Showed another condo in Brockton today. Unfortunately I forgot my map. Fortunately, I found it with no problem. I didn't think the condo would be very nice but it was a surprise. Very clean and quite large, especially for the price. The buyer liked it quite a bit, too. Of course, he didn't put in an offer. I have to work on my closing, don't I?

The other day, RE/MAX had called me back to let me know that they had just acquired the RE/MAX office in Westwood and was I willing to work for them instead of Coldwell Banker so I set up an appointment for today. As I was standing in the lobby waiting for the owner, I saw a broker from my C-B office so I smiled and waved at him. He came over and told me that he's already working there! He started the other day and is really glad he made the move. He wasn't a fan of Big Momma! At some point during my talk with the owner, I made the decision to join RE/MAX. He had the admins type up a letter of resignation for me to give to Big Momma and gave me a checklist of things I need to do to close out over there and begin at RE/MAX. I start on Monday immediately after I resign from C-B. How funny is that?

By the way, if you want to see and hear Big Momma, click here. You can click on the video camera to hear her.

Had to work the desk one last time today from 1-3. It was fine until Big Momma came flying in. At one point, she came to our side of the desk and sat between me and the other broker and started making phone calls (which we were never allowed to do while at the desk). Then, when someone answered, she told them she was ME! She was calling the For Sale By Owners (FSBOs) and trying to get appointments. Can you imagine how confused these people would be when I showed up and didn't have that heavy New England accent that "I" had on the phone and that I pronounce my name differently than what I had said on the phone? Yes, she was pronouncing my name robe-son instead of rob-son. She's got a set on her, doesn't she? Anyway, she never got an appointment anyway.

Went to the West Roxbury Pub for a burger with K.A. Dingy little place. And the bar stools are so low I could barely reach up and over to grab my food. I almost asked for a booster seat or the yellow pages!

Went into the office to hand Big Momma my letter of resignation but she wasn't in. I hated doing it this way but just left the letter on her desk and then left a voice mail message. I dropped off my signs and extra forms and said good-bye to the people that were there and went on my way to RE/MAX. Wow, instead of having to share a cube with 8 other people, I have my own office. Of course, it's only temporary until they finish re-doing the 3rd floor and then I'll move up there. But it's great to have my own personal space. And, since it's really a little conference room, I have a computer in there that I get to use! Once I move upstairs, I won't have my own computer unfortunately. Met with Steve, one of the owners for about an hour and with the Office Manager to fill out paperwork and get oriented.

Hmmmm. What have I done now? Didn't have a good day in the office. I thought they were going to really take me under their wing and work with me, etc. Ack! Now I'm a little nervous about my decision.

I missed it, but apparently some of the brokers went to a broker open house for the lunch (of course) and rented a limo to arrive in style! How funny is that?

Finally! Steve had some time for me today and let me know that he has hired a personal coach for me and is paying for it. Wow! That's so cool. The coaching people called and interviewed me for a bit to get a feel for where I need help and to figure out a program for me. I'm very excited about it. The program is for 12 weeks and supposedly works wonders. Luckily they said I'm not a lost cause at all, which is what I was beginning to feel.

Went to the Biltmore Cafe in Newton for a bite to eat with Steph. The last time I was there, it was very Elvisy--the owner looked like Elvis and there was Elvis memorabilia everywhere. This time it looks like Elvis has left the building...

Went to my neighbor's Open House to see who was running it from Stanton and Tierney. It was my friend Ed! I was hoping it was him. It wasn't very busy so we had a good chance to catch up on what has been going on. Unfortunately, his family has had some hard times. His wife, Cathy, has just had another round of surgeries to remove cancer. The first time it was colon cancer and they had to remove a large portion of her colon. Then they found out that the colon cancer had moved into her lungs (though it wasn't considered lung cancer) and had to have 2 surgeries to remove that. Then just a few weeks ago they found out it had moved to her brain and they had to do surgery there, too. But, she's a fighter and is actually doing pretty well right now. They're both great people and I hope everything works out well for them.

Found out today that one of my customers plays professional soccer for the New England Revolution! Pretty cool.

