The end, house in Random Thoughts

Today is the last full day of school, though very little academics have been happening this week (much less the past 6 weeks since state testing started). All my meetings are done, official special ed teacher paperwork done (omg, yay!) and grades completed and turned in. It’s the easiest end of the year ive experienced yet. The last bit my co-teacher and i need to get done is packing, its my second year in a row that i’ve been moved to a new classroom (3 different locations in 4 years- i say locations because my first year i was on an enclosed stage between two different gyms).

Now, my beloved 8th graders will be moving on. I know i will miss them incredibly, i’ve become incredibly attached to them. Their celebration (not graduation!) is Monday, and i have little hand made gifts for them. I am amidst knitting little heart bookmarks for each one. I have been procrastinating finishing them, even though i have the simple pattern memorized and it does not take long to knit one.

Jamie was gone for almost a week, and it will have been a week once i see him tomorrow. In his absence i spent some quality time with a good friend and co-worker, Mandie. She and i co-teach and my 7th grade special ed students are included in her classroom. It’s been a great thing for them! They read advanced texts and are asked to stretch themselves academically. This year most of them passed the state testing!!! I am so proud of them. So, Mandie and i played video games (she has a simulator that plays NES and SNES games), baked, graded essays.... so nice. Her husband is gone for the week and we spend some wonderful hours together. It’s been nice to do that instead of popping around from Vancouver to Portland practically every day.

I’ve been listening to a good non fiction book on cd- “Quiet: the power of introverts in a world that can’t stop talking” and i am really enjoying it. I am definitely an introvert, but have some extrovert qualities (you might think, with my social calendar, that i am more extro than intro). But i get exhausted by being social, don’t like spending time with large groups of people, esp when i don’t know people, feel socially awkward with small talk or when to enter into conversations. I am very sensitive, do not like conflict, never know when to leave social situations…

Oh, i don’t know where i am going with this, really.

How about house stuff? After the inspection my realtor sent over a negotiation based on the results- the house needs a new roof, plus other small things- so, either replace the new roof or contribute to closing costs (me preference). Brandon sent that last Thursday, the realtor did not show it to the seller till Monday and needed to respond by Wednesday.

We heard nothing.

So, Thursday we finally heard that the seller was unwilling to budge on anything. So. I am the second person to get to this place where the seller says no to fixing the roof, and the listing does not say “as-is”. My offer was 210K and the appraisal was 203K with the caveat that the roof needed to be fixed. Of course the seller does not know that, i “bought and own” that appraisal i guess (it almost cost my rent to get that appraisal done!).

As a result, my realtor Brandon told them we were going to rescind our offer. Their response was to ask if they could see the appraisal. The listing agent wanted to take a look at it and use to to try to help the seller see that he needs to negotiate.

When Brandon mentioned that he recommend we rescind the offer, i was annoyed and a little sad, but not devastated. I am a firm believer that no matter, i will end up with the right house. If this isn’t it, it isn’t. I was ready to start looking at other houses, and texted him with about 5 different addresses. So, i am not married to this having to work out. I may even be a little less inclined to accept a negotiation response that is not favorable to me or something i feel is equitable. I love the land that house is on, the owner’s parents built the house in 1941 and all the fruit trees and flowers and remnant of garden were started and lovingly tended by his mother. I am an ideal person to take that over. The house is cute and small and gives me room to put my own touch on it (pull up carpet, reveal hardwood floors, update kitchen with tile, etc), but doesn’t quite have as many vintage touches as i really would prefer.....it’s the land and the love in the land.

That being said. Perhaps i will hear from them this weekend. Perhaps not. What will be, will be.

I have another entry in me, something a little less day-to-day. I will break this into more than one so it’s not too long.