House Hunt, Part 2

We were on our way back toward Naperville on our first day of house hunting, with a few stops in southern Warrenville. This was the first stop:

I had high hopes for this house. The listing online made it sound pretty good, and the price was definitely good. And look how cute it is on the outside! However, it was also listed as a short sale, which is the first sign of trouble. We walked directly into a dining room and tried to see past clutter and bad design.

The living room seemed to be an addition. The room was long and narrow, but the fireplace was nice. I noticed that the paneling wasn't painted very well. I heard Joanne making noises about the kitchen so I went in there next.

And this is what I saw:

Oh. NO. Even if it wouldn't be that hard to fix this mess, it was too hard to see what it was supposed to be. And we don't want to HAVE to do this kind of work just to live in it. Joanne declared that she had seen enough and would wait by the door. Erich and I walked by the bedrooms and gradually came to the realization that nothing about this house could be good enough to make us want to live there.

Our last stop in Warrenville was this place, another one we had high hopes for because the price was so good:

And it actually doesn't look that bad in this picture. But there were many problems. 1. The back of the house is extremely close to the side of the house behind it. 2. Check out how huge the actual step into the house is. Plus, there used to be two railings there, but one of them rusted away. 3. It smelled like smoke. There's a deal breaker right away. 4. Bathrooms were scary. 5. The kitchen and living rooms actually had too much space in the wrong dimensions. It was hard to envision how to use them. 6. The only plus was that it had a basement--but that basement had the wasted space issues of the upstairs and probably flooded due to the outdoor direct access to the basement (i.e. concrete steps with one tiny drain for rainwater).

It was beyond time to move on. Joanne had found a townhouse in Naperville that looked pretty good, so we went there next.

Now THIS is more like it! It's an end unit, one-car garage but double-wide driveway. Lovely neighborhood with lots of trees. And frankly, it looks pretty similar to the duplex we're in now and like.

Check it out! A small room in the front that is absolutely ideal for piano lessons! I immediately set to work on trying to love the rest of the property, because this room is key.

Unfortunately, the kitchen wasn't quite up to snuff. Also in the front, it's closed off from the rest of the house. The counters vaguely resemble granite but are actually cheap Formica. The cabinets masquerade as high end with new nickel hardware, but they're actually cheap, small, and old. Lastly, there are fatal flaws in the layout which minimize space effectiveness. Still, we want to love this house, so we keep looking.

The living room in the back of the house is nice. I was able to see past the fact that it was over-stuffed with furniture that was too large for the space. We headed upstairs to see the bedrooms. One was closed because there were animals in there, but the one next to it was the same dimensions. Small, but pleasant.

The hall bath was also small with ugly tile, but I was glad it exists. Then we went to the master bedroom.

And yes, those are french doors opening to a balcony! It's a small balcony and not super-useful, but I thought it was a nice selling feature. The master bedroom also had a huge walk-in closet and a somewhat cramped bathroom.

A trip to the backyard reveals more awesomeness. Sure, we're really close to the neighbors, but at least we'd have the sideyard and it backs up to that wooded area. And that freshly-power washed patio is in really good shape! At long last, this is the "one to beat."

We liked this one so much, it fairly well overshadowed the last place we saw, a single family home in Naperville (surprising that it was anywhere near our price range!).

No basement. Only one living room area. Beautifully updated kitchen that was not eat-in. So-so neighborhood. I kind of liked it, but it just wasn't right for us.

That concludes our first day out house-hunting. We toured a total of seven homes in about three hours and were given a lot to think about.

House Hunt, Part 1

Okay, I couldn't leave everyone hanging and had to immediately start another post.

As you know, Erich and I were planning on buying a house this year. Let's face it, market conditions are perfect for first-time home buyers like us. As the months passed, we realized we were getting really close to our savings goal to start looking. We started looking at listings online. Erich talked to a mortgage broker, and then all that was left was for me to contact a realtor and start looking at real estate!

