205 Sand Dollar Ln

Finally, we closed. Naturally, the movers can't be here until tomorrow, and the new beds we ordered (because our old ones got ruined in storage) won't be here for a couple of days. This has truly been the move from hell and somehow refuses to die. We do like the house, though. It's too small by about 500 sq ft, but it's really close to the water (but not too close), and even though it needs a lot of updating, it's a solid house on a nice lot.

Pics of the outside here.

Lovely

We had an inspection on the little house we wanted to buy. Turns out that termites have not suffered the slump in the real estate market that everyone else has, especially where this house is concerned. The inspector deemed it "major structural damage" and showed us a couple of spots where you could step on the floor and potentially open up a new access point to the crawlspace. We're dropping what we're willing to pay to ridiculously low levels - so low the owners probably (and maybe hopefully) won't take it. So we're back to square one. Or maybe two, since we've got a couple of other potential places identified.

The best part is that when we went out to look at the place again after the inspection, I was walking around the house and noticed a bunch of wasps on a window. Hmm, there are a lot of wasps on that window, I thought, just as one stung me RIGHT ON THE FUCKING FOREHEAD. So that evening and the whole next day, I was uncomfortable and had a little bit of a headache, but no big deal. Until around 8pm when I looked in the mirror and noticed that my forehead was swelling around the sting spot. By around 8:45 it was starting to spread around my eyes. I iced it down and that seemed to help a little. I woke up yesterday morning and my whole face was puffy. I felt really crappy, so I did the walk-in to the Doctors office. Three hours and a steroid shot later, I walked out with a prescription for allergy medicine and slightly less discomfort.

All seems okay now. Not that you care.

The Fixer-Upper

They asked 175, we offered 145, they countered 163. Decisions decisions.

We Got an Offer!

$1000 below asking! Fingers crossed, fellas!

Shit.

The Austin City Limits Music Festival has released its lineup for next year's festival. Not to continue the "whinge" about leaving the Live Music Capital of the World(seriously, they call it that), but come on! Bob Dylan is fucking headlining?!! Not to mention Bloc Party, Lucinda, Decemberists, Amy Whinehouse, Steve Earle, Peter Bjorn and John, the National, Patterson Hood, and Farmer Jason (Jason of Jason & the Scorchers doing the kiddie rock thing), and Spoon among others. Every year I've been here I've been very lukewarm about the line-ups, and now it's a killer. They're doing it on purpose. Fuckers.

On the bright side, I have to return sometime in the fall to defend my dissertation. I may have to make it conveniently happen right around festival time.

Here Goes Nothin...

We're on the market. I'll try not to winge as much as Jay did. I'll try.