Had lunch with my friend Brad today at Ginzu's (or was it Ginza's?) in Watertown. He had just come back from his cousins wedding in Palm Beach at the Breakers and said it was amazing. The wedding cost $450,000!!! They flew in sushi chefs from New York as well as other chefs from who knows where. Incredible. I think this is the first time I've seen Brad in about 3 years, other than seeing him on the street taking his son to get ice cream. And I think the last time I saw his son was at the bris! Poor little guy. Anyway, food was great and we agreed to help out each others businesses. He owns an insurance company and will post my business cards in his office as well as mention my name to as many people as he can and I'll put some insurance info of his with his name on it in each packet I give to buyers and sellers. We had some laughs about old times and tried to remember how we met and who all hung around at that time. It's been a LONG time since we met. It seems like today is an 80s flashback day.

A former AspenTecher, Chris, emailed some photos from years ago. We're still trying to piece together when the picture was taken and who everyone is. Click here to see.

My niece dropped a bombshell today--she's thinking of moving to Africa in a few months. She still hasn't heard from MTV yet so she's trying to make alternate plans. Of course, this is all her boyfriends idea. He no longer wants to live in Asheville, NC which was his original plan. He wanted to move there because it's quiet and laid back. He stayed there for a while with his sister and now says that it's boring and there is nothing to do. Anyway, his sister is either dating or married to a guy from Senegal named Bubba-car. Ok, I'm sure that's not how you spell it but that is how it's pronounced. He claims that his father was President of Senegal and has recently passed away. The "mansion" they lived in is now his mothers and he wants to move back there with his girlfriend and their baby, and wants Shay and Ryan to move there, too. He told them they could live in this mansion with them and his mother and siblings and they could start their own business renting scuba equipment and that they would make millions of dollars. Yeah, right. So young and so naive. He also told them the flight would only cost them around $250.00. I asked her what will she do if she wants to come home since that is definitely not a round trip ticket. Of course, it doesn't even sound like it could be a one way ticket.

Went to the Wentworth Gallery for a champagne reception to meet an artist, David Schluss. He was pretty cool. I didn't know this before but he pains strictly with his hands. Click here for info.

Ran an Open House in Canton today. It was new construction and they usually aren't very busy. Fortunately, this Open House was quite busy with some very interested buyers. There had to have been at least 10 groups or more that came through, which was surprising since it's getting close to the holidays and it's cold and raining outside. This house is beautiful--steel beam construction, a master suite to die for--television shelf above toilet so you can sit in the jacuzzi and watch T.V., his and her walk in closets, palladium windows, cathedral ceilinged great room, 3 car garage with hot and cold running water so you can wash your car IN the garage, and on and on. My boss, Sally, let me do this Open House for her and she came for a while to give me more information on the house.

One of my potential sellers is ready to sell. I don't have a definite day or time that we're going to meet but she sent me an email today saying that she thought she already had sent me an email but is anxious to meet. Cool.

Woo hoo! I got a listing today to sell a one bedroom condo in Brighton. The best part was that I didn't even have to try to convince her to list with me. She was all ready to sign right then and there. Now I just have to get it sold--anyone?? It felt great to get back to the office and run into my boss to let him know that I have a listing. I think he was more excited than I was.

Busy day today. I received a call to show the condo at 2:50 but first I had to go into the office to do my usual stuff, then have my first personal coaching session at 12:30, then off to the condo, then to dinner to meet up with old friends in Waltham.

Got a few more leads this week for people interested in selling their homes so I prepared their mini-CMAs and sent those off. Wouldn't you know that the computer keeps crashing today? Ain't technology great?

The coaching session was great and I now have some homework to do. One of the things I need to do is to pick and area that I should focus on--not quite sure which area I'm going to pick since I've been all over the place so far. Maybe West Roxbury? Maybe Canton? Anyone have any ideas?

After the coaching session, I grabbed a quick bite to eat and then drove to the condo as fast as I could. As usual, I was very early so I had to wait about 30 minutes for them to show. Luckily I found a parking spot quite close which is tough to find in that part of town. They showed up on time and we went inside to see the condo. The buyer didn't stay very long--she didn't seem to like it very much at all. I'm not sure why they expect to find the perfect place at that price--it's just not going to happen. Headed back home, though the commute was horrible even though it wasn't rush hour yet. A couple of major accidents along the way made me slow down quite a bit.

Ran in the house to drop off my stuff, check my email and voice mail and do some quick chorese and then it's off to dinner at The Chateau in Waltham with S. P., M.W., and E.S. that I used to work with at AspenTech. Always great to see them and we had a very nice time. S.P. is getting ready for her vacation to Cambodia and Viet Nam. She leaves in a few weeks and is going by herself! What a brave soul. She does have guides set up to meet her at various places to take her around for her time there. Can't wait to hear about the trip when she gets back.

