It Is Supposed To Be So Easy - That And Taking Crack

So, yes, I know, more rantings about work. Will she ever stop? I'm sorry. It's an all consuming baby right now. So they all say that listings are the easier way to service your business blah, blah, blah. I don't know, I was so stressed up the wazoo this weekend. The strategy I had for my listing was to price low and get a bunch of interest to drive the price up. It's a big investment opportunity in the area but it needs sooooo much work. The instructions were: make your best offer and that's the one we will take since you won't get a second shot. No playing people off each other and we will not review any offers for 48 hours. I thought that after 48 hours we would have 4 offers and we would settle 10K over asking price. What I didn't know was how fierce they would all be. The issue is, how do you choose the offer that will stand the test of time (and the test of a very nasty inspection). I was very upfront with everyone and told them everything the house needed but these people still kept driving the price up. All said and done we took a cash offer (cash is indeed king) 23K over the asking price (the odd part is that if I had priced the home 10K higher I think we would have netted less) I was worried about this because the numbers just don't work at that price but they said they would be building an addition so I felt better. I had about 175 people come through the open houses this weekend and I'm still getting requests from people to add them to the list should the contract fall through. Mama Mia. It was fun, it was exciting, it was like drinking 20 cups of coffee each hour for 48 hours, and now I feel like a limp rag doll. I just hope we chose the right one. I hope we didn't make a mistake by not buying it ourselves.

Yesterday was a complete nightmare as well. Bad sewer on one of the buyer's inspections, the keys missing in the lockbox for another client's second showing, and no preparation for the first time buyer seminar I gave to Hitachi last night. I feel terrible. RG, you will probably hear horrible things about the seminar. I just had to show up and do it and I really had no time to prepare. I spoke for too long, the crowd was restless, and it threw the lender off because his time was cut. Yikes. We got some good reviews and one really bad review. It was a tough crowd though. I knew we were talking for too long and I knew that they were not being engaged enough. I asked them before we started what their perceptions of Realtors were and they said "One step above a used car sales man?". Hmm...it was rough.

This got me thinking about how my career is a bit like that of a crack user. You get abused, you get screwed, you have huge rushes of adrenaline, you have huge downers, and yet you keep coming back for more. Sometimes you are 'craving' that lead and then BAM you get your fix and all is well again. Very odd. I felt terrible after the seminar last night and my response: Let's do that again with a new crowd next month! Mama mia..why take the abuse? I got a great fix today with 2 new clients waiting for me in my in box. I think my new marketing blitz is working (a whole other boring topic).

So what's going in in real life? Unfortunately not a whole lot. I'm beat and I know that I'll need help soon. I have this idea to recruit my client who became a Realtor at KW and pay his office fee for him in return for 10 hours of work a week ($10/hour). Mike thinks this is terrible because he works the same area I do and I'll teach him everything its taken me so long to perfect. Any ideas? I can only use about 10 hours of help a week right now.

Sorry, back to real life. I'm waiting for my fat burning tapes..no luck yet. I did do pilates yesterday as working out is the one thing I am trying to salvage right now. I cannot WAIT until Vegas. Other than that..it's a wrap. Sorry for all the boring work stuff. Really, you guys are amazing to put up with all my self absorptions. One day I'll get a life.

Shrink Female Fat Zones

Whoever came up with this brilliant title to a workout DVD deserves to make a million bucks. I mean, how can one not buy it!! In my quest to tone up I decided to look for short 20 minute workouts I could do any time of day. Who knew that Kathy Smith is the workout queen. I hadn't really heard of her but she has about 30 workout videos (all highly rated). I think the female fat zone is Denise Austin's baby. Well, to throw in some torture I also got Gillian's DVD (Biggest Loser trainer) because all the reviews said it was amazing and the results were great. It's very hard though so I think I will have to work up to it. I tried the Fitness Magazine tape I have on Monday which I once thought was so freaking easy but I'm hurting. Funny how if you don't use it you lose it. I think it's $45 well spent. Ah well, I shall have to start from scratch again. I feel so much more relaxed today because I completed my newsletter last night and found my coupon for the month ( my mechanic is doing a $19.99 oil change, super good deal). I am on the verge of going under contract for my largest contract. I'm waiting for the counter proposal and if all goes well we shall be there. It's so damn hard finding a balance for your clients. The list price is X, I think it's worth X and the clients have decided to go for it at somewhere in the middle. I dream about them over paying, about if this is the right purchase for them, about if it doesn't appreciate and they will be stuck later. I swear, every house I negotiate I feel as though I am negotiating for myself. SORRY. I will stop yakking about work. MAMA MIA. I bore myself. I don't know how you guys, or Mike, can put up with me. On the cards today: mailings, printing the newsletter (yuck), home previewing for clients, working out, Sam's club shopping, and din dins. Oh, yes, damn Orleans. I called to verify our hotel reservation and they said they had it booked for APRIL. Blasphemy. I was so upset and took the "this is our only holiday for the year" route and whined and raged until they finally gave in and magically found a room. I'm just hoping and praying nothing goes wrong when we get there because I booked the trip and I would hate to screw it up for RG and myself. Anyway, apparently it's a NASCAR weekend event there which is why there are no rooms or why they are so expensive. The Orleans said they had sold out in January already. Bastardos.

