Adventures in Home ownership (I hope)
I have decided to enter the home owners club. I’ve been thinking about it for a long time, and always managed to talk myself out of it, but now seems like the right time.
A lot of factors lead to my decision to buy a house. I want a place I can call mine. I want to own something. A huge part of the decision is I want a place where my dogs can run and play and not be cooped up all the time.
I’ve been
sort of looking for a couple of months, but I decided to look in earnest over the weekend. I got a realtor (moms landlord) and went out and looked at a LOT of houses. I found one I liked a lot early in the day, but most of them didn’t feel like home to me. That is, until the last house we looked at for the day.
Ever looked at something and just knew it was right? Well that’s what happened. I walked into this house and it just felt like home right away. I didn’t need to look any more.
After looking all day, I wasn’t sure if it was just that it was better than every other place I looked at, or if it was really the house I wanted. So I waited two days and went back to look again on Monday. I still loved the house, so, in typical me form, I didn’t wait or think about it any more or anything. I made an offer and after a short negotiation, we made a deal.
Now the real panic starts. I have to wait to see if financing is approved. I don’t think there will be an issue with that, but the long period of unemployment/under-employment I recently went through has me concerned
.
Then there’s all the other stuff to do before moving in and the expenses involved to get ready.
- Home Inspection $250
- Earnest Money $500
- Refrigerator $1200
- Washer/Dryer $700
- Fence (one side of the yard isn’t fenced) Price unknown at this time
- Insurance $500
I’m leaking money like a cup with a hole in the bottom right now and that doesn’t even cover some other things I need to buy like new living room furniture, a dining room table, and paying for movers.
I’m also going to do a minor renovation in the master bathroom before moving in. There’s nothing wrong with it right now, but I just want to change the tub in there for a really nice shower.
I’m nervous but excited. I’m hoping to close by then end of the month, and move in the first week in March. Lots to do between now and then. All of the above, plus cable, electric service, waste service, water, phone, and satellite all have to be hooked up. Going to be a busy couple of weeks, but I can’t wait.
The pictures are of the front and the back. 3BR, 2BA, with a fenced yard and a 2-car garage. And hopefully soon it will be mine. Well it will be in 30 years once I pay off the bank.
Super bowl 2011
So the Super Bowl kickoff is in a few minutes. I’m looking forward to seeing a good game, even though I’m not really a fan of either team.
If I had to pick which team I’d want to see, I think it would be Green Bay. I like Aaron Rogers. I like the way he plays, and the way he appears to live his life. He’s not one of the ‘it’s all about me’ players in the NFL. He seems to care about people outside of football, yet he has the drive and focus to work as hard as possible to be at the top of his profession. He does it without trying to call attention to himself, without pulling the stunts that many of the top pro’s fall to, and without flaunting his success for the world to see.
I’ve watched most of the pre-game show on Fox, and now I’m ready to watch the game.
I’ll have more about something I saw on the pre-game show once I compose myself about it, but I’ll tease by saying that when they read the Declaration of Independence, I was emotionally moved.
For now, lets watch some football.
Health Care Law Unconstitutional
I was watching the news today and saw the announcement that a Federal judge in Florida had ruled that the health care overhaul law is unconstitutional. I’m happy to see that someone in the court system has their head where it belongs and not up their ass.
I’ve always wondered what gives Congress the right to tell me I have to purchase something. Apparently, according to the judge, they do not. This might be good news going forward. Maybe it will slow Congress down and make them think before they act.
Why does a bill have to be 2700 pages long? I think that a bill should address something and do it in terms that anyone can understand. If it takes an army of lawyers to decipher a new law, then the law isn’t written very well.
Any time you hear a leader of Congress say ‘we have to pass the bill so we can see what is in the bill’, then there is something seriously wrong. Shouldn’t you know what is in a bill before you vote on it?
If it was up to me, there would be a requirement that, prior to voting on a bill, Congress would pass a quiz covering the contents of the bill. If you don’t pass the quiz, then you don’t get to vote.
Now back to the health care law. I’ve said before, I support some reform of out health care system. A lot of people will call me heartless, and try to accuse me of wanting to kill the sick and the poor. So once again, I’m going to say this slowly, and in big, bold letters for those that are not quite so bright.
