Hmmmm...

My blog got a lot of hits today from USAA. I wonder if that bodes well for me, or not? Meh, what's done is done - hopefully, they liked what they read :)

USAA contacted me today about getting the MoversAdvantage program set up, so that was great & fast service! And by the end of the day, their recommended local realtor called me, but I was on the train and couldn't take the call. I will follow up with her in the morning...

So, big kudos to USAA so far. Now, I'm just keeping my fingers crossed that all of the financing works out in the end. Even if/when I get the pre-approval, I may well find out that what I'm looking for in an abode is not congruent with my current financial situation overall, so we'll just have to see how it all plays out. I am excited to be getting hooked up with a USAA-blessed realtor though - good stuff!
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Now playing: presidents of the usa - back porch

I heart USAA ... so far ;)

I'm moving along with a mortgage pre-approval from my longtime go-to bank, USAA. So far, so good - I cleared the initial hurdles in the app, but I'm not out of the woods yet. Although my credit is excellent and my only current debt is The Toaster, I don't yet have a long work history with my current employer, so that could be the show-stopper. These days (ongoing credit-crunch & rampant foreclosure aftermath), banks everywhere are not willing to take any risks, so although it's a buyer's market, it's not necessarily easy to line up financing...

I am also planning to take advantage of their MoversAdvantage program which will put me in contact with local realtors who work closely with USAA - I feel that I'll be in extremely good hands (as long as the mortgage financing pans out!). USAA is the overall #1 again this year for their incredible start-to-finish, all-inclusive customer service, and I'm excited!

If they end up dissing me for financing, then I'll look elsewhere... But, for now, I'm trooperin' on ;-)
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Now playing: johnny cash - i walk the line

Hair update

I'm back to letting it grow out again. Giddyup ;-)
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Now playing: louis armstrong - hello dolly

Acceptance was the answer

It was our monthly "topic night" at my AA 12x12 meeting tonight, and Acceptance was drawn from the hat.

What a wonderful discussion! I immediately went to one of my favorite passages from the Big Book - these wise & powerful words resonated with me the very first time I read them, and it's a passage that I often revisit when I am discontented with circumstances in my life. It always helps me get back on a path of right thinking & right action, and helps restore my proper balance...

"And acceptance is the answer to all my problems today. When I am disturbed, it is because I find some person, place, thing, or situation - some fact of my life - unacceptable to me, and I can find no serenity until I accept that person, place, thing, or situation as being exactly the way it is supposed to be at this moment. Nothing, absolutely nothing, happens in God's world by mistake. Until I could accept my alcoholism, I could not stay sober; unless I accept life completely on life's terms, I cannot be happy. I need to concentrate not so much on what needs to be changed in the world as on what needs to be changed in me and in my attitudes."

-- Big Book, p 417 (emphasis mine)

For this tall order, the Serenity Prayer is the most helpful resource for me. When I can truly surrender disturbances that are out of my control, and be genuinely accountable for things I can control, then I can't deny that things work out amazingly well! Good stuff.

A work in progress...
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Now playing: U2 - grace

One day at a time...

It's likely to start getting sparse in here. Lots of exciting new Works In Progress, but not much time lately to document them all. Things on my plate include:

-- Running season has done sprung, and thanks to a very motivating & wonderful new friend, I'm considering doing some races this year. No promises yet - more details to follow later…

-- Mountain biking season will be at full-steam soon! Can't wait to get on the local trails – some have opened up since late last week, but I haven't been out on them yet. Soon, soon, soon!

-- House-hunting. Yeah, yeah, I know… I'm lollygagging with that. Again. I need to jump-start that endeavor this week.

-- And, last but certainly not least… I am dating. Disclosing details wouldn't be prudent, but I owe family & friends that explanation for where a goodly chunk of my time & attention is going lately.

I'll (of course) keep posting, but I doubt it'll be as often or comprehensive as I'd like. Thanks to you all for your loyal readership and kind words of encouragement & support!
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Now playing: dean martin - ain't that a kick in the head

I heart Public Radio

I meant to post this all earlier, but better late than never…

Most of you know that I'm an avid MPR listener and supporter. If you too are a regular listener of Public Radio programming (news on 91.1, The Current on 89.3, or classical on 99.5) and are not already a supporting member, please voice that Public Radio is important to you. Minnesota Public Radio needs your help as an advocate and a donor.

