29 posts tagged “little one”
Today is the day we were supposed to close escrow. Instead, we are in the process of signing an extension addendum b/c the seller's agent did not file the application for the 9a report until yesterday. City says it takes 10-15 days to issue the report, though it should be quicker. New close of escrow date is set for Aug. 18, but will hopefully occur sooner.
The Seller's agent was very smug about the application, claiming in his email to our agents that when he submitted the app he was told anyone could submit it. No shit Sherlock. That wasn't the point. The point was we needed the property owner's signature on the application. What a complete dickhead. Meanwhile, this morning I get a smug email from one-half of the Dynamic Duo. I quote: " When this is over you can write a book on 'How our realtor was right..we should not buy a bank foreclosure..or what I did on my summer vacation.'" Um, that's helpful. Or maybe I should title it, "How my realtors neglected to work for their commission b/c we did not buy a house as expensive as they had wanted us to" Or how about: "Your realtor gets the commission and you get to do the work." This is the same bozo who wanted me to sign two days ago that all contingencies had been removed and took me to remind her that in fact we still did not have the effing report.
Unfortunately, this also means that new loan docs have to be drawn and we have to re-sign everything. We paid a lot of money to do this just before Better Half went to Germany -- all for naught. I think this time we'll drive down to the escrow office in Irvine and do it there when the time comes. Better yet would be to get Seller to pay for the expense of having the notary drive out to us.
Meanwhile, when I picked up Little One yesterday from day camp she was complaining of chest pains. She had been in the pool at camp, so got a lot of sun and swallowed a lot of water. I figured a little R&R and she'd be ok. But she complained all evening long. I called the doc, who basically said give her children's tylenol and if she's still complaining in the morning bring her in. Well, she's still complaining. So BH has taken her to the doc. Maybe asthma? We'll see.
Spoke last night with Dr. B, who is back stateside. It was good catching up and we're excited about being able to see them more regularly. Welcome back, dude.
So things took a turn for the better regarding the messy escrow situation this week. The day after they said we would have to get all termite work done before the close of escrow, the boss of our mortgage broker (who conveniently went on a 2 day vacation he neglected to mention to me) emails me and says the credit union has "graciously" agreed to do a repair hold, giving us 30 days to complete the work after close of escrow. Their conditions: it has to be all section 1 work (I had only planned to do portions, leaving in particular the cracked shower pan to do at a later date since it's expensive and not something we are likely to use often), we need to hold 1.5x the cost of the estimated repair work (raises what we need to bring it at escrow significantly, but we'll manage), and I have to write them a letter reaffirming that it is a priority for us to get this done within 30 days (fine, whatever).
Meanwhile, I had already rescheduled with the termite folks to begin work next week. So, then the dilemma was do I keep that slot or put it off until after COE? On the advice of the Dynamic Duo, we're sticking with the plan to go ahead next week. Got them to also schedule the additional work (shower pan and other dry rot stuff) and as it turns out, if all goes as planned, they'll be done two days after COE. Last Friday we also got the signature from the seller's agent to authorize the work, since they still own the property.
Today I traveled out there by bus and bike again. Needed to get a signature from the neighbor to allow access to her property for the fumigation and I also wanted to get the bathroom tile from the shed and put it in the bathroom where they are going to replace the shower pan. Met Middle Sis for brunch at Auntie Em's and then we headed over to the house. Unfortunately, after we moved the tiles, the neighbor was gone, so I couldn't get her sig.
So then I went to the local public library branch to do some homework. The PL is about the same size as the branch here, but seems a little nicer. Definitely dug the a/c, and while I was worried about being able to get a PC terminal, it turned out to be no prob. Found and printed an article and read it and I was good to go.
Went back to the neighbor's, but once again she was out. Should be back w/in 40 mins the kids tell me. So, I hang out and read my book
Anyway, she finally shows up and signs off no prob. So, it looks like all the ducks are lined up, although I still haven't heard if they've succeeded in getting an escrow amendment for this new situation.
