Another colleague left the company now. Big Momma tried to talk her out of it because she didn't want it to reflect badly on her but K.O. is still leaving.

Worked the desk today. My manager needs some reports done and she had asked one of the other agents to get the data for her. He ended up not having enough time so he asked me if I would want to do it. She is supposedly paying $100 to have it done. So, I volunteered and I think the time I spent on it was under an hour. Not bad though I haven't seen the money yet. SHOW ME THE MONEY!

Speaking of Big Momma--she was in rare form today. It's amazing how negative and mean one person can be. The other guy on the desk got so stressed out from her that he pulled a muscle or something in his neck and couldn't straighten his head. He said that happens when he's real stressed.

Had dinner with the former doc group. As always, wonderful to see them. They really are great and I miss seeing them every day. Only one still works at the company where we all met and is doing well. We went to an Ethiopian Restaurant in Cambridge's Central Square--Asmara Cafe. Click on the link for a review of the restaurant as well as a description of the food: Review of Asmara

Basically, the food is on top of a rice bread and we are given a flour bread which you use as your "fork" to pick up the food and eat. Very fun.

Time for random jobs. I need money pretty badly so I'm now willing to resort to random jobs. There was an ad in the paper for Process Servers so I went to the "interview" today. It was interesting and the guy was cool. Of course, they want you to pay them money up front first for the course. He teaches you to be a process server for lawyers (in civil court, not criminal), or a constable, or a private investigator, or a repo-man (person). If you become a constable, you get to have a real badge and handcuffs--woo hoo! How funny is that? I haven't decided if I'm willing to pay the money for the course yet. But, it's either this or become a waitress which I know I'm bad at and have no desire to be.

I had a listing presentation to do today. I think it went well and the house is beautiful. We'll see what happens. The scoop around the office is that Big Momma will now have to start selling houses as well as being the manager. I don't think she's too happy about that and so far there hasn't been any sign that she's actually selling. I think people like her that used to do great in real estate will have a tougher time now. They come from the time when putting pressure on people to sign or else used to work. One of the other manager's said that she wouldn't leave a house until the people signed up for her to list the house for sale. Sometimes that would mean hours. She said she would ask for a drink of water, use the restroom, and even watch TV with them--anything to stay in the house and force them to sign. Unbelievable!

Quiet day at work today. The market has definitely turned! We've all noticed it. I believe it is becoming a Buyer's market and if the economy doesn't improve, people are going to have a hard time selling their homes. We see a lot of people selling and moving out of state to any place that has a lower cost of living.

Green Bay Packers against Da Bears! Packers won--go Pack! Went to K.V.'s house for the football party. Most people couldn't make it so there were only 4 of us but still enjoyable.

I did receive a few calls and showed 2 condo complexes to someone looking for a a place for her mother. Both of these complexes are for 55 and older which seems to be the popular thing to build these days. Interestingly, they are all townhouses (2 or more floors).

We had our usual weekly sales meeting today with a couple of lawyers as guest speakers. They seem pretty good and are willing to work evenings and weekends for closings. Then we had a long caravan--I think around 8 houses or so. Then I had desk duty but no calls came in.

Went to a conference today at the Dedham Hilton. It was pretty good and a nice change of pace. The topic was how to convert real estate listing leads into actual listings. Nothing I didn't already know but those kinds of conferences get me psyched up and re-energized so I'm glad I went. Of course, this meant that I missed the free brunch and lunch on the caravan!

Went to dinner at the Stockyard in Brighton tonite for my birthday dinner with K.V. This is one of my favorite restaurants though I'm not sure why.

I went to my little Process Server course today. It was interesting though, in my opinion, common sense on how to market yourself, etc. It started at 9:30 am and went until 2:30 pm.

When I got home, there was a message on my answering machine from my sister. She had been in New York City to do the 3 day walk for a cure. The plan was that she would take the train here on Monday and then fly out of Logan on Tuesday evening. However, the walk was canceled after the first day due to the weather. Too many people were being taken to the hospital with hypothermia because of the rain, wind, and cold. So, my sister got on a train this morning and arrived around 4:00. I had seen my niece pulling out of my street just as I was arriving so I assumed she was on her way to pick up her mom but gave her a call anyway in case she was on her way to work and didn't know that her mom was coming into town. Luckily she was on her way to the train station but was lost and needed help anyway. I got her turned around and she made it to the train station. However, a while later she called me and they were lost again. This time they ended up in Mattapan somehow. I finally had them turn around to where they came from and eventually they were able to get here.

Shay made plans to go out with friends for the evening so my sister and I went to dinner at Uno's in Dedham and then just hung out at home for the evening.

I had a couple bags of apples so we made apple pies today and then decided to make dinner. We made Cream of Broccoli soup (though from now on I think I'll buy pre-made broccoli soup--what a mess), baked some chicken and mashed potatoes and sat down to a nice dinner.