Our realtor, Joanne, is the bomb. She really listened to what we wanted and tried to find everything on our wish list. Our dream was to find a single family home in Naperville, but we knew that would be difficult in our price range. We asked her to increase the area to Warrenville to the North and Lisle to the East. She sent us some listings, and we could indicate the ones we wanted to see and the ones we weren't interested in at all. I told her we'd look at townhomes in Naperville if they were end units with garage and private access.

We went out looking at houses for the first time on Saturday, 4/4. The first place we visited was a townhome in Naperville, an end unit with its own front door and a garage, just like I said I wanted.

It's the door you can see, and the garage that's cut off. You might think this is a two-story unit, as I did. It is, in fact, only the ground floor.

I had to fall in love with the features of the kitchen, if not the dimensions. The granite countertops and gigantic high quality cabinets really enthralled me. I also loved the size of the two bedrooms and the two bathrooms were really nice as well.

But we couldn't ignore this:

This picture was taken from just inside the entryway. With only two bedrooms, it would be unacceptable for this to be our only living/dining space. Moving right along!

We went next to northwest Warrenville. The longer we drove, the more I knew I probably could not live that far out. But we were still new to house hunting and wanted to see what we could afford. This was the first place we visited:

That's Joanne realizing I was taking a picture and trying to jump back. She's not actually weird-looking. Okay, so the house: it's a split level and pretty cute. That 1.5-car garage weirds me out a little, though. Perhaps it thinks it's a 2-car.

The living room/dining room combo with fireplace was nice on the main level, but there is a lot of wallpaper that would have to come down. And the little area around the laundry closet and garage access is very dark. This picture is what seems like the family room on the lower level, but it's very small. There's a full bath on the lower level and a tiny bedroom. Upstairs has another bedroom and the master bedroom which contained the only other bathroom. So I guess the user of the other upstairs bedroom would have to go all the way to the lowest level or into the master bedroom to use a bathroom. Lastly, pretty much everything in the kitchen would need to be replaced soon. I don't want a house with that much need.

This was the next faraway Warrenville house we saw. I think it was the best out of everything we looked at, curb appeal-wise. I loved the front living room and dining room (one of my big wish list items was a front room, separate from a TV room, for piano lessons), the kitchen seriously lacked counter space but had lots of light, and the family room was in the back and pleasant. Then I saw a door and wondered what was on the other side. This is what I found:

What?? What??? Why is this here?? This makes no sense. You can't see it, but there's a shower head sticking out of the wall as well. Methinks that sometime in the 1980s, Granny realized her dream of a spa tub. I think this room would be better as a storage closet. This was the other half:

This room needs help. This house had a nice master bedroom and a 2-car garage, but we did not like the lack of basement or the location.

In our next installment, we work our way back toward Naperville, but not without a few exciting stops on the way! To be continued...

Our Weekend Project

We bought a house! More details to come....

Friday Five: 4/17

What is your favorite food from each food group?

1. Bread (Grain) Group:

Bread, doy. Oh, and corn! I love all kinds of corn and things made from corn, like corn on the cob, scalloped corn, and cornbread.

2. Meat (Protein) Group:

My new favorite protein is quinoa, but that makes me sound uppity. So, I'm partial to a good steak.

3. Vegetable Group:

raw bell pepper, any color, but especially green

4. Fruit Group:

banana and mango

5. Sugars, Fats and Oils:

Can't go wrong with a little EVOO. And I'd like to say jelly beans, but I've had a few too many of those lately. Thanks, Easter Bunny!

Weird Dream

I had a dream this morning that I was in a place that was a lot like my parents' basement, arguing with Barack Obama about abortion.

I was laying zinger after zinger on him, getting the upper hand in the argument, and he was getting angry and calling me "Miss Gavin." Then he finally said, "I'm through with this. Begone!" I knew I should get out of there, lest I run afoul of the Secret Service.

Then I called him a baby killer and threw my remaining orange juice in his face before sauntering out of the room. That showed him!

