Role Reversal

The parents are in for a weekend visit. What do you do with people who have been to the city a bushel of times before? - you do what they love to do. Our plan was to go to tktstkts and get tickets for a matinee. The key to getting tickets is getting in line early, so we figured we'd get there about nine.

I strolled over there at 9:15 and mom and pop are nowhere to be found. I actually was predicting they would get there about 9:45, but when they still weren't in sight by 10:00, I got pretty anxious. Are they lost on the subway? Did they get mugged? Over sleep?

Let me clue you in to the fact that mom AND dad both have cell phones. My call log went back and forth from one to the other. Hmm, some saying comes to mind about ol' dogs and new tricks. I certainly tried to, though, after they sauntered over at 10:15. "I had to let at least 30 people pass me! Why didn't you call me?" Almost got a shiver like I was a parent Luckily that feeling didn't last long and we still got tickets to our number one pick (Hairspray).

It makes $en$e

Ok, in an effort to save money, this weekend, I decided my new goal is to eat three non-breakfast meals at home. When I first moved to the city I would eat quite a bit at home but I must admit that lately I haven't eaten at home at all. Breakfast - out (but it's so yummy). Lunch - out. Diner - out. Hmmm... no wonder why the biggest expense of the month is food (rent excluded because I really can't cut back on that).

I was having my groceries delievered but I've been throwing away so many things that it just doesn't save any pennies. I would pull out some chicken in the morning, thinking "ooh I'll cook this tonight". At work someone would want to go out or a friend would call me up. Who can resist all these great restaurants? Days go by and I don't want to touch that chicken with a two foot pole. It has happened with fruit, milk, leftovers, even orange juice!

So my new cook three times a week plan involves walking to my favorite market instead of pulling something out of the freezer. It's just too hard to plan for these *special occasions*.

Now we all know what the tricky part will be - not buying 10 other things while shopping for one night's diner. hmmm... I'll let you know how that works out.

Hot Shot Weekend

It gets hot in the city and on these summer weekends, it seems like everyone disappears. Some people go to the Jersey Shore, some to the Cape and some to the Hamptons. I shouldn't admit this but up until last week, I didn't even know where the Hamptons were. If someone had told me it was upstate New York, I would have believed them and moved on with my life. This weekend, I learned for sure the Hamptons are not in upstate, but are positioned on the Atlantic side of Long Island. You would think coming from Connecticut, I would've known that, but oh well.

With our rented car we were able to see so much of the area. The places are very spread out and as we found out at night, cab rides are not cheap! I didn't see any famous people, but I laid out on three different beaches and even took a surf lesson. There was not as much surf as in Hawaii and with fewer waves to ride, there were fewer standing moments. One of the best parts was looking at all the crazy large houses. How do I get one of those? (Well, how do I get one without working really hard?)

Acquisitions Baby!

It's official! Yesterday afternoon, my company closed my very first acquisition. I would say it was a pretty smooth transaction, but then I don't have anything to really compare it to. From my end things seems to be moving along fine. I got great feeback from my acquisitions team and the satellite offices I was working with. Some of the other in house departments, though, were not so positive about my achievements.

I had to push through a lot of people to get the money out the door. I scraped together the wire form at the last possible minute and then was hit by a curve ball when Accounts Payable wouldn't authorize it without a certain someone's signature. That someone was, of course, out to lunch and I was super frantic. I never knew I would need his signature in the first place. What do we do when he's sick or on vacation? Are we not allowed to buy properties. I staked out his office and grabbed him as soon as he returned, but it was only because I had people working on my side that I was able to get the money out and close the deal.

Let this be a lesson in helpfulness for all those people who are working with people who are doing their job for the first time ever (yes, six months in and I have never even remotely been involved in some of these tasks). I've got the underwritting and the offering packages down and I've been donned the "queen of LOI's" (letters offering to purchase properties), which is better than being the "queen of self storage" at my former employer. Anyway, I've sent out at least 15 LOI's and we have purchased one property.

With a batting average like that, I should be sitting on the bench!

Safety net, please?

It's been just over five months at the new job and I'm feeling pretty good. It is tough having to prove yourself (especially when someone already owns the "golden goose" spot prior to your arrival), but last week and this I have gotten great praises from my superiors. Hmm... something about being "at the top of the learning curve". Do you mind if I give myself a little pat on the back?

So of course I'm as happy as a pig in a candy store, but wouldn't it make you a little nervous? If my fingernails weren't already short, I'd certianly be bitting them down to the core. And isn't it Murphy's law that what goes up must come down? Ok, maybe that isn't Murphy's but it's true right? So now I'm totally anxious and checking and re-checking my work. I even stayed there till past 8:00PM! I've got to catch that fatal mistake, my golden goosling status is on the line!