Wednesday, October 26, 2005

House musings

Speaking personally, I don’t think any of the 'professionals' have acted in any great faith in the whole proceedings. How someone can go from agreeing to sell on a Tuesday (after previously agreeing to sell to someone who dropped out) to the sale being off by Friday?

I'm very ticked off about the whole thing. In order to buy something and spend the kind of money involved, you need to make a decision at a personal level that you really want this thing. It's a level above asking someone out, but the principle is kind of the same.

I'm going to dwell (no pun originally intended) on this some more and add to this post again.
Update:Apparently, their own house purchase fell through.


House purchase is off

So that is why people describe the whole process of buying houses is a nightmare.

Auctioneer just rang and said that the sale is off. No explanation though the whole thing stinks.
You come to realise as you get older why people actually talking about doing something in good faith. Primarily it seems this is because so many people do things in bad faith. How could it take three and a half working days for a solicitor to return a call as to why house is no longer for sale? How could you agree to sell something on a Tuesday and by Friday morning be in a position not to?

You have agreed a price and paid a deposit, and then puff nothing.

Tuesday, October 25, 2005

Still no word.

I've heard nothing as yet about the house and the pessimism is growing apace. I've sort of dated people who were more communicative than this. I say sort of as I've occasionally dated people without being aware of it. Call it cultural differences or me just being blind to what is going on around me.

Anyway, this not knowing if I'm coming or going is very annoying.

Apparently, I'm sitting on a few quid.


My blog is worth $2,822.70.
How much is your blog worth?

Monday, October 24, 2005

Ghost house happenings

No word on the house, apparently the solicitor hasn't returned the auctioneer's call. Guess it is better to think of the whole thing being off. To comfort myself, I booked myself a quick flight to Germany for a weekend. Well, she/you did said to come over. So, I'll go and moan about houses. And interest rates and the falling value of the rand. Actually, isn't the rand named after some sort of animal must check that out.

Someone referenced this site about famous birthdays and I checked it, and guess what! I'm still not listed.

Those who are though include Linda Hamilton, Olivia Newton John, Ivan Pavlov (he of the dogs!), Serena Williams, Anne Robinson, James Caviezel (so that's where the messianic complex ended up) and T.S. Eliot and George Gershwin.

No news is no news.

No news as yet about the house. Rang the auctioneer and she is just back in the city, so it will be late afternoon before I know anything.

I'm expecting that the vendor's own purchase has fallen through and that's that.

I was past the house on Saturday evening and there was evidence of people there, so someone is about.

Also, in other news Liam Lawlor was killed in a car crash in Moscow and it seems the Sindo is looking a right rag for running with claims that the female passenger in the taxi was a teenage hooker which are unravelling faster than my house purchase.

Friday, October 21, 2005

Good for nothing, so called professionals

I hate to repeat myself but the standard of professional service in this country is chronic.

'House falls through'

I headed out to the house to watch the surveyor do his thing, expecting the auctioneer to be there with the keys. 4.30pm arrives and nobody about, I ring the auctioneer and she says the surveyor hadn't called back, so I ring him, he's a few minutes away (approaching the parywway) so I ring the auctioneer,get her voicemail and let her know he's close. Then while I'm waiting for her to call back, a car pulls up and the driver asks if I'm alright. Now, I get asked this occasionally but usually the person is looking for a scrap, or I'm looking half-cut. Since, even I'm not usually drunk at 4.30pm in the day (rugby international days excepted), I said, "yeah", the driver then informs me that the house is her sisters and I tell her I'm waiting for a surveyor and the auctioneer. Then the sister tells me that it's off. I was quite surprised, I mean I'm a real mover but even I don't think that a conversation with a car window is going anyway so fast enough for it to be something that was 'on' in order for it to be 'off'. Anyway, she's got a young lad in the front about 10, and buying the house is all the growing up I want to be doing right now.

Then the sister tells me that the solictor had rung the vendor in the morning to say that it was off and so no plans were made for the viewing. As it turns out when the auctioneer is talking to me next that the sister was the one who would have had the keys and would have been letting us in to do the survey. However, since it was 'off' she didn't have any keys. (Or maybe she did and just wasn't playing ball) Also, it seems the vendor is in England, whether for the week or the weekend is unclear at the moment. All this I gather as the sister rings the vendor. The vendor tells the sister she is going to run the auctioneer.

Then the auctioneer rings me and tells me that 'Mary' was supposed to be there with the keys, and it turns out the sister is Mary and I hand the phone to 'sister Mary' after the auctioneer tells me that the vendor has informed her that the solicitor rang her (the vendor) and told her it was 'off' (I'm not sure whether to make comedic comment about the vendor and the auctioneer or the vendor and the solicitor or all three together). And the auctioneer is half way to Dublin at this point. The sister talks with the auctioneer and then hands the phone back to me, but it's off! The phone that is.

