This and That

Back in action...

It's been over a month since throwing something down here. Figured I'd try and get back in the swing with a few quick updates.

On the real estate front - not much happening, lately. There has been a relatively steady flow of people coming to check out the house. I'd say an average of one showing per week over the last month or so. Not sure if that can be classified as high volume but it's been consistent, nonetheless.

I also learned that my landlord has dropped the listing price by about 25 G's. That's a 50/50 indication, I think. On one hand, it shows that there haven't been any serious offers on the property. On the other, it means that he's really looking to unload the place. The good thing is, high summer isn't the best time for real estate transactions. So, it doesn't appear that any changes are imminent.

My friend (the one who's been lodging with me for the past few months) took me to take a look at a two-family house that's been in his sights for about 10 months, now. The idea being we go in on it together in one fashion or another. It still seems a bit over-priced in the current market, though. I wasn't too impressed with the property, to be perfectly honest, so I'm not too concerned with it either way.

Another option is for us to grab hold of my current house and do something with it. But the numbers don't look too enticing there, either.

So, it's still a wait-and-see situation for the time being. Fine with me, at this stage.

The other notable bit is my recent vacation I took in Ireland the last week of June. It was a family reunion, of sorts, on my mom's side of my family.

I'd visited Ireland for the first time in May of 2005 and was psyched to be back again. This time, I was with 20 members of my extended family. Aunts, uncles, cousins, cousins' kids... and my parents. It was the first time my parents had been out of the U.S. and I was so happy they were both able to make the trip.

In the past eight years or so, I've been lucky enough to do a decent amount of international travel. To share that experience with my Mom and Dad, on their first trip, was just awesome. My Mom already wants to go back for a golf tour. I hope she's able to do that.

I've signed up for a Flickr account and am currently in the process of posting the 400-plus photos I took while there (closer to 500 but I'm editing out the duplicates and most of the lousy ones)... As soon as I've got everything up, I'll post the link, here. Until then, here are a few sample photos :

Check ya later...