Friday, June 20, 2008
Thursday, June 19, 2008
Knock on wood, we have a house!
I'm not holding my breath this time though. We will know for sure after next Wednesday, after the inspection and key money paid.
This house is much smaller and shabbier than the yellow one, but it is a private house (no one above or below or beside) and is much closer to the downtown area where we want to be.
If you click on this, hover over the outlined box at the top more left side of the screen and it will say "orange tile roof house" or something like that (you can click on it too!) and that is our house.
Here is the slideshow of the house as well.
I think I can make it look nice.
This house is much smaller and shabbier than the yellow one, but it is a private house (no one above or below or beside) and is much closer to the downtown area where we want to be.
If you click on this, hover over the outlined box at the top more left side of the screen and it will say "orange tile roof house" or something like that (you can click on it too!) and that is our house.
Here is the slideshow of the house as well.
I think I can make it look nice.
Pppppbbbbbbttttttt!
I wrote this last night but for some reason it isn't showing up now so I will repost:
This has been a fun night (not). Multiple phone calls from Snuffles, starting with "The realtor called and the landlord changed his mind about renting the yellow house to us".
Yes, I know it was obscenely yellow but I really wanted it! Huge, bright, close to the base.
So Snuffles dashed down to the realtor's office to discuss it; no reason given, just that the landlord changed his mind. The realtor took Snuffles to another apartment behind the back gate of the base but there are a lot of hills, the back gate isn't always open, and it was 40 pyong compared to the 50 pyong size of the yellow house. Also, no storage areas and only three bedrooms.
At this point, the best option is the Life Apartments but that means living in a low-rise apartment building and it's quite the hike from the main shopping drag of Songtan. Plus Snuffles would have to drive to work every day.
Right now, Snuffles is off to walk around his old dong (Korean for neighborhood, and yes, I giggle when I say it) to see if there are any For Rent signs about. Tomorrow he will go to the housing office and take the "Housing Tour" of apartments that are available for rent immediately. And he will also keep the inspection appointment scheduled for next Wednesday and stop in and see if the landlord of the yellow house has changed his mind again. He also has another realtor lined up to work with too.
Keep your fingers crossed. The Life Apartments, which at this moment is the best option, is just so far from where we want to be.
What a frustrating night! And what a wonderful man Snuffles is to go through all this turmoil.
This has been a fun night (not). Multiple phone calls from Snuffles, starting with "The realtor called and the landlord changed his mind about renting the yellow house to us".
Yes, I know it was obscenely yellow but I really wanted it! Huge, bright, close to the base.
So Snuffles dashed down to the realtor's office to discuss it; no reason given, just that the landlord changed his mind. The realtor took Snuffles to another apartment behind the back gate of the base but there are a lot of hills, the back gate isn't always open, and it was 40 pyong compared to the 50 pyong size of the yellow house. Also, no storage areas and only three bedrooms.
At this point, the best option is the Life Apartments but that means living in a low-rise apartment building and it's quite the hike from the main shopping drag of Songtan. Plus Snuffles would have to drive to work every day.
Right now, Snuffles is off to walk around his old dong (Korean for neighborhood, and yes, I giggle when I say it) to see if there are any For Rent signs about. Tomorrow he will go to the housing office and take the "Housing Tour" of apartments that are available for rent immediately. And he will also keep the inspection appointment scheduled for next Wednesday and stop in and see if the landlord of the yellow house has changed his mind again. He also has another realtor lined up to work with too.
Keep your fingers crossed. The Life Apartments, which at this moment is the best option, is just so far from where we want to be.
What a frustrating night! And what a wonderful man Snuffles is to go through all this turmoil.
Wednesday, June 18, 2008
Confidence Instilled? Negative!
I managed to get in touch with the passport guy today!! Minor victory. Very minor.
When I said I was calling because it had been three weeks, he said "Why are you calling? It takes five to six weeks!!"
I reminded him that he said it could come as early as three weeks and he had told me that I could call. He agreed to "check the status", whatever that means. He came back on the line and said, "Negative."
Then he said he would be emailing my husband next week. I asked why he would be emailing him. He said, "To tell him that your passport is here." Oooookay. I asked if he had Snuffle's new email address as he was already in Korea.
Passport guy said "YOU'RE the dependent?!" Um, yeah. "He's navy, right?" NO.
*sigh*
So somewhere, somehow, a navy guy in the United Kingdom with a Lackland AFB email address will be notified that my passport is in.
Passport guy DID "okay" me to call him next week. How very gracious.
Not that I want to leave my family and friends here in the States but I will be joyfully gleeful when I have that passport in my hands!!
When I said I was calling because it had been three weeks, he said "Why are you calling? It takes five to six weeks!!"
I reminded him that he said it could come as early as three weeks and he had told me that I could call. He agreed to "check the status", whatever that means. He came back on the line and said, "Negative."
Then he said he would be emailing my husband next week. I asked why he would be emailing him. He said, "To tell him that your passport is here." Oooookay. I asked if he had Snuffle's new email address as he was already in Korea.
Passport guy said "YOU'RE the dependent?!" Um, yeah. "He's navy, right?" NO.
*sigh*
So somewhere, somehow, a navy guy in the United Kingdom with a Lackland AFB email address will be notified that my passport is in.
Passport guy DID "okay" me to call him next week. How very gracious.
Not that I want to leave my family and friends here in the States but I will be joyfully gleeful when I have that passport in my hands!!
