It's finally here

Well, the day that's been six months in the making finally came. We got the keys to our house today. We signed our contract on October 20th. We signed the loan and title documents on April 20th. We got to the house a little after 3 p.m. to do one final walk-through with our Customer Service Manager, signed a couple of documents and then got our keys. We finished up with our window covering guy (or the blind guy as Brian and I now refer to him as), and then we were all alone.

All alone in our new house. It's ours. I still don't think it's real and I am waiting for someone to come by and say it isn't. We had dinner in the house tonight and then basically hung out there and picked out our carpet. I won't think it is real until our furniture is in and we actually are sleeping there.

But for now, we have the keys and Amy and I are going to be so happy there and I can't think of anyone that I'd rather be doing this with...

An American Idol Rant

To a certain extent, I am cursing my lovely bride-to-be for getting me sucked into this insidious show. I actually find myself caring about who goes home and who stays. Like tonight. There was only one truly sub-par performance and it wasn't Ace! That bites! I'm afraid that he'll get to stay around another week, which I'm not sure if I can stand. However, since he strayed from his typical uniform, maybe his adoring demographic base will abandon him this week.

Anyway, I vote for who I voted for, and will hope that Ace (or is it Bret...) goes home tomorrow night.

Real Estate Updates

A few random thoughts before heading off to bed:

1. My house officially "closed" on Friday. Just in time for me to take the proceeds and write the down payment on the new house.
2. The new house is damn near done. It's looks FANTASTIC. We'll still be picky when we do our walkthrough, but things are really coming together.
3. We bought our appliances over the weekend. Got killer deals at The Great Indoors. Better prices on Kenmore products than Sears. Can you believe it?
4. For the record, we got a 25 cubic foot French Door, bottom freezer fridge with an ice maker and water dispenser. Very cool. The washer is a High Efficiency Top Loading washer, with the matching dryer.
5. Meeting the carpet guy and a blind company out at the house tomorrow for measurements. Let the fun begin!
6. Looks like I'm going back to India in a month or so. Guess this means I should go in for the second Hepatitis A and B shot.
7. My boss is on vacation this week. It's good because I don't have him bugging me. It's bad because he left me covering his position.

That's all for now. It's nap time and I have a call at 6:30 tomorrow morning...

Doors and Windows

Yesterday was a big day. I had my appointment at the title company to sign my Seller's Packet. I grimaced when I signed the addendum changing the sale date from the 28th to the 14th. Stupid buyer wrote that in the initial offer and it's going to cost me $600. Oh well. Need to let it go.

But there is something about selling a house - especially your first house - that is sad. While I only lived there a little more than two years, I wasn't there as long as I thought I was going to be. But then again, I had no idea I was going to meet Amy. And that's what brings it all back into perspective for me. While I was literally closing the door on one stage of my life, I am moving on to such a better place.

There is always a sentimental portion to packing. I came across a lot of old stuff that brought back a lot of memories, both of times in the house and times from further in the past. It was kind of fun thinking through it.

A couple of random thoughts to go along with this. As most of you know, I spent my entire life in Las Vegas living in the Henderson/Green Valley area. I knew the Eastern corridor south of the Beltway was congested, but it was really bad yesterday. If I didn't know how much houses went for in Seven Hills and Anthem, I might feel bad for the people living out there. I just know I'm glad I am not going to be one of them.

While I didn't think that it was Bucky's time to go on American Idol, I would agree with some of the other posts out there that as long as Ace keeps showing off his arms and those "deer in the headlights" eyes, there is a faction that won't abandon him.

Commercial vs. Non-Commercial Radio

This morning, I was once again reminded why I hate commercial radio. More specifically, why I hate a specific morning show. Anyway, as I listened to the mundane details of why someone was annoyed because they drank out of the wrong water bottle and the commotion that surrounded it, I had to control myself from screaming. If it wasn't the alarm clock too, it could have founds itself punted down the block. This is a station that I have had many frustrations with, but I can usually deal because Amy likes listening to them in the morning while she gets ready for work.

