E the Landlord?
Today, someone stopped by and asked if I'd be interested in renting out my house. This is something I've been debating for a while, but being an absentee landlord to some random person makes me a bit squeamish. However, I know this person very well and she and her family are very nice, quiet devout Mormons. And despite my utter dislike of that particular religion, Mormons are generally very nice and trustworthy people (also a positive is if the renter couldn't make the rent, the church would kick in the money).
My former employer has completely destroyed the notion of job security in this town and the Chinese are playing nasty in the trona markets so the housing market is beyond nothing here and I would like to get out. If I got someone to cover my mortgage, I'd be free to at least be elsewhere. But I don't think I could have my house on the market and rent at the same time. I really, really need to sell before said company screws over their remaining employees and everyone needs to flee. The reason this person is renting and not buying is due to a lack of confidence in this company.
There are obviously some other factors involved with renting but the key to the decision is my need to sell vs. my need to not be here. My mom's against the idea and my dad leans toward it albeit with reservations. I need to have a more in depth discussion with Renter E before I'd really need to make a decision, but I think I was happier with the notion that I wouldn't rent because some crazy person might destroy the house. With a real opportunity to rent to a responsible person, it's so much harder to say no.
The Great Escape
It's been four months since I returned to find a new fence up on the east side of my property. Immediately upon looking at it, I decided Gracie could pretty much walk right under it. However, until she figured that out, I was not going to spend endless time and money correcting this little design flaw in the fence. I have however made a point of never leaving the dog outside alone for more than five minutes.
This has not been a problem. Although recently I'd noticed Gracie eyeing the fence and acting suspiciously. I've distracted her each time with treats or something. Yesterday I let her out while I was making dinner. While I was frying up some stuff, I just knew without even looking that she was out. I called her name and made the treat noises that usually has her come running and got nothing. Then I looked over and saw her peeing on the neighbor's snowmobile. Unfortunately, by the time I went in the house, found a leash, grabbed some treats, took the food off the stove, put some shoes on and got out the front door, she was gone.
So I went back in and shut off the stove, grabbed my car keys and went driving around the neighborhood. No Gracie. After a while, I decided she'd have to come home on her own and went home. I pulled into the driveway and she came running up to me looking all proud of herself. She had a grin on her face that said "Look at me! I'm outside all by myself. Aren't I clever?" Damn dog.
We have smoke detectors!
So my company is planning a mass upload of 5000 hotels into the system and I've been working a writing a very exciting description for each and every hotel. A copy writing project like this is ever so much fun. We're supposed to be "optimistic" about the hotel descriptions, but that can be difficult when the hotel is some chain hotel in the middle of nowhere Georgia. I clicked the amenities tab on one hotel and smoke detectors were listed. Isn't that required for hotels? And this is a 3 star hotel. I contemplated writing a description like "Enjoy a relaxing evening at this hotel secure in the knowledge that should there be a fire, smoke alarms will be there to alert you."
In other news, rates in Vegas have continued to decline. I've seen rooms for $10 recently. And strip hotels for under $25. They must be really, really hurting. Not that they're alone. A five star in San Diego was offering rooms for $19 recently - although they didn't have beds, just a tent in the room. Why would you need a tent inside a hotel room?
My Brother the Idiot
My brother does not have a car. Well, actually he has a car, it just doesn't run. It's been parked at his house for months now while he either takes advantage of his ex-girlfriend's four month stay in the hospital to use her car or while he rides his bike and the bus.
My dad told me the fun story about A's date the other night. The date didn't know that my brother is broke and irresponsible regarding money issues and thus does not have a car. He was desperately trying to borrow a car so he could hide this from the girl. Sadly, my guess is his ex lent him her car again. Though I think it would be great to pick the girl up on his bicycle like they were 12 or take her on the bus. A bus date would be awesome!
Anyway, today my brother left his bike on the bus. Way to lose your only form of personal transportation, dumbass!
The Horror!
So I'm getting Showtime and the Movie Channel free for the next few months (Thanks DirecTV!) and have been attempting to find some interesting movies to watch. What have I discovered about these channels? They are pretty much all horror all the time at night. Let's review just a few titles played over the weekend:
Saw IV
Hostel 2
Scream
Hide
Halloween
and more!
Scream and Halloween are fine movies in their own way, but was there really a need to have a Hostel 2? Or Saw IV? Even more annoying about Saw IV is that apparently it is necessary to have seen Saw III to understand the ending. Whatever happened to making horror movie sequels that are just more murder, mayhem and screaming virgins with little backstory? Jason can keep killing kids at Camp Crytal Lake and you don't have to have seen the first one. Hell, Jason wasn't even the killer in the first movie. My favorite Nightmare on Elm Street is the Dream Warriors (aka part III) and there is absolutely no need to have watched the previous two movies. And there is really no point to this except I was annoyed to have semi-watched two terrible movies that apparently required having watched two other most likely equally terrible movies to fully "appreciate" their sequels.
In better news, FLIX (a channel that may or may not be included in my regular package) had Office Space on the other night. I've discovered the movie is much more enjoyable now that I do not have to spend my life living in that cube world anymore. I was all, "Suckers!"
Take a Look, It's in a Book
Sadly, news has come down that Reading Rainbows has been taken off the air. While new shows hadn't been developed in years, it's continued to run and entertained millions of kids. Unfortunately, a new corporate sponsor could not be found to pay for its renewal.
LeVar Burton was Kunta Kinte and Mr. LaForge on Star Trek but every time I see him, I always think of Reading Rainbows and how we got to watch the show once a week in library class, then we got to go pick out books.
In a similar childhood remembrance, also sad to note was the death of Les Lye from You Can't Do That on Television. I can completely hear his voice saying "D'IIII heard that!"