So what was going on in my brain that prompted this dream?? I blame my bedtime story of George Orwell's 1984. Amazing book; not the best bedtime reading. :)

Frustrations

I have a certain piano student that comes to my house on Wednesdays at 4:00. This piano student came into my studio last summer, when her mom contacted me about starting her in piano lessons to help her read music. She's in eighth grade and sings in a rather prestigious children's chorus in the Chicago area, but she can't read a lick of music. I assured her mother that piano lessons would be a great way for her to learn to read music.

So we set up a time to meet, I got piano books for her and waited for her when the time came. She never showed up. The next week, I made sure I was home at that time; maybe I misunderstood our start date. No show. In fact, the next three weeks, they didn't show up. I had already written them off, when I got another call from the mother, who told me they had gotten really busy and weren't able to start, but now they were ready. STRIKE ONE.

Student shows up for her first lesson and I immediately notice she has trouble concentrating. She talks a mile a minute and jumps from subject to subject, excited to be in a new place with a new person, but somewhat incapable of focusing on the task at hand. Amongst her ramblings, I gather this tidbit: "I used to be special needs, but you can't really tell anymore." I don't know what this means, and I'm a little irked at the mother for not mentioning any special needs. I wonder whether the books I selected, which would be fine for an average eighth-grader, might be a little too much for this student. Furthermore, as the weeks go by, I notice that she virtually never practices, and every lesson is pretty much a rehashing of the one before, with perhaps 3-8 minutes of new material. I start to dread lessons with this challenging student. STRIKE TWO.

As the months go by, the mother calls me on more than one occasion to cancel a lesson only a few hours in advance, when my policy clearly states that I need 24 hours' notice. Usually I'm just relieved that I don't have to see the student and I don't strongly enforce the policy. But, when the mother starts paying me late in the month instead of at the first lesson of the month, I feel the need to lay down the law. STRIKE THREE.

A few weeks before Christmas, the mother calls me to ask for my help. The student wants to audition for a summer program at Interlochen, and she needs to send in a recording. Her application is due the next week. Can I help make a recording and accompany her? I don't have any recording equipment, so I tell her a few people I think she could call, but I don't have many answers. I can accompany her if she gets me the music ASAP and pays me what I decide is a fair fee. I keep getting calls from her with updates and schedule demands. Her problem has become my problem, and I'm unhappy. Eventually, I have to drive deep into the depths of Aurora to meet them at some recording studio to make this recording. Luckily, it doesn't take too long, and she promptly pays me. Still, I call this STRIKE FOUR.

We resume lessons after the New Year, and the student comes in my house, shoes caked with snow. However, she does not wear socks. Like, ever. I have her wipe her feet thoroughly but keep her shoes on, because I'd rather have mud and snow than sweaty, stinky feet on my floor. She apologizes but never actually wears socks. GROSS. That'll be STRIKE FIVE.

Student shows up to her lesson more than once without her books. I have to send her home. STRIKE SIX.

Things with the student improve. Her concentration improves, she starts practicing more, and I hear that she was accepted to Interlochen. She can't be all bad. (But she does inform me with much gravity in her voice that she believes God wants her to go to Interlochen.)

Clearly, though, I have put up with a lot from this family. Surprisingly, every time I need to make a schedule adjustment due to other professional demands, the mother acts completely wronged. Example: "No, we can't come half an hour later at a different location that is actually closer to our home, especially ON SUCH SHORT NOTICE. We will HAVE TO CANCEL THIS WEEK." Well, hmmph. I'm sorry to have disrupted your life, your highness. Because when you have demands, it's not like my time is important to me.

