The blisters on the hands from painting, the sore feet from standing on a step-ladder barefoot...oh the joys of buying a house. These are what I call the non-monetary costs of purchasing a home, especially an old home like mine.
We've finished painting the dining room (a burnt orange), my bedroom (a very light, organic green), and the living room (a color called Katydid, a warm green color), so we're over halfway done. Thank goodness, I don't think my body could handle too much more of this.
Monday, April 28, 2008
Friday, April 11, 2008
Soul Friends
So I volunteered to help secure speakers for this year's PRSA Southwest District Conference. I emailed "my" speakers back and forth for months, and I met both of them in person for the first time yesterday at a reception. And I met a "soul friend."
You know those times when you meet someone and the more and more you talk to them, you begin to realize that you and this person have a true, authentic soul connection. Not just an "oh yeah, he's sweet" casual acquaintance type of thing, but a thing when all things come together and you realize that this person that you just met will be a friend. I like to call these people "soul friends."
It is not an easy thing to be my friend...no, not because I'm difficult or hard to get along with (although we all have our days, don't we), but because I am extremely selective about who I call my friend. I take that term very seriously, and I don't bestow it upon just anyone. I say all this to say that for me, this "soul friend" phenomenon that I speak of is truly remarkable, and as the very definition of the word phenomenon suggests, very rare.
Now a "soul friend" should not be confused with a "soulmate." I'm one of those romantic saps that actually buys into the whole soulmate thing, so I feel the need to discern between the two terms. A soulmate, by my completely unscientific definition, is that ONE person that your soul and your heart and your mind fits. I'm not saying that this soulmate will "complete" you, but rather complement you and bring out your best self. I see a true soulmate as the love of your life, and the one person that you were destined to be with for all time. I know, you just threw up in your mouth a little bit, but I don't care. I'm allowed to be a hopeless romantic.
A "soul friend" on the other hand is a person with whom you share "soul qualities." These can be a sharing of core values, a sharing of emotional intelligence. Evidences of a soul friend include, but are not limited to: extreme ease of conversation, ability to reach inside the other person and bring out a smile from the inside, comfort and trust. These very rare and priceless gifts should be treated as just that, a gift from God.
So, to my newest "soul friend," I wish nothing more than the absolute best this world has for you. I trust that we will remain friends, and I trust that you will accomplish remarkable things. Although I think you might need to trim the beard before this takes place...I'm just sayin'.
You know those times when you meet someone and the more and more you talk to them, you begin to realize that you and this person have a true, authentic soul connection. Not just an "oh yeah, he's sweet" casual acquaintance type of thing, but a thing when all things come together and you realize that this person that you just met will be a friend. I like to call these people "soul friends."
It is not an easy thing to be my friend...no, not because I'm difficult or hard to get along with (although we all have our days, don't we), but because I am extremely selective about who I call my friend. I take that term very seriously, and I don't bestow it upon just anyone. I say all this to say that for me, this "soul friend" phenomenon that I speak of is truly remarkable, and as the very definition of the word phenomenon suggests, very rare.
Now a "soul friend" should not be confused with a "soulmate." I'm one of those romantic saps that actually buys into the whole soulmate thing, so I feel the need to discern between the two terms. A soulmate, by my completely unscientific definition, is that ONE person that your soul and your heart and your mind fits. I'm not saying that this soulmate will "complete" you, but rather complement you and bring out your best self. I see a true soulmate as the love of your life, and the one person that you were destined to be with for all time. I know, you just threw up in your mouth a little bit, but I don't care. I'm allowed to be a hopeless romantic.
A "soul friend" on the other hand is a person with whom you share "soul qualities." These can be a sharing of core values, a sharing of emotional intelligence. Evidences of a soul friend include, but are not limited to: extreme ease of conversation, ability to reach inside the other person and bring out a smile from the inside, comfort and trust. These very rare and priceless gifts should be treated as just that, a gift from God.
So, to my newest "soul friend," I wish nothing more than the absolute best this world has for you. I trust that we will remain friends, and I trust that you will accomplish remarkable things. Although I think you might need to trim the beard before this takes place...I'm just sayin'.
Wednesday, April 2, 2008
Update...
Please forgive me for taking such a long absence in between posts; I forgot my password and was locked out until, Eureka!, today I remembered the password and was able to access my account once again.
A lot has been going on in my crazy life, most notably, I'm buying a house! The whole house buying process has been a complete roller coaster, and has been borderline comical and vomit inducing all at the same time. Example: I found two houses that I really liked and I was scheduled to view both houses on the same day. Later that day I found out that one of the houses was already in the purchase process (Why is it still up on the real estate website then? Makes no sense to me.) and the other was being taken off of the market so that a friend of the seller could rent it.
I'd looked online at the house that I'm now buying for a while, but for some reason never got around to going in to look at it. Once I did, it was over...I knew that this was "The One."
Since my offer was accepted, the roller coaster ride of buying a home has continued, but hasn't been too terrible. Now I am in the process of awaiting for the seller to hire another electrician (the first that she hired wasn't able to get to the house for another 2 weeks) to update the electrical system. The seller really has been great about accepting my concessions and requests, which has been very nice and surprising.
So, that's what's going on in my life right now. I'm actually closing on the house on my birthday, which will be a great birthday present to myself. Wish me luck, and pray that I don't fall off of the "roller coaster!"
A lot has been going on in my crazy life, most notably, I'm buying a house! The whole house buying process has been a complete roller coaster, and has been borderline comical and vomit inducing all at the same time. Example: I found two houses that I really liked and I was scheduled to view both houses on the same day. Later that day I found out that one of the houses was already in the purchase process (Why is it still up on the real estate website then? Makes no sense to me.) and the other was being taken off of the market so that a friend of the seller could rent it.
I'd looked online at the house that I'm now buying for a while, but for some reason never got around to going in to look at it. Once I did, it was over...I knew that this was "The One."
Since my offer was accepted, the roller coaster ride of buying a home has continued, but hasn't been too terrible. Now I am in the process of awaiting for the seller to hire another electrician (the first that she hired wasn't able to get to the house for another 2 weeks) to update the electrical system. The seller really has been great about accepting my concessions and requests, which has been very nice and surprising.
So, that's what's going on in my life right now. I'm actually closing on the house on my birthday, which will be a great birthday present to myself. Wish me luck, and pray that I don't fall off of the "roller coaster!"
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