This morning I woke up as usual and opened my bedroom door and there was a helium filled mylar balloon tied to the railing outside my bedroom. A fun birthday surprise from my niece. Later they made me a cake and then took me to Vinny Testa's in Dedham for dinner. Mmmmm! Shrimp Fra Diavolo!! My favorite.

I had also seen a job posting for a usability position in Waltham and sent off my resume. They called me later that day to schedule a phone interview for tomorrow. That's the furthest I've gotten in a long time. Wish me luck...

I went to my weekly sales meeting--the usual stuff. Then we did our caravan for about 7 houses and then off to home. At 3:00 I had my phone interview for the usability position. The woman was great and she said that she will recommend to the rest of the group that they bring me in to meet me for a real interview. They just started receiving a lot of resumes so it's hard to say what will happen but it's good to finally hear from companies that are finally doing some hiring. My former company, AspenTech, is doing horribly these days. The stock price is under a dollar. If only I had the money, I'd buy a lot more. It wouldn't take much to double my money!

Took my sister to the airport. Traffic wasn't as bad as I expected it to be but it was great to get home to a quiet house. It's very distracting to have people around!!!!

Meeting tonite for the Usability Professionals Association for my previous career. The ride their was horrible--rush hour traffic in the rain. Still ended up being one of the first people there as usual. Had a great time though. I miss doing usability testing! The meeting was mostly about note taking which always seems simple but it can get complicated. I felt vindicated though--almost everyone uses the same process I have always used. It was great to see old friends and familiar faces though most people are currently out of work. The one guy who was heading up the meeting tonite is great and so interesting and funny. He told us the story of how he met his wife--hilarious! I had heard part of the story before but he added more info this time. He used to work for Digital Equipment Corp. (DEC) and they were a very progressive company. Anyway, he decided he wanted to get married but wasn't dating anyone at the time so he created a spreadsheet and listed everyone he had dated as well as what he liked about them and what he didn't like about them. Through this process, he determined what he liked in a woman and used that as the basis for finding someone new. DEC had an online dating service (and this was years ago before everyone else had them) so he searched around and found a woman who had recently posted an ad looking for someone who had certain qualifications--specifically had to have at least 4 years of calculus (as well as some other odd requirements that I can't remember). C.W. had about 6 years so he felt qualified and responded to the ad. She had received 55 responses and narrowed it down to 19 people that she replied to, including C.W. After corresponding with them she chose C.W. and they eventually got married. Then he said that they still sit down and work on equations together just for fun. How funny is that?!

Had to work the desk from 4-6 but Big Momma let us close up at 5:00 to go to the DeWolfe auction that evening. For the past 4 months, whenever we have a listing or a sale or whatever, we received "wolf bucks" to save for tonights auction. Unfortunately, it was a silent auction--I've never seen this in action and it's horrible. All the sign up sheets were along one wall and were crowded together so there was a lot of pushing and shoving to sign up for the different items. Basically, whoever signs up last gets the item which doesn't quite seem fair. When they started the countdown for the last minute, there was a mad rush to the tables to sign up. It was like being at a rock concert or soccer match when the entire crowd starts pushing everyone forward and you can't even breathe or get out of the way. People were so rude, it was unbelievable. One guy I work with was signing his name near the last few seconds and some woman came along and shoved him while signing her name at the same time he was signing his name. Later there was a regular auction and since only one of our people got anything from the silent auction, we pooled our "money" together to bid on anything we could. We finally got something--flowers for the office for 1 year (once a month).

Had an appointment with one of my buyers to show her a house in Westwood. She actually liked it, even though it had a pool. I didn't think she would like that but she did. Then she realized there wasn't a formal dining room and started to rethink buying this house. She decided she needed to think about it. Later, as I was working the desk, she called and asked me to fax her the plot plan so she could see if it was possible to expand the house off to the side. We'll see if she ends up buying it. I kind of doubt it. I've been working with her since the Spring and she hasn't bought anything yet.

Today was our "Day of 1,000 Open Houses" and I had signed up to show a 2 family home. Actually, it is being sold as either 2 separate condos or together as a 2 family. The first hour, NOBODY came!!! Absolutely painful, especially since the place is vacant so there is no furniture. The only place to sit is on the toilet and that seemed too odd of an option so I stood the whole time. Finally 1 couple showed and walked around for a bit. Then, apparently it was also a Day of 1,000 motorcycles and they happened to be in Westwood during the Open House. It was fun to stand outside and watch them all zooming by. Some were in Halloween costumes, some were doing wheelies. But, while this is going on, nobody else can get through the street so another hour with nobody coming through the house. The last hour (of 3) a few neighbors stopped by. Around 4:00, as I'm packing my stuff up to leave, Jeannie, the woman who photographs the houses for us and prints out "beauty sheets" stopped by to drop off a cup of coffee and some cookies. What a doll! It made my day.

