WOW. What some people have done to their houses... (And that's not "WOW" in a good way, necessarily)

10:19 AM: I made it to work after a particularly challenging ride in. Lots of stop and go and stop and go and go and slamonthebrakes and stop and go. Jesus. One must stay alert, lest one end up in the back seat of someone else's vehicle. Job security, I suppose.

My patch of R shoulder road rash is very irritated today by my bra strap. I haven't noticed this in the past, but today... OW! My brastrap is rubbing the scab off! And the road rash is leaking (weeping) onto my shirt. Very glamorous. Very very glamorous. I'm so hot. Not temperature hot... but like sexy hot. Yes. That's right.

Tomorrow we set forth to find the Perfect Parker Pad. We have 8 properties to look at, and I like each of them in a different way. Of course you can't tell a thing until you actually get into the house and take a peek around, because the internet photos make every house look absolutely flawless... but I'm filled with hope. There are many nice houses out there for a STEAL right now. I mean our house isn't worth anything at all, but, by the same token, neither are the homes we're looking to buy. So... let's see what we can see. These are a couple of the front runners...

This is a ranch, obviously. I don't know if I like that or not. It seems a little smallish, although like I said... we haven't seen it in person yet. Kitchen looks beautifully updated. Gorgeous.

This one is a little further west. And actually west of the river... the price is right and it has a 2.5 car garage, great landscaping, and is a corner lot. Dying to see it in person. And dying to gauge it's proximity to major streets/thoroughfares. Kitchen is fine. Fireplace is good. Looks great from the photos online. I believe it has a finished basement as well. I love all that extra room!

This one is bigger than it looks. 4 bedrooms! Family room + dining room + separate living room. Decent kitchen. Chris and I have both liked this one since we started looking online back in the winter. It's been on the market that long, and that worries me a bit. Dying to see in person.

We also have 5 others that we're scheduled to see... maybe one of them will take us by surprise... and maybe one of these will disappoint us. Don't know. But I'm excited to find out! Yay!

2:45 PM: Working working working working. I could sit here around the clock and never even come close to catching up.

PHOTO FLIPPER:

It's been a while since I've featured the Photo Flipper! Here we have my pal Amy and me, at her backyard post wedding pre London BBQ. She and her (now ex) husband got married in the Cayman Islands and almost immediately got shipped off to London for 2 years as a result of an employment opportunity for her. She was in London while I was the black hole, saving money with my own ex husband, or I would have gone to visit once or twice! (Or thrice!)

As much as I am sorry I missed that opportunity, I am sort of glad I got to see "Europe" for the first time with Chris.

I sincerely like my hair better lighter. I'm notsomuch a fan of the dark hair and light highlights. Looks Blah.

8:58 AM: Sooooo... as most of you already know... this is a very busy and nerve wracking time for the Whizzzzzzz/Dump duo. We have 2 homes to sell, a home to buy, and a real estate market that ran rampantly backwards over the course of the past 6 years. My townhouse... the cute cute Palace... the place where I have lived (and now WE live) and have hosted so many of you... has careened backwards in value to the tune of almost 70K-100K, depending upon who we talk to. It's... disheartening. It's sad. It's crappy. It's life.

My office is moving (or has moved, I should say... I remain here in the old office until we get our own move squared away) 1.5 hours from my home. A good 49ish miles in stop and go traffic. A really time consuming, not to mention soul consuming commute.

Fortunately, I qualify for relocation benefits... due to the fact that I was extended a job offer with what the IRS considers to be an "unacceptable commute", and I accepted it. These relocation benefits are the only ((ONLY)) reason we are able to move in this economy. So, for that I (we) are extremely grateful. These benefits include realtor fees, closing costs, moving expenses (pack/move/van line, etc etc) appraisal fees, literally everything. Additionally, these benefits include a "loss on sale" provision, which will help make up the gaping difference between what I paid for the Palace in 2006 vs. what I can sell the Palace for in 2012. Loss on sale will not take care of the entire difference, but it will help to significanly minimize our losses. Certainly we still stand to lose 5 figures. But without loss on sale we could easily have lost 6.

Also fortunately, my ex husband was a cheapskate, so I saved a crap ton of money when we were together. We never merged our money, so when I left, I took my money and put a hefty downpayment on the Palace. So for that reason, we're not upside down in our mortgage, and this deal is even possible. There are several people in the office that are simply so far upside down in their mortgages that even with the "loss on sale" they will still owe 20/30/40K at closing, JUST TO SELL THEIR HOUSES. Never mind a downpayment on something else. Some owe even more. It's a nearly impossible situation for them. And, of course, those poor souls live by me, so they have the soul sucking car crushing commute to look forward to, if they decide not to quit.

All in all, while it's a stressful and sort of sad time, looking at what has happened to the real estate market... I remain grateful that things worked out as they have... and I've even got the opportunity to sell the Palace (even at a loss) and actually wind up with money to put down on something else. I am grateful that I have a job that is willing to go the extra mile for me, as much as the job stresses me out and makes me want to scoop my own eyeballs with a spoon, clearly they at least SORT OF value me as an employee. This relocation is costing them big time bucks for each of us.

Chris said it best, and I have to agree... "Our WORST CASE scenario is better than many people's BEST CASE scenario" and I believe that, and go back to it whenever I'm feeling frustrated or sorry for myself. Things will work out. They always do. One way or another. And we'll deal with it.