Big Decisions, Trusting Friends

I've been condo-hunting lately. As you know, I moved to Denver in September for a much-needed change of pace, scenery and lifestyle. I was living on 2.5 acres in a rural area, very isolated, and that just wasn't working for me. I was 5 minutes from the horses, and 45 minutes from town (and people)! So, I swapped--now I'm 45 minutes from the horses and 5 minutes from anything I could possibly want to do.

I like Denver well enough to buy a place and stay a while. I will say that I miss Seattle a lot. I miss water and trees and green and rain a lot. However, I don't miss the stress of the commute, and until the airlines recover, I don't want my schedule to revolve around fuller and fewer flights to work. So, Denver will do at this point in my life.

My Realtor and I have been looking for about 10 days, now. We've probably seen 40 or 50 condos. I've narrowed it down to 4. Each has pros and cons. The one I love, the one I can see myself happily living in, is $60K above my budget. However, it is new construction and has been on the market for over a year. Only 4 units have sold, so the builder is slashing prices and offering incentives. I'm about THIS close to making an offer...it's close (walking distance) to everything, safe neighborhood, wonderful floor plan, granite counters, balcony, and a south & east exposure. There are lots of little restaurants, bars, coffee shops, etc in the neighborhood. Everything about it is PERFECT, except the price.

Unit #2 is a foreclosure. It originally sold for around $375K and is now listed at $233K. It's a HUGE 2-bedroom loft with a south and west exposure, with mountain and downtown views. Two balconies, two parking spaces, storage, etc. It is also PERFECT, except the location. It's in an "up & coming" neighborhood. That means it's still a little scary. I've driven around a lot, and there is a lot of renovation in the area, but in this economy, it could be a while. There isn't anything within walking distance It's right on the light rail, only a mile from downtown, so it would be a wonderful investment. When the economy recovers, it's going to be an amazing place to live.

Unit #3 is much smaller--in a much older high-rise building. It's near Cherry Creek shopping center. This unit is $164K, well under my limits. Another unit in the building was renovated and is amazing, and this one could be brought up to speed without breaking the bank. Still, the upside is limited, although it has beautiful mountain views and a nice balcony, and is within walking distance of a lot of chain stores.

Unit #4 is a 1901 building. It's 2 blocks from Cheeseman Park. It's a wonderful, trendy neighborhood. The unit has beautiful old woodwork, hardwood floors, leaded glass windows, a butler's pantry...it's very charming. It has two darling sun porches--one is off of the master bedroom and would make a terrific office. It would need some updating, but for the most part, would be a neat place to live in the middle of everything. Like #3, it would not appreciate in value as much as #1 & #2 would, so it wouldn't be a good investment property, although it would be a wonderful rental at some point.

So, what do I do???? Right now, I'm leaning towards making a low-ball offer on #1, keeping the others as back-ups. What would you do?

I was at the barn yesterday. Cindy has a pair of kittens who are about 6 months old. Thor, the Siamese-mix male, loves the horses. He LOVES Ranger... particularly Ranger's tail. We watched and laughed while he chased and bit at strands. Ranger didn't mind at all when Thor wrapped his paws around Ranger's legs, and used them to climb higher into his tail. Ranger just stood there, leg cocked, relaxing...Thor even cleaned Ranger's fetlock... Now that's DEVOTION! And TRUST!
Super Bowl Sunday is tomorrow--for which team are you rooting? I'll be at James and Matt's with Jenny, Lindsi, Sarah and a bunch of other people. I'm making my soon-to-be famous chili, and toffee bars. Should be a lot of fun!

Want a good laugh?

My friend Baze sent me an email that said: Read the consumer comments:
http://www.amazon.com/Playmobil-3172-Security-Check-Point/dp/B0002CYTL2/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top/177-5367950-7795232
Cut & paste the URL, or go to Amazon and enter a search for Playmobil Security, then click on the 48 reviews. They are HILARIOUS! I think I need that toy, since I deal with TSA on an almost daily basis. Some of the reviews of other toys are funny, too, but these are the best.

Did you play with Playmobil when you were little? I did! Their toys sure have changed, haven't they? I remember having a school bus, and a farm set. I loved the farm set, particularly the horses (of course!) the most. In fact, I think that there was a black one, just like Ranger!

Make today a play-day, OK?

YES, I DID!

WOW, what an AMAZING few days!

I flew into DC on Monday afternoon. This is the view from the United gates at Reagan National airport!

