Small caravan today. First house is a fixer upper but the potential is pretty cool. It's massive and has a Victorian look and feel to it. That should sell by Sunday I would imagine. The next house we got to late and the broker was already gone. About 4 of us pulled up at the same time. The house is owned by a 92 year old lady and she had just pulled up with her home health care worker, who wouldn't let us in the house. Of course, at that time, Big Mama (also knows as my manager) pulled up and was furious when she found out we couldn't get in. She called the broker who high tailed it back to the house and let us in. Go Big Mama!

Did I mention that we finally got Drew Bledsoe's house listed for sale in our office? This happened in the last week or so and all of a sudden all the newspapers are calling the office. There is an article and picture in the Boston Herald today as well as in the Westwood paper. While I was in the office, the Associated Press called and there was a conference call about it. And the Loren and Wally radio show did a whole schtick on it this morning. They were reading the description over the air and then said that gee, the monthly payments would only be about $50,000 per month. It's possible that it will show up in the Wall Street Journal as well. I haven't seen it yet but they promised us in the next few weeks we will get to see it.

Lazy, hazy day. Can't stand the heat and humidity anymore--should have bought an air conditioner when I had the money!

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Free lunch at the Ritz today. We got to tour 2 penthouses and one 2 bedroom model--wow! The penthouses were amazing--the space, the amount of rooms, the number of bathrooms--the 2 bedroom penthouse has 5 full baths, and the VIEW! They are on the 35th floor and overlook the statehouse, Boston Commons, Customs Tower House, the Charles River, and on and on. Absolutely stunning. Normally I hate the idea of condos but I could definitely see my self in one of these! And you get all the amenities that are offered to Ritz Hotel guests including maid service, in-residence cooking (yes, a chef comes to your place and cooks for you if you wish), valet parking, and on and on. The model was stunning as well. Not quite the same view but still stunning and actually more comfortable, though that may be because it's furnished where the penthouses were empty. If anyone is interested in living at the Ritz Residences, let me know--I can get you in. They did tell us that originally some of the 1 bedrooms were selling for low 400s, which may sound like a lot but they are now flipping them for twice that.

Drinks with the ex-AspenTech people at the Cambridge Marriott tonite. Good turnout--Dale, Fred, Chris C., Matt G., Bill T., Kristen P., Mary B., Lori C., Emily, and Doug D.

Here are some more AspenTech pics click here

Another day of free lunches. Greg and Eddie and I went together, first to Wellesley to new construction. The house isn't quite finished yet but we instantly recognized who the builder is based on some of the details that he uses in all his houses. Apparently the boys always judge the lunches--this one was rated a medium score--too much pasta but good desserts.

Next, we went over to Marina Bay in Quincy to a single family unit. Absolutely beautiful home. Lunch scored a high rating with a wonderful veggie lasagna, scallop pasta, etc. We also ran into some of our co-workers there as well. Then on to the Penthouse for dessert. The Penthouse was interesting with breathtaking views of the city and the water. The layout of the unit was interesting and most people initially missed the best rooms--off to one side were 2 bedrooms. The first bedroom was quite normal but the second one, well, you just had to laugh at the tackiness of it though it was interesting and done better than you may imagine. In the middle of the room is a round bed with a mirror on the ceiling above it. There was also a pole attached to the bed and we couldn't decide if that was for some interesting pole dancing or if possibly the resident of this room is handicapped and needed it to steady himself to get in and out of bed. Based on the chair in the shower, I'm going with the handicapped story. And the bathroom off this bedroom was mostly mirrored. The rooftop decks were huge and we were already planning the wonderful parties we would have up there! The other decks off the main rooms have warning notices on the doors--all decks have been condemned for now due to the railings not being secure. The price for this large penthouse was well under a million but the condo fees are $1,000 per month which is outrageous! And the boys rated the desserts the highest they've ever had with the exception of beverages as there was only coffee where they would have preferred milk. How funny.

Got another margin call today. Second one this year. This has not been my best year financially, professionally, etc. All I can do is laugh....

