grown simple (er) I'm just completely burried by communications from to many fronts. Hey, but so are you! So if you're the kind of maniack who spends a lot of time on the computer, don't be offended. But, if you're an idiot you probably understand me.

But what I really meant to post was this pie from Vegas:

This was from a twenty dollar investment. Not bad, but it never made it home!