Normal sales meeting this morning and then the caravan. I decided to take the rest of the afternoon off since I've been busy doing this stuff almost every day, at least part of the days.

This evening I got to participate in a Focus Group that pays $75.00. I got there and waited around with everyone else. Finally when it was time to start, they said that they had overbooked and 3 of us weren't needed. I was one of them--but, we still got paid! Cool!

Checked my voice mail this morning--damn! Wouldn't you know it, I take 1/2 a day off and my buyer from the other day left me 3 voicemail messages. She desperately wants to go see that house in Westwood again. The last message was pretty rude since I hadn't returned her calls immediately. I called her right away and she was still mad and very rude--geez, guess I'm not allowed to take a day off. We won't discuss the fact that she went away for the weekend when she could have been going to the open house on Sunday....

Anyway, she wanted to see the house again today. I tried to get the appointment but they weren't able to show it on such short notice since the woman works out of her home and is only scheduling around her babys nap and feeding schedule. I was able to get an appointment for tomorrow though I'm not going to be available--I have a job interview for a real job in usability testing. Luckily the listing agent works in my office so I asked her how to handle it, co-worker to co-worker. She was great and is willling to be the person to show it to the buyer. She also explained how to handle the situation--set up the appointment first, then explain that I can't make it, HOWEVER she will be shown the house by another agent and everything should be fine. She actually agreed to this though she still brought up the fact that I hadn't called her back immediately on Tuesday and she doesn't understand why.

Met up for dinner with several brokers from the office at Isabella's in Dedham. One of the brokers is moving to Florida so we wanted to take her out to say good-bye. I knew the place was going to be expensive but I didn't think it would be this bad: $48.00 per person!!!! At least it was a nice evening.

Went off to my interview. It was great to be back in an office building--it felt really good. Hmmmm, free coffee, foosball table, offices, computers, phones, etc. All those things that I used to take for granted and are just standard in a real job, and things I either don't have or have to pay for myself now. I met with 3 different people. The first 2 sessions went well and I felt very good about them. The last person was a lot tougher. During our talks, I started to get a sense that all the bad things I didn't like about a real job existed here. It was pretty funny. I asked the first 2 if they liked their jobs and liked working for this company. They both looked down at the table and said, uh, yeah, sure. I remember saying things like that! Anyway, it felt good just to have the interview and even though I can see there are problems and it's not a utopic environment, if they offered it to me I'd take it.

As soon as I got home I called the listing broker for the Westwood house to see how the showing went. It seemed to go fine but she didn't have an offer drawn up. So, I called the buyer and she couldn't have been nicer--in a fake sort of way. I think she felt bad that she wanted me to jump through hoops and then she didn't want the house after all. I think the other broker had also mentioned that we do need to take days off too just like everyone else, and that my not responding immediately was not that bad of a thing. Anyway, the buyer doesn't want the house--at least not at that price and said that she doesn't think the seller is ready to hear the low offer she would be willing to submit so she's going to wait to see if the price gets lowered.

Worked the desk from 4-6--no calls at all. Grrrr. Anyway, afterwards, I met up with S.P. for dinner at Joes American Bar and Grill. I haven't seen S. in a long time and we gabbed for hours. It was great. Ran into one of the brokers from my office there while we were eating.

Went to Rick's Cafe in Randolph for a bit to eat with K.V. We sat at the piano bar while the piano man played and sang. One little boy, around 5 years old, kept coming up the the piano man to give him money and to request a song. Very funny.

I feel horrible. I was talking with my parents and accused my niece of still sleeping when it was around 4:00 pm only to find out later she had been working all day.

Up early this morning to show some condos in Brockton. I didn't realize how far away Brockton is but I allowed enough time and got there a bit early. The first 2 showings were in the same complex at the very end of Brockton. They needed a LOT of work, at least a lot of cleaning anyway. But, for the price...not too bad I guess. Then on to the next one that was a bit away from this one. I got a little lost but not too bad, though it's always embarrassing when someone is following you. This complex was actually quite nice and the condo itself was very clean and well maintained. On the way to the last condo, I called the listing agent since we were late and I wanted him to know that we were still coming. Unfortunately, he was still in the office and someone else had the key. He wanted us to wait around for another hour so he could track down the key. Finally we decided to schedule the showing for another day since the buyer works 3rd shift and still hadn't slept yet.

Dinner at LaScala in Randolph for my belated birthday celebration with the girls.

Gathering of ex-AspenTech employees mixed with a few current employees. They just had another layoff so there are more people that came along. We met up at the Crystal Lounge below the parking garage where we used to park every day. It was great to see everyone but too bad it had to be under such horrible circumstances. Finally went home around 9:00 while a few others went out to eat. A few stayed behind to continue the party.

Last minute shopping trip to get candy for the evening. Not that many kids this year though--maybe around 20. Will CVS let me return the unopened candy? I hope so.