Slow The Train Down!

Do you ever feel like you can feel the small details of your routine falling away and if you let them go then the downward spiral begins but you don’t know how to prevent it? For instance, I opened the fridge this morning and there was no food for breakfast, dinner, or lunch. I did not have time to work out this morning. I ate out for lunch today. These things just add up and add up and add up. The lack of food leads to bad eating and the lack of time leads to no working out which leads to unhealthy lifestyle, loss of personal routine, loss of control. I feel overwhelmed that all the details I have so much control over are slowly slipping away and being replaced by the needs of my clients. Sort of like the car accident I saw today. I can see the car in front of me not slowing down enough and sure enough, it slams into a car. I want to shout to the car “slow down, slow down” but I know he can’t hear me and there is nothing I can do. Ah, I should just ride this wave and see where it takes me. I’m sure things will even out soon and then I will be ready to eat my arm off again from boredom. I’m trying to find a balance and not let things stress me out too much. Phew. I got another listing in the Highlands today, which is fantastic. Just 30 more and we are all done J

What Happened?

I don't understand what has happened. Where has the time gone? I'm so confused how I can get so wrapped up in the details of things that time just whips right by. I mean, work is great so I can't complain. I've signed a listing this week in my farm area (this is like getting a billboard at the Comdex show) and I've picked up many buyers since January. All is good and great. The unfortunate part is the weather. The cold has kept me from running this week (only made it 3 times) and I have gained 5 pounds. Of course yummy Valentine dinner didn't help as well as staying in and eating all day Friday either. Mike's family was in town this weekend and that of course didn't help either. Yikes. I did finally manage to get the courage to run this morning but it was so cold. I have to still somehow find a way to eat something to give me energy to run in the mornings. When I eat badly I love running because I can run like crazy. Without the energy though running is just so horrible. Anyway, the good news is that I ate all this disgusting food tonight so I will hopefully be able to run better tomorrow. I'm enjoying the Olympics very much for the most part. It's amazing how much dedication the athletes have. It's amazing to see how much they love their sport and to what lengths they go. Did I mention my furnace conked out twice this weekend? Lovely. Congratulations to RG on the promotion. Meg moo, you are so not a loser in the things that you think about or spend your time perfecting.

I Want To Cry

I just read Meg Moos blog and it makes me want to cry because I want to go back to Hawaii so freaking badly. I've been avoiding even writing about it because I seriously am in mourning It was so lovely, and so relaxing, and so much fun, and so fattening (can you say 5 pounds?), and so out of this world. I was thinking this morning that I want to create a rule that states you can only go on vacation in warm tropical climates with excellent food and company. England? Never heard of it. I mean...let's see...cold weather, bad food, bad tempers vs. paradise. It's a tough call. Hmmm. The good news is, and this really is good news, that I have a few mementos from the trip. I have about 8 mozzie bites that itch every now and then, and every time I scratch them I smile and think of where I got them and that hopefully a bit of me is still back there in Hawaii. I'm seriously about to cry. Life since I got back has been hectic, which is fantastic, but it's not a vacation. I have 4 buyer appointments this week (3 down, 1 to go), and have just returned from one of the most bizarre home showing trips (4 hours to include Westminster, Thornton, Denver, Wheat Ridge, Lakewood, and Golden..Lovely). I shouldn't complain, dammit, because I whine so much when I have nothing to do but for some odd reason, as is my personality, it's either nothing or everything and too much of either is enough to drive one crazy. Stop bitching. Okay, sorry, enough. I'm very happy and excited that I have work now as before it was horrible and depressing. Yeah. Excellent. My workout goals now include: lose the 5 pounds I just gained, lose 5 more, and then move onto weight training. Oh, I did discover this huge, I mean massive, recreational center at Kipling and 38th. It's a bit far away, but it looks like they have excellent facilities with pools, etc. I may just have to go check it out. My experience in a bikini has led me to believe that I have plenty of work to do. Yuck.