I'm officially on leave now until the end of the year. We decided to keep Wyatt out of daycare until the new year for a couple of reasons.
First, we both really hate the idea of dropping off a six week old to daycare. It always made me sad to see other parents do this at Owen's old daycare. Immune system, overall development, and sleep/eat routine are easier to create from home with his parents/relatives.
Secondly, the money issue. We're obviously saving several hundred dollars keeping him home for as long as possible. We have a daycare lined up which will cost $2 an hour. Say we drop him off at 8 am and pick him up at 4 pm (which would almost never happen) five days a week and you have another $80 departing our checking account. Most likely, it will be 8-5 making the daycare bill closer to $90. Ugh, it makes me irritable just thinking about it.
But things have been running pretty smoothly so far. He's sleeping well, which is always a good thing. He is much like Owen at this age, pretty agreeable and very portable. He must of had a growth spurt last week because he was irritable and didn't sleep much during the day. I wasn't on duty last week; that fell to my mother-in-law.
It has been bitterly cold (at least for SC) here so far this week -- barely getting out of the lower 40s for highs. My plan was to work in the yard and take him outside as much as possible (walks), but the wind a temperatures have made that a little difficult. Hopefully, it will warm up or the winds will drop so we can get out this afternoon.
Wednesday, November 19, 2008
Friday, November 14, 2008
Graduate School Forum
Melinda, another librarian here at Coker, decided that the library should host a graduate school forum for our students. Talking about life after Coker is one of those areas that falls between the cracks of faculty advising, counseling, student life and probably a few more campus departments. In a small school like Coker, this means that no one takes ownership of a certain project.
Melinda has been doing ad hoc graduate school counseling for years. She's not sure how or when it began, but faculty members started sending their advisees to her several years ago. She enjoys meeting with students and discussing the whole process but admits that it would be easier for her (and the other library staff) if we held a workshop to cover as many of the general questions as possible.
I wasn't sure what to expect. From the various library literature and listservs, I knew that drop-in workshops are generally poorly attended. I was extremely pleased to see 20+ students and several faculty and staff attend the workshop.
Most interestingly, and no shock to me, is that there were eighteen women and only three men attending. Our female students tend to be more conscientious as a group, although there are a few exceptional male students. We men think we have all of the answers, where women aren't afraid to admit that they need to ask questions and find out more information to help them succeed. A vast generalization, but it might just work here. Also, from our retention studies here at Coker, our male GPAs are lower than female GPAs. I think that is a national trend, but if I recall the numbers correctly, the disparity is well below the national average.
At any rate, we had a very attentive group with potential MBA, JD, PhD and MA students all with excellent questions. All in all, it was a great experience and hopefully beneficial to those in attendance.
Melinda has been doing ad hoc graduate school counseling for years. She's not sure how or when it began, but faculty members started sending their advisees to her several years ago. She enjoys meeting with students and discussing the whole process but admits that it would be easier for her (and the other library staff) if we held a workshop to cover as many of the general questions as possible.
I wasn't sure what to expect. From the various library literature and listservs, I knew that drop-in workshops are generally poorly attended. I was extremely pleased to see 20+ students and several faculty and staff attend the workshop.
Most interestingly, and no shock to me, is that there were eighteen women and only three men attending. Our female students tend to be more conscientious as a group, although there are a few exceptional male students. We men think we have all of the answers, where women aren't afraid to admit that they need to ask questions and find out more information to help them succeed. A vast generalization, but it might just work here. Also, from our retention studies here at Coker, our male GPAs are lower than female GPAs. I think that is a national trend, but if I recall the numbers correctly, the disparity is well below the national average.
At any rate, we had a very attentive group with potential MBA, JD, PhD and MA students all with excellent questions. All in all, it was a great experience and hopefully beneficial to those in attendance.
Thursday, November 13, 2008
ENG 101 Instruction
One thing I've noticed over my three plus semesters of being an academic librarian is that we tend to teach the same course in clumps. For instance, I'm teaching five sections of ENG 101 for three different instructors this week. Earlier in the semester, I taught three PSYCH 101 courses in a two day stretch (with a few other PSYCH classes mixed in that week).
It makes preparing for these similar classes a little bit like an assembly line, even if the assignments are vastly different.
The actual assignments are fairly interesting and should be interesting to both the students and instructors.
Two sections are looking at recent environment news and developing a five page research paper on a topic of interest to them. I demonstrated our OPAC, E-Books, Academic OneFile and its Environmental Studies and Policy subset, as well as Lexis-Nexis.
Another section of ENG 101 examines the various paradoxes that are pervasive in our popular culture. One example is Janet Jackson and the Super Bowl (Do I have to put Big Game on here?) Essentially, Jackson was hired to perform at the Halftime show because of her talent, popularity, and to a certain degree her sexuality. If this factored into her being hired, why the outrage (and fines, etc.) when she expressed her sexuality via her "wardrobe malfunction?" Another topic (actually developed by a student) examines the Disney teen stars that are marketed as role models, yet they dress in revealing clothing etc. Good stuff, but definitely could cause problems for some students. I demonstrated our OPAC, PASCAL Delivers, E-books, Academic OneFile and Biography Resource Center.
The last two ENG 101 sections I will teach tomorrow. The instructor gives the class a list of terms -- all of which are international cultural terms -- and the students must research one of these items. From last semester's class, there were some great ideas in there. I'll stick to my boilerplate lesson of OPAC, E-books, Academic OneFile, and I'll probably add in another database.
We've also been using the iClickers to capture a quick reaction survey at the end of each session. Instead of compiling a huge pile of paper surveys, the students actually have fun taking the eight question survey. Interestingly enough, we have been getting a slightly different dataset than the old paper surveys. The students tend to be a little more honest with their evaluation of our sessions. I guess they feel more anonymous with the iClicker than when filling out our old paper forms. I'll have more on the iClickers in a later blog.
It makes preparing for these similar classes a little bit like an assembly line, even if the assignments are vastly different.