About this point the surveyor arrives. I introduce myself and try to bring him up to speed, but I don't really suceed. The rate of knots this thing is unravelling at, I'm not too disappointed with my lack of success.

So, I ring the auctioneer again. She tells me she can't get the solicitor but that the vendor is of the opinion that the whole thing is off and no one is getting into the house today. So, I have to tell the surveryor who is after travelling for 45 minutes to get there for nowt.

It would appear to me that the vendor's solicitor only got around to telling the vendor today about the original sale falling through last week and confused the hell out of everything.

So, what have we learned? Essentially, Ireland's so called professionals are crap.

And these are the ones from professions that cap their numbers. the IEI or Engineers Ireland encourage more engineering places in colleges as when you get more makers more things are made and things improve on balance for people. Yet the 'professions' limit their numbers as if you get more of them they must make more red tape and crap all over everyone's lives.

Wednesday, October 19, 2005

Smooth Operator

This is moving quite quickly. Just like that 4th year humanities student who accosted me when I came back from Japan. Bloody hell, I didn't where I was. Kinda scary too.

I've paid my booking deposit, I've spoken to a surveyor and he hopefully will look it over on Friday, Monday latest. If he gives it the ok, then...I'm good to go.
And apparently the owner is ready to move Friday week! So, could I have keys in the 1st/2nd week of nov? Who knows. Have to dig out the Argos catalogue and ballpark furnishings. Need to start by making a list of what exists in each room. Like who thinks about toilet brushes except at times like this?

And I should tell landlord bloke that I may be moving out, and sort out how to move. A fleet of small cars perhaps. And get the tv fixed!

Tuesday, October 18, 2005

About the House

Seems I might be a home owner after quite soon after all.

This is the gaff . I had enquired about it before but it was sale agreed. Then I got a call on Monday as apparently the sale had fallen through.

I made an offer and it's been accepted. So.

Monday, October 17, 2005

XXXXs are a sometime thing

Following on from Sesame Street's efforts to highlight that cookies are a sometimes food, I thought I should mention that blogs are a sometimes communication method. After all, many people view them more as a diary and diaries are mostly about events that have already happened.

It doesn't make sense to announce upcoming events in blog. If those events are in the quite near future, posting them in a blog with any expectation that people will see them in time seems down right silly. There again, it's somewhat the corporate memo, you send it with the intention that no one will notice it, but have it to cover your rear and the proverbial hits the whirring thing at the end of the hall. You know what I mean.

I should state that the wearing of other peoples clothing of a gender to which you are not attracted post they wearing said items while exercising is horribliness of the highest order. The jury is still out on the issue of sleeping in the beds of other people in their absence whether or not you are attracted to them.

From Ed Brill's blog comes the best suggestion for the Office 12 marketing strategy
"Office 12 -- the features you've wanted, found after years of searching!"

I was looking for something in wikipedia and it occurred to me that recent popular culture say the Sprouts seem to be easier to find then crusty old academic information.

Thursday, October 13, 2005

Cold, cold heart

Finally seem to be feeling a bit better.

Last friday morning, I woke up about 5am with a very sore throat. I loaded up on drugs and stayed indoors until the evening when I had to venture out get more meds. Dropped by the office and collected some bits and pieces. I stayed all wrapped up on Saturday and Sunday, postponing a trip home I'd intended to take as I reckoned a few hours on a bus might not be the best treatment. As the throat eased I started to cough a bit more. Tuesday evening I went to bed at 9pm and slept through 'til 10am. Last night I got some dimotane which got me over a particulariy painful or annoying coughing problem in the lead up to Christmas '03. It was so annoying that I didn't get properly sleep for about 10 days and was suitably grumpy with it.

Last night watched the match (Ireland v Switzerland) which was quite depressing. No World Cup for us! I'm usually someone who keeps faith with hopeless causes longer than is sensible as many people can swear to. While this has usually involved affairs of the heart it can shape my view of matters of a more pragmatic nature. Purchases for example. If I decide I want something then I tend to stick at it even when it no longer makes any sense. I should really think about being more rational about such matters.

Anyway, I'm inclined to believe we're in for 4/5 years of poor performances from Ireland.

Monday, October 10, 2005

Arrogance of youth

What is about being young that leads people to be so blindly arrogant to what is around them?

