Y'all foolin yo self.

If you haven't heard "Crazy" by Gnarls Barkley (Danger Mouse and Cee-Lo), you're only hurting yourself.

FOUR MORE YEARS!

5/22/02 my brother received a double lung transplant and a new lease on life. He was tethered to an oxygen machine and likely to die within a few months prior to that. He was born with Cystic Fibrosis.
Be an organ donor. Sign the back of your license and tell your family!
DO IT!

Almost makes me not want to leave...

It's amazing what they can do with a fish-eye lens. Check out how spacious my house looks!
Still, it feels too small for us. I'm hoping this housing market picks up after School's out, 'cause we ain't finding shit.
Hey, how 'bout that LOST finale?
Much better than last season's finale. Too much desmaond until you realize at the end what a bigger role he might play. Who's dead? Who might still be alive? What's with the fucking green condor? Why did the whispers say "Elizabeth" at the end, and how the hell does she (libby) get around so much?
Oh, well. I guess they have me hooked 'til next year.
I'll miss deadwood this year since my free HBO went away.
I can't wait to have the weekend off. Three whole days. My sister-in-law returns to LA today. It was great to have her here, but this weekend my in-laws will be in... It'd be nice just to have a few days with my wife (and baby).
Speaking of which, we're planning a trip to LA where we leave Miette with her grandparents for the weekend. Safe? Sure. Difficult to leave her? Unbearably so.

Not old or new but middle school; 5th grade like junior high

Man, what a trying couple of weeks. First of all, we found what we thought was THE house for us. New construction in 2005, 3 bedrooms, 2.5 baths, great yard, etc. We had seen it the weekend I left for Paris. The price had just been lowered into our range. However, I wanted to wait and see what the contractor we'd contacted about adding onto our house came back with, and I didn't want to be in Paris when the negotiation got tough. Unfortunately, some bastard got his offer accepted on the house. I spent the rest of the time in Paris working my ass off and wishing that the other guy's bit would fall through.
I returned from Paris on a Wednesday. The contractor met with us on Thursday. He came back with $153,000. A third more than I expected. So that option's out 'til I win the lottery.
Saturday the realtor called to see if I was back and what I wanted to look at. I mentioned that we were both disappointed that the house went under contingent sale. She called the other realtor, and lo and behold, the other deal WAS about to fall through! They said it was a problem with the buyer's financing.
That Monday, we found out the deal fell through and were free to bid. We went to the house and made an offer. By Thursday, we had an agreement and the Papers signed. We then went through the process of listing our house. We never wanted to list before we found something, because we're not in a hurry to move. We love our house, we just want a bigger one.
Wednesday I met with the home inspector. The inspection was going so well that the realtor left the inspector and I to finish up. At the end, the inspector discovered it.
Houses with concrete foundations have bolts sticking out of the top of the concrete. They then bolt a wide board to the whole top of the foundation called a sill plate. This is what the wall joists are attached to; it's basically what attaches the house to the foundation.
216 Willard Place was about 50% not attached to the foundation properly. There were wild variations of where the house hit the foundation; sometimes overhanging, sometimes underhanging. Sometimes they cut the bolts off instead of attaching them. I was (am) devastated. I left a broken man, knowing that I'd have to pull out on this deal. It may be reparable, as far as I know, but if they were that far off on the foundation, what else is wrong in the walls. I have three calls into the village to see how the Westmont code inspectors missed this. I'm sure I won't get a call back, but it's still apalling. I don't want the $500 I invested in getting set for this house back, I just want them to go and condemn it because these guys are going to keep trying until someone's home inspector misses it, and they'll be stuck with the house. I guess now we know why the other deal "fell through".
So we cancelled the deal on Thursday. Canceling it cost me another $75. Thursday was also Miette's first birthday.
Thursday we had a family celebration for her birthday. My sister made a DYNAMITE cake (Miette's first that she got to eat) and cupcakes. Unfortunately, she couldn't be there. She's just finished culinary school, and her externship she thought she had fell through, so she had to scramble to get another one, and that started Thursday. Kiki's sister is in from LA, and she's been a joy to have around. Miette is like a different person shince Meghan last saw her, so I'm sure it's a 2-way street.
The party was Lovely. We got Miette a sandbox shaped like a frog, and her maternal grandparents got her a wagon, and her paternals got her a "bike". I say "bike" but it's got 4 wheels, and she can't touch the ground. It's a scooter, is what I'm trying to say.
Saturday we had a party for non-family members. It was lovely and I got a lovely sunburn. She was a charmer all day, playing with her new toys. When my friend Heather brought her a new dress, she hugged it after opening it. It was beyond adorable.
pictures will follow when I get them.
So now, we're stuck with our house on the market and no prospect. Ass. Speaking of which, it's a total pain there to have to make your house show-worthy every morning before you leave, and to live without your dog. Yes, Rerun is staying with my parents in case anyone stops into the house while we're at work. It makes me feel very tense. Miette loads every day with Joy, though, and that's more than enough to keep me fighting. She's real into hugs and saying "dog!". That's another reason it's hard not to have the dog in the house.
Also, I think I broke my pinky toe hustling into the house after seeing what I hope were possums in the Neighbor's tree. I shined a flshlight on them, and all I could see were their evil eyes, so I got the chills and went inside, stubbing my toe on the steps.

Blurry

I hope to go back and elaborate on the last days of Paris. It was incredibly difficult. Once again, Winston was made to feel as if we are the only ones using a particular technology. In this case, IP (Internet Protocol) telephones.
It took me 'til yesterday to adjust back to the time. I felt like I had Mono I was so tired.
Pile all that on top of us being in pretty serious negotiations over a new house. More on that soon; I don't want to jinx it.
PRESSURE
Miette's first birthday is a week away...