The actual assignments are fairly interesting and should be interesting to both the students and instructors.
Two sections are looking at recent environment news and developing a five page research paper on a topic of interest to them. I demonstrated our OPAC, E-Books, Academic OneFile and its Environmental Studies and Policy subset, as well as Lexis-Nexis.
Another section of ENG 101 examines the various paradoxes that are pervasive in our popular culture. One example is Janet Jackson and the Super Bowl (Do I have to put Big Game on here?) Essentially, Jackson was hired to perform at the Halftime show because of her talent, popularity, and to a certain degree her sexuality. If this factored into her being hired, why the outrage (and fines, etc.) when she expressed her sexuality via her "wardrobe malfunction?" Another topic (actually developed by a student) examines the Disney teen stars that are marketed as role models, yet they dress in revealing clothing etc. Good stuff, but definitely could cause problems for some students. I demonstrated our OPAC, PASCAL Delivers, E-books, Academic OneFile and Biography Resource Center.
The last two ENG 101 sections I will teach tomorrow. The instructor gives the class a list of terms -- all of which are international cultural terms -- and the students must research one of these items. From last semester's class, there were some great ideas in there. I'll stick to my boilerplate lesson of OPAC, E-books, Academic OneFile, and I'll probably add in another database.
We've also been using the iClickers to capture a quick reaction survey at the end of each session. Instead of compiling a huge pile of paper surveys, the students actually have fun taking the eight question survey. Interestingly enough, we have been getting a slightly different dataset than the old paper surveys. The students tend to be a little more honest with their evaluation of our sessions. I guess they feel more anonymous with the iClicker than when filling out our old paper forms. I'll have more on the iClickers in a later blog.
Thursday, November 06, 2008
Reference Desk LiveBlog 6 November 2008
Here we go again. Thursday nights tend to be a little more active around here.
5:02: I was summoned from my office to help an evening student. I really like helping most evening students because they really are grateful for any help that they receive. I've had this particular student several times and she always asks for help during and after class. She always apologizes because she feels she is monopolizing my time. She also mentioned how other traditional students sigh and whisper when she raises a question. I told her that most of them should be asking questions, but are too shy or afraid. Tonight she needed to find a book for a CRIM class. We used PASCAL Delivers to order the book from Winthrop University.
5:25: Donnie informs me that the print tracking software is not working. Free printing in the library, hooray!
5:40: Helped an education professor set up an overhead projector in the board room. It's funny plugging in a 40 year old overhead projector to work with $15,000 worth of state of the art A/V presentation equipment.
5:55: Proofread a co-worker's personal statement for application for library school.
6:27: Quiet. Too quiet.
6:44: Cool. A question about Sophocles and Antigone
7:01: The "kids" are having a ball with the free printing. So much for our environmental initiative this semester.
7:05: Talked with a student about taking LIB 101 in the Spring. He is already enrolled in it, but was unsure if the class would be canceled or not. We have it scheduled for evening students, but enrollment isn't where it should be right now. It's still early in registration, but it is a little low for my liking. The evening students really need the info lit class -- most have never done any serious research and most are scared of computers.
7:18: Alexa wants to redo a map of the stacks. Sounds like a good idea to me.
7:33: I really wish that our chat reference was more popular. Since starting it up a year ago, we've had probably 3-4 legitimate reference questions. We get lots of directional questionsI talk it up in every one-shot, and make the students actually send a message in class. I thought that it might solve some of the shyness problem -- students too shy to ask for help -- but so far, that hasn't been the case. I wonder what else we can do? I wonder how the other schools in state are doing with chat reference.
7:48: Java City has been busy tonight for a change. I wish they had real food in there.
7:55: I think I'm going to wrap it up a little early this evening. Not much activity in here right now. Good night!
5:02: I was summoned from my office to help an evening student. I really like helping most evening students because they really are grateful for any help that they receive. I've had this particular student several times and she always asks for help during and after class. She always apologizes because she feels she is monopolizing my time. She also mentioned how other traditional students sigh and whisper when she raises a question. I told her that most of them should be asking questions, but are too shy or afraid. Tonight she needed to find a book for a CRIM class. We used PASCAL Delivers to order the book from Winthrop University.
5:25: Donnie informs me that the print tracking software is not working. Free printing in the library, hooray!
5:40: Helped an education professor set up an overhead projector in the board room. It's funny plugging in a 40 year old overhead projector to work with $15,000 worth of state of the art A/V presentation equipment.
5:55: Proofread a co-worker's personal statement for application for library school.
6:27: Quiet. Too quiet.
6:44: Cool. A question about Sophocles and Antigone
7:01: The "kids" are having a ball with the free printing. So much for our environmental initiative this semester.
7:05: Talked with a student about taking LIB 101 in the Spring. He is already enrolled in it, but was unsure if the class would be canceled or not. We have it scheduled for evening students, but enrollment isn't where it should be right now. It's still early in registration, but it is a little low for my liking. The evening students really need the info lit class -- most have never done any serious research and most are scared of computers.
7:18: Alexa wants to redo a map of the stacks. Sounds like a good idea to me.
7:33: I really wish that our chat reference was more popular. Since starting it up a year ago, we've had probably 3-4 legitimate reference questions. We get lots of directional questionsI talk it up in every one-shot, and make the students actually send a message in class. I thought that it might solve some of the shyness problem -- students too shy to ask for help -- but so far, that hasn't been the case. I wonder what else we can do? I wonder how the other schools in state are doing with chat reference.
7:48: Java City has been busy tonight for a change. I wish they had real food in there.
7:55: I think I'm going to wrap it up a little early this evening. Not much activity in here right now. Good night!
Another year older...
I turned 35 yesterday and it really has affected me much more than any recent birthday. I don't feel any different, but the mere thought that I am five years away from being 40 years old is a little disconcerting. I am beginning to remember my parents being this age (well, my mother).
Also, most depressing is that I am no longer in the coveted marketing demographic group of 18-34 year olds.
