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November is winding down, Thanksgiving is tomorrow, and I'm still trying to recount things that happened in October. Honestly, that’s a pretty good microcosm of what my life has been like lately.

I didn't want another month to go by, though, without mentioning my week in Hawaii in October. Dave and Aubrey got married on Maui (or “got maui'd", if you will) on Wed, Oct 17th, and they were gracious enough to invite our circle of friends there to be part of their experience. For those of you that don't know Dave and Aubrey, well, you should; they're the best, a great couple made of two unique and amazing people. They're generous and loyal friends who are always available when someone needs help, whose guest bed is always made up for anyone, and whose home is the willing host to whatever events the group dreams up. We were all thrilled to be part of their wedding, an intimate affair of 25 close friends and family, and it was a week we'll all talk about forever, I expect.

The trip was also a great vacation, filled with mornings by the pool, afternoons playing in the surf, evenings barhopping in the small town of Lahaina, and nights on the patio or in the hot tub, looking up at the stars. It was low-stress and low-cost, as we stayed together in a 3-bedroom condo and shared grocery expenses, and it was enough time (7 days) for me to forget the rest of my life, put aside all worries and deadlines, and enjoy a life of leisure for a week.

A beautiful beachside wedding between two people I care a great deal about and wish nothing but eternal happiness for, and a week in paradise laughing, sunning, napping, dining and playing with the friends that have become my pseudo-family. That’s the kind of vacation every vacation aspires to be.

Congratulations again, Dave and Aubrey!

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… the baristas get creative.

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Uh… What?

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An angry mob of high school students that want to learn more in high school (trans: nerds).

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I cracked up when i saw this at collegehumor.com. Their caption reads (you need to sing it to yourself):

Oompa Loompa Doompity doo, I know a guy who regrets his tattoo.

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Cheapest penthouse in Seattle

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I had scheduled today off work before I knew this week would be filled with house-buying-related errands, but it worked out well as Gloria was able to schedule my home inspection today at I time that I was easily able to be there and have the luxury of staying through the entire process. [I]nspector John was very thorough, testing every drawer in the kitchen, running full cycles on the washer and dryer, climbing up into the attic, bouncing on the patio floor. I took pictures of everything and Gloria and I followed John around asking questions, taking breaks occasionally to crack jokes about the decor and trade horror stories with John about scary houses we'd all seen. He found very little of consequence - a moderate wiring upgrade necessary in the breaker box, a small crack in the tub surround - and provided me a very short list to ask the seller for. Gloria’s hunch is that the seller should be willing to address most of it as we've asked them for very little so far.

I found a new shortcut between my new place and the old one on the way home for a quick lunch, enjoying a rare drive in my Z on what by now had turned into a beautiful, crisp fall Seattle day. Then to Z Sport, to talk cars with the mechanics and get a free-checkup that came out great. They complimented me on my car and its condition, and we discussed some things I'd like to do with it, things that are probably on hold for a bit now that I'll be paying a mortgage but are still fun to talk about.

Then to Marysville and the emissions test center, where my Z passed easily on the first try, something it didn't do two years ago. It could have been many things - weather, warmer engine, under-funded and miscalibrated state-run test facilities - but it made me feel good to think it might have also been my extra effort in the last year to do more of the preventative things and take a little better care of it.

And then, as if a Friday off work, driving my Z around in the sunshine, getting good news and hanging out with friendly people wasn't enough that I should appreciate it in a blogular way, I found it. I found my lost iPod. Where, you ask? Why, in the inside pocket of the bag I carry to work every day. A bag I have literally dumped sideways, shaken, patted down and practically disassembled in search of my missing iPod. There it was, in its case, as though I had put it there yesterday. All I can figure is that the iPod gnomes must have felt guilty for taking it and returned it to its proper place, after the statute of limitations expired on their standard waiting period for confiscated objects. How else can you explain that it reappeared exactly one week (almost to the hour) after my replacement iPod arrived?

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Yesterday stood no chance of being an average tuesday anyway, but it really spun into a tsunami that i couldn't leave you all out of. I spent all day yesterday at the W hotel for a work training, which meant i wore slacks - but no tie, this is still advertising, and i'm still in Seattle - and carried a black computer bag and valet parked, and pretty much felt like a “suit" in the New York sense. There were catered lunches and team happy hours and a raucous private “wine room" with a nine course italian meal and, obvs, all the wine we could imbibe. There were already enough moments of stress, excitement and general wackiness to fill a tuesday scheduled for me that i needn't have layered any more on. But you know i did. :)

I snuck out in between sessions to meet Gloria, my awesome realtor, to sign and initial 30 pages of fine print and write a huge check, placing an offer on a townhouse in Lake Forest Park (north and east of Seattle, one exit closer to the city than my current apt). Then i spent the rest of the day clutching my phone compulsively, daring it to vibrate with a message from Gloria.

An update came about six pm, that the selling agent liked my offer and was going to suggest their client accept it. But the seller was working the polls, which don't close until nine, and hadn't seen the offer yet.

At almost eleven, as i was headed home to sit by the phone in more comfortable clothes, my pocket emitted Gloria’s distinctive tune. Two words that i needed to hear: mutual acceptance. There’s still inspections and appraisals and piles of paperwork, but 50% of the battle has been won in my favor. It’s exciting and scary and most of all makes me feel very grown up. :)
And it has a two car garage, room for all my toys. :)

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