Life Changes

 It is rather amazing how much has happened since I last updated this blog.  It’s mind-blowing actually.

Screened-in porch

Living room, with view of dining room, Florida room, and bed/bathroom

There’s no sense in beating around it so I’ll just get to the point.  I finally bought a house!  Yes, it is true.  I have officially become a grown-up.  It is a 2 bedroom 1 bathroom single detached home in Coral Gables and it is perfect for me.  I’m including a few pictures that speak for themselves.

It has been a long time coming, or at least it feels that way.  Realistically it’s only been since November since I started searching but it felt like it couldn’t come fast enough.  It has a screened porch out back by the small backyard and then a smattering of trees and bushes in the front yard.  A couple owners ago was very much into horticulture and has a menagerie of plant species throughout the yard among which include a coconut tree and two mango trees.  I’ve spent the past week moving and settling in.  I’m not close to being done despite the few belongings I own, but I’ve been making progress.

Master bedroom

I’ve had the time to settle in but I’ve been keeping busy elsewhere because I don’t want to have my whole life sucked into the house.  Instead, time has been spent rock climbing, diving, seeing friends, and hanging out with Christina a whole lot.  I weeded almost the entire front yard today and trimmed most of the bushes.  There’s one that appears to be taking over some others but it’s spread so much that it’s hard to tell what’s supposed to be there anymore.  I cut it back and maybe in a few weeks I’ll cut it back even more until I can make sense out of what’s going on.

Living room

Kitchen

There are rumors about my job changing for the better but I won’t believe it until I see it.  Everyone gets the impression that the upper administration, since they are non-divers, see the diving program as something they could turn into a money maker.  They don’t see the benefit in giving it a little bit of a leash and letting it expand to the point that people would come to Miami specifically for diving.  Since the two head people of the Business Office have been fired for losing a 7-figure amount of money, there have been committees going through each part of RSMAS collecting information and presenting their suggestions to the dean.  The committee luckily has come to see the importance of the diving program and would like to expand our resources and realize a little more of our potential.  I say I’m not going to believe it until I see it because the administration still has to consider and approve/deny all of the committees’ suggestions.  I’m not hopeful. 

Quick Update

The Cirque du Soleil show was AMAZING!  I loved every bit of it, especially since I was with such good company whom loved it just as much.  If I had one regret from the whole night it would be that we didn't take a single photo.  Don't worry I'm sure we'll get all dressed up again for something else someday and we'll get a good photo together.

The draft of the episode from Ocean Mysteries with Jeff Corwin has finally been privately released for review!  That means that instead of airing in January like we were originally told, it might air in April.  We'll see.  I'll post something about it once it is scheduled to air.

The house hunt process is moving along.  I know that's vague but I'll say more about it later.

Progress Please

I spent two hours this morning with my realtor driving around looking at properties although there are none that are available for going inside.  This entire process is going to be much slower and far more painful than I imagined.  He was telling me about clients that sometimes wait over a year to find a house; I am not going to do that.  I'm not going to wait one, two, or three years for the perfect house to come along.  I would rather get a good place and move in soon that wait ages while continuing to pay rent living where I am now.  The time has come to move on and I'm starting to realize that it would have been wise to start this search back in September.

Oh and on an unrelated note: through the Diver's Alert Network, I can now teach Diving First Aid for the Professional Diver, including Basic Life Support, CPR, AED, First Aid for Hazardous Marine Life Injuries, Oxygen Administration, and Advanced Oxygen.

House Hunting

I finally met up with my realtor today for a couple hours to cruise around town and drive by some of the areas and houses we are interested in.  We weren't able to go in any of them but the morning was worthwhile.  I'm starting to learn that the market right now is very competitive.  I feel like a lioness stalking prey patiently biding my time but when I finally find the one I want, it's going to be a pounce and a fight to get it.  There have been instances where buyers are so competitive that after viewing a house they will put the key in the door and break it off so no one else can get in and see it for a few days while the lock gets fixed.  Overall there really isn't much of a selection which is a hard reality to accept for someone who is determined to move into a place of his own.

The key is patience.  Mine is wearing out but I need to grasp it with both hands and never let it go.  Being such a big investment, I'm not going to jump into anything unless I'm sure it's what I want.  The only thing is that as soon as it comes on the market, I have a very short time to make the decision whether I want it for sure or not or else someone else will pull it out from under me.