"It is a truth universally acknowledged... "

Last night, before I knew that my offer had not been accepted, I was talking to my folks on the phone.

I, of course, was fixated on the condo offer and was talking about nothing else.

On the other hand, my mother started in:

"Oh, you know Diana A---- from church? Well, now that she's a widow, she just found a boyfriend using the Internet. Americansingles.com. Have you heard of that website?"

"Um, do you think I should take out a second mortgage to come up with a 20% downpayment? Then pay that off really quickly if we sell the other condo?"

"Well, I went online to that website last night. I put in PORTLAND, OR and looked for a man between the age of 30 and 40 - I think you could date a 40 year old by now - and did a search."

"Mom, can I talk to Dad about whether I should look into a 7/1 ARM or would a 30 year fixed rate be a good choice for me?"

"So many people popped up on the screen. And...the third picture on the list was an Asian guy. A Chinese guy. He looked really good. There were only three sentences to describe himself, but he sounded really nice. You can email him directly."

"Is 5.75% pretty good for a 30 year loan?"

"I also did a search to see what kind of women are in Portland who are your age. They are nice looking. But you've got a lot going for you. A good job. You're smart and pretty. The girls on the website..."

"Are you saying that I should have no competition here in Portland? Look, the 7 year ARM is about 1 percent less - and would really make a difference on my monthly payment."

"Americansingles.com. Go to your computer right now and do a search. He's the third one on the list. Really. Truly I tell you. Go onto the Internet and email him. Ask him where he's from and where he's been educated. He probably speaks Chinese - that'll be really good."

At that point, I left to go to a yoga class. Yoga was over around 915pm (1115 central time) and I checked my cell phone for messages.

There was one message. From my mother.

"Where are you right now? Are you looking at that website?"

Impulsively Acting and Waiting

This afternoon I placed a bid on a condo in Portland. The building is fabulous, the unit is beautifully restored, and the people there seem really nice. At the same time, it is still hard to believe that I'm actually moving to Portland, Oregon.

You can see pictures at: http://dragononedesigns.com/1830ne11th.htm

The developers (a husband/wife team) who are doing the rehab of this condo bldg also live in the building.

I guess I will find out whether my bid was accepted tomorrow (Tuesday).

I've never done anything like this before. Haven't even arranged for financing.

Fighting German Cockroaches. Searching for an Exit Strategy .

While I was eating BBQ in Memphis, TN from April through August, a platoon of Blattella germanica (German cockroaches ) infiltrated my kitchen and established headquarters in the vicinity of my dishwasher and telephone. According to a scientific graph of the exponential reproductive capacity of the German Cockroach, there should be fewer than one-million of these squatters since I was only gone for four-months. Whew.

Upon returning from Memphis by way of Atlanta (Hurricane Charley, the first of four this year), the nasty German bastards were everywhere. Lots of cockroach poop (looks like coffee grounds or coarsely ground black pepper) and carcasses were scattered everywhere (cockroaches are cannibals). I emptied cupboards, I sprayed, I bombed, I scattered boric acid along the floorboards. The results were impressive - the ugly creatures made themselves pretty scarce.

But, the helpful person at Strosniders Hardware said that I needed to prepare for a long term battle as future broods would hatch and attempt to regroup. So, before leaving for more hurricane madness, I set out more poison and upon my return on 30 September, carcasses of little baby german roaches were scattered about and some evidence of additional cockroach poop.

On 1 October, I had trouble connecting to the Internet via my dial-up modem (I know, 40 Kbps sucks, but I'm cheap). After spending quality time with Verizon's voice automated helpline, I disconnected the wall-mounted cordless phone-set in the kitchen to see if that was the component that was creating fuzz on my phoneline.

Well, a motherload of Blatella germanica poop came flying out the back end of the phone. The German bastards had probably been munching on the wires and circuits - which probably explained why I was having trouble turning up the volume and clearly hearing messages left on the answering machine.

Anyways, I've sprayed more poison in cracks and crevices but my phoneline goes in and out with fuzz. I can't be sure if the German bastards have done more damage to the phone wiring inside my house or if it's some other fluky problem.

At this point, any exit strategy must be coupled with a decisive victory that means nothing less than complete annihilation of the German cockroaches.

And, since I'm moving in a few months, I'm not going to replace the phone/answering machine in the kitchen.

Good eats near FEMA Region IV office.

Just spent about 40-days in Atlanta, GA. More precisely, I slept and worked just inside "the perimeter" where I85 and 285 meet. For posterity here are some good places to eat:

• Bien Thuy - Buford Hwy, just north of ChambleeTucker - mostly ate the spring rolls and banh xeo.
• Pho Buc - Orient Center on Buford Hwy, on the SW quadrant of the Buford/ChambleeTucker intersection. Good pho. Wouldn't recommend much else. Don't get bubble tea there - the tapioca pearls are always congealed into one big blob. Instead...
• Mai Sandwiches - same shopping center as above - Good Bahn Mi and bubble tea/shakes that didn't have artificial flavorings and tapioca pearls that were discrete chewy blobs.
• El Tortas Locas - same shopping center as above, but behind the Asian places - Mexican place where they don't speak English. I can recommend the Mexicana sandwich and the Chorizo Tacos as well as Horchata and Mango beverages.
• Little Cuba - Btw 85 and 285 on ChambleeTucker - Fried yucca is great. Deserts are great. Croqueta Preparada was my favorite sandwich. Good coffee. Nice rainbow salad. Enchilados Camarones (??) was my favorite entree.
• Mediterranean Bakery (or something like that) - same shopping center as Little Cuba. Good felafel platter. Thought the shawarma (beef and chicken) was a bit dry. Good baklava.
• Babs Midtown - Near downtown - Good place for solo dining and a change from the ethnic eats above.

There's also a good laundromat at the Orient Center.