In the past, I've used public radio as my escape. That was helpful at drive time, but I didn't get to hear much music (not that you do on commercial radio these days either, but still). I decided this year to pledge some money to the local public radio station because I find they provide a valueable service.

I've since added satellite radio to my line up and that rocks. I'm going to have to find some new stations as one of the ones I listen to regularly is about to add commercials, but XM is creating a commercial-free alternative for that station, so it'll work.

I'm I alone in being fed up with commercial radio? I supposed not, but would like to hear some thoughts from you all out there.

But Pooky...

A few snippets while I try to get "The Tango Maureen" from Rent out of my head...

1. Amy and I saw Rent on stage on Sunday afternoon. Very enjoyable. Better than the movie, although I thought Rosario Dawson was a weak Mimi...this chick in the stage version was worse.
2. Mitch and Samantha were in town this week. Made for a long Monday and Tuesday, but we had a good time hanging out with them.
3. So what sucks about friends coming into town, especially living in Las Vegas, is that people are on vacation and want to party. We can't always take off of work when they are here, so it just makes for some long nights and days afterward.
4. Getting things moving forward again on all sorts of fronts. Reviewed the engagement photos and we are now making a concerted effort to eat healthier and reduce our calorie count. Next step - back in the gym!
5. I will be completely moved out of my house this weekend. The closing date is set from April 14th
6. Busy sports weekend. 51s game on Friday, hockey game on Saturday. However, at least we know our weekend plans!

General Musings and Life Update

A few things are bouncing around in my head on this fine spring morning:

1. I moved the vast majority of my stuff yesterday. The move took nearly 5 hours. The movers were extraordinarily slow to the point I am going to complain. I knew it would take long than my typical move, but still. And there still wasn't enough room in the storage unit for everything.
2. Today is the first anniverary of Amy's and my first date. She really liked her gift, which made me happy.
3. I am watching Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan again this morning for like the 50th time or something sick. This is the best of all the Star Trek movies, but I have a hard time recalling most of the movies with the The Next Generation cast. I think it's because, as a friend of mine once put it, they were just two hour long TV episodes on the big screen.
4. I am trying to come up with a solid post on organized religion and my thoughts on it. Haven't had the chance to really flush out my statements, but it's coming.
5. Today is Opening Day for Major League Baseball! Tomorrow the fun really starts. I may have to set myself up downstairs for that...
6. The Sabres are in a little bit of a tailspin. Hopefully they can pull themselves out of it before the playoffs.
7. We sign the docs on our house in less than three weeks!
8. I am now re-addicted to the game Civilization. I spent numerous hours during my undergrad years playing this game. It's a cool game, and I remember why. Too bad I installed it on Amy's desktop instead of the laptop. Might have to do that so Amy and I can be up here at the same time.

Weekend Updates

I had a great birthday weekend. Aside from the fact that Mike is now out of town and Tom is still laid up, Amy was able to round up a good chunk of my friends for a surprise party at the hockey game! I had a great time, aside from the fact that Amy had a photo of me at the age of 6 posted on the scoreboard.

The house is coming along fantastically! The tile is almost all laid, the block wall is in and the garage door is on. It looks fantastic! It's nearly done, and we are getting the loan docs ready.

My house is being inspected today. That should be the last hurdle and we'll be good to go.

Anyway, another weekend and another week.

Like sands through an hourglass...

Well, another birthday is come and gone. The benefit of having a mid-week birthday means that more activities are coming this weekend. I had a great birthday. It was mine and Amy's first birthday together and it was nice. I got up to some cards, a way-cool present from Leni and candy! I got a pretty regular string of phone calls/e-mails from family and friends which only added to the joy of the day.

The unfortunate part about changing jobs is that you lose a TON of vacation time, so I'm rebuilding my bank. I've been off on my birthday the last three years. But I opted to work this year and save the time for our honeymoon. However, the day ended up getting booked solid, so it was a pretty frantic day.