I decided to try a different way home. I left the house in ER at about 5:30 and cut through the hills and down into Highland Park to catch the Gold Line train to Union Station. This is a short ride (less than 3 miles), but the hill rivals the climb on my current commute. Here's the route in Bikely:
Train ride was fine-- it takes 13 mins. At Union Station, I head up to catch the bus. I think it was around 6:20 or so. I didn't have a schedule with me and for some absurd reason the timetables are not posted at bus stops in LA, but I knew that the bus I wanted came once an hour and I had written down from the week before that there was a 5:37 bus. So, I figured there must be a 6:37. Well, the time came and went and no bus showed. Ended up waiting until 7:40 before a bus arrived and got to SP an hour later. Ugh. Checked the timetable online, and there damn well should have been a bus at 6:40. Certainly not a good sign if I'm hoping to use this for my regular commute.
Little One called me Friday morning. And when I say morning, I mean early morning. 4:45 am, to be precise. But I was just psyched to talk to her. The times I've called in the past, she hadn't been in the mood to talk with me. This time she was in the mood. Chatted about her experience sleeping over at her old babysitter's place. Actually, said a lot of other stuff, but I don't remember the half of it b/c I was so tired. It just felt nice.
Just spoke briefly with Little One on the phone. Yesterday when I called she told me, "Dad I was just watching something on TV and I don't want to miss it. Can you call later?" Yeah, okay, I get it.
Today they were in the cafe at a park we used to frequent in our old neighborhood. Had a play date with her old friend from KiTa. I spoke with her in German, and she seemed fine with that. Seems the kids got along well and were able to understand each other. But again, she didn't want to talk long as they were eating. "Ich calle you -- I'll call you" she says to me in closing.
Dropped Little One off today at day camp using the bike. Has to be the most climbing I've done to date with her on the back -- the camp is at Friendship park, which according to Gmaps is at 600 ft elevation. Our house is basically sea level. I've been digging a post-ride serotonin glow every since.
LO is off to a Dodger game today with the day camp. I'm curious what she'll think of it. When I was a kid, I loved baseball and enjoyed going to games with Grandpa. But, I lost interest at some point. I think around the time that girls became more interesting to me :). Anyway, she's been to other pro sporting events (soccer and women's basketball), neither of which really seemed to grab her interest.
Looking forward to visits from Big Sis and Little Sis this weekend!
Follow up story on losing teeth. Little One finally decided to put a tooth under her pillow for the tooth fairy last week. I placed a fiver under her bed and she got a pen from her mom. Normally, I wouldn't give so much, but since there were two teeth and they were the first two, I thought it would be okay to be a little extragavant. My mistake.
Later in the week she lost a third tooth, this time in the bottom row. So now she has that classic gaping smile. It's very cute. As it happens, she lost the tooth at the B&G club. She was bummed about that, but I suggested we could either write the tooth fairy a note about that or we could "make" a tooth out of paper and put that under the pillow. This made her happy.
In the end, she put one of the other teeth she had lost under the pillow (she had requested the tooth fairy not actually take the teeth, so we didn't). This time I put 2 bucks under her pillow. And guess what? She was disappointed that it was only two bucks. She figured a tooth is worth more than that. Unfortunately, we didn't have time this morning to explain to her the rationale for $2 for the third tooth vs. $5 for the first two teeth. In any case, she decided she'd rather have her tooth back (this time we did take the tooth) than the $2, so she wrote a note to the tooth fairy saying she'd trade the $2 for her tooth. It was very funny and very cute.
Maybe instead of Geithner, O should have tapped my Little One for Treasury Secretary. For a six year old, she certainly shows pretty sophisticated financial literacy. Today we're driving around and she's reading signs. Outside a car dealership a sign says "We are the bank". So, she asks, why do they say that, and I explain to her that the dealership is offering to loan money to potential customers, saving them from having to borrow the money from a bank. At first she thinks this means you get the car for free. But I go on to explain how you have to pay the money back, and you have to pay even a little extra (I gave her a simple example a one year term of a $100 loan with $10 in interest).
Her first response is that it isn't fair for the loaner to make money for just letting you borrow money (Are muslim ethics innate?). I point out how it enables you to enjoy using the car now and while allowing you to pay back when you are able to. But she has a more fundamental problem: how do you know you'll be able to pay it back when you are supposed to? Aha, that is indeed a tricky question. So, I explain a little bit about budgeting -- looking at your income and expenditures and projecting your ability to save. Okay, she gets that, but now she wonders: what happens if you get sick or you lose your job? Girl, with these two questions you more or less get to the crux of the current financial mess. I was dumbstruck at how quickly she identified the fundamental risks in banking.