J.B.'s birthday today so we all went to her place and had Chinese take-out.

Well, I'll be... I checked my work email first thing this morning, as usual, and there is a letter from the head of the company--we've been acquired by Coldwell-Banker. Didn't see that one coming at all. We had been acquiring smaller real estate firms and our financials are pretty good. Very interesting. I thought that leaving the corporate world also meant leaving this sort of thing. Wonder what will happen with Big Momma.

The hot topic at work is the acquisition of course and how it might affect us. Looks like it will affect us all differently. We have all received letters from other real estate firms using the acquisition as a way to recruit us. Pretty funny. Feels good to have some company want you though.

Worked the morning shift--absolutely no phone calls -- just administrative stuff. Basically I'm a volunteer receptionist. I can't believe that's how my life has turned. My shift ended at 11:30 and then I drove to Lexington to Bertucci's to have lunch with a woman who had been in my Career Foundations training class when I started with DeWolfe. It was great to see her again. She is now at the headquarters in relocation--she said that people there are very upset about the acquisition. Rightly so, since they will be affected the most by it.

Had drinks with 2 AspenTechies--F.Z. and D.F. at the Crystal Lounge in Cambridge. D. said there was a David Mushin sighting in the building--ack!!! I would hope they wouldn't bring him back. How cruel would that be? Other than that, no good gossip. We've got to get him out in the halls where he can catch some good dirt.

Went with M.G. to show her some condos in The Fenway. I either had a few blonde moments or the Alzheimers is kicking in! We agreed to meet at the Star Market on Boylston St. No problem. I picked up the key from one of the realtors first and drove over to Star Market. Couldn't actually find a "parking lot" so I missed the drive way the first time and had to drive around again. Finally pulled in and was getting ready to call her to find out exactly where she was when my phone rang. It was M.G. wondering where I was. She was sitting in the parking lot waiting. As we described landmarks, it became clear that I was at the wrong Star Market!! How could I have done that? It should have been obvious that if we are looking at condos in The Fenway, that I should be at the Star Market in The Fenway!! I was in Back Bay by Lord and Taylor's! Luckily it only takes a few minutes to get over there. I pulled into the parking lot and started to call her to say I was there. Just as it was ringing I happened to look out my window and I had parked right next to her and she was laughing and waving!

The first condo was on Aberdeen St. It was not pretty. And to get back to the main street, I had to back up all the way because there was no way to turn around. The second condo was on Burbank St. and had more potential.

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Had the bank appraisal at the condo I sold. Quick and painless. Not exactly sure what they do since it only took a few minutes and he really didn't look at much.

Bank appraisal for the house I sold today. I got there 5 minutes early and he was already finished. What DO they do?

Showed condos during lunch and again in the evening. These haven't been too bad compared to the condos I showed in The Fenway area. These are bigger and maintained better. Still no deeded parking though.

My neighbor needed a ride to pick up his car at the mechanics and he gave me two $5.00 scratch tickets--I won $10.00!!! Cool.

Got a phone call from the manager at RE/MAX. They are all swooping down on us to recruit us away. I agreed to at least talk with her next week to see what they have to offer.

Spent most of the day making appointments to see condos and cleaning my house in preparation of my niece's arrival. She should be here sometime Sunday evening, though if I know my sister, it will probably be about 3 in the morning when they get here.

Showed one condo in Allston this evening. It wasn't bad but it overlooked the parking lot on one side and the fire escapes and another building on the other side which is not what she wants. Sigh.

Spent the day cleaning and waiting for my niece and my sister to arrive. They finally got into town without getting lost. After unpacking the truck, we visited for a while and made a game plan for the next day. There's a lot to do! Shay got her room organized and decorated. I can't tell if she's scared or not--she's only 18 after all and it's her first time away from home.

My sister, niece and I drove out to the college and got Shay registered for classes. The advisor there was fantastic and really helped out a lot. In fact, everyone there (at MassBay Community College) seemed really nice. After paying the tuition we went to the bookstore and bought the requisite books. She'll also be taking a class at their Framingham campus so we will have to buy the books for that tomorrow. Then onto The Cheesecake Factory in Chestnut Hill for lunch.

