Category: real estate

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Crazy 2.0

When I wrote my oh-so-very desperate and angsty entry a few weeks back, it would be fair to say that my mind was not functioning on all cylinders. It would also be fair to say that today I’m functioning on a little more than half and that is a nice improvement.

I wasn’t thinking beyond anything when I wrote it. What I mean to say is, whatever aftermath might occur was not even on my mind a tiny bit. Within 24 hours, I realized that there might be some kind of backlash, and that realization was mostly due to my husband bringing up the possibility. But I decided to not remove it or change it because up until that point, I don’t think I’ve ever removed a post and I didn’t want to start then. It feels like messing with history.

A few months ago, someone I follow online wrote on Twitter that they were considering suicide. I immediately unfriended them on Twitter. I didn’t even think about it. I think it was a physical/mental reaction to The Crazy. I wanted to be a little more removed from it. Especially as I was feeling myself getting sucked down as it was, all on my own. I didn’t feel strong enough to help someone else so I removed the relationship. I still read this person’s blog, however, because I didn’t want to lose contact all together.

I bring this up because I’ve noticed that since that post, approximately half my daily visitors have left, about a third of my daily subscribers have dropped me and I’ve had only 2 advertisers. I’m not shocked. I’m just noticing.

I suppose it’s not much different than when you walk down the sidewalk in the city, busy going someplace from someplace and you see that homeless person asking for change or the couple loudly fighting or the parent yanking their kid too hard by the arm – you just keep walking and look the other way, quickly considering whether you would be better served crossing the street to get by them or if you just plow ahead, eyes looking straight. You might even wonder for a split second if there is possibly something you could do or say that might help the situation but in the same second decide no, there really probably isn’t. You’re just going to have to feel uncomfortable for as long as you are around that element.

The web brings us so much closer together but I don’t know if anything has really changed. We’re a few keystrokes away but just as far emotionally if we want or need to be. It was sad to see some people that I considered friends drop me from friend lists but I can totally understand it. Now that the initial sting has worn off, I’m not pining away for the readers who left Leahpeah any more than I’m beating myself up for writing what I wrote. It happened. And that’s pretty much it. I have to use this medium to write what I need to write. Otherwise, there is no point to this personal blogging thing. But I am glad to have RealMental as a place to put some of the deeper mental issues.

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Week Recap (With Links!)

-My post on real estate the other day stirred up quite a little flurry of emails. A couple of them were soft and fuzzy like Easter bunny rabbits. And some of them were jagged and nasty with the intent to maim and cut me. Ha ha! I am a robot and cannot be cut. I still think the bottom line is – be smart and do your own research.

-The day when we have to be out of this house is creeping closer and will leap at me in a few weeks. Scary.

-I started reading Breed’em and Weep a few weeks ago. I do actually cry sometimes and I have bred some, so I guess I’m allowed. Her latest post, an open letter to teenage boys, has lots of good stuff in it. This post resulted in me sending her a fan letter, an action that always results in almost immediate remorse because I am a dork.

-If I could afford it and wasn’t moving and didn’t have to figure out how to pay for a new crown for my stupid tooth, I would buy SuperHero Jewelry.

-We had our first craft trade day at Leahpeah’s Craft. All I can say is that next month will be an improvement which is a nice way of saying I think no one traded anything. I’m reminded of a dance in junior high and no one wants to dance first. But next month, I’m uploading something(s) really awesome and everyone in their right mind will be compelled to participate because they will want one THAT MUCH. !!

-I interviewed for a job yesterday and found out that one of the people in on the call knew my uncle and his family from Arizona. Small world. This particular uncle is a judge and it brought to mind a very hyped up reunion we had one year when there were bodyguards following him everywhere. Us kids/teens all thought it was really awesome or rad or something. Good times.

-You’ll all be happy to know that my first marriage has been officially annulled according to the Catholic Church. I received the letter in the mail yesterday and it states it was no one’s fault and that we are all just great etc. I’m not Catholic but I do appreciate that these men are Holy Men and are acting in a way they feel inspired to. I don’t understand how a marriage of almost 14 years which produced 4 children can be annulled. (Um, we obviously consummated.) But in any case, my ex can now marry his wife in a Catholic church and have it be a valid marriage which makes them very happy and me happy by association. I suppose it also means that should we ever wish to, Joe and I could get married by a priest and have it be a valid Catholic marriage also. Religion is still a weird area for me. I think because I was raised in such a structured religious environment I am a little loathe to get involved or join any other organized religion. I mean, if I wanted to do that, why not just go back to the Mormon church? I already know all the good and bad stuff in that religion and have the 13 Articles of Faith memorized. Also, there is no sudden and repetitive kneeling in the middle of the service. Just lots of little kids and dry cereal and crayons.

-Joe upgraded his phone. This new, improved phone comes with voice texting. It’s my new favorite game.

For example, he says into the phone:
Leah comma I’m coming up on Topanga Canyon period I Love you exclamation point Love comma Joe period

And what I get is:
Betty, thank you hiding sheet tactile canyon. Lambda unit! Lilac, Chet.

To which I reply:
Oh, Chet! My tactile canyon is hiding under the sheets waiting for your lambda unit. I love you, too! Betty.

And he has no idea what I’m talking about.

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Current Smarts: Real Estate

If you just want the tips, skip to the end.

Some people notice that on my resume, I have a 2004 listing as a Real Estate assistant. I worked with my friend, Margot, and had a great time. She is a Real Estate Agent and only works with reputable people. In fact, she can be a little anal, but all in a good way, because there is no way something shady is going to go down while she is in charge. What you don’t see in my resume is a 2002/3 listing of loan ‘consultant’ which is what we called ourselves. I’d like to forget about the time I spent doing it. But maybe the lessons I learned have some value and I’ll try and share what I know here.

At the end of 2002 I was newly back to San Diego and looking for work and I needed it fast. I found a job with a company that did home loan refis. Our target market were the sub-prime people – those people with kinda bad to really terrible credit but still able to qualify for a refinance loan because they had equity in their home or their bankruptcy was over 3 years old.

I remember my first day on the job. I was sitting near the center of a very long desk, maybe 8 or 9 of us all together, each with a phone, a pad of paper and pen, and a computer printout of leads. These were supposedly ‘warm’ leads, meaning people that had qualified by merely existing, owning a home and hadn’t refinanced in the past 2 years which meant they most likely had some equity. It was a given that they had bad credit. My job was to call each of the people on the list, ask if they had received the letter we had sent them X number of weeks ago and ask if they could use a little extra money. I seriously tried. I made the first two calls, got hung up on, made another call, found someone that was vaguely interested but said to call back when her husband was home and then started listening to the people around me. Holy crap, they were full of it. They were saying all kinds of things that I knew weren’t true. But the fact that they got around 1% per done deal was the motivating factor for them to say just about anything they thought would help get the paperwork started.

I asked to see the owner of the company, who I knew was upstairs. I had done ‘training’ the week before for an entire afternoon, like 4 whole hours (sarcasm intended), and I’d seen his office. The floor manager didn’t want to let me up to see him, but finally did let me, calling ahead and saying in a sarcastic tone that I was someone new with ‘some qualms’ to talk over. Then he chuckled and sent me up.
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