Hoping to get some video up later in the weekend of this morning's first grade Thanksgiving play. The kids were very cute in their Pilgrim and Indian costumes. Little One was very excited about the whole thing and really had a good time, and there was a marked advancement of all the kids in their confidence compared with Kgarten play last year.
That said, I have to gripe about the lousy principal of the school again. How this guy got to be a principal is a mystery to me. First off, as he welcomes everyone, he gives his usual "Good morning everyone!" routine wherein all reply, "Good Morning, Mr. G!" And, as is his custom when the parents are present, he says the parents did not respond well enough, so he turns to the kids and says, "Now we're going try this again with just the parents, so you don't say nothing." Seriously. "You don't say nothing." It irks me to no end when an educator does not speak proper English. What sort of role model is that?
Then he goes on to tell all the parents how important it is to the kids that we are there to watch them in the play, and he specifically says that when we aren't there the kids are really disappointed. So, I'm thinking, did he just go through and survey every kid and determine whether they all have someone in attendance in the audience. Course not. So for those kids, he just reminded them how bad they should be feeling right now. Is that necessary? The guy has no fucking clue. None. He don't got no brains.
In all honesty, I should be asleep right now. Or at least doing something productive. But, noooo, I've just spent the last, oh, 2.5 hrs. digesting the "debate" and the blog/msm analysis. I still haven't even seen the whole thing since I couldn't catch the live webcast and the clips so far are incomplete (esp. the last bit on foreign policy). But, it seems it mostly went ok for Obama, so I'm pleased. For me, the highlight was when he answered healthcare is a right, whereas McCain said it is a responsibility. I think he nailed that one. Interesting to read the National Review blog -- they were all beating up on McCain! Complete resignation. Good riddance, I say.
Other stuff: well, we had an enjoyable trip to Legoland this weekend. Little One has been pining to go for months now, and we had a good opportunity given that we were taking care of one of her friends for the weekend. Cuz two adults and one kid at Legoland is not the right balance -- 2/2 works much better. And it was good. Much more mellow than DLand, and the kids really dig it b/c they can actually do everything they want to do. She didn't even try (much) to get us to buy a bunch of junk.
Little One's bike riding has been improving, though we had some regression about a week ago. Prior to that, she has begun to start pedaling on her own without support. Doesn't get it every time, but we're getting there. Which means, since she can already brake and steer, we're pretty much good to go. Next thing is to try out on some bike paths that have a little more traffic, but are still wide and easy. That way she can get comfortable with oncoming bikers and people passing her. And then i figure we're ready to do that bike tour of Africa I've always dreamed about :)
In case you forgot, I am a bonafide Gourdhead. The lads were in town last week for a show at Safari Sam's. 'Twas a school night, but I still could not resist going. I guess after being six years in the desert (i.e. no shows between 2002-2008), a man works up a thirst, you know? So, yeah, a second show in 2008 after the great one in SF in February was definitely called for. The show opened with Kevin Russell playing solo under the moniker of Shinyribs, as he had in February. Probably no more than 20 people in the crowd at that point, but he still put his all into it. The setlist (no doubt, with errors since there were many tunes I didn't not know):
1. Sweet Potato
2. Me & Jesus (Tom T. Hall) -- serious white boy gospel. hard to tell if he was earnest or ironic
3. The Devil's Song (?)
4. Image of Me -- "one fo the best country songs ever written" by Harlan Howard (who??)
5. Fisherman's Friend (?) -- a song for travelers
6. Dang Me -- Roger Miller tune
7. Who built the moon? -- pretty silly ditty
8. Highway 61 Revisited -- "Bobby" Dylan countrified. Changed all the verses 'cept the first.
9. For the turnstiles -- excellent cover of Neil
10. Waterfalls -- apparently a cover of some R&B group called TLC
Shinyribs was followed by a gawd awful local troupe called Stampead. The less said the better.