After work, it was off to dinner with Amy and my folks. I had no idea where we were going - I thought for sure we were going to Binion's Ranch Steakhouse. Well, I was 1/3 right. We ended up a Circus Circus Steakhouse. OMG! It was fantastic! Different than Binion's, but just as good. We'll add it to the list of special occasion restaurants. Then I got my gifts from my folks and Amy. I got my typical gift from Mom and Dad, which was nice. Then I opened Amy's gift. It was in a big box, that was pretty light. I had no idea. I opened it, to find a 10-game pack for the 51s! That is way cool!

If my birthday day was this good, I can't wait until this weekend!

Decisions

The unexpected consequences of planning a wedding or buying a house are the decisions you weren't aware you were going to have to make. As an example, we decided to go appliance shopping the weekend. While the new house comes with the range, oven, dishwasher and microwave, we still have to provide a refridgerator, washer and dryer.

We went to three stores this weekend looking at appliances - Sears, Home Depot and The Great Indoors, which is owned by Sears. We were amazed and the selection in terms of all appliances. Luckily, we knew what we were sort of in the mood for. We've pretty much settled on our refridgerator. We knew we wanted a bottom freezer, french-door style unit with a filter, water dispenser and ice maker. However, then we were faced with the prospect of cabinet depth or something that was going to stick out about four inches. UGH! If there was no price difference, there wouldn't have been an issue but not only did the cabinet-depth offer fewer raw storage space it was also more expensive! After discussing it, we decided on storage space versus aesthetics since it wasn't going to look bad.

Going into the weekend, we decided we wanted good capacity, top-loading washers with a matching dryer. We looked at those options and wrote off the high-efficiency top-loaders and front-loading units. That was, until we met up with some friends Sunday afternoon who recently purchased some front-loading units. To make a long story short, they told us along with using less water and overall energy, you can do more laundry in less time. That lead us to our next debate. Still not sure the way we are going to go, so we are looking for input.

The only question remaining is when do we purchase. To get a 12-months no interest/no payments deal we would have to open up a new charge account we would have to open up a new trade line. But we don't want to do anything to screw up the mortgage. So, I'll be calling the mortgage guy today...

Shopping

As many of you know, Amy and I are having our engagement photos taken on Saturday. We decided to go somewhat casual and I'll be wearing jeans with a button down shirt. However, my current jeans are all frayed around the heels. It's the curse of having short legs and being awkwardly between a 29 length and a 30 length. So we went to Kohl's last night to look at jeans for me.

Well...this wasn't exactly a pleasant experience for Ken. I knew I was no longer 34 waist, but we grabbed a bunch of Levi's in a size 36. Man were those tight. While I could get into them, they looked tight - and not necessarily in a good way. Luckily I was able to save my ego and bought a bunch of the Kohl's store brand jeans in a size 36 that fit just fine. It just underscores the point that I need to loose a few pounds again. Ugh.

Cooking dinner

Now, I'm not one who is afraid to plan and cook dinner. I did it when I was single, and I've even cooked for Amy a few times. But everything has always been relatively uninteresting - Some sort of meat, a vegetable and a potato/rice/pasta. Well, tonight, I'm making one of those things that people request of me - Mexican Lasanga. I was so excited. I was cleaning out my house this past weekend, and found the recipe. I knew pretty much what was in it, but it was still reassuring to have the recipe.

So I'm making it tonight for Amy and Dave. The biggest difference is that we had a ton of ground turkey in the freezer, so I'm using that instead of ground beef.

I'll let you all know how it turns out.

Why I hate hurry-up-and-wait

Things are really starting to move fast when it comes to buying and selling homes. First, I signed the offer and counter-offer on my house. It was a list-price offer with $5K back at closing. A little less than I wanted to take, but nothing huge. Plus, they want to close by the end of March which is even better. This way, I won't have to make an April mortgage payment and can start eliminating utility payments.

The second exciting detail is that we have our Pre-Closing Orientation (walk-through) and Title Appointment. I love how builders spin things now. It's no longer a walk-through, because you find problems during a walk-through. Calling it an orientation is a more positive spin, and if you happen to find issues to correct, so be it. That date in April 20th. We'll be able to pick up our keys on April 25th.