For the entire month of April, I have to adjust this student's lesson time. Due to my involvement as the musical director of my church's school's junior high musical, I have to be at rehearsals each Wednesday afternoon. I called the mother a few days ago to try to find an alternate time that would work. I strongly suggested a time on Thursday when I have an opening, but I make it clear that we could find another time if that didn't work. I got a call from the father telling me the student is still out of town from spring break and won't be at her lesson this week, but the schedule change question goes unanswered. But then I got a message back from the mother which I will now paraphrase:

"I got your message about changing the lesson time to Thursdays. [semi-dramatic pause] That will NOT WORK. She has choir at that time. And if Wednesday doesn't work anymore, perhaps we need to... FIND A NEW TEACHER. Maybe we can find another time, but Wednesday at 4:00 is really the only time that works, so let us know if that becomes available again. Otherwise, I don't know. Give me a call back, blah blah blah blah blah."

So I need to call her back. I'm certain I will get her voice mail, so I have to come up with a good message. Here are the options I've thought of so far:

1. "I can do later in the evening on Wednesday. And again, this is only for a few weeks, and then we can go back to the regular time. I appreciate your flexibility on this, and I understand if we just need to take a few weeks off."

The spineless response. I like having as many students as I have, and it's easier to keep one than find a new one. It might not be worth it, though, so I could go for a different approach....

2. "Gee, I'm sorry to hear that, but you have to do what's best for you. Good luck finding another teacher that's available on Wednesdays at 4:00. Really, I'm sure that will be easier than finding one other time in your schedule for three weeks that will work for you. And that's probably also easier than taking a three-week hiatus from lessons so that your daughter can keep not practicing. Be my guest, and have a nice life."

Well, that's a little sarcastic. I could try...

3. "Are you threatening me? Seriously? I teach your daughter FOR THE MONEY. But I can do without the money if you're going to SERIOUSLY be this difficult over this little matter. Everyone else I work with is happy to be flexible with lesson times when need arises, so I really don't see why this is so hard for you."

Okay, I won't say that, but I will be thinking it.

4. "I got your message, and I'm sorry the alternate time won't work. If Wednesday at 4:00 is really the only time that will work for you, then I guess we'll have to take a break for the month of April. If you don't find another teacher in that time, you're welcome to have [student] start up again in May. Let me know what you would prefer. Thank you."

Ah, that might be it.

Friday Five: 3/27/09

1. Would you return to high school life for a week? Why or why not?

I'm going to answer this question first by not answering it. I have had several dreams in the past year or so that I'm back in high school. Only, unlike in high school, I have a car, I drive to school, and I've already finished high school. Usually I'm thinking, "Gee, this will be a breeze since I've done all this before!" But then I'm inexplicably late, I can't figure out/find my schedule, and then I realize this all stupid because high school is OVER. So I give/wake up.

I would return to high school life for a week because I like memories and it would be fun to temporarily transport myself to a different time of life.

2. Who were you in high school?

A younger, thinner, blonder, less mature version of me. Shy, kind of a loner.

3. What was your favorite high school hangout? What did you do there?

My friends and I went to the Barnes & Noble in downtown Naperville all the time. We would usually listen to music and find all kinds of stuff to look at.

4. What were your favorite three songs in high school?

My favorite Broadway shows to listen to were Les Misérables, The Phantom of the Opera, and Miss Saigon, followed by Jekyll & Hyde in a close fourth. I was into shows and hadn't really realized that I wasn't defined by the music I listened to and therefore could casually listen to the radio.

5. What was the craziest thing you did in high school?

Probably silly downtown hijinks. I don't know--I wasn't very crazy by usual teen standards.

Moments in Spain: Saint Sebastian

I left for Spain almost a year ago! And I still have so many pictures and memories to share and archive.

The sunshine around Chicagoland lately has reminded me of our day in San Sebastiàn. You might remember the beach photos here and the seafood we ate here. We spent a lot of the day walking around and seeing the sights. For example, this is a typical street in San Sebastiàn:



We walked through such a street to find this church, which I believe is dedicated to Saint Sebastian:

Saint Sebastian was a third century martyr, usually depicted tied to a post and shot with arrows.

I took a picture of a very old-looking part of the facade when I saw a wedding party. So, Harriet the Spy-style, I whipped out my camera and took a picture.