I… SUPPORT… HEALTH… CARE… REFORM… IN… SOME… MANNER.
Got that? I think there are parts of our health care system that need to be fixed. Want a short list off the top of my head? Here are a few things.
- Ability to buy my health insurance from any state and use it in my state (like I buy car insurance.
- Law suit reform.
- Health savings accounts
I’m sure there are more, but there are a couple of things I don’t think should apply. I’m not a fan of forcing insurance companies to cover you for pre-existing conditions (with the following exception). If you’ve had continuous coverage prior to contracting the pre-existing condition, then you should be able to transfer to new coverage with no penalty. If you didn’t have insurance prior to needing it, then it isn’t insurance—it’s subsidy. That’s not the same thing.
Hospitals already treat anyone that shows up, regardless of means to pay. Hospitals need to have more resources available to recoup their costs. If someone comes in with no insurance, and can’t pay the bill, why should the hospital be on the hook for the costs. Take their car, their house, or whatever they have to cover the costs. Yes this sounds cruel, but the end result will be that more people will invest in health coverage before they actually need it, thus driving costs down for everyone.
The judge in Florida, in his decision, stated:
I must reluctantly conclude that Congress exceeded the bounds of its authority in passing the Act with the individual mandate. That is not to say, of course, that Congress is without power to address the problems and inequities in our health care system. The health care market is more than one sixth of the national economy, and without doubt Congress has the power to reform and regulate this market. That has not been disputed in this case. The principal dispute has been about how Congress chose to exercise that power here.
Because the individual mandate is unconstitutional and not severable, the entire act must be declared void.
This is good news. Let us hope that as this makes it up to the Supreme Court it stands. This is the first step in telling Congress that they are overstepping their bounds and beginning to get them out of controlling our lives a little.
The Special Election in Mass. and Health Care Reform
Being from South Carolina, I usually don’t have much of a reason to follow the political races of state way, way north of me. The special election in Massachusetts is currently a deviation from the norm. This one has me tracking it and hoping.
Hoping that Scott Brown can pull it out and break the 60 vote majority in the Senate. The reason I want to see this is simple. The breaks have to be put on the out of control train that is the current House/Senate/White House triad. And this will help.
This one race, at this particular time, will slow down the out of control congress and senate. Not much, but by enough. No longer will the Senate have the 60 votes in their pocket to do whatever they want. Maybe they’ll have to slow down a bit and actually think about what the people want for a change, instead of catering to the 20% minority that makes up 95% of those that they owe massive favors to.
That starts with stopping this current health care reform bill.
I said the current bill. Let me set this straight
I support health care reform. I think we need it.
Got that? Should I repeat it in bigger, bolder letters? OK, then.
I SUPPORT HEALTH CARE REFORM. I THINK WE NEED IT.
Can you see it that time? Fine. Now don’t give me any crap about being rigid, or not wanting to help the needy or any of that.
I support health care reform. Just not THIS health care reform.
How can anyone actually support a bill that is so big and complicated, that the people we elect to run our government for us can’t understand what’s in it? How can anyone support a bill this big, that was done behind closed doors and brought to the floor for a vote without allowing time for those that have to vote on it to actually read and comprehend what they are voting on?
I have major issues with the shenanigans being done by those in power trying to get this bill passed. A bill that recent polls show doesn’t have the support of a majority of the country, yet our congress is going to attempt to push it through anyway.
Talk about corruption. If I tried to pull anything close to making deals like the ones included in this bill I’d be in jail for years. But it’s standard practice in Washington it seems.
Super Bowl Matchup
Well, the teams for this years Super Bowl are set. Indianapolis and New Orleans.
I watched both games this week with more than a little interest, which is odd since I no longer had a horse in the race. I’m a Dallas fan and, once again, they played like a bunch of idiots last week and lost to Minnesota.
The loss to Minnesota disgusted me, since I’ve gone from being a fan of Brett Favre when he was in Green Bay, to constantly hoping he fails since his ‘first’ retirement/un-retirement. He should have just stayed retired. Yes, he’s played well, both last year with the Jets and this year with the Vikings, but for him to come back and play in a different uniform is just unacceptable in my eyes. I think it diminishes the great career he has had. He should have never worn any uniform other than a Packer uniform (once he was traded from Atlanta and became the quarterback he became).