The house is evolving so rapidly. Two months ago, it was just some trenches and maybe forms for the foundation. Today, it's a full-blown structure with windows, doors and closets. Very, very impressive. It's getting closer, and we are getting excited!

On a completely unrelated note, every morning I am reminded why I love satellite radio. Amy's alarm is set to a specific radio station with a morning team I can't stand. This morning was no different. In an effort to address topics of the day, they opted for a call-in segment. That's when you realize how many uneducated people are out there in this town. Amazing.

Home again

Well, made it back from India in one piece. It is good to be home. I had been warned that India will shock you, and it didn't disappoint. The difference between rich and poor is very evident. Some folks drive around in nice sporty cars, while you see others clearly walking for miles or taking busses with no glass in the windows and no AC. The food was good, and I successfully avoided drinking the water. No residual stomach issues from the trip.

The air travel was long. There is no way to sugar-coat a 15-18 hour flight or 10-14 hours worth of layovers.

Next time, I promise I'll take a camera and will take some photos. I may even go into Singapore to help pass some of the time.

One of my worries heading out was that I was going to be out of the country when offers were made on my house. Luckily, they didn't come in until the end of the trip. I'm crossing my fingers, but I think we may finalize one of them today. Very exciting.

The new house is progressing nicely. The outside is stucco-ed and they have delivered our doors. It's not going to be long now.

Anyway, I'll do a more organized post in a day or two.

Well, I'm off

Today is kind of a big day. I'm leaving in a few hours for my first trip to India. I'm really torn on this trip. On one hand I'm really nervous and a little sad. I nearly cried when Amy left for work this morning, even though I'm going to see her in a couple of hours. I know she's sad about the trip.

It's 40 hours of travel and the transit hotel at the Singapore airport was fully booked. I'm hoping they have a cancellation or something for when I get there. I would just like to lie down for a little bit once I get off an 18 hour flight and while I kill 14 hours in an airport. Also, the client visit isn't exactly going to be 100 percent pleasant as we didn't have a particularly good quarter.

On the other hand, I am kind of excited. I have a defined purpose for this trip and I will get to meet a lot of people that I talk on the phone with. That will be cool. Plus, Chris is going to try and upgrade me on the way back. Woo hoo!

I think my mother is going to be a little emotional today. My sister and her husband are on a 1:30-ish flight back to Albany and I am leaving around 4. It was good to see them while they were here. I am dog tired now - I'm not used to going out every night for four or five nights.

Anyway, I'll try and post updates will I'm in India. It should be interesting, if nothing else.

Who knew?

Who knew that shaving could be considered an art form. I've been shaving for say the past 16 or so years of my life. I've used all sorts of razors and they all had their issues. Either they didn't get close enough or the irritated the hell out of my skin. Well, as part of my Valentine's Day gift this year, Amy got me an appointment for "The Art of Shaving" at Mandalay Place. All I can tell you is that I have a new-found respect for having. The shave was the closest I've received in years and it was kind of nice being waited on a little. And yes, I did end up buying some product there. I've used at home once now and I was able to replicate the experience. Yeah, it's a little extravagant and indulgent, and a little girlie, but still - it was pretty cool and I learned something. Plus I heard the Queen of Madagascar had some shop shut down in Mandalay Place. I don't know about you, but I had never heard of the Queen of Madagascar, and in doing a quick Wikipedia search, turns out Madagascar is a Republic with no monarchy.

The point is, it was a cool experience and I think I'll be going back.

In other news, my sister and her husband are in town this week. I haven't seen her since July and it's good to see them. I just wished that had taken an earlier flight or theirs got in on time. Amy and I did not need to be driving to the airport at 2 a.m. Monday morning. Oh yeah, and I leave for India on Friday afternoon.