I took the Metro to Bethesda and met Mel & Marty, my hosts. Mel & Marty are my friend Turi's in-laws. She is married to their wonderful son, Scott. Mel & Marty canvassed neighborhoods for the Campaign for Change, and graciously offered to let me stay with them for the inauguration. This photo was taken before I returned to Denver; Marty was at their son Tom's, babysitting overnight, so I didn't get a photo of her, unfortunately. THANK YOU, MEL & MARTY, FOR MAKING A DREAM COME TRUE FOR ME!!!!

We went out to dinner at Tara Thai, which featured excellent food, then back to their home for a good night's sleep.

I took the Metro into DC and arrived at about 8:30am, thinking I could get onto the Mall by noon for the swearing-in ceremony. Look at the crowds--we're all moving down E Street towards the security gates. These are the people in front of me...And those behind me... There were street vendors everywhere, selling T-shirts, posters, keychains, bracelets, and yes, even OBAMA HOT SAUCE!

As you can imagine, security was VERY tight! The white tent is the security tent. They admitted 10 people at a time, through metal detectors. Everything had to be out of your pockets, and all electronics turned on and checked individually. Of course, I didn't know that for a few more hours...

While standing in the security line on 10th Street, I saw this sign and thought, hmmm...Ford's Theatre...could it be? Yes, it was! THE Ford's Theatre, where President Lincoln was shot.
Right across the street is the home in which President Lincoln actually died.
This short video shows the extent of the crowd at 10th and F Street. I'm guessing that there were 10,000 people or more in line for this particular security point, which is in the tent that you'll see. About 1.5 million people made it onto the mall, and I'll bet another 1.5 million were in lines around outside of the gates, trying to get in.

Despite the incredible lines and cold temperatures (about 25*), people were smiling and happy. The atmosphere was festive. This little girl was a doll--laughing, making friends and singing all morning.

Can you spot me in the crowd? My line started at the bus, which is at the very back of the photo. I got into line at about 8:30; it was now 11:55am. We clearly weren't getting in for the swearing-in ceremony. We all began frantically searching for streaming video or radio on our cell-phones, but the signals were jammed.Luckily, this young man had a real radio. No-one in the crowd spoke while President Obama was sworn in. No-one spoke during his speech, other than a few cheers and "Amens." It was an amazing moment, a collective experience of awe, joy, transformation, and more than a few tears. Afterwards, people were hugging, cheering and crying. Even though I didn't get to see it on a Jumbotron, I WAS THERE! I was a part of history. I witnessed the most historic inauguration since George Washington's! The Bush Years are OVER! And yes, we all cheered and waved good-bye when George Bush flew away in Marine One.I finally cleared security at 2:20pm, after 6 hours in line. Then there I was, standing on the sidewalk of the most famous street in the US, waiting for the Inaugural Parade to begin!Of course, I had to get my photo taken with a cute guy! ;-)This is the FBI building, facing Pennsylvania Avenue.This is the FBI bomb dog--another cute guy!

The Inaugural Parade began with units from each branch of the military in traditional dress.There was no question where the President was in the parade! There were helicopters and snipers, Secret Service, police, National Guard, MP's, and security EVERYWHERE!

Of course, I wasn't tall enough to see President Obama! He's right behind the heads and hands.After he'd gone by, people began running to get in front of him for more picture opportunities. So, I was able to see the back of his & Michelle's heads! Yes, I was that close! I realized that, if I had been on the Mall to see the Inauguration on the Jumbotron, I wouldn't have been able to be on the Parade route to see President Obama, and to be THIS close! So I lucked out!The Crow Nation adopted President Obama last year, which is a sacred, formal event. This man is from the Crow Nation, in full Crow formal ceremonial dress.

I went down to the Mall after the Parade. That's the Capitol Building to the left of the Washington Monument. You know that it's huge, but you don't realize HOW huge until you are standing a mile away and it still dominates the view!I turned around, and there was the Lincoln Memorial.After touring the memorial, I went down to the Vietnam Wall. My dad did two tours in Vietnam. Although he didn't die there, I lost him to Vietnam, because he was never the same when he came back. I wish there was a memorial for those who lost their fathers to the war, even though they didn't die there. It's all the same in my mind, and yes, I cried.I woke up Wednesday morning with a feeling of joy, the lifting of a huge weight...it's a new world, a new world leader, a new world order. I hope that you feel the same hope for change. Congratulations, America...WE DID IT!

A Part of History

I'm just about to head out the door to catch a flight to the Washington DC area. Mel & Marty, my friend Turi's in-laws, are putting me up for the next two nights so that I can attend the inauguration tomorrow. THANK YOU MEL, MARTY, TURI & SCOTT!!!!