Sniff.
Also, most depressing is that I am no longer in the coveted marketing demographic group of 18-34 year olds.
Sniff.
Friday, October 24, 2008
Voting where my vote doesn't "count"
I've lived in South Carolina since 1990. The first election I participated in was in 1992, which began my long history of voting for Democratic presidential candidates. This won't change on November 4th when I will proudly vote for Barack Obama.
I've voted for Republican candidates on the state level, often because there isn't much choice. I voted for Mark Sanford a couple of times for Congress, as well as for Governor. I always admired his true fiscal conservatism -- sleeping in his office during his three terms in Congress, instead of renting an expensive home in Washington or one of its pricey suburbs. He routinely voted against his party's wishes, especially then-House Speaker Newt Gingrich. Perhaps this is why I continued to vote for him. As a governor, he has done some odd things that have irritated many Republican lawmakers and alienated him from members of both parties.
I voted for Strom Thurmond in 1996, probably because I was flush with good feelings about my fellow Clemson alum.
But I am acutely aware that on a national electoral level, my votes for Clinton (2x), Gore, Kerry and now Obama really don't count here in South Carolina. It's a strange feeling lining up to vote with people who are on the opposite end of the political spectrum than I am. Not that I want to get rid of the electoral college system, it just is odd living where you don't feel adequately represented.
That said, I will be there with bells on November 4th.
I've voted for Republican candidates on the state level, often because there isn't much choice. I voted for Mark Sanford a couple of times for Congress, as well as for Governor. I always admired his true fiscal conservatism -- sleeping in his office during his three terms in Congress, instead of renting an expensive home in Washington or one of its pricey suburbs. He routinely voted against his party's wishes, especially then-House Speaker Newt Gingrich. Perhaps this is why I continued to vote for him. As a governor, he has done some odd things that have irritated many Republican lawmakers and alienated him from members of both parties.
I voted for Strom Thurmond in 1996, probably because I was flush with good feelings about my fellow Clemson alum.
But I am acutely aware that on a national electoral level, my votes for Clinton (2x), Gore, Kerry and now Obama really don't count here in South Carolina. It's a strange feeling lining up to vote with people who are on the opposite end of the political spectrum than I am. Not that I want to get rid of the electoral college system, it just is odd living where you don't feel adequately represented.
That said, I will be there with bells on November 4th.
Monday, October 20, 2008
Reference Desk LiveBlog
We're going to try something a little different tonight. I'm going to liveblog my reference desk session this evening. Should be interesting.
5:10 - I'm on the desk and Alexa is telling about issues finding Italian textbooks in the catalog. We figure out that she was looking in the wrong place in the OPAC. Disaster averted.
5:15 - From one of the small conference rooms here in the LITC, emerges a group of suits -- the president, VP of Business Affairs, and VP of Student Services. Interesting. I wonder what was going on in there? They were a Provost and one VP short of the full leadership of the college.
5:19 - Computer usage count: 9
5:25 - I swear I'm not going to write in here every five minutes, but apparently I will have a surprise drop-in from an entire English class. Excellent!
6:04 - A reference question: A student needed an article on multiple-murders for a Forensic Psychology class. She is doing a speech in a few weeks on this topic. We found some decent results in Academic Search Premier, and some older articles in Science Direct.
On an unrelated note, Donnie was shocked that I actually have a blog.
6:21 - Computer usage count: 13
It's fairly quiet in here today, but we are coming off of Fall Break and a new evening school session begins tonight.
6:41- The English class hasn't shown up yet. It's been quiet.
6:52 - Just got an e-mail from a student advertising for a campus book club. Anything to get the "kids" to read is important, but I never had time to read for pleasure as an undergrad. Maybe that was because of my major -- Political Science and English, which featured plenty of reading. I just wonder if these kids are being pushed enough.
7:47 - Very lengthy reference question for another Psychology speech. We found a couple of decent articles supporting her argument that one can "think" without the ability to speak. The English class shows up at the same time as the student, which almost always happens. I didn't have anyone at the desk for the hour before (and the time the class was supposed to show up,) but when it rains it pours. The good news is that it's almost time to go home!
8:01 - Back in the office, wrapping up for the evening.
5:10 - I'm on the desk and Alexa is telling about issues finding Italian textbooks in the catalog. We figure out that she was looking in the wrong place in the OPAC. Disaster averted.
5:15 - From one of the small conference rooms here in the LITC, emerges a group of suits -- the president, VP of Business Affairs, and VP of Student Services. Interesting. I wonder what was going on in there? They were a Provost and one VP short of the full leadership of the college.
5:19 - Computer usage count: 9
5:25 - I swear I'm not going to write in here every five minutes, but apparently I will have a surprise drop-in from an entire English class. Excellent!
6:04 - A reference question: A student needed an article on multiple-murders for a Forensic Psychology class. She is doing a speech in a few weeks on this topic. We found some decent results in Academic Search Premier, and some older articles in Science Direct.
On an unrelated note, Donnie was shocked that I actually have a blog.
6:21 - Computer usage count: 13
It's fairly quiet in here today, but we are coming off of Fall Break and a new evening school session begins tonight.
6:41- The English class hasn't shown up yet. It's been quiet.
6:52 - Just got an e-mail from a student advertising for a campus book club. Anything to get the "kids" to read is important, but I never had time to read for pleasure as an undergrad. Maybe that was because of my major -- Political Science and English, which featured plenty of reading. I just wonder if these kids are being pushed enough.
7:47 - Very lengthy reference question for another Psychology speech. We found a couple of decent articles supporting her argument that one can "think" without the ability to speak. The English class shows up at the same time as the student, which almost always happens. I didn't have anyone at the desk for the hour before (and the time the class was supposed to show up,) but when it rains it pours. The good news is that it's almost time to go home!
8:01 - Back in the office, wrapping up for the evening.
Sunday, October 12, 2008
New baby, new bottles?