Tuesday, June 17, 2008
Stupid Passport Guy
I realize it has been only a little over three weeks since we submitted the paperwork and it can take up to six weeks (although I've heard from others some horror stories of waiting MONTHS!) but it is not the process I am venting about. It is the individual who is in charge of the whole process.
The man has open office hours from 10:00 AM to 12:00 noon every weekday. One would think he might actually be IN his office at that time. One would be WRONG!
I call and call and the phone rings and rings and rings. No answer. No voice mail. No nothing! GRRRRRRRR!
I don't believe that any office should have only one person manning it, especially something this important. Getting in touch with him initially to start the process was just as difficult and it is very frustrating.
All my belongings are packed and gone, Snuffles has the house all taken care of, and now all I am waiting on is my passport. Just answer the damn phone at least and say, "No, it's not in yet!"
But when the guy can't even answer his phone or have a voice mail or some way to contact him, it makes me very nervous about his capability. I have had a bad feeling about this guy since the first time we met him and in the words of my sweet little friend Brianna, "I not happy with him".
Other than that, nothing new. I just keep pulling up the photos of the house Snuffles found and staring at them.
I have realized that with all the yellow in that house and our blue furniture (sofa, recliner), I have been snookered into living in a Wolverine house!! EEEEEEEEEK!!!! I married him despite his collegiate affiliations but this UM GO BLUE house may be pushing my limits.
GO SPARTANS!!!!!!! GO SPARTANS!!!!!!!!! GO SPARTANS!!!!!!!!!!
Unless Snuffles finds a place today with a better kitchen (bigger, perhaps not so white) and / or use of the roof top, that will be our home. I'll keep you posted!
Use of the roof top sounds odd. Let me clarify that. In Korea, many of the roof tops are flat with a wall around them (about 3 feet high). It's great extra space, perfect for having parties. Many Koreans even sleep on their roofs in the summer when it is so hot inside! It would be nice to have that additional space to utilize but then again, we would go broke because I would want to buy lots of plants for up there and build some kind of shaded seating.
The man has open office hours from 10:00 AM to 12:00 noon every weekday. One would think he might actually be IN his office at that time. One would be WRONG!
I call and call and the phone rings and rings and rings. No answer. No voice mail. No nothing! GRRRRRRRR!
I don't believe that any office should have only one person manning it, especially something this important. Getting in touch with him initially to start the process was just as difficult and it is very frustrating.
All my belongings are packed and gone, Snuffles has the house all taken care of, and now all I am waiting on is my passport. Just answer the damn phone at least and say, "No, it's not in yet!"
But when the guy can't even answer his phone or have a voice mail or some way to contact him, it makes me very nervous about his capability. I have had a bad feeling about this guy since the first time we met him and in the words of my sweet little friend Brianna, "I not happy with him".
Other than that, nothing new. I just keep pulling up the photos of the house Snuffles found and staring at them.
I have realized that with all the yellow in that house and our blue furniture (sofa, recliner), I have been snookered into living in a Wolverine house!! EEEEEEEEEK!!!! I married him despite his collegiate affiliations but this UM GO BLUE house may be pushing my limits.
GO SPARTANS!!!!!!! GO SPARTANS!!!!!!!!! GO SPARTANS!!!!!!!!!!
Unless Snuffles finds a place today with a better kitchen (bigger, perhaps not so white) and / or use of the roof top, that will be our home. I'll keep you posted!
Use of the roof top sounds odd. Let me clarify that. In Korea, many of the roof tops are flat with a wall around them (about 3 feet high). It's great extra space, perfect for having parties. Many Koreans even sleep on their roofs in the summer when it is so hot inside! It would be nice to have that additional space to utilize but then again, we would go broke because I would want to buy lots of plants for up there and build some kind of shaded seating.
Could This Be Our New Home?
Snuffles was busy yesterday looking at places available for rent. We really like this one and most likely it will be the one we get, but he is looking at a few more places today. Ideally, we'd like to have use of the roof and a nicer kitchen but overall, this place is perfect! Four bedrooms, two full baths, 50 pyong (which is approximately 1800 square feet), ground floor. The landlord lives on the second floor and the third floor houses a Buddhist temple!!
This is the exterior of the house:
This is the great room:
This is the kitchen:
This is the view:
This is the exterior of the house:
This is the great room:
This is the kitchen:
This is the view:
Sunday, June 15, 2008
Just Another Day
My company just left; I had a wonderful weekend with them. Today was a lazy day. Kristin's husband went to the Apple store in San Antonio, and she and I ventured out to Barne's and Noble for books to read while we lounged at the pool later. I am very pleased with my purchases. Not only did I pick up a few books, but they were having a DVD sale. I got three seasons of the tv series nip/tuck for $60!!
Tomorrow I will get busy knocking out the flotsam and jetsam still in my apartment. A quick trip to donate some stuff to Goodwill, get the various boxes and trash bags out to the dumpster.
I need to borrow a vacuum and get the floors swept up so that I can use the carpet steam cleaner. Also clean the slate floors, the refrigerator, the oven. Get everything neat and tidy for when I leave.
I'm also hoping that tomorrow will bring a phone call saying that my passport is ready. I'm not holding my breath but it sure would be nice.
Tomorrow I will get busy knocking out the flotsam and jetsam still in my apartment. A quick trip to donate some stuff to Goodwill, get the various boxes and trash bags out to the dumpster.
I need to borrow a vacuum and get the floors swept up so that I can use the carpet steam cleaner. Also clean the slate floors, the refrigerator, the oven. Get everything neat and tidy for when I leave.
I'm also hoping that tomorrow will bring a phone call saying that my passport is ready. I'm not holding my breath but it sure would be nice.
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