August 1, 2002. Go check out Erica's redesigned site! It's so cute! Even cuter than before! Be sure to mouse over the images on her home page to see them do fun things. My favorite is the girl on the snail who waves to me. Erica also added me to her links list! I'm honored! Thanks, Erica!

Ok, so someone interpret the omens of today for me:

6:30 am: Driving to the gym, I go to put my sunglasses on, and they completely fall apart in my hand.
7:45 am: I discover that I've worn my sports bra inside out for the entire workout.
8:20 am: Walking from the parking lot into work, a dead bird falls out of the sky and lands next to me.
10:30 am: I walk outside, and there's a single flower from a bouquet (some sort of purple wildflower), pointing in the direction I'm walking.

What does it all meeaaaaannn?

Also today I discovered that the evil people who took over all of our print work at my job have also decided that they're going to design websites. But they're designing them like landscape-formatted brochures. Because "we don't want to have to scroll down." Of course, this means that you have to scroll from side to side, which is 1,000 times more annoying than scrolling down, and it also means if you try to print anything it will all get cut off. We're rebelling. This all isn't a strange omen in my day, but just something annoying that happened. Unless all of those omens were foretelling this annoying work event? Nah, I would think that a dead bird falling out of the sky would mean something a lot bigger than obnoxious website takeovers.

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Ooooh! This just in! I'm an editor's pick over at the Bust Girl Wide Web! Thanks Bust/Debbie of Bust! (Mom, I know it sounds like something raunchy, but it's not, it's a magazine you actually would like. I'll show you next time I see you.)

July 31, 2002. Dave and I went down to the district courthouse today, to look over the foreclosure papers again, and it turns out we misread the papers originally, and the people actually owe $170,000. So there goes our whole conspiracy theory of the bank screwing over the Regular Guy, and how we were just pawns in their game. It's good though. Maintaining conspiracy theories is tiring.

On a completely different note, I finished knitting my first ever pair of socks!

July 30, 2002. So, we didn't get the house. Which is totally fine. The whole "public auction" procedure was really weird, I have to say. I'll present it for you in this little one act play.

Characters:
Dave and Julie: Happy, innocent, would-be homeowners, just trying to buy their first house without spending their entire retirement savings.
Depressed Paralegal: Could barely contain her glumness.
Other Bidder Guy: His MO is unclear. He is "well dressed" but poorly so: his shoes are scuffed and rough, his shirt ill-fitting, and he has what appears to be dental floss coming out of one of his pants pockets.
Jerky Lawyer Guy: The Villain.

Scene: Dave and Julie, Other Bidder Guy, and Depressed Paralegal sit around a conference room at 3:10, waiting for the auction to start. It was supposed to start at 3:00. Depressed Paralegal keeps making sad, somewhat sympathetic, smiles at Julie. Suddenly, Jerky Lawyer Guy walks in.

Jerky Lawyer Guy: Hi. I'm Jerky Lawyer Guy. Let's get this over with. Do you all have this [holds up bidder's prospectus]? Have you read it? Good. Let's go over the highlights. I don't know anything about this house. I don't even know where it is. Do we have your deposit checks? Ok. Let's begin. Any bids?

Dave: Um, are you going to start the bidding at a minimum price? Is there a minimum price?

Jerky Lawyer Guy: There is, and only I know what it is.

Dave: Are there set increments we should use when we're increasing the bid?

Jerky Lawyer Guy: There are, and only I know what that number is. You're wasting my time. Who wants to start the bidding?

Dave: Ok...$100,000. [Dave and Julie have investigated and know that $107,000 is owed on the property, including back fees and penalties.]

Other Bidder Guy: $105,000.

Dave: $110,000.

Other Bidder Guy: $112,000.

Dave: $113,000.

Other Bidder Guy: $113,100.

Jerky Lawyer Guy: That's too small an increment! You're wasting my time! $125,000!

Dave, Julie, Other Bidder Guy: Huh?

Jerky Lawyer: $125,000!

Dave: So, is that the minimum bid? Is that what you're saying?

Jerky: That is the minimum my clients will pay to buy this property themselves right now. That's correct.

Dave: $126,000.

Other Bidder Guy says nothing.

Jerk: $144, 500!

Dave, Julie, Other Bidder Guy: Huh?

Jerk: $144,500! Anyone have a bid to make?

Dave, Julie, and Other Bidder Guy all shake their heads.

Jerk: Ok! We're done here! Get your deposit checks back!

Dave: So...$144,500 was the minimum bid?

Jerk: My clients have had offers on this house for over $155,000, so they know they can get that much. They know they can sell it in a heartbeat. [Turns away, walks out of room. Julie decides to "waste more of his time" by blocking him, cheerily saying "Thanks!" and sticking out her hand for a handshake. Jerky Lawyer Guy can barely contain his horror over having to shake her hand. He runs off to douse his body with antibacterial gel after having had to touch one of the Little People.]

So, needless to say, it was a little bizarre. And it's no wonder why the poor paralegal was so depressed. The house is not worth $144, 500, believe me. So now we're wondering if the "client" (which is the mortgage company) has to actually buy the property from themselves, and, if they do, how much they're going to buy it for. Since I think, the way that worked, they were essentially the highest bidder. And, if they do have to buy it, if they're going to buy it for $144,500. Or, at least, for more than the $126,000 we bid. Or, if they're just going to buy it for what's owed. Since, according to the court documents, the previous owners of the house (the ones who were foreclosed upon) get any money over what's owed, if that makes any sense. Anyway. I think we're going to talk to a lawyer just to see what the whole procedure really is here, and to see if we're completely wasting our time by trying to buy a house at a foreclosure auction. At any rate, we won't be going to any more of Jerky Lawyer Guy's auctions.

July 29, 2002. Last night I made Southwest Pumpkin Burgers with Fresh Tomato Salsa from the new Eating Well. YUM. They were even better than I thought they'd be, and I had pretty high hopes. Oh, and on Saturday I made a recipe from the most recent Cooking Light...I don't have the magazine right here, but it was something along the lines of Scallops with Lime Ginger Glaze and Avocado Salsa. Also extremely yummy. Though the glaze had honey in it, and I cooked it a little too long, so it was more like Scallops with Lime Ginger Toffee Bits. Still good though. And I substituted mango for the avocado in the salsa, since the avocado I had was hard as a brick, and I had several mangoes that were exactly ripe.

Tomorrow is the auction on the house! Wish us luck!