By the time The Gourds came on, the crowd had built up some. Not packed, by any means, but at least not embarrasing (if you forget the fact that some 15 mil. people live in metro LA).The set was spirited, though not quite the knockout that Slim's was. They played:
1. My Name is Jorge
2. Arapahoe
3. Old Man from the Mountain
4. Jesues Christ with Signs Following
5. Gyroscopic
6. Maria -- Jimmy at his maniacal best
7. Yoli Find a Possum -- not sure where this one comes from
8. LGO
9.O Rings
10. Roll & Tumble
11.Take Me Back to Tulsa
12. All the Labour -- one of my favs!
13. I'm a Man -- very impromptu Muddy Waters with different lyrics. Actually, Jimmy just sang about one verse.
14. Flavor on Your Tongue -- ending with the "do do do doo doos" from the Stones' "Hangfire" and followed by a few bars of Chariots of Fire((!!)
15. Promenade -- nice ballad, but the line about Southern Democrats is really weak
16. Red Letter Day -- Max on vox
17. Dr. Spivey -- Jimmy at his maniacal worst. Too bloody loud. (tho' I liked how he snuck in a bass line from "I Want You (She's So Heavy)
18. Mr. Betty
19. Gin and Juice -- snippets of The Hungry Wolf (X), Surrender (Cheap Trick), and The End (The Doors)
Frankly, I could of done w/out G&J. It's just getting too cliche for them to play and they looked bored playing it. They do a great version and it's a lot of fun, but it just doesn't make sense to make a cover your signature tune and play it at every gig. I liked it back in, oh, 1998 when they stopped playing it at every show for a while.
And with that, I really will go to bed now.
I just cannot get myself to do anything today. Been in a funk ever since I got to work. Luckily, I'll be heading out the door in a few...
Did get the camel drawing done last night, so pin the tail on the camel game for Saturday is a go. Not a half-bad drawing, if I do say so myself. Also printed out all the kids names in hieroglyphs as a little goody-bag treat. If you want one for yourself, go here. Still have to burn a CD with "King Tut" and maybe a few other tunes for the musical chairs game. And we now have loads of tp to do some serious mummy-wrapping. Oh, and an Egyptian colleague here at work has provided me with some papyrus and other decorations. So, it's coming together.
Maybe tomorrow will be more productive.
Got home last night and the unwrapping was already in full swing. LO was very excited by all her presents. She was in total disbelief at the site of the rabbit. At first, she wanted to name it Spotty (it's white with some black spots on its back), but then she changed her mind and has settled on Jackie. Not sure why, though she does have a friend Jackie at school. It's a cute and cuddly rabbit, to be sure. I just hope we'll be able to let it out of its cage enough so that it has sufficient exercise/stimulation.
After coming back from dinner with the PUs, she reluctantly got ready for bed instead of playing with her new stuff. Sitting on the toilet seat in the bathroom, she cracks open a new book she just got from Schmaz and proceeds to read it aloud. By herself. Having never seen this book before. Did you get that? She's reading. It was astounding. I have seen her read some so-called "pre-decodable" books that she gets from school, but with those she's had practice in class. This was the first time we'd seen her straight out read a book she's just opened for the first time. As she progressed through the pages, she stumbled over a few words, some of which she was able to sound out and a few which I helped her on. But, I'm telling you, this was BIG. A very memorable birthday indeed.
I am now rather stressed about the party on Saturday. Still not sure who all is coming. Haven't got as much done on the decorations side as I would have liked. Wanted to order a pyramid shaped cake (no time to bake). After visiting two nearby bakeries (one that couldn't do it, the other closed), I called Mayer's on the hill. Oh, they'll do one alright, but it'll cost you King Tut's treasure. Well, ok, $165, but that still seems excessive for a kid's bday cake. So, she's getting a sheet cake with the Giza Pyramids picture from Wikipedia frosting-scanned on to it.
Spent the better part of the morning dealing with Jackie. Apparently, rabbits can be potty trained, which is a good thing. So, I purchased him a special rabbit litter. Also got a rabbit leash so that we will be able to let him hop around outside without having to worry about him getting away from us. Still need to figure out a good place to keep his cage, since what BH is not going to work outside. If he goes outside at all, it's going to have to be a a much larger and more stable and secure hutch. Do I have time for this?