Got a slow start in the morning because I wanted to watch the videotape of The Amazing Race, which I'm hopelessly addicted to. Not a big deal--Thursdays are a bit strange at the office anyway. Not due to RE/MAX but to some of the other businesses in the building. There are several psychologists and psychiatrists that run group meetings on Thursdays and the crowd is a bit unruly. And for some reason, none of them ever seem to drive themselves there so they are usually hanging out in back, waiting for their rides. Not sure what happened but the plate glass for the back door is smashed. I don't think I want to know.

Dinner for S.B.'s birthday. We went to John Harvard's Brew House in Framingham (or Natick, I can never tell which is which). When I got home I noticed it seemed a little cool in the house but didn't check on it right away. As I was on my way up to bed, I checked the thermometer and, even though I have it set for 69 degrees, it is now at 60 degrees. The heat went out again. Unfortunately, that's been happening a lot in the past year. I went down to flip the pilot light switch but this time I couldn't get it to go back on, no matter how many times I tried. Finally had to make a call to NStar Gas. I hate calling these places because they always have attitudes and this one definitely did. She couldn't guarantee anyone would come out right away and it may possibly be tomorrow when they show up. Anyway, within about 15 minutes, they did show. Do you know how much they charge? I was shocked because this is not the first time they've had to come out and I've never been charged anything. Now, it's $55.00 for them to just walk in the door and then $55.00 per 15 minutes that they are there working. And you know they don't move very fast! When I expressed my shock at the price, he just looked at me and said "do you want me to fix it or leave?" Whaddya gonna do? Luckily it only took him a few minutes to fix--the little box thing has something that is sticking on occasion if that makes any sense at all. Because it was so quick, he ended up being nice and said he would just cancel the call and I wouldn't get charged. Oh, yeah, did I mention that if I had this replaced the parts would be around $250.00 or more? That's above and beyond the other charges. What a scam!

Decided to work from home today. Somehow I got quite motivated and made a ton of phone calls to see if anyone wants to buy the condo I have listed. I think I called almost every tenant in the building as well as most of the owners of those units. So far, two people have returned my call and might possibly know of someone who may be interested. Another woman said she'd discuss it with her husband when he got home and then call me back. There are actually a few people who own quite a few units in that building but I can't seem to find their phone numbers yet.

My heat went out again. Luckily I was watching the Gas man and was able to fix it myself but I'm not sure how long this type of fix will hold.

Went over to Frugal Fannie's with K.A. and then over to Joe's American Bar and Grill in Dedham for dinner.

My ad for my condo I have listed was in the paper today. I kept checking my voice mail to see if anyone called. Nobody. I finally had my niece call my voice mail to leave a message. The strange thing was that I never received that message. So, I have absolutely no idea if anyone called or not.

Went into the office today and mentioned to the admins that my voice mail doesn't seem to be working. They had no idea what to do about it. I complained that nobody had called on my ad and that seemed odd to me. The funny thing was that by the time I got back up to my office, they paged me with a call on the condo!

Left early today and went to the grocery store to pick up food for Thursday since I'll be cooking this year. When I got home, there was another voicemail for someone interested in a condo. He gave the MLS number and said it was for a condo in Brighton but it didn't match the number for my listing. Called him anyway to get more information and we decided to go ahead and make appointments. Told him I would confirm by tomorrow morning which appointments we had.

Showed 4 condos to one couple today. There were about 58 condos that fit their price range but only a handful that allowed pets and even less that had laundry within the condo itself. I chose 4 and we saw those. However, I couldn't show any of them until after a meeting I had already scheduled in Cambridge. I met up with Professor Jeff Tester at MIT to talk about a new book he is trying to get published. The meeting was to discuss the schedule, what needed to get done and who was to do what. The editor, Scott, was there, too. I love working with Jeff so this should be good. And I'll get paid! I just have to determine what to charge him. The last 2 times, he let me know what was in the budget and we worked within that. The editor has been an independent contractor for a while and is working by the hour so I guess I'll follow his lead, though I'll charge less per hour than he will since his job is tougher than mine (IMO). We'll be working with the MIT Press instead of Prentice Hall. After I left there I went to my first condo showing. It's the same building where I had a condo listed this past summer so it was fun to be back there. This was a townhouse unit with a patio off the lower level. Not bad though the setup is a bit odd. You have to go up the stairs of the main entrance and it's just to the right. You walk in and there is the half bath and one bedroom, then the living room. Then you walk downstairs to the kitchen, dining room, laundry room, and the other bedroom. I don't think I like that layout but it's not me that's buying.