Lisa is on her way to the big city to trade in some of our two-year old Avent baby bottles -- which have the toxic plastic BPA in them -- for newer, safer bottles.
I was absolutely shocked that the Babies 'R Us here would be taking them without a receipt in exchange for credit towards the new bottles. It just makes way too much sense for me to comprehend.
A corporation concerned with the well being of its customers? Impossible.
This BPA is a nasty toxin that leaches into water, formula, juice or whatever liquid is in the bottle. I guess this leaching is exacerbated if washed in a dishwasher (which we never did, for this very reason). My sister-in-law mentioned this to us over two years ago when Owen started using a bottle, well before the outcry in the morning news shows over this past summer.
Well, Wyatt is waking up and will be hungry. He likes to eat a lot and often, much like his older brother.
I was absolutely shocked that the Babies 'R Us here would be taking them without a receipt in exchange for credit towards the new bottles. It just makes way too much sense for me to comprehend.
A corporation concerned with the well being of its customers? Impossible.
This BPA is a nasty toxin that leaches into water, formula, juice or whatever liquid is in the bottle. I guess this leaching is exacerbated if washed in a dishwasher (which we never did, for this very reason). My sister-in-law mentioned this to us over two years ago when Owen started using a bottle, well before the outcry in the morning news shows over this past summer.
Well, Wyatt is waking up and will be hungry. He likes to eat a lot and often, much like his older brother.
Thursday, July 24, 2008
Fun FireFox add-on
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Thursday, August 09, 2007
Gettin' Settled
I've finished my first month of work at Coker.
It's been pretty interesting, and it will get even more so once school reopens in a couple of weeks. I'm glad I had the opportunity to settle in while it was quiet on campus. I met another new professor lugging another load up to his third floor office this afternoon. He just moved into town, because teaching faculty are on a nine-month contract. I am a 12 month contract employee, meaning I work year round with vacation and sick days.
On my first day, I learned the director would be leaving after 13 months. About two hours later I learned another staff member was leaving to take another job closer to home. Finding competent staff is difficult here; job openings often only attract a handful of applicants. Losing two of eight staff members -- both full time, by the way -- is a difficult way to start a new job and career.
Fortunately, a new director has been hired and she will start Monday. She worked at the library before, so she is familiar with the culture here at the college. The other position will be filled with a part time staffer for now, with a full-time hire to come later. But with such a small labor pool, the job search will be interesting.
This week I've had the privilege of training all of the public services staff on the intricacies of using databases. It was a great experience for me for two reasons. First, it gave me an opportunity to learn the college's resources. Secondly, it gave me some much needed practice in bibliographic instruction. I will be doing a lot of BI here at Coker. Even if I did get the Electronic Resources librarian position, I will still be teaching quite frequently because there are so few librarians on the staff. I had a good time preparing for the week, but I'm not sure how my "class" enjoyed the sessions. A little boring at times, I could see a few of the staff members nodding off. Not much I could do about that. All of the feedback about the sessions was very positive. Nothing beats a confidence booster!
It's been pretty interesting, and it will get even more so once school reopens in a couple of weeks. I'm glad I had the opportunity to settle in while it was quiet on campus. I met another new professor lugging another load up to his third floor office this afternoon. He just moved into town, because teaching faculty are on a nine-month contract. I am a 12 month contract employee, meaning I work year round with vacation and sick days.
On my first day, I learned the director would be leaving after 13 months. About two hours later I learned another staff member was leaving to take another job closer to home. Finding competent staff is difficult here; job openings often only attract a handful of applicants. Losing two of eight staff members -- both full time, by the way -- is a difficult way to start a new job and career.
Fortunately, a new director has been hired and she will start Monday. She worked at the library before, so she is familiar with the culture here at the college. The other position will be filled with a part time staffer for now, with a full-time hire to come later. But with such a small labor pool, the job search will be interesting.
This week I've had the privilege of training all of the public services staff on the intricacies of using databases. It was a great experience for me for two reasons. First, it gave me an opportunity to learn the college's resources. Secondly, it gave me some much needed practice in bibliographic instruction. I will be doing a lot of BI here at Coker. Even if I did get the Electronic Resources librarian position, I will still be teaching quite frequently because there are so few librarians on the staff. I had a good time preparing for the week, but I'm not sure how my "class" enjoyed the sessions. A little boring at times, I could see a few of the staff members nodding off. Not much I could do about that. All of the feedback about the sessions was very positive. Nothing beats a confidence booster!
Thursday, June 21, 2007
A brief word about Real Estate showings
When our house first went on the market back in April, we seemed to get plenty of notice for showings. Usually I would get a call in the morning for an afternoon/evening showing. Sometimes even 24 hours notice, which was always pretty nice. Although this phone call is a courtesy, it is beneficial to get the heads up as to when strangers will be traipsing through your home. Any extra time is wonderful when you have a one-year old to clean up after! The fingerprints on the glass never end...
The last month or so the courtesy calls have been last minute. We've been lucky to get ten minutes to get out of the house -- which is quite a feat with free-running toddler to chase around! I guess the agents figure that at 30+ days, the house has been on the market long enough for us to be used to such intrusions. Yeah, right.
Another irritation has been the times at which the showings are scheduled. I know most people work for a living (ha ha! Not me for the last four months), but a showing at 7:30 PM? Of course they don't know that we have a small child, but still...how about going on a weekend? Or take an afternoon/morning off? It isn't out-of-towners necessarily, because we had very few weekend showings -- only two on a Sunday in 2+ months.
My absolute favorite showing (sort of) was a combination of several irritants. First they called at the last minute for a 6:30 showing. So we packed up and took off to the Outlet Mall to pass the time. We got back to the house and we can't tell if anyone has been there. Usually the agent will leave a card, take a booklet, turn lights off/on, or lock us out of the house (ugh). Not so lucky -- she was a no show, no call. Our agent tracked her down a few days later and she gave some lame excuse about traffic. Generally, this is what happens WHEN YOU SHOW A HOUSE DURING RUSH HOUR.
