OK. So we've rented out the house and that causes a bit of anxiety for me because, you know, someone is living in a house I own. In a way, I'm now somewhat beholden to complete strangers when it comes to the "livability" of my house. Not that the house is in any way deficient or in disrepair. Almost the entire inside was replaced in the past six months thanks to my real estate agent and insurance company. But the point being, when you own a house and you live in it, you get to prioritize things. If someone else is living in the house, they may not have the same priorities, or even the same sense of import. I have no idea if I was a typical renter. Generally, unless something was majorly wrong, I didn't bother the land lord with it. If it was something small I would do it myself or adjust. I never experienced anything big going wrong in a rental, I don't think. But I also have known, or lived near, people who seemed to be on their landlords about every little thing. I dunno. I guess I'm a little nervous about the property management company as well. I mean, I expect they are professional and do a good job, but in all honesty one of their sources of income comes from the fee that I owe them when they take care of repairs. Basically, they get 10% or $25 (whichever is more) any time they oversee repairs. This of course comes with them having their own stable of "preferred" contractors, etc... So, on the one hand it is in their interest to have work done on the house because they get paid whenever that happens. On the other hand, they don't want me to go blabbing to everyone else that once we had a contract they wrung the hell out of me and my bank account. So, like anything, its a delicate balance I'm sure. Hopefully they prefer the easy method of collecting rent and keeping the peace for everyone.
Sigh. I guess I'll need to make sure i have clear and open lines of communication with my next door neighbors.
OK. So Felix turns two this month. Amazing. And here's the standard stuff: He's a genius, he's brilliant, he's super sharp tacks, etc, etc. He's eager to use the potty and he's even managed to use the actual toilet (with the potty seat inserted) for both #1 and a tiny #2. He's not speaking in sentences yet but he does use words and he has entered the parrot phase. He quickly mimics words on the first hearing. If you can use the word in a way that he really gets, he adds it to his vocabulary. Example: Now whenever we go under some sort of structure (bridge, tunnel, scaffolding) he shouts "Echo!" He has his own idiosyncrasies, of course. He says "No" but he only nods his head up and down for "yes." Although sometimes he nods up and down for other than yes, perhaps just in agreement or to say "Whatever you think is right."
He tumbles, is working on his first unassisted headstand (actually, he's done headstands already but they tend to turn into somersaults). He balances on the curb of the walking paths in the park. He's a star at soccer. yes really. He loves to fly his kite though we've not done it on a good kite flying day (so we get very tired when we fly his kite).
I am deep in the middle of completely re-engineering the workstation desktop at my place of work, a project I have been looking forward to since I started there. All in all it won't be a drastic change for the users since we're staying on Windows XP and Office 2003, but the behind the scenes stuff will be very very different from what was done previously. Needless to say, I'm doing my best to drag this company into the 21st century. Looks like we might just do it, too.
Andrea still is unhappy with her job, but we've figured out that while we certainly won't be saving up for any posh retirements or vacations but we could continue to live on what I make if Andrea quit her job and stayed home with Felix. Not that she wants to do that exactly, but she definitely feels like that would be a step up from what she's leaving Felix at home with a nanny for now. So, I guess that's sort of like good news?
It's been a hell of a year since we moved out here. And the winds of change just keep ablowin'.
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