After a late lunch, I had to go to work for a few hours so they dropped me off at the office while they went over to the Dedham Country Club to see if they were hiring.

At 6:00 they picked me up at work. One of the agents in the office looked at me and said "you're in for big trouble with that southern thang." I fear he's right! The Country Club was busy so they gave her the application and told her to come back tomorrow to talk. We'll see then if she gets the job.

Then we went to Best Buy to get her a cell phone. They had a plan that can transfer over to North Carolina (where my sister and her family live) without penalty so we chose that. The sales guy took a liking to Shay and they bantered back and forth--him teasing her about her accent and being from the South, and her flirting with him trying to have the car adapter and other extras thrown in for free. He had to call the service and have them set everything up so we went looking for TVs for her (yeah, I know--an 18 year old college freshman doesn't need all this stuff but she's my niece, not my daughter). They picked out a TV/VCR combo and put it in the cart and went back over to the cell phones. The sales guy had the biggest grin on his face. He told Shay that she was going to be very happy with what he did--he got her a phone number that ends in BRAT. How perfect! He even set it up so that when you turn on the phone, it says "Hi Brat." Yeah, I'm in trouble with this one.

Still full from lunch, we just went back home and worked on the agenda for the next day.

Had to work today while my sister and niece went out to the Framingham campus to buy the rest of her books and then over to the Country Club to talk to the manager.

Meanwhile, I had to go to the Allston condo and let the buyers in for the final walkthrough and then over to Watertown for the closing. I had checked with our admins to make sure I had everything the day before so was confident that everything was all set. Of course, nothing ever goes according to plan in the real estate business I have discovered! During the closing, the sellers attorney made a joke that he doesn't care what happens as long as I hand him his check. My face went blank.... what check? I didn't have a check so I stepped out of the room and called the office and sure enough, they had screwed up and had the check sitting there. So, I had to leave the closing and drive back to Westwood, pick up the check, and drive back to Allston to the attorney's office to drop off the check and get a receipt, then drive BACK to the office and give them the receipt and tell them what time the deed will be recorded. Whew!

Headed back home to meet up with the family. The Country Club was still too busy to talk with Shay so she is supposed to go back tomorrow. None of us had had lunch yet so we had an early dinner at Vinny Testa's. While sitting there waiting for our food, Shay's phone rang--her boyfriend from North Carolina so she went outside to take the call. She was gone quite a while which seemed kind of strange but you never know with young girls in love. When she came back she was laughing--while she was on the phone a table full of young guys her age started flirting with her so she hung up the phone and went over to talk with them for a while. They wanted her to meet up with them at a party later in the evening. Apparently they play soccer for Curry College and had just finished a game. My sister put her foot down and said no, not while she was there. Shay was not happy. I was, though. She did give them her new cell number, or as she said "her digits." This is very scary for me to handle! What am I supposed to do once my sister leaves? The worst part is that this all seems very familiar--like when I first moved out here and fell upon a bachelor party at Anthony's Pier 4, but that's another story for another time.....

Got a checking account for Shay today and then drove back to campus so she can learn her way there and back. On the way back we stopped at the Country Club and Shay brought in her application. She was in there quite a while and when she came out, sure enough--she got the job. She starts on Saturday. They'll give her a polo shirt to wear but she has to go by some khaki's. Which reminds me--her wardrobe.... I've been calling her Daisy Mae--all her clothes are barely there--low slung hip huggers with little halter tops or little crocheted tanks, some little tops with frilly cap sleeves and not much else, little blue jean hip hugger shorts. Oy! I told her that some of these clothes are fine for the beach and summer but at the country club, she will definitely have to be in khaki's and more conservative clothing. She's not happy about that or the fact that she will probably have to get rid of her nose stud. From there we just went home and waited for my sister's friend from work to pick her up for the long ride home. This woman has also dropped her daughter off in Boston to go to college. They left around 6:00 with my sister close to tears and my niece bursting with excitement that she's "on her own." Around 10:30 pm guess who called? Yes, one of the guys from the Curry College soccer team--another party tonite and Shay is invited. I had talked with my sister about this and she said that once she's gone, the decision is Shay's. I'm not entirely comfortable with that but that's the rule I guess. Of course, I couldn't just let her go--I made them come here first and meet me so I could take down their names. Two of them came over and were actually more than happy to come in and meet with me--they said they understood and had no problem with that. I must say that I wish I were about 20 years younger! They were very cute, very nice, and respectful. They gave me more information than I needed about themselves, I think out of nervousness though I do know that when people lie, they tend to talk to much so I'm still cautious. But, they seemed ok so off she went.