At least our long Real Estate journey is coming to end -- fingers crossed, knock on wood.
The last month or so the courtesy calls have been last minute. We've been lucky to get ten minutes to get out of the house -- which is quite a feat with free-running toddler to chase around! I guess the agents figure that at 30+ days, the house has been on the market long enough for us to be used to such intrusions. Yeah, right.
Another irritation has been the times at which the showings are scheduled. I know most people work for a living (ha ha! Not me for the last four months), but a showing at 7:30 PM? Of course they don't know that we have a small child, but still...how about going on a weekend? Or take an afternoon/morning off? It isn't out-of-towners necessarily, because we had very few weekend showings -- only two on a Sunday in 2+ months.
My absolute favorite showing (sort of) was a combination of several irritants. First they called at the last minute for a 6:30 showing. So we packed up and took off to the Outlet Mall to pass the time. We got back to the house and we can't tell if anyone has been there. Usually the agent will leave a card, take a booklet, turn lights off/on, or lock us out of the house (ugh). Not so lucky -- she was a no show, no call. Our agent tracked her down a few days later and she gave some lame excuse about traffic. Generally, this is what happens WHEN YOU SHOW A HOUSE DURING RUSH HOUR.
At least our long Real Estate journey is coming to end -- fingers crossed, knock on wood.
Huzzah!
In an amazing stroke of luck, we have both a contract on our current home as well as a great deal on our new home!
We decided last week that we needed to go out on a limb and make an offer on something up in Hartsville. This decision was made easier by the fact that we somehow could afford carrying two mortgages. I don't know how, but the bank agreed.
So on the the hottest day of the year so far, no offers on our current house, we made an offer on a new spec house that we had been watching for a while. After some wrangling, we agreed on a price. For me, it was a relief that I would have a home sooner than we planned. The original plan was to wait until Lisa went back to work...which would have been mid-August at the latest. Six weeks as a transient vagabond didn't sound appealing. Not to mention that I wouldn't see Owen during the week.
We got home Tuesday and kind of forgot about how this house was on the market. Until the centralized showing service called with a last minute showing the following evening (which should be another blog all together -- last minute showings at night with a small child are terrible!) We quickly raced around and put the house back together.
This morning our Realtor called with the offer. It was a first showing offer that they made as soon as they got back to their Realtor's office! We countered their fairly generous offer and waited. We got the word that our counter was accepted at 9PM!
Next up is the home inspection, which I am dreading. We have an older but well-maintained home. I am scared to death that the inspector will find something that will scare the buyers off or cost us thousands of dollars to repair. Ugh!!!
We decided last week that we needed to go out on a limb and make an offer on something up in Hartsville. This decision was made easier by the fact that we somehow could afford carrying two mortgages. I don't know how, but the bank agreed.
So on the the hottest day of the year so far, no offers on our current house, we made an offer on a new spec house that we had been watching for a while. After some wrangling, we agreed on a price. For me, it was a relief that I would have a home sooner than we planned. The original plan was to wait until Lisa went back to work...which would have been mid-August at the latest. Six weeks as a transient vagabond didn't sound appealing. Not to mention that I wouldn't see Owen during the week.
We got home Tuesday and kind of forgot about how this house was on the market. Until the centralized showing service called with a last minute showing the following evening (which should be another blog all together -- last minute showings at night with a small child are terrible!) We quickly raced around and put the house back together.
This morning our Realtor called with the offer. It was a first showing offer that they made as soon as they got back to their Realtor's office! We countered their fairly generous offer and waited. We got the word that our counter was accepted at 9PM!
Next up is the home inspection, which I am dreading. We have an older but well-maintained home. I am scared to death that the inspector will find something that will scare the buyers off or cost us thousands of dollars to repair. Ugh!!!
Sunday, June 10, 2007
Getting Caught Up
Owen and I had a wonderful month home together alone. He began walking during this time (starting only a few days before his birthday) and he is communicating a lot more.
He recognizes and says several words -- shoes, cheese, momma, daddy, water and several others. Anytime he gets near the refrigerator he points to the bananas on top -- he loves bananas! He craves them to the point of wailing when he sees them in a grocery store (and can't have any).
Anytime we open the fridge, he is right there squawking "Cheese! Cheese!" To see this development first hand was amazing. I really am lucky to have had this opportunity.
As for the house, it is still for sale and no offers as of yet. Mostly good comments, one comment about it being overpriced, and no takers yet. It's interesting how we had so many early comments about how much value our home had, and how interested people were in it. I guess after a month and half on the market, other agents start wondering what is wrong with the house. The "great value" comments stopped almost as soon as they started! We even thought that we priced it too low. Ha ha!
We've had three second showings, one of which canceled at the last minute. The first guy thought it was overpriced, and bought a house he didn't like as much for $160K. His Realtor isn't a good one -- he should have at least made an offer if he preferred this house to the other one. Although we wouldn't have accepted that low an offer outright, we may have been able to get the price up to something more acceptable to us.
We have another couple who are interested, but are also looking at newer homes in a better school district. Whether or not the school district is important to them or not is not known; they are first time home owners which means they are probably young. Although my wife's uncle waited until he was in his mid-forties to buy his first home.
One thing about our house, compared to the newer homes: you aren't going to get the combination of large, private yard, screened-in porch, and two-car garage for our asking price (now reduced to $169,900). Even looking at some of the homes they are looking at, we have more square footage.
Supposedly, they are taking the weekend to think about it. I really hope that they or someone else makes an offer soon. We really need to get this sealed up so we can buy something up in Hartsville. Unfortunately, we are probably going to have to do that in the next few weeks just to have something in place before Lisa starts back to school in August. I start work in just three weeks!
He recognizes and says several words -- shoes, cheese, momma, daddy, water and several others. Anytime he gets near the refrigerator he points to the bananas on top -- he loves bananas! He craves them to the point of wailing when he sees them in a grocery store (and can't have any).
