Getting Involved At The Office

I have finally started "doing the stuff" in the real estate office here is Aiken and I find that I actually like what I am doing...initially. I say that guardedly. It may change over time but there are some obvious benefits that I am already enjoying.

• There is an actual FINISH to things. I am a fairly goal driven person. I like seeing things checked off of the To-Do list. Finding sellers and buyers for property and getting to the closing, sealing the deal, and getting compensated for that has finality. You close the folder and move on. Needless to say working at UPS is the exact opposite. You are only as good as that day's numbers. This morning we unloaded 13,000 packages in a little over 3.5 hours. I will find out how we did in the morning. Let's say that we blew off the doors and ran GREAT numbers. It means NOTHING for the next day. It's like chasing the carrot (or your own tail). I like real estate so far since there is a series of finalities.
• Self-discipline - I like being self motivated. I like the idea that I am the one who decides how hard I work and just how successful I can be - depending on how I define success. I haven't needed people to follow me around and check up on me and tell me what and how to do life for some time now. This career seems to fit my personality better than the big corporate mindset.
• Flexibility - While it is true that you have to be ready when your clients are, there is also a benefit in having a partner so that I can do things that I really enjoy - referee or coach soccer, backpack, workout, etc.

There are other benefits but right now I have to get to my FIRST closing. Later...

WH

The Mongoose In The Drain

I mentioned that I had to clear the bathtub drain last week. Symptom was SLOWWWW draining. I tried some drain cleaner to no avail so the only options were to call a plumber or attack the offending clog solo.

I chose solo as I can always call a plumber:)

Employing my usual handyman technique I "Googled" tub drains and found our style. Taking off the drain I reached down the drain and grabbed some obvious strands of hair which were hooked over the cross support in the drain. As I pulled a WHOLE clump ripped out. It was about 10 inches long and foul smelling.

Notice I said "ripped". That meant that there was more in there. I couldn't get a plier or even a screwdriver down there to hook the offending culprit so I retrieved the small snake from the garage. Proceeding to insert the end in the drain I twisted the snake a few times and started to pull.

I was met with great resistance. I pulled HARDER and made progress inch by inch. As the end of the snake started to come out of the drain I almost threw up. It was a matted mess of hair that was about 1/2 inch thick. I continued to pull and I saw a rubber band in the matted mess. It took some time but eventually the mass was out.

I thought about taking a picture AFTER it was in the trash and just couldn't bring myself to get it back out of the plastic shopping bag I had tied it in.

The whole thing was about 14 inches long, moldy, stinky, and putrid. It looked like a dead mongoose - albeit a small one.

I'm glad that I didn't call a plumber since I am cheap. But I am still fighting the images in my head of the fetid mass.

WH

Finally...

So, today I was up at 5:45 am (It's pretty sad when you think that 5:45 am is sleeping in) and started studying for my South Carolina Real Estate Sales Associate Exam in Columbia, SC.

I plodded along in the book and left at 10:45. Went in to the exam site, sat down, proved my identity with TWO forms of ID, and sat in front of a computer to take the test.

Forty five minutes, and 115 questions later, I hit the END key and received the news - PASSED on both sections of the exam (General and State).

Thank God. The past six weeks of my life have been engrossed in the class and the book. Now I can get to the business of actually DOING real estate. Tom Caniglia has agreed to make me his partner so we are off and running...well not quite yet.

I need to get the form signed by the Broker in Charge at Eulalie Salley and mail MORE MONEY off to the Real Estate Commission to get my license. I also have to get 30 more hours of instruction so I can get my full license (I will have a provisional until then).

Today will be spent relaxing and watching football. Tomorrow Dan, Tony, his son, and I are off to "Hotlanta" for the Braves game.

Maybe later I will post about my adventure in clearing the tub drain in Jessie's bathroom. get your barf bags ready for that one.

WH

In Country

Deployment. The words sounded so far away months ago. They are yesterday now. My Son has left again for the Mideast. This departure is different in many ways:

• Last time was a for few months - now it's 8 months
• Last time he was part of a team on an LAV - now he leads the vehicle team and is responsible for the lives of 8 other men
• Last time he was far away from any specific activity - this time his platoon enters an area that has been fairly unstable for months
• Last time he had not even finished his School of Infantry - this time he has been to Squad Leaders School, 29 Palms, and DM training
• Last time he was 19 - now he is 20
• Last time he was single - now he is married
• Last time he was a young man - now he is the type of man that all of you hope your sons become

Here are some pictures that his bride sent to us yesterday. She called last night. Her house is quieter without Jason there. Our lives are now focused on every word that comes out of Iraq. I think about my Son many, many times in an hour.


Jason and Candace


I left work today irritated that there are grown men working there who act like babies when they don't get exactly what they want. Thirty year old men. Forty year old men. Fifty year old men. I am angry that they act like this and my 20 year old son is putting his life on the line and taking responsibility for the lives of other men who will look to him for leadership, direction, and dependability.

Keep your head down Son. I love you.

WH

Visiting In Jacksonville, NC

Jen and I are with Jason and Candace for a few days in Jacksonville, NC. He is stationed at Camp Lejeune with the 2nd LAR. He deploys shortly and asked if we could come visit before he left. He'll probably be gone for 8 months or so. That sucks for his new bride. He also lost a friend in a car wreck yesterday as the two Marines drove home for vacation. One guy was killed, another injured. The injured Marine won't be deploying with the company. Rough times for guys who are planning on laying their lives on the line. You just don't expect to lose one of your own at home. These are moments when life blows.

Jason and Candace are settled in their new duplex. It's cute. Good place to start. I have spent the better part of the morning getting their house set up with an encrypted wireless network so they can surf the net and play Xbox live without having to plug and unplug the laptop and Xbox, while restarting the modem.

As usual, there were some problems, but it seems now that they are up and running. In fact I'm posting this blog via the wireless connection in the living room. Jason is sleeping on the couch, Jen and Candace are out shopping - scary!

I hope that your Labor Day weekend goes well. I have off Monday and am VERY excited about that. I study all week, and my final SC state real estate exam is Saturday the 9th.

WH