I'm SO excited--I'm going to be a part of history! I'll be in DC on the Mall when the first African-American is sworn in as President of the United States. This was the first campaign to which I contributed, and the first campaign for which I volunteered.

Can you imagine what Abraham Lincoln and Martin Luther King, Jr. are thinking right now?

Watch for me on TV--I'll be wearing an Obama T-shirt and I'll wave at the cameras, OK? :-)

FETCH!

How many horses do you know that like to play Fetch? I know of one...guess who? Believe it or not, Ranger originally rounded up the stick and taunted Nugget into a game of tug-of-war. Nugget lost interest pretty quickly, and ambled off to find some hay, so Ranger stood over his stick looking at me. Pathetic, isn't he? Yes, Mommy is a sucker....So, I tossed it for him. Yes, he brought it back. Yes, he almost always does. Every time. Yes, I threw it again. And again. And again....As you can tell from the gnaw marks, this is Ranger's favourite stick.This is the view from Beau. It was snowing when we rode--but I was toasty warm in my new Mountain Horse coat! Beau was toasty warm in his Ewok coat!It was pretty muddy a few weeks ago. My car got stuck. My car has front-wheel-drive, and spun up a LOT of mud while I was trying to get out--doesn't this look like someone's fingers crawling on my mirror? Remember that ghost story that you told around the campfire about the hand that tried to kill the young lovers in the car???? Ewwwww....Muddy or not, get out and play a little today, OK?

Financial Frustrations

How has the first week of your new year been? Have you started on your resolutions, goals or taken a step towards the dreams you want to accomplish, yet?

I spent a lot of time today on the telephone, trying to manage my finances. I've decided to stop participating in the stock purchase program at my company. The company changed the discount so that it is no longer an attractive financial option. They also transferred the purchase program to Computer Shares, which is owned by Merrill Lynch. In order to manage your shares, you must have an account at both companies.

What should have been a 15 minute project took almost THREE hours! I wanted to cancel my participation in the stock purchase program on January 2nd, but when I called on that day, the customer service person at Computer Shares said that if I canceled before the Dec 31st purchase was posted to my account, that purchase would not go through, and I would be refunded the monies set aside for the purchase. The Dec 31st purchase had a profit of almost $3000, so it was worth waiting a few days until the purchase posted.

The shares posted today.

My stock broker is at a different company. In order to transfer my shares to my stock broker, I had to first transfer my shares from Computer Shares to my Merrill Lynch Individual Investors account. So, I called Computer Shares to ask how to transfer my shares to my Merrill Lynch account. Catira, the Customer Service person, told me to call Merrill Lynch and get the DTC number as well as my account number. Does Merrill Lynch have a number listed on their main website? NO!

So, I had to log in. Well, my password didn't work. I spent 20 minutes creating a new password, finally logged in to Merrill Lynch's website, found the phone number, and called Merrill Lynch. The call went to Computer Shares, since it is owned by Merrill Lynch. Ebony, the Customer Service person for this call, told me to call Merrill Lynch. I explained to her that I had, but was routed to her. She argued that no, I hadn't called Merrill Lynch, I had called Computer Shares, and I need to get Merrill Lynch's phone number and call them. I asked her to transfer me to Merrill Lynch. She said that wasn't possible because they are not associated with Merrill Lynch. She finally agreed to transfer me to a supervisor--a man named Dustin who works for Merrill Lynch!

ARGH!

Dustin gave me the information that I wanted, and asked why I didn't just transfer the shares directly to my broker. I explained that Computer Shares & Merrill Lynch charge $30 to do that, whereas if you first transfer to Merrill Lynch, you can then transfer to any other stockbroker without a charge. He said, No, that's not true, there is NO charge to transfer directly from the Computer Shares account. I didn't feel like arguing with him, so I asked to be transferred back to Computer Shares so that I could get my shares transferred to my ML account.

Guess what? I got Catira, the first Customer Service person! I asked her why she hadn't originally just transferred me to Merrill Lynch when I had called earlier in the day, and she said that there was no way she could do that, since the companies weren't associated! ARGGGGHHHH! I finally got the order in for the shares to be transferred, then had to log in again to cancel my participation in the stock purchase program. In the meantime, Computer Shares may or may not take 10% out of my next paycheck, and the one after that, and the one after that, because the cancellation order may or may not have been executed. No-one can direct me to the person who stops the deductions from my paycheck--our payroll person says that it's done at Computer Shares. I'd like to know why my own company can't control what is deducted from my paycheck? Of course, no-one can answer that because no-one knows who is ultimately responsible. Is there a PERSON in charge ANYWHERE in the world any more?