Anytime we open the fridge, he is right there squawking "Cheese! Cheese!" To see this development first hand was amazing. I really am lucky to have had this opportunity.
As for the house, it is still for sale and no offers as of yet. Mostly good comments, one comment about it being overpriced, and no takers yet. It's interesting how we had so many early comments about how much value our home had, and how interested people were in it. I guess after a month and half on the market, other agents start wondering what is wrong with the house. The "great value" comments stopped almost as soon as they started! We even thought that we priced it too low. Ha ha!
We've had three second showings, one of which canceled at the last minute. The first guy thought it was overpriced, and bought a house he didn't like as much for $160K. His Realtor isn't a good one -- he should have at least made an offer if he preferred this house to the other one. Although we wouldn't have accepted that low an offer outright, we may have been able to get the price up to something more acceptable to us.
We have another couple who are interested, but are also looking at newer homes in a better school district. Whether or not the school district is important to them or not is not known; they are first time home owners which means they are probably young. Although my wife's uncle waited until he was in his mid-forties to buy his first home.
One thing about our house, compared to the newer homes: you aren't going to get the combination of large, private yard, screened-in porch, and two-car garage for our asking price (now reduced to $169,900). Even looking at some of the homes they are looking at, we have more square footage.
Supposedly, they are taking the weekend to think about it. I really hope that they or someone else makes an offer soon. We really need to get this sealed up so we can buy something up in Hartsville. Unfortunately, we are probably going to have to do that in the next few weeks just to have something in place before Lisa starts back to school in August. I start work in just three weeks!
Monday, May 07, 2007
The mysterious power of a real estate sign
Once a real estate "for sale" sign goes up in front of your house, you are then subject to all of the weird things that go along with selling a house publicly.
For instance, strangers walking around your yard with mobile phones and/or notepads. Lisa came home to see such a person leaving our backyard (which is fenced off and behind a shut gate).
The neighbors act strangely, too. Our neighbor diagonally across the street has never uttered a word to either of us in the six years we've been in the house. As I'm finishing up cutting the front lawn Saturday morning, she crosses the street and begins asking the familiar questions: what is the asking price, how big, how many rooms, etc. She then asks for a tour of the house and begins walking towards the door! I told her the baby was sleeping (which he was), and she said the tour could wait.
So does a real estate sign give people an excuse to be rude? Manners are thrown out the window? Evidently!
However, not all of our neighbors are rude. The neighbor directly across the street cuts his lawn each Saturday and he usually moves both cars in front of our house. I don't have any problem with this; he is friendly and the cars don't bother either or us. But the last two Saturdays, he parked his cars in front of another house -- just so he wouldn't block our For Sale sign.
So there is hope for humanity.
For instance, strangers walking around your yard with mobile phones and/or notepads. Lisa came home to see such a person leaving our backyard (which is fenced off and behind a shut gate).
The neighbors act strangely, too. Our neighbor diagonally across the street has never uttered a word to either of us in the six years we've been in the house. As I'm finishing up cutting the front lawn Saturday morning, she crosses the street and begins asking the familiar questions: what is the asking price, how big, how many rooms, etc. She then asks for a tour of the house and begins walking towards the door! I told her the baby was sleeping (which he was), and she said the tour could wait.
So does a real estate sign give people an excuse to be rude? Manners are thrown out the window? Evidently!
However, not all of our neighbors are rude. The neighbor directly across the street cuts his lawn each Saturday and he usually moves both cars in front of our house. I don't have any problem with this; he is friendly and the cars don't bother either or us. But the last two Saturdays, he parked his cars in front of another house -- just so he wouldn't block our For Sale sign.
So there is hope for humanity.
Thursday, May 03, 2007
Mr. Mom -- Four days later
I knew that it was going to be a lot of work being home with Owen each day, but I really wasn't prepared for everything that goes into being a stay-at-home parent.
Getting into a rhythm has been the key to my sanity. Bottle at 6:30 or so; solid breakfast an hour or so later, bath, nap, another bottle and so on. It didn't help that his eczema flared up this weekend. Here it is Thursday and its finally clearing up. Luckily, he was still sleeping pretty regularly.
Today we're meeting Grampy for lunch, which is our day's adventure.
Getting into a rhythm has been the key to my sanity. Bottle at 6:30 or so; solid breakfast an hour or so later, bath, nap, another bottle and so on. It didn't help that his eczema flared up this weekend. Here it is Thursday and its finally clearing up. Luckily, he was still sleeping pretty regularly.
Today we're meeting Grampy for lunch, which is our day's adventure.
Saturday, April 28, 2007
Now it's Lisa's turn...
And so began the final stage of Lisa's employment search. Being an elementary school teacher with advanced specialized certification makes the task a little easier than my job search. Although it is easier, it is no less stressful. Here is how it all went down.
After a district-level interview last Friday, Lisa mailed out resume packets out to the schools that had openings or the schools where she was interested in working. She even called a couple of schools, leaving messages about her district interview and stamp of approval.
The calls began rolling in Monday, starting with a problematic elementary school approximately 25 minutes away from where we would like to live. There seems to be some upheaval in the administration, and there will be a new principal next year. And it looks like a lot of the teachers will be leaving with the old principal. However, this school will offer the exact grade and teaching style that Lisa prefers.
On Tuesday, another school calls after opening Lisa's application packet. They are very interested, says the principal. This school doesn't have a position open at the time, but they could have one open in the next few days. Although a better school than the first, it is still 20 minutes away from our planned home. Lisa schedules this second interview Friday morning, with the other interview in the afternoon.
Tuesday afternoon, a third elementary school calls Lisa's mobile phone. They are very interested in Lisa. This is an academic magnet school -- generally a good place to work because the students are the cream of the crop -- and it is a little closer to the planned homestead. Maybe slightly less than 20 minutes. Would she be interested in an interview Friday? Of course, responds Lisa. How about midday? They agree, and we have three interviews booked for Friday. This principal calls back later in the week and asks Lisa to not make a decision about any job until she interviews at her school. Nice to be coveted, eh?
