some guys have all the luck

Title of this entry is the title of a song about fortune (or misfortune depending on your point of view).

Insert foghorn noise here

It makes me laugh when I realize the two of us aren't fat and haven't lost our hair compared to our fellow graduates.....you should see some of these sorry bastards that used