It would irresponsible of me not to share my newfound love of Parry Gripp's music. Whenever I feel down, all I have to do is hear this heartfelt music and watch this confident hamster:
Whenever I need a laugh, all I need to do is sing along to this upbeat song and watch how the world has gone completely insane:
And whenever it is time to feed my kitties their din-din, I sing this song and try not to die of cute-overload:
Thursday, May 26, 2011
Thursday, May 19, 2011
Green Investors
Well under way is the search for our second real estate purchase. We enjoy working with lenders and real estate agents, touring prospective properties, and brainstorming about investing. We heavily use the the Zillow Real Estate website to find what's for sale, in conjunction with Google Maps to "walk around" via Street View and to plot driving routes to actually walk around the place in person.
The Columbus area has a lot of potential for investment. Unfortunately, with loss of jobs in the region, large portions of the city are in decay. Yesterday evening we found ourselves on a severely degraded street on the east side of the city of Columbus. While the fourplex we had come to see was in great shape, it was truly, as Dusty put it, the diamond in the rough. All of its neighboring buildings had boarded up windows and doors, their walls were painted with graffiti art, and one was a burnt shell, gaped and sagging and exposed to the elements. Despite the obvious hazards in the neighborhood, people were outside of their homes drinking 40s, playing basketball, listening to music, and socializing with one another. Although it looks like it should be a dead neighborhood, lots of people are still living here, and they are doing it with spunk.
We found ourselves eating fried chicken in a nearby restaurant and talking about the risk of buying in this neighborhood. The fourplex we had come to see is fully occupied and freshly painted. All of its windows and doors are intact. The annual income from its tenants is $20,000, and while the current owners have kept it well-maintained, we couldn't justify buying a property that might meet the same fate as nearly all of its neighbors. We thought it might be fun to buy up the whole street and initiate a community rehabilitation project, but ultimately, we are green investors and still getting to know what possibilities there are for us. Buying up a whole street will have to wait a little while, until we have enough capital to play with. Until then, we will continue to look far into the future.
The Columbus area has a lot of potential for investment. Unfortunately, with loss of jobs in the region, large portions of the city are in decay. Yesterday evening we found ourselves on a severely degraded street on the east side of the city of Columbus. While the fourplex we had come to see was in great shape, it was truly, as Dusty put it, the diamond in the rough. All of its neighboring buildings had boarded up windows and doors, their walls were painted with graffiti art, and one was a burnt shell, gaped and sagging and exposed to the elements. Despite the obvious hazards in the neighborhood, people were outside of their homes drinking 40s, playing basketball, listening to music, and socializing with one another. Although it looks like it should be a dead neighborhood, lots of people are still living here, and they are doing it with spunk.
We found ourselves eating fried chicken in a nearby restaurant and talking about the risk of buying in this neighborhood. The fourplex we had come to see is fully occupied and freshly painted. All of its windows and doors are intact. The annual income from its tenants is $20,000, and while the current owners have kept it well-maintained, we couldn't justify buying a property that might meet the same fate as nearly all of its neighbors. We thought it might be fun to buy up the whole street and initiate a community rehabilitation project, but ultimately, we are green investors and still getting to know what possibilities there are for us. Buying up a whole street will have to wait a little while, until we have enough capital to play with. Until then, we will continue to look far into the future.
Tuesday, May 10, 2011
Ohio State University: First Thoughts
WOW -- this is definitely my first choice. Ohio State has the research and international opportunity that any serious anthropologist would die to get in on. The bustling campus has views of the Columbus skyline and the Olentangy River, and it's home to the state's favorite football team: the Buckeyes. Quickly becoming internationally known, OSU's acceptance rate is in the 55%-60% range, and the faculty are not just teaching students but also performing research and consulting throughout the world. I'd be crazy not to go to this school.
My Birthday Weekend
We spent my birthday at Indian Lake with Dusty's family, and
Listened to bird calls high in the treetops,
Skimmed the lake on a cousin's motor-boat, fresh air whipping my hair straight backward and drying my eyeballs faster than I could blink,
Spotted fluffy baby ducklings with their mother, and herons standing tall and still in the channels beyond the lake,
Sipped wine and chatted with all the relatives,
Relaxed by the outdoor fire after dark in weather that was perfectly cool and bug-less.
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