I called my company's benefits department to let them know how hard it is to deal with this new company. The benefits coordinator said that they are trying to train the people at Computer Shares and Merrill Lynch to be more helpful and knowledgeable...and she said that I could have canceled on the 2nd, as I'd originally planned to! The Dec 31st purchase would not have been affected by my cancellation. In the meantime, money continues to be deducted from my paycheck to Computer Shares. Supposedly, I'll get a refund at some point...which costs me money since that deduction is now supposed to be directed into my ROTH IRA. Oh, and there IS a $30 charge to transfer shares from Computer Shares to any broker other than Merrill Lynch...Dustin was wrong (what a surprise!).

I'll NEVER use or recommend Merrill Lynch or Computer Shares for ANYTHING, since none of their employees know who owns them, knows how to work the phone system, and don't even know their own rules! Smith Barney and Scottrade are excellent companies, with knowledgable customer service agents, in case you are shopping for a stock broker!

If this experience is any sort of a barometer, no wonder financial companies are collapsing.

All I can do is PRAY that, by canceling my participation in the stock program, Computer Shares will not take any more money from my next paychecks. Apparently, they haven't stopped the deductions for other employees who have cancelled in the past few months. Our benefits department has walk them through each and every change, individually.

Computers have changed our lives dramatically, sometimes for the better, and sometimes not. In the past, I would have just made a phone call to my company, explained what I wanted to do, and everything would have been handled within a few minutes. It shouldn't have taken THREE HOURS to accomplish the above task--and of course, it's not even accomplished, it's just been "ordered!" Why are we being held hostage by technology? I won't know if any of this is successful for at least one or two pay periods. I'd sure like to know exactly what IS and ISN'T going in and out of my paycheck--and no-one is able to tell me until the computers figure it out!

Of course, I won't be able to arrange the final transfer of stock to my broker until the stock shows up in my Merrill Lynch account, which could be 3-5 business days. It will be another 3-5 days to transfer it into my stockbroker's account. So, I'll have access to my stock about 2-3 WEEKS after it was purchased with MY money! Why is that OK, and why do we accept this sort of inconvenience? Is it just status quo?

ARGGGGGGHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!

On to better topics--this is a neat lake northeast of Denver--wouldn't you like to explore that shoreline in a small boat? Doesn't it look like a heavy metal "M" from an album cover? Sorry it's blurry, taken early in the morning prior to coffee....
Sunset, on arrival to Denver. I love the way the power-line right-of-way dissects the fields.
I flew to LAX on United last week. I sat over the wing, and noticed the reflection of the fuselage on the cowling. Isn't it remarkable that we can sit in a metal tube and fly through the air at 500 miles an hour, seven miles above the ground?

I spent part of today at the Natural History Museum with my friend Kaye, who volunteers in the geology department. I got quite a surprise in the restroom--when you put your hands under the faucet, someone starts a chorus of "Row, row, row your boat," coming from the drain! It startled me, but when I started the water at the next sink, and the stanza started at the harmony point, just as you'd sing it in parts at summer camp. Pretty soon, I had every sink going, and believe it or not, they had every choir section covered--soprano, alto, tenor and bass! If you ever go to the Natural History Museum in Denver, be sure to wash your hands! It's very entertaining!

I checked out Karen McLain's website yesterday--she left a nice comment on my blog a few weeks ago. I don't know her, but I was curious about her. She's a very good artist--I really like the painting "The Boys." Please check out her work--if you need notecards, she sells them. She also does portraits, so please consider using her if you have a special furkid that you'd like to see immortalized. I like to support individual companies rather than chains. http://karenmclainstudio.com/available.htm

I hope you are having a good start to 2009!

Baby Burrito

Just wanted to share a picture of me & Brett, who was born December 18th. He is Brian & Odette's second child. I LOVE having babies in my life!

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year to you! I hope that you had a safe & happy holiday season. Have you made any New Year's resolutions? I made a few goals, including buying a condo, traveling to Africa late this summer, and going to the inauguration later this month. My accomodations fell through, so if you know ANYONE near D.C. with a couch, PLEASE let me know!

Thought I'd share the first sunrise of 2009, over South Dakota.Then, when I got home, I discovered that another of my orchids has bloomed--this is a totally different orchid. What a nice New Year's surprise! Let's hope that 2009 is full of lots of lovely surprises for you.