I Heart Peanut Butter

Last morning I will be sitting at the computer here on the Ludlow.
All in all I am pretty happy about what has went down, sad because at one point in time we loved this place but with the over saturation of testosterone that occupies the rest of the building and the amount of drinking that occurs outside, I am all set.

I will be online only a bit in the next 3 weeks until we close on the new place, things are moving along well for the new loft. Yesterday Neil and I did some more shopping for furniture and then we came across this fantastic yellow microfiber low rider sectional with chrome legs. The price could not be beat. I think to finish off the living space we will get a kick ass white shag rug, a white Ludwig Mies van der Rohe’s Barcelona Chair & stool and then we need to find a new bed.
As for beds I am all about the Lucca Storage Platform bed. Neil wants me to chill on the higher end for now, but hell there is only one open space and it must look the best it can.

I also start my new job on Monday, nervous because I was treated as if I was a loser at my last employer and it tends to put you in this funk that you suck pretty much. But I think it will be good, I think I am nervous because it is a new industry and as unique as others I have worked in. Sorry Insurance sales you are to normal for me. The commute will be fun for three weeks from my folks to Needham, but it is only three weeks. As we speak I need to go sign up for an Fast Lane Pass.

So signing off from 12 Ludlow St. for the last time, need to unplug this computer and put it away.

Toodles

So our offer was accepted, now just working the financing without me working. BLAH.
So we got the unit, roof deck, two garage parking spaces, sounds good to me.The projected closing date is July 19th.
Yesterday being the hottest day of the week, we decided to get the moving of everything other then our clothes and items we need until Mid July into storage. My dear friend Robyn came and sweated out with us packing the Uhaul up. But now other then some food, clothes this computer and cleaning products the house is empty. Peanut seems to love his Kat-sized football field of space to play and it is nice with 1300 sq feet of close to empty space.. We can dance!!!!

So 1 1/2 weeks and we are out of here and staying with my rents. At least they have an in law apartment that is not currently occupied with the in laws so we will stay there with my brother for a couple weeks.

Off to look for work….Seems I should have a job by Friday…All things are in my favor. Things can’t get much worse but Neil and I are pulling thru this. A tad bit of stress but understandable.

Why is it taking so long?
So we put our offer on Thursday , they countered on Friday and we re countered right away. I think the seller likes to make us wait.

It is beautiful outside, Neil is home this week and we need to move everything into storage around me looking for a job. The one job I was hoping for feel thru so on to the next. Two of the interviews from last week will hopefully pan out to second interviews this week. Then also I do hope that the insurance sales position comes thru. Should hopefully know something more by tomorrow.

Life is crazy, hectic and overwhelming at this point. Even though we are both stressed I would not rather deal with lifes recent actions alone or with anyone else. Neil and I are solid and we bounce thru anything that it thrown our way.

Hopefully get the Uhaul tomorrow or Thursday. Over 90% of what we have left here into storage. BlAH…

Just finished my Monday Internet job search and found about 20 positions that I could apply too.

Ok I need a call stating they will accept our offer and a call saying I got the insurance position.
Then my day will be perfect.

On Thursday I was heading to Boston for an interview, happy that WBUR would come in from here to there. Se Worcester is a shady place for Boston area stations. You can always get WGBH in but seriously classical music all day just does not do it for me.
Thursday discussion was on ” end of private lives”, on how so many people put there “private” life out there for the world to read.
I being one of them thought I could contribute and I did. After holding for about 15 minutes I did get thru to speak with Tom Ashbrook.
Here is the link, take a listen.

It being an hour long radio program I think I called in about half way thru.

What are your thoughts?

Here is another Bloggers take on Thursday’s program

Also here is Irina Kendall the “blogger” that was the guest of the show’s blog.
“Spectacularly Normal”

So after weighing pros and cons we have decided what to do and we are going to make an offer this evening on a place. Did not expect to be in this boat right now, but you live and learn.

Here is some of my new ideas on Worcester’s current housing.

We had put a reservation in at Kettle Brook, Paul the developer was going to offer us his apartment that he has for rent for a pretty cheap price all things included. But by Monday we decided that it far to small and one size up was just out of what we feel comfortable paying. We can afford much more then what we are looking at by why over extend ourselves. We still like to go out, vacation and eat at yummy restaurants. They are about 98% sold at this time and the only units left are the larger units ranging in price from 209k to 250k. The one unit we were going to take as of Tuesday is on the market Uni B 205 which is a corner unit only 722 sq feet. Well designed they have learned how to make the most out of the space you have. European Living in Worcester at it’s finest. An other thing was location. This unit looked over conservation land on one side and the river on the other. What is great is from any unit there you can open your window and the waterfall is your background noise. What is lacks in space it makes up for in design. I did ask when the 2nd phase would be started, originally it would be started next year but with the overwhelming sell out of all it’s units they will be starting the 2nd phase after labor day.
I think with even another 100 sq feet we could have made it work, but that is stretching us thin.
Sorry to say we called Paul and told him that we would not be taking the unit, but I have no doubt it will be scooped up in the next couple weeks. If not by this coming weekend.