At this point, my head is already spinning. Being that I'm going to be the chauffeur and security blanket, I'm trying to grasp the logistics of three interviews all over a city that I'm not familiar with. Then more interviews come in.
Lisa decides to call some of the other schools she sent information to. Most don't return her call, but one very close to our planned home contacts her late Thursday morning. At first, they weren't even planning to interview anyone until next week (which might be too late if the other schools offer her a job), they call back and schedule an interview for Friday morning. So we're now at four interviews.
Finally, on our way to Florence, my cell phone rings. Our Realtor knows some one at another school close to our intended home with an opening. This is arguably the best school in the district and literally 5-6 minutes from most of the homes we have been looking at. Although a great school with a wonderful administration, she was offered a special ed position. Lisa is wary of getting back into that field, but she is not ruling anything out.
So that makes five interviews in one day. They all went well, and she was offered a position at four of the five schools (the other school is still interviewing). I got to sit in the car all day -- listening to Sirius and trying to read a terrible book I'm supposed to review for Against the Grain. Honda's lower end vehicles are not known for their creature comforts, like seats that a human being can sit in comfortably for a couple of hours. My hamstrings are killing me.
Well, now she has some decisions to make concerning her employment. The excitement never ends around here, does it?
After a district-level interview last Friday, Lisa mailed out resume packets out to the schools that had openings or the schools where she was interested in working. She even called a couple of schools, leaving messages about her district interview and stamp of approval.
The calls began rolling in Monday, starting with a problematic elementary school approximately 25 minutes away from where we would like to live. There seems to be some upheaval in the administration, and there will be a new principal next year. And it looks like a lot of the teachers will be leaving with the old principal. However, this school will offer the exact grade and teaching style that Lisa prefers.
On Tuesday, another school calls after opening Lisa's application packet. They are very interested, says the principal. This school doesn't have a position open at the time, but they could have one open in the next few days. Although a better school than the first, it is still 20 minutes away from our planned home. Lisa schedules this second interview Friday morning, with the other interview in the afternoon.
Tuesday afternoon, a third elementary school calls Lisa's mobile phone. They are very interested in Lisa. This is an academic magnet school -- generally a good place to work because the students are the cream of the crop -- and it is a little closer to the planned homestead. Maybe slightly less than 20 minutes. Would she be interested in an interview Friday? Of course, responds Lisa. How about midday? They agree, and we have three interviews booked for Friday. This principal calls back later in the week and asks Lisa to not make a decision about any job until she interviews at her school. Nice to be coveted, eh?
At this point, my head is already spinning. Being that I'm going to be the chauffeur and security blanket, I'm trying to grasp the logistics of three interviews all over a city that I'm not familiar with. Then more interviews come in.
Lisa decides to call some of the other schools she sent information to. Most don't return her call, but one very close to our planned home contacts her late Thursday morning. At first, they weren't even planning to interview anyone until next week (which might be too late if the other schools offer her a job), they call back and schedule an interview for Friday morning. So we're now at four interviews.
Finally, on our way to Florence, my cell phone rings. Our Realtor knows some one at another school close to our intended home with an opening. This is arguably the best school in the district and literally 5-6 minutes from most of the homes we have been looking at. Although a great school with a wonderful administration, she was offered a special ed position. Lisa is wary of getting back into that field, but she is not ruling anything out.
So that makes five interviews in one day. They all went well, and she was offered a position at four of the five schools (the other school is still interviewing). I got to sit in the car all day -- listening to Sirius and trying to read a terrible book I'm supposed to review for Against the Grain. Honda's lower end vehicles are not known for their creature comforts, like seats that a human being can sit in comfortably for a couple of hours. My hamstrings are killing me.
Well, now she has some decisions to make concerning her employment. The excitement never ends around here, does it?
Sunday, April 22, 2007
Charleston Envy
In the seventeen-plus years I've lived in Charleston, I've had an opportunity to travel around the southeast quite a bit. It never ceases to amaze me how impressed people are when you tell them you are from Charleston. Even hardscrabble Yankees -- avid Pat Conroy and Anne Rivers Siddons fans no doubt -- are even impressed by the Holy City. The conversation always ends with some version of "OOOOhhh, Charleston!" after I tell them where I live.
So it shouldn't be a shock that Charleston has a far reaching impact across the South. For instance, in Hendersonville, NC (one of my favorite places to visit), there was a large indoor Charleston Market retail store. It was setup like the Charleston Market, with separate vendors in kiosks selling various local art, gourmet food items (including the Benne Wafer), and so on. Each aisle was named for a famous Charleston street (King, Meeting, Broad, Market etc). The entire store was painted in Charleston Rainbow Row pastels. The restaurant in the back of the Market was called the Charleston Grill, and it served Shrimp and Grits and She-Crab soup among some other Lowcounty favorites. A novel idea, but evidently not a profitable one -- it was closed the last time we visited Hendersonville.
Further up I-26, Carolina Crew copied its own famous restaurant-- the Boathouse on Breach Inlet (on the Isle of Palms) and put a Boathouse on Lake Lure. Similar menu, but on a lake off the beaten path and close to Asheville.
Even in tiny Hartsville, we looked in a subdivision that was based on one of the new developments in Charleston. I'm thinking it looked like one of the newer subdivisions on Clements Ferry Road. Small houses -- similar to the traditional Charleston Single floorplan -- on tiny lots, close to town, and painted in pretty pastels a la Rainbow Row. The one big difference is that we could very easily afford this particular house, although it was too small for us.
Lastly, they are re-zoning some old vacant retail stores in the downtown section and turning them into to Condos. According to our Realtor up there, this is something that "is very much like Charleston." She is absolutely correct; most of King Street has been renovated for condos -- at least the upper floors of some of the retail shops.
People just love Charleston.
