No Tacos Were Offered

I spoke with one of my sister's last week.  Her husband has been (and maybe still is... I get confused) a real estate agent.  I relayed to her our irritation with people upping the prices from maybe unreasonable but not in this market, to "Wow... we just don't feel comfortable with that" and how this issue has kept offers we've made in the past from being accepted.  But also how we offered the most recent people some pretty nice stuff, like staying in the home free for two weeks after the 45 day escrow.  I mean, our lease is up July 1 and escrow won't even close until July 15th.  And July 15th I happen to be away for work... so... hrm.

Anyway, she told me that one time her husband had won a contract for a client, not by offering the highest monetary amount, but by writing in that the buyers would bring 60 tacos to the closing for the sellers.  I know for some of us this seems... different, but we have to understand what a big thing tacos are in parts of the U.S.  Now I, not being of Expert Taco Understanding status, felt that 60 seemed an error in leftover feasibility.  Surely a largish family of say, five people, couldn't eat an entire 60 tacos in one sitting.  And therefore, wouldn't the tacos (hard or soft) get soggy and yuck soon thereafter?  Apparently, I simply fail to see the way of the taco because this was never a concern.

Chris and I did not offer tacos.  I heard the tale too late, but to be fair, I don't think I excel at taco making (nor buying for that matter) and it wouldn't have been a positive.  And what was I going to do?  Offer to make knishes?  They are delicious, but do most folks in southern California know what a knish is?  Probably not.

As I said in my last post, we offered everything we felt we could be ok with, including *wheeze* $420K.  

Ok, you have the stage set now?  Because I'm going back a little bit.

The past few... um... well, I guess it's been months have been very difficult.  Part of that was starting my business from scratch in two months.  I'm sure part of it was stress from looking for property.  Also the pandemic.  And probably my spine needs some major alignment since I haven't seen a chiropractor in years.  

When I returned from the big inception of my business in May, I was supposed to be able to relax into a normal pace of life, just slightly heightened by the fact that I have a business to run and not everything could happen in the previous two months.  But what actually happened was I crashed and burned.  

We expect some of that, which is why I dictated that I shouldn't work on my business the first week I was home.  But sadly, that didn't work, nor did it seem to help much.  I started having anxiety attacks some months ago (before the business) and they largely went away with the acute stress of businessing.  But they've returned with a vengeance. 

So today I woke up (after going to sleep during one last night) the way a cat might wake up if you dumped a bucket of water over it.  I was up and at 'em bright and early and then... I crashed.  It was 10:15am, I had a meeting with my super BossLadyFriend at 11, so I laid down for half an hour at which point, BossLadyFriend called.

While this was unfortunate timing, BossLadyFriend called because she'd heard I was having some anxiety and did I want to move our meeting to tomorrow?  So I started crying because BossLadyFriend did not get such an appellation without cause and the cause is this kind of thing.  Our meeting thus moved, I went back to bed.

I achieved the cuddles of one cat, which always helps, and was trying to settle down and in when Melissa texted us.  Here's how the conversation went:

Melissa: Good Morning!!

I have some great news! Sellers have accepted your counter offer!

Me: WHAT????

Melissa: [attaches signed counter offer which I don't open on my phone cuz it's tiny]

Me: 

Melissa "loved" this image

Ok. Umm, we need a list of stuff that we need to do in relative order.  Can you help with that?

Melissa: I just stepped into an 11am showing and will be in showings for a couple of hours but will break down the timelines when I get back to my desk and all that you need to do :).  The Agent will get Escrow opened up tomorrow so you will hear from them tomorrow :).  Yay!!  So happy for you guys!!

The shot of adrenaline got me up and working again until 1530 when I again keeled over and, this time, fell asleep.  So, for the rest of today we've been alternately working, planning what we might do if we actually get the house, freaking out, and responding to Melissa who... offered to call and schedule an inspection for us, and contacted the lender, and told us all the things we have to do and how much money has to go into escrow tomorrow and ... I wrote her back at one point and was like "Is this normal for an agent to do for clients?"  

Like, seriously, I don't want to call the inspector people.  I hate the phone!  I also would rather do paying work than take an hour to try to reach 7 potential inspectors, but if I want a house I believe it is probably my job to get off my arse and make the calls... But she said that "good" agents do things to help their clients out and there is no way I'm going to argue about her being a good agent.

I also made myself take the time to make my mother in law a birthday card.  It's not my usual because that would take too long and cause me too much angst, but I think I combined my style and her style (she favors cute stuff) well.  And also, eff my usual style.  This is what I had in me and one of the big reasons I make art is to combat my ridiculously handicapping perfectionism.  Take that perfectionism!

If you happen to see part of a card you've sent me in the past, it's because I save cards I really like and use them to make new art

So... the next few months will be intense, but it's possible, just possible, that I can start writing this blog for that which it was meant after that time: trying to build an Earthship inspired home!  Fingers crossed.