Then we head to see Paul’s brother Charles at Chestnut Place Condos. Situated across the street from the Maidstone Condos on Wachusett st off Highland st. Great location and the chance the condo will appreciate at a good rate is high. I liked the interior but as Neil put it is a glorified apartment. We would have been able to get the unit furnished with things we would have bought anyways, which is a plus with a lack of all furniture because the current home was furnished with things would would most likely not buy, but it was nice to be able to only move boxes here. The building is a late 70′s Brick Garden Style and the windows are outdated. They shouldn’t have cut corners and put in new windows to modernize the building. But after selling out of the Maidestone back in December they decided to move right alone. There is about 5 units located on the top floor that have lofts. The lofts have slightly shaky spiral staircases that I am not sure how you would get furniture up and down nor would I want to get to the bathroom in the middle of the night. I would at some point take that staircase out and put real stairs.
This condo does have a good storage space, 64 sq feet of dog like chain fencing. But it is done well.

Both places had LG combo washer/dryer, me thinking it would be cheaper for one of them was dead wrong. We priced then and they are about $1600, being only about 3 cubic feet makes for small loads, but how nice you go home in the evening and all you need to do is fold.
Now if they could only come out with a Washer/Dryer/Folder combo I would pay big bucks.

We also checked out The Lofts at Winter St on Monday. They tended to leave much to be desired. I think we went there with the high hopes that this would be the place for us and that bubble was bursted. Feel like you live in NYC because the 915 sq foot unit on the 2nd floor is facing 2 brick buildings only about 3 feet away. No natural light, what a shame. The larger units were pushing the price we would like to stay in but the model was decent. I do not feel it was staged well, very simple furnishings made me feel like we were looking at the Bigalow Mills Lofts once more. This is located in Kelly Sq not Clinton Ma.
Location alone would have sold me, upstairs from Bocado , near The Cellar, throws throw from Union Station. But, and there is a big BUT. The parking is under 290, under a bridge across the street. Not sure how I feel about having to cross the street with groceries or late at night.

Also veered back towards University Park and think unit 201 or 104 could work. The only plus at this point is you can get all the perks thrown in without raising the price all that much. Such as a roof deck, garage parking, granite window ledges and so much more. They are willing to paint for you but Neil and I are old pros at this time, give us a ladder and let us go. Plus the ability to get possibly 2 garaged parking spaces is super nice in January. The car would be warm and snow free!
Grants were given to a group that wants to take 93 Grand st around the corner to remove the asbestos . This then opening the building up to development. They do acknowledge that the housing market may not be the direction to go but it was suggested turning it into offices, store fronts and apartments. Which would bring more to the neighborhood.
Also suggested that Main South neighborhood take advantage of the large Hispanic population (44%) and start increasing the amount of higher end Mexican/Honduran or Brazilian restaurants and stores. Not just hole in the wall places but make the neighborhood more of a destination and not an area people are scared to drive down.
From this point Neil and I will decide what we are doing. We will be out of this place on June 30th, stay with the rents for a couple weeks and move on….

This past week has been overwhelming and crazy. Thank god I have pills to take care of that.

So some people know what hell we have went thur with the process of getting this condo. No clean title for the deed…Blah blah blah.

So yesterday we receive a letter that states that not able to finally close-close. This whole last 6 months has been interesting with the drama of Ludlow st.

So we are moving on. Going to be out of here by July 1 and getting our down payment on this unit back.

Scared but knowing things work out for a reason and after driving our Mortgage company and lawyer crazy the last 7 months we can start all over again.

Today we went house snooping. Went back to University Park Lofts just to see what was the deal. Although we do like a unit, lack of storage and being 1 block from Main South we left thinking ” let’s keep looking” .
See we had the plan that come July 1 we would stay with my folks for a month or so, hell maybe take off to Austin or Phoenix. But seriously I am getting far to old to relocate without a job to go to. To many bills and to much hassle.