I should start by saying that my definition of young has expanded quite a bit in recent times. I would now almost automatically include most people under 27. Prior to this point, I would have thought it was just the under 20s that ticked me off. It is odd, since in many ways I continue to believe I can relate and talk with young people, (Christ what am I like referring to ‘young people’, perhaps it’s a sign of impending middle age.) What I think I mean is that I’m reasonably lacking in some aspects of maturity and so share many of the interests and motivations of people younger than myself. However, I’m beginning to wonder if I’m not forcing the youthfulness. I can't do the arrogance. It is just a fact of being aware of my own failings sufficiently that arrogance doesn't work anymore. I have the slippers, perhaps the pipe is next.

In parallel, there seems to be so much spite and petty vindictiveness about and it’s so negative. It’s all fun and games being a tad bitchy once in a while, but it is so morale sapping if that is all you get up to. True, some are just naturally up themselves, Mocking Birds for example. Yet there are others who I suspect are playing up to it. And what for exactly? Is no one supportive anymore?

Of course, without that arrogance many people would never attempt the things that later come to mean so much them. Yet, it is an attitude that continues to rankle with me.

I saw the 'killer driver' today, he was stopped outside the Groody apartments so he must be a local. Have to drop into the local cops and report that. Also, Laune Rangers set up a semi-final meeting with Dr. Crokes of Killarney. Mike Frank against Gooch, should be interesting.

Interesting quote in the IT today, in a article about Harold Pinter's 75 birthday. It concerns Michael Gambon who left Dublin age 6.

"Gambon was born in a house in the city too, but still "loves Dublin". As a boy he accompanied his father to Camden town in London and once asked him why so many Irish lived there.

"It was as far as we we could carry the cases," was the explanation."

Wednesday, October 05, 2005

All hail our tubby lord.

Another one of those 'who are you' online thingies. Not surprising results really.


You scored as Buddhism. Your beliefs most closely resemble those of Buddhism. Do more research on Buddhism and possibly consider becoming Buddhist, if you are not already.

In Buddhism, there are Four Noble Truths: (1) Life is suffering. (2) All suffering is caused by ignorance of the nature of reality and the craving, attachment, and grasping that result from such ignorance. (3) Suffering can be ended by overcoming ignorance and attachment. (4) The path to the suppression of suffering is the Noble Eightfold Path, which consists of right views, right intention, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right-mindedness, and right contemplation. These eight are usually divided into three categories that base the Buddhist faith: morality, wisdom, and samadhi, or concentration. In Buddhism, there is no hierarchy, nor caste system; the Buddha taught that one's spiritual worth is not based on birth.

Buddhism


67%

Paganism


63%

agnosticism


63%

Islam


58%

Christianity


54%

Hinduism


54%

Satanism


46%

Judaism


33%

atheism


33%

Which religion is the right one for you? (new version)
created with QuizFarm.com

Tuesday, October 04, 2005

You're not paranoid if they are actually trying to kill you

So, yesterday evening someone actually tried to kill me. I was cycling home after popping into the local 'Get and Go', after take the roundabout at the Groody apartments, I noticed a bit of revving behind me and reckoned that's all I need someone looking to speed past me over the speedbumps when there is oncoming cars. However, he didn't overtake when he could have between the speed bumps so I was a bit conscious of him on my rear.

I turned right after the last speed bump after looking back to see that there was enough of a gap between us and he crept around the corner after me. At that point in the road there tends to be a line of cars on the left in front of two houses which makes things tight. Two cars can't pass each other there, and someone passing a bike needs to make a effort to avoid squeezing a cyclist into the parked cars. It's kind of a horizontal car tunnel.

As I passed the first of the cars, the car gunned past me and then veered into the kerb on the right hand side of the road, broke sharply, did a 180, acrossing someone's front lawn and stopped to face me. This is just at the last left hand turn up the hill to the house. I reckoned there must be some thing up so rather than take the turn, I pulled in between two of the cars that were parked on the turn in front of the wall around the corner house. The car then accelerated at me, veering off at the last moment and then stopped, at which point I took his reg.

He was stopped because he was again that the entrance to the car tunnel, couldn't make it through. He came back, and I decide to walk on the rest of the way up the hill to the house. After 15 feet, another car came out of the car tunnel rather quickly and the mystery driver took over at pace. About 3 secs later, someone shouted out to the wind to stop that racket.

I went into the house and after a slug of water, rang the gardai. I reckoned it was either a stolen car, or someone being drunkenly reckless.

Today ,it turns out Jim saw it from the house. Well, he saw the 180, and the car heading at the wall but not me between the cars.

Of course, the same sort of thing happens in Jacob's Ladder!

Thinking of carrying a heavy spanner in future.