Then it's on to the next condo. The buyers followed me in their car, which can be tough in this area. I lost them pulling onto Harvard St. but they soon caught up with me. Then, unfortunately, I missed my turn off Comm. Ave. and had to pull over to let them know that I screwed up. Always embarrassing. Finally found the unit and we stood out front waiting for the other agent to show. We were early but luckily, she was too so we went into the building and up the stairs. It took her a while to get the door unlocked, which can happen, but the owners have a dog and the poor thing just kept barking and barking, trying to protect its territory. When she got the door opened, we all laughed when we saw the dog--it's a miniature doberman pinscher. I had never seen this type of dog--I thought it was a chihuahua. It was definitely the size of one but it thought it was one tough dog! This condo has a deck off one of the bedrooms that overlooks the pool and parking lot. Not too bad but I could tell they didn't really like the unit so we left.

The buyers had plans for the next couple of hours so we split up at that point. I was starving so I went over to the Stockyard for lunch. I hate eating by myself but got through it. I decided to head over to the next appointment just so I could find it and get a parking spot. I think I was about 30 minutes early but the buyers were already there! We got out and chatted for a few minutes and then the other agent showed up early as well so that worked out well. I could tell that the buyers didn't really like the looks of the building before we went in but once inside, they changed their minds. This unit felt much bigger than the ones we have already seen. It also has an enclosed porch off the kitchen which leads to the open air deck. The best part was the view. This building sits up on a higher part of Allston and you can see for miles, especially the Boston skyline and would be perfect viewing for the Fireworks in July!

But, on to the next condo in lower Allston. I knew the general area but wasn't sure the best way to get there. I decided to cut over to Cambridge St. in Brighton, past the high school, and then turn left onto North Beacon St. In my head, I wondered if this would be possible and found out that you're not allowed to turn left at this light. But, we were already at the light and I knew that if I went straight, which was my only real option, that I'd have to do a u-turn to come back around. Since I figured the buyers that were following me might get confused I decided to do an illegal left turn anyway. They followed me through. We found the condo nestled back in a little neighborhood. The unit is quite large, with 3 levels of living space, a nice deck off the living room, skylights in every room on the 3rd floor. I liked it but the buyers didn't like it that much. I think they prefer to be right in the heart of everything and this was tucked away a bit too far.

As we were leaving, I was explaining where the condo was located that we would see the next day. The only way to really explain it well was to mention the spot where I took the illegal left turn. They laughed and said they had noticed that but followed anyway. This condo has a pool on the roof, a health club inside, garage parking, and concierge services. But, it's also not in the heart of where I think they will prefer to live. We'll see tomorrow.

Showed a condo in Allston on North Beacon St. to the same buyers. I've been past this building many, many times but had never been inside before. It's quite nice. Pool on the rooftop, health club inside, 24 hour concierge service, garage parking. This unit is 2 bedrooms, 2 full baths. Couldn't get a read on whether or not the buyers liked it, though. Even when I asked them, they sort of shrugged their shoulders and said, they did like it but they liked the other ones, too.

Went over to Home Depot and FINALLY bought my previous buyer their Thank You gift card. I'll have to drop it off this weekend.

Then went to Kitchen Etc. to buy a big stock pot to make soup with. My old one doesn't work on my flat top stove since the bottom isn't flat enough.

Once I got home, I cleaned the house some more and then started chopping onions and celery for the stuffing for tomorrow, as well as dice the bread. I think I'm just about ready for Thanksgiving.

It's also my nephew's 22nd birthday today as well as his daughter's 1st birthday.

Nice lazy day filled with nothing to do and leftovers to eat.

In the morning, my cell phone rang. I answered just as they must have hung up. Since I was waiting for about 3 phone calls to come in, I checked the number and called it back. The woman who answered seemed very flustered and said she was on another line and would call me back. When she did call me back, she was extremely rude. She asked me if I always call a number back that didn't leave a voice mail message. I said that I do when I'm expecting important phone calls to come in as I was today. She was pretty upset that I called her back and said that she wasn't prepared to talk to me yet, though she did say it was regarding the condo I have listed. I'm not sure why she initially called me if she wasn't prepared to talk to me yet. File this under the "People are Strange" category.

Got a call from K.A. at the airport. She's on her way to London but not real thrilled about going. I think she'll have a good trip though. Even if it is for business.

B.A. stopped by for a few hours to chat while she was in town. Spent the rest of the day making homemade turkey soup for the first time.