So on the way home we stopped at Kettle Brook Lofts. Impressed by Paul’s enthusiasm for his project and the “Greenness” of the units we thought…SHIT why did we wait this long.
So out of the 52 units in Phase 1 they have sold 32 of them, have another 15 under agreement and only a few still available. We reserved as a back up to a deal that he believes is already dead for a unit that faces Kettle Brook and the conservation land behind it.
Phase II will start the end of this year. We left with a copy of the P&S agreement and Master Deed. What a vast improvement over this current situation.
Also in the process I was like ” Can we wait for a January 25th closing date, we need to find a place to live relatively cheap” So Paul then mentions he has an apartment near Club Red/Blue and Tammany Hall that is in an old brown stone and he would rent it to us until the closing.

So not only did we find the best of lofts in Worcester but we will be heading to the apartment tomorrow to check it out. Good priced rent with all utilities included. Seriously everything happens for a reason.

The unit will be complete with the only upgrade they have a divider wall for the sleeping area that included a two sided fireplace and plasma TV that turns to face the living area or the sleeping area.

European design makes the smaller spaces work well and seem much larger then they are. Very sleek, modern and minimalist . Ahhhhhhhh
So we will sell most of the things we bought that work for the 1890 style condo we have right now and save up the next 6 months to buy sick ass furniture for the Loft when we move in.

One word to describe Kettle Brook- Progressive
And they have set the precedent for all new construction that occurs in Worcester. Paul was telling us that within 10 days there was a reservation on all units, a few have dropped off making it able for people like us to still get in. Hopefully we will know 100% by Tuesday.

So the job search is starting to pick up. You know you work your butt off 8-10 hours a day to get your resume out there, network with people you know, use all the leverage you have to make it be known you are looking. My friend James let me know about a position with his company and they have already contacted me. Neil is putting in a good word at his work, it would be strange to work there with him, but then again if he is going to stay there, then we have the same route everyday.
I have had a few interviews in the past week and one looks promising. I will keep my fingers crossed, it is in Newton about 39 miles from here. But it would be a stable position with a company that is stable.

It is Friday so I can begin my weekend this afternoon, Neil has today off and even though I would love to bum around, I am not working and Job 1 is to find a job.

So I have been communicating with a few companies about positions, because I can’t put all my eggs in one basket. I need to find employment by July. I was pretty much offered a position with BBB and Pulse Magazine. But neither seemed good in the income area. Unfortunately there is a certain amount I must make to be able to live comfortably, growing up sucks.

So I seem to be getting a large amount of responses back this week and things are picking up. The amount of positions I have applied for is large and now is the waiting game.

Wish me luck…

This past week has been extremely hectic and borderline crazy.

So I go into work on Tuesday for the boss man to call me in his office and explain that I am not getting enough contracts. Last month was my first month, starting from scratch, no exsisting accounts, no business to take over. Starting from “0″. So last month I got 8 contracts, one cancelled so net 7. This May I got 8 and there was still 3 days of the month before “quota” was due. So I would have had the 9 I needed. He mentioned that 9 was a “starting point” and the following month it would have been like 14-15. Please no one there gets 14-15 new business accounts in one month, if they do it is a fluke. So I guess it was for the better since the unrealistic expectations of the company. I was suppose to be ramping up for the 1st 3 months. I am a damn good sales person and I am great on the phone. But when you are told over and over again that there will be a new AMSA list or something to just call from and it never happens. Cold calling there is not cold calling, it is doing the research to make sure the company is licensed and insured and to make sure they are not already a client of the companies. 4 hours of research will equal either a mass emailing of 50 potential customers or calling 10.
So anyways I gathered my belongings and left. Thinking how unemotional it was because I was only there 2 months and not quite attached to the position as of yet. I did love my coworkers and the easy schedule where you come in the time that works for you ( which is always the earlier the better) and take your lunch when it works for you. That was all nice.

So since Tuesday I have been the busy beaver looking and applying for positions that I feel I am qualified for. I had an interview on Friday, that went well but I don’t think I am going to take it because the pay structure will not work for me. With a mortgage, car payments and 800 other bills I know what I need to make in order to live OK. I also do not want an outside sales position if only because I can’t deal with 99% of the drivers here in Massachusetts and to be on the road all day I would end up killing someone.
So I have an interview today and one scheduled tomorrow and with the 150 jobs I have applied for I should get more calls this week.
A few places I really hope I hear back from.

This weekend was pretty chill I have had this cough thing due to allergies all the past week, so not much sleep but we did get some rainy day Kayaking yesterday on the Blackstone. We always do the hardest thing like take one car to go kayaking and paddle downstream only to have to paddle upstream coming back, that was hell. Next time we will take both cars and park one at the end of the river and one at the beginning. Remembering our straps to go in the dry sack.

But for the most part been super busy looking for new and exciting job opportunities.
Will get back to my regular blogging ASAP.