See you there tomorrow evening!

And... Get ready to Rock The Garden! It should be an incredible show - I'm looking forward to it! ;)
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Now playing: fIREHOSE - hear me

The Iron: Round 2

I haven't bamboozled y'all with some true mediocrity for a while now, so let's get mundane, shall we?

A long time ago, I blogged about my distaste for ironing. And I still have no love for that particular necessary evil, but I've found an interesting new toy. Change is good, right?

I've always been curious if a steamer device like this could be an improvement over the traditional iron & board technique, so I looked into them. Indeed, they seem to offer improved convenience, but good ones are $$$, and Amazon is rife with people who lament their decision to buy the cheapie versions. I decided it wasn't an investment worth the price, but I still looked once in a while on Craigslist and eBay, and I found a nice one recently at a steal of a price.

So I got it.

It's ...well... impressively large. If that alone implies high quality, then I'm all set.

"OK", I decided, "So it's much bigger & heavier than I thought it would be. Even though I feel like one of the knights from 'Monty Python and The Holy Grail' pushing around the Trojan Rabbit every time roll it in & out of my closet, that's really no big deal."

But the fact that it looks like awkwardly out-of-place industrial machinery still irks me. It will certainly remain as well hidden as possible when guests come over:

"Holy crap!!! WTF is that thing?!?"
"It's my clothes steamer. It's sort of like a big iron."
"Yeah, it sure IS big. Dude, how much stuff do you iron?"
"Well, actually not that much, really."
[insert "Are you nuts?" look here]
"I gotta go."

However, it does work pretty darn well - I'll give it that. But it gets all crazy hot & steamy. I never really feared burning myself with my iron, but I just know that I'm eventually going to have an incident with this monster requiring an ice-pack & lots of aspirin. Oh well - new challenges are good for me.

I am determined to tame this machine!

However, I'm still keeping my old iron and board just in case...
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Now playing: talking heads - burning down the house

Theme for Spring '08...

Leap, and the net will appear.

This spring, I am blessed to have some wonderful new opportunities before me - both big and small. I pray that my willingness to risk & dare as I move forward remains balanced and unselfish. I am ready.

"Why not go out on a limb? Isn't that where the fruit is?" -- Frank Scully

A work in progress...
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Now playing: fatboy slim - the journey

Brrrrr!

What a crazy night out... An hour later, and I'm still chilled from my relatively short time outside during the evening commute. This soaking & wet bone-chilling cold is hard to shake off!

No run for me tonight - I'll hit my meeting, and then I'm looking forward to a nice hot bubble bath.

It's been a quiet week for me on Blogger here; however, all is well. Very well, as a matter of fact ;)
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Now playing: joshua redman quartet - rejoice

Opera, anyone?

Late last night, I was asked by a savvy new friend if I wanted to see an opera at The Met today. And so we went. No, it didn't involve a red-eye flight to NYC -- it was a local Live in HD simulcast of La Bohème.

I enjoyed it very much! This concept provides a unique introduction to world-class opera, particularly for a gauche newbie like myself. It's well worth checking out!
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Now playing: the cure - just like heaven

Spammed!

Not long after publishing my post last night, I noticed that a post comment showed up saying "Please check out (link)". Of course, that comment went directly to the trash without further investigation. Perhaps my racy post title attracted unwanted bot attention?

However, I then noticed my blog received 20+ hits from all over the world within the short, few-minute span that the comment was still active - and mostly from some pretty shady places. Ugh.

So, that's why I have added the word verification step in order to post a comment. I hope that won't deter anyone from posting up, but I'd rather not leave an open door here for the next bot wandering through the neighborhood. Your understanding is much appreciated!
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Now playing: elvis - suspicious minds

Yeah, take it off, baby...

Got the hair cut tonight.

It was nice for a while there to see the curls come back, but I wasn't diggin' on the mind-of-its-own wookieness lately. Perhaps I haven't give it enough time, and I was actually on my way to great things at some longer length, but this surly & uncooperative length recently was irksome. Maybe I'll give it another run in the future, who knows...

I really like the way it looks now - a good balance, if I do say so myself. And - in the end - we've each gotta be the ones happy with our own goods, right? ;)
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Now playing: eels - novocain for the soul