Jeez, buying a house is painful! Our scheduled closing date was moved back four days, and it might be moved back, again. The inspector saw a termite. No, not a termite infestation, not a termite nest, nor any termite damage: He saw a freakin' termite. So, now we have to wait for the termite killer to come and do whatever it is the Orkin man does to keep those pesky termites in check, which means if he doesn't get his thumb out of his ass, the closing date will be moved again. Now, factor in the fact that the insurance company was going to deny insuring the house because of a vine growing up the power cable, and a missing brick on the front porch. A plant and a freakin' brick!

Anyway, the plant is history, and the brick is of a different color, so we will hopefully close soon.

Religion of Peace Strikes Again

Remember: When a Christian burns down a church, it is a hate crime. When a Muslim burns down a church, it is merely a protest.

Everyone loves a good blow...

Well, we survived another tropical storm. TS Ernesto came through at the end of last week and dumped nearly a foot of rain on us. Some of the surrounding counties suffered some serious flooding.

The wife and I put in a bid on a house, and the sellers accepted. It is going to feel weird owning an actual home. This house is in the middle of nowhere. Unfortunately, it is in the next county, since the price of homes in my current county are ludicrous. The problem with my county is that an E-5 in the Marine Corps gets something like $800 in BAQ (basic allowance for quarters). This is money that is in addition to his normal salary. Hence, a serviceman with 5 years in can afford to buy a house in the city, but a city employee doesn't make enough to do the same thing.

We are looking at a 3BR, 2BA brick home on over an acre of land with a wired, air conditioned studio behind the house. There are woods on three sides, so we get plenty of privacy. The downside is that I will have to drive about 35 minutes one way to and from work. I work 5 days a week, but I am planning on adjusting my hours to 4 days a week. The house has a gas log fireplace, so we won't have much of a heating bill in the winter. Tentative closing date on the house is September 22. I'll keep you informed...