Anyway, I watched today with mixed feelings in the first game. It would have been nice to see Mark Sanchez take the Jets to the big game, but I really like the way Peyton Manning goes about things, both on the field and off. I couldn’t bring myself to root against him. And anyone who bets against the Colts at any time (right now), better be prepared to lose their shirt. They just find ways to win, even when it’s ugly.
For anyone that had early season doubts if Sanchez is for real, he is. He’ll be back, and the Jets will be a force for a few years, in my opinion. I don’t know if they have the team to win, but they definitely have the team to make people take them serious after a number of really crappy years.
The late game was fun to watch, and not nearly the offensive shoot-out I expected. I was glad to see New Orleans win, and have a chance to go to the Super Bowl for the first time in franchise history. I’ve been a sideline fan forever. I was an Archie Manning fan, which may be why I like Peyton and Eli so much.
The only bad thing in the late game was, even though I didn’t want him to win, seeing Favre through a late interception hurts. For him, it starts the cycle of retirement/un-retirement all over, since that’s how his last game at Green Bay ended. Hopefully, this time he’ll just stay retired and let it die.
I’m looking forward to the Super Bowl now. I think it will be a really good game. I’m not sure either defense can truly stop the other offense, but maybe one of them can slow the other down a time or two to let their team get the jump. It will be exciting to watch.
I really don’t care who wins this year. I like both teams. So I’ll watch with the interest of someone that loves to watch good football games.
And when it’s over, I’ll look forward to August when pre-season games start again.
I Have Lost Control of My Life
Well, good intentions quickly fall to the way side based on schedule. As much as I intend to post more often here, I always run out of time. I promise to try to do better.
Anyway, to the topic at hand.
I’ve lost control of my life.
I realized this a few minutes ago, while I was standing outside in the rain trying (unsuccessfully) to get my dog to poop. It used to be, I did things on my schedule, when I wanted. If I didn’t want to go outside all day, that was fine. I’d just be a hermit and stay in.
Things changed just before Thanksgiving. I got a dog. He’s usually a good dog, though he’s not very bright at times. Like just now. It’s raining, and he was just as happy as could be wandering around in the rain, sniffing wet leaves. He didn’t realize he was wet until we got back inside.
So now, I’ve lost control of my life. No longer can I do anything at all on just my schedule (or lack of schedule). Now I have to think about things like how long it’s been since he’s been out for a walk, or what time did he last eat. 
He’s got me trained too. Once we come back in for a walk, he stares at me with this sad look on his face until I give him a treat. Or I’ll be sitting at my computer working and he’ll decide it’s time for me to pet him, and jump up on my lap. No amount of will power can keep me from reaching down to pet him when he does that, which would be fine, but when I try to stop he’ll insist I keep going (until he decides I’ve petted him enough).
I guess the point is, that as much as I like to think I control every aspect of my life, the truth is that it seems my dog is really in charge around here. He sleeps on his schedule, not mine. He plays on his schedule, not mine. We walk on his schedule, not mine
I’m not complaining. I wouldn’t get rid of him for anything. He’s my dog and he makes me happy (most of the time).
But it’s obvious to me. I no longer control a lot of aspects of my life.
So Welcome to My Blog
I’ve been meaning to do this for a while and finally got off my ass and decided to do it. Now I have a blog. I’ll post here occasionally (hopefully often). There is really no telling what I’ll post about on any given day. I have a lot of various interests.
A little about the title and tag line. The title came about because I had a tag line I thought sounded good and fit the way my mind works sometimes. ‘Random rantings from a chaotic mind’ just seemed to be right on point. So I tried to come up with a name that worked with that thought. That’s how I came up with ‘Chaotic Impulse’. It just kind of stuck.
I may post on just about anything here. Might be politics (if you don’t like mine, don’t read them), or something in the political realm, or general society that has me thinking. It might be about games, or about teaching, or thoughts about technology. Who knows. I have a lot of interests, and depending on my mood, you might even get me going off on a semi-rant about anything.
The posts might be positive, might be negative, might be me just venting about something that annoys me. With any luck it will at least be entertaining, or not boring.
If anything I happen to post here offends anyone, too bad. It’s not your blog, it’s mine. I’ll say what I want here. 
That’s it for now. Enjoy yourself.