So it shouldn't be a shock that Charleston has a far reaching impact across the South. For instance, in Hendersonville, NC (one of my favorite places to visit), there was a large indoor Charleston Market retail store. It was setup like the Charleston Market, with separate vendors in kiosks selling various local art, gourmet food items (including the Benne Wafer), and so on. Each aisle was named for a famous Charleston street (King, Meeting, Broad, Market etc). The entire store was painted in Charleston Rainbow Row pastels. The restaurant in the back of the Market was called the Charleston Grill, and it served Shrimp and Grits and She-Crab soup among some other Lowcounty favorites. A novel idea, but evidently not a profitable one -- it was closed the last time we visited Hendersonville.
Further up I-26, Carolina Crew copied its own famous restaurant-- the Boathouse on Breach Inlet (on the Isle of Palms) and put a Boathouse on Lake Lure. Similar menu, but on a lake off the beaten path and close to Asheville.
Even in tiny Hartsville, we looked in a subdivision that was based on one of the new developments in Charleston. I'm thinking it looked like one of the newer subdivisions on Clements Ferry Road. Small houses -- similar to the traditional Charleston Single floorplan -- on tiny lots, close to town, and painted in pretty pastels a la Rainbow Row. The one big difference is that we could very easily afford this particular house, although it was too small for us.
Lastly, they are re-zoning some old vacant retail stores in the downtown section and turning them into to Condos. According to our Realtor up there, this is something that "is very much like Charleston." She is absolutely correct; most of King Street has been renovated for condos -- at least the upper floors of some of the retail shops.
People just love Charleston.
Monday, April 16, 2007
Mr. Mom
After some careful calculations, Lisa and I decided that working two part-time jobs essentially for daycare and gas money just isn't worth it. Basically, we break even after daycare and the fuel it takes me to get downtown each day. That's if I work all of the available hours, which invariably I miss work for appointments or I don't get put on the schedule for my entire availability at Starbucks. We will be having a lot of work done on the house in the next ten days, so I will probably wear out my welcome anyway. Well, not really...everyone loves me!
So, I put in my notice(s) at both jobs and I will become Mr. Mom in two short weeks. I'm excited and anxious about it -- I've never spent that much time alone with Owen. Sure, a vacation week here and there, but Lisa or her mother were always close at hand. When Lisa goes out of town, she always takes him along. So it will be me and the boy -- quality bonding time. Is that an overused, tired phrase or what? I think it's even heading to clicheville. At any rate, it is true.
Thursday, April 12, 2007
Success!
I had a "perfect storm" of job offers, so to speak.
It began Monday afternoon when The Citadel offered me the Reference position. Knowing that Coker was a better fit for me, I decided (under advisement) to call and see how their budget process was coming along.
Once I mentioned I had another job offer, but I really wanted to work at Coker, the ball started rolling. The director said that they were at 98%, but she wanted to call her boss and get to 100%.
It turns out that her boss called the president of the college to sidestep the budgetary process to get me hired. They called back later that evening with a generous offer plus moving expenses. Also, the current job will gradually phase out and turn into the job I originally applied for -- Electronic Resources Librarian. Can this be a more perfect situation?
I start July 1st or so, and I will know more when the Letter of Intent arrives today.
We are meeting with the Realtor this afternoon and hopefully she will give us some good news about the housing sales market.
Lisa will be applying for jobs tonight, and hopefully we will hear something soon about her employment prospects.
What a ride!
It began Monday afternoon when The Citadel offered me the Reference position. Knowing that Coker was a better fit for me, I decided (under advisement) to call and see how their budget process was coming along.
Once I mentioned I had another job offer, but I really wanted to work at Coker, the ball started rolling. The director said that they were at 98%, but she wanted to call her boss and get to 100%.
It turns out that her boss called the president of the college to sidestep the budgetary process to get me hired. They called back later that evening with a generous offer plus moving expenses. Also, the current job will gradually phase out and turn into the job I originally applied for -- Electronic Resources Librarian. Can this be a more perfect situation?
I start July 1st or so, and I will know more when the Letter of Intent arrives today.
We are meeting with the Realtor this afternoon and hopefully she will give us some good news about the housing sales market.
Lisa will be applying for jobs tonight, and hopefully we will hear something soon about her employment prospects.
What a ride!
Sunday, April 08, 2007
Attic Cleaning
I had a fairly interesting day Saturday.
The day began at home, cleaning our attic in preparations for a potential move. Even if we end up staying here, the attic was in dire need of organization.
Any trip into an attic is always full of decisions -- keep, sell, or throw out? Also, the flood of old memories comes roaring in with some of the boxes of childhood memorabilia. It was kind of ironic that I would be attending (and be a part of) my sister's wedding later that afternoon. Both events bring back a lifetime of memories, although at a wedding one usually does not collapse in a fit of dust induced sneezing.
I'm very happy that I have a huge crate of Lego blocks to give to Owen when he is old enough. I can remember countless hours of fun building creations with my brother and sister on the card hardwood of our house in Massachusetts.
There was a box of sports paraphernalia from our time in Pittsburgh: baseball and hockey trading cards, baseball glove, autographed baseball and so on. I kept the glove but plan on selling the rest at our garage sale in a few weeks.
The day began at home, cleaning our attic in preparations for a potential move. Even if we end up staying here, the attic was in dire need of organization.
Any trip into an attic is always full of decisions -- keep, sell, or throw out? Also, the flood of old memories comes roaring in with some of the boxes of childhood memorabilia. It was kind of ironic that I would be attending (and be a part of) my sister's wedding later that afternoon. Both events bring back a lifetime of memories, although at a wedding one usually does not collapse in a fit of dust induced sneezing.
I'm very happy that I have a huge crate of Lego blocks to give to Owen when he is old enough. I can remember countless hours of fun building creations with my brother and sister on the card hardwood of our house in Massachusetts.
There was a box of sports paraphernalia from our time in Pittsburgh: baseball and hockey trading cards, baseball glove, autographed baseball and so on. I kept the glove but plan on selling the rest at our garage sale in a few weeks.
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