I don't know what time Shay got home last night but at least she made it home. Whew! She got up around noon as I was heading out the door for work. When I came back, I asked her how the evening went and she said the guys were "cheesy," that they tried too hard and that it was a little boring. Not sure what she means by that but she said she had an OK time. At least she met some people--I suppose they are different from the people in N.C. in ways that she will have to get used to.

Today was the final walk-through for my buyers at 9:00. Can I tell you how tired I am? I just knew something like this would happen the day that I have to get up early and be busy all day. Last night, Shay went out with her new friends again (so much for "cheesy"). She drove over her own car again and found the place but apparently couldn't find her way back. About 3:00 a.m. the phone rang--it was Shay. She had been lost for about an hour and couldn't find her way home. She tried to explain to me where she was but the landmarks weren't sounding familiar to me so I got up and went downstairs to find my street map. She had been saying she was by the Dunkin Donuts on Hyde Park Ave. but I hadn't realized that there were 2 on Hyde Park Ave. Finally found the street name she said she was on but she had kept driving so now she was somewhere else! I had her pull over for a minute to give me time to figure out where she was. This gave me a chance to figure out that she was in Readville near the commuter rail and was only a few minutes from home. The poor thing must have been driving in circles for the past hour. I stayed on the phone with her until she was at a place that was familiar to her and should be able to get home from there.

I went back to bed but sleep didn't come easy after that.

Anyway, I arrived at the house for the walkthrough at the designated time--9:00 am. but the buyers weren't there yet. The sellers were still packing frantically. About 9:30, the buyer called and said he would be there in 5 minutes, which he was. We did the walkthrough and everything was in order so we made plans to meet at the lawyers office in Natick for the closing at 11:30.

I misjudged how long it would take and I arrived at the lawyers office at 11:00. Luckily they had some great magazines so I settled into a chair in the waiting area and relaxed for a while, knowing that I was way ahead of everyone else. Around 11:30, the other broker showed up but the rest didn't arrive until around noon. The closing was relatively uneventful and didn't last painfully long. Headed to the office and found my first paycheck in my mailbox! Yay! This is the check from the condo that closed earlier this week. Unfortunately, I had to split it so many different ways so it wasn't very large, but it's money nonetheless. Now I can pay some bills--including MY mortgage so I don't have to sell my house. .

Got home around 2:00 or so and Shay was still in bed sleeping. And she was still sleeping around 5:00 when I left to meet friends at The Backyard in Newton. I did check on her to make sure she was OK and she was awake but said she didn't feel well and had just laid in bed all day. She said she felt hot and had me check her forehead--sure enough, she seems to have a bit of a fever. She went back to lay down and I went to dinner. I got home around 8:00 or so. Shay was still upstairs but I could hear her walking around which made me nervous because I knew what that meant--sure enough, she was getting ready to go out again. Since I'm trying to let her make her own mistakes, there wasn't anything I could do though I did tell her that, sick or not, she had to go to work tomorrow since it's her first day. I don't know how parents handle all this!

Had desk duty at the office for a few hours today. Nothing too exciting as usual.

Shay started her job today. When she got home she said that all she did was stand around since there was nothing else to do. That's pretty much what everybody there did the whole time. I assume most people headed to the Cape for the weekend.