Real Estate Snippets

Fickle Spring

It's only 5 days from tax day and it's thundering and lightening and SNOW is falling from the sky!

Does a Martian Own My St. Paul House

Most of us sit on our front porches in St. Paul minding our own business.  Passersby get a nod.  Friends stop and chat.  The greeting a "little green man" from Mars might receive is unthinkable.  If that "little green man" possessed a document of ownership for my St. Paul house, the unthinkable would become unfathomable.

Take a wild trip down that imaginary road.  How would I read the "Martian" document?  If the little green man actually landed a spaceship in, or near, my St. Paul house, would I stick around to read the document?  If the document existed what would be the governing authority to determine who was the rightful owner?  There's no intergalactic government that I know of.  If I chose to fight for my house, I think I'm gonna lose!  If the green man had the technology to fly here and still be alive, land in my front yard without crashing, and translate speech so I could understand, I'm sure he wouldn't have forgotten superior weapons!  This might be a case of might makes right!

Weird fantasy that it is, there are equally weird opportunities on the internet!  You can sign up at Mars Shop to be the human who lands on Mars with deed in hand for a piece of Martian real estate.  They don't provide the transportation, but do provide the deed.  There are escape clauses built into the contract just in case there is sentient life on Mars that might already own your piece of the planet!  If you're stupid adventurous, just $19.99 buys a full acre on Mars.  I'm not sure what you could do with it, but the option is out there!  Frankly, I think Second Life is a better investment!

April Fool's Day 2008

Did you know there's an April Fool's Day Parade every year in New York City?  I didn't either, but here's proof positive:  a press release for the 23rd Annual April Fool's Day Parade which begins at noon on Fifth Avenue going down from 59th Street.  It's got to be true since this is a press release, right?

In case you're about to be taken in because this seems authentic, don't.  Joey Skaggs has been making this April Fool's Day announcement for at least 23 years now.  In 2000, he hoodwinked the press who showed up for the event only to realize it was a hoax.  Check out Top 100 April Fool's Day Hoaxes, item 21, to read more of Joey Skaggs and other famous tricksters.

Don't forget to have fun today, but watch out for the tricksters in your midst!

Typical Cat Antics

Thanks to Athol Kay in Connecticut for finding this great cat video.  If you've ever had a cat, you recognize the behavior!

Chopsticks

Eating with chopsticks is an acquired skill that has absolutely nothing to do with St. Paul real estate!  But, it does have a lot to do with many of my favorite St. Paul restaurants which are Asian.  Before moving to St. Paul, I ate food in the traditional American way, with knife, fork and spoon.  The European skill of eating peas from a knife held in the left hand was beyond my skill, but I was determined to learn chopsticks.

Rudimentary attempts at self-teaching all culminated with food on my chest or in my lap. Finally, our son took mercy upon me and demonstrated the fine skill of chopstick management.  It’s all in keeping one stick fairly stable between the thumb and the pointer finger.  The moving stick held between the ring finger and the middle finger (that one we’re not supposed to display when driving!) comes toward the stable stick gently grasping the food to prevent twisting.  Whether this is the “proper” chopstick management system is unknown, but it works. 

Once the sticks began behaving, Asian food just wasn’t the same without them.  Each morsel is a taste experience.  Today my sticks can hold a pine nut or a kernel of rice.  Since eating rice by the single kernel is time consuming, the use of chopsticks clarifies why most Asian rice is "sticky".   Sticky rice can be gently grasped between the sticks so it stays together on its long trek from plate/bowl to mouth.

Adversity Makes Friends

Minnesotans love to brag about their weather.  A camaraderie is formed by having survived frigid temperatures walking barefoot three miles to school in the blizzard uphill both ways!  It's a Minnesota joke.  Yah, you betcha.

Well, St. Paul is experiencing some of those "brag about" days this weekend (and of course, I had to show houses!).  A true thirteen degrees below zero with wind that makes it feel twenty degrees colder is truly worth bragging rights.  Since I'm a hardy St. Paul woman I thought this beautiful sunny day was a perfect day for pictures of downtown St. Paul and the river.  After my house tour was done, a side trip to Mounds Park captured some interesting snow sprites dancing on the icy river surface.

The tendrils of snow looked just like steam, but believe me.  It was too cold for steam to be rising above the crystalline surface of the river.  What appear to be waves is actually the surface of the river frozen in a wave pattern.

Even at four below, there were six other cars parked in the lot, their inhabitants enjoying the clear sunny afternoon.  We St. Paul Minnesotans are a hardy bunch!  Yah, you betcha!

Define Professional

There are all kinds of things that make me "go hmmmmm".  Another funny one happened this last week. 

A member of a private list serve of real estate agents (thousands of members) used the term "fuggly and unprofessional" to describe another member's website.  I was familiar with the website in question.  It has lots of good information a consumer might want to know when relocating to that agent's community.  The website owner is a seasoned and professional agent who's a little quirky like me.   

Because I knew the website in question, I wondered what "fuggly" meant.  It was a term new to me.  Google, the great researcher, helped me find the definition:  "f***ing ugly"!

Now I don't know about other people, but using the term fuggly to describe another's website because one thinks it is unprofessional, isn't exactly a professional description!  It's one more example of the pot calling the kettle black!

Two Years and Counting

Bugs

It never fails.  It never fails.

I like bugs, at least the kind I can see.  I don't particularly like computer bugs and I definitely don't like the bugs you have to look into a microscope to see.

Regrettably, my grandchildren love bugs.  Well, that's not exactly true either because they only like the ones you can see as well.  But, whether they like the unseen bugs or not, they graciously share them with Grandma every time they visit.  Without fail they return home and a call comes shortly thereafter.  "I'm sorry, Mom, but ( insert my favorite grandson or my favorite granddaughter's name) had a fever when we got home."

"Oh, great!"  So, I go about my work and within 4 days I'm feeling punk.  And then the headache and the runny nose and the fever and the body aches and the frog that croaks from my throat . . .  Well, you get the picture.  A lot of good that flu shot did.  I've been in bed 2 days and miserable for 5.  I'm not done yet.  How's a real estate agent supposed to sell houses when a frog lives in my throat?

So, if I'm somewhat absent and a bit off.  Well, you can thank my grandkids!  They love to share!

Merry Christmas 2007