Amazing

What a great couple of days. First, Amy and I shared our first Valentine's Day together. I'm sure she'll share everything I did for her on her blog. You should check it out - leave a comment if you'd like! For me, she got me the most amazing gift - a trip to The Art of Shaving at Mandalay Place. Yeah. It's a little indulgent, but this is something that I've been wanted to try for a long time. The best part is, I never ever mentioned anything to Amy about. How cool is that? Then, she made the most amazing dinner. A rib-eye steak butterflied to look like a heart, with pasta and veggies. She also baked a cake for dessert. Yummy. To top it all off, she's taking me to the hockey game on Saturday night. I've not been to a Wranglers game yet - considering I am a hockey fan and I'm from Buffalo, you would have thought I'd made to at least a couple of games so far. I have the best fiance ever!

Today was great too. Amy and I had our frame orientation today. The construction superintendent took us through the house and pointed out all of the frame features of the house. He then pointed out all the outlets, wiring and plumbing, along with the HVAC. It was very educational and Amy and I got to ask a ton of questions. I can't believe how fast this is going. It was just barely two months ago that it was still just a dirt lot. Now there is a house on it. I'm still a little in awe.

I realize this is a bit smaltzy for some of you out there in blog-land. It makes me a little sick too, but I can't believe how happy I am these days. I wouldn't trade it for the world. Besides, I had to suffer through it with some of you out there, so now it's your turn.

Funny how that happens

As we were getting up this morning, Amy and I were stressing about how we were going to plan our day. We each had appointments. Amy had her tax prep appointment and I had my appointment with my trainer at 11 - on opposite sides of town. We were then going to meet with one of the florists over by the airport at 2, then head over to meet with a videographer in the southwest at 4, then dinner with our friends Tim and Tammy at Green Valley Ranch Station at 6:30. Because of the starting appointments being on opposite sides of town, it was going to mean either one person did a lot of driving, or we had two cars for almost the entire day. We didn't really like either option.

Then some funny things happened. Amy called her tax person at 8:45 to confirm her 11 a.m. appointment. Turns out it's at 9. Oops. Then I called Dustin to confirm our appointment. He wanted to reschedule it for 2 p.m., but since I'm busy it's now pushed off until tomorrow on this side of town. Yay!

So now, I'm sitting here having mostly finished my taxes still sitting in my boxers (I know - an image you were all looking for), reading blogs and surfing the internet. Our transportation problems are solved and now we can take most of the day at a relatively relaxed place. Plus, we are going to Fado for dinner. What a great Saturday. Funny how it all happens to come together.

House Updates

It's been a little while since we've given you an update on the house. Well, aside from breaking ground before Christmas (and more than a week early I might add), we now have a foundation, a frame, a bathtub, our glass block windows and a fireplace. Oh yeah, and the internal HVAC units have been installed and it looks like the electrical and gas lines are installed. The windows are onsite along with the drywall. It's going up fast. Amy and I go every couple of days, and there is almost always something new. It's beginning to become real and we are both starting to get excited. We are really enjoying this part of the relationship and what the house represents to us. Way cool.

The building superintendent called this afternoon and want to set up a frame orientation. While our salesperson took the time on Saturday to walk us through and explain some stuff, I think this is a really good step. It's just one of those things that are good to know. I'm glad our builder is as thorough and customer friendly as they are.

BIG SCREEN!

I moved my first pieces of furniture last night. Thanks to Brian H., we were able to move the 50" TV and the entire home theatre system last night, just in time for the "Big Game." Last Friday, the cable guy dropped off the HDTV DVR box, so that's hooked up. Since I had DirecTV at home, the only time I got to take advantage of the HD capabilities is when I watched movies on the TV. We watched the end of CSI and all of ER in HD. That was awesome. I'll hook up the surround sound part between now and Sunday afternoon.

The one wacky thing when watching HD programs is the commericals. Since I'm assuming they aren't in HD, they shrink back to the middle of the screen. Too funny.

PS. We watched the Super Bowl in HD. That was FREAKING FANTASTIC. The surround sound was hooked up by then, so we had the whole Home Theater thing going on. It was pretty cool. Plus, it was a good game. While the Steelers pulled away at the end, it was competitive through at least three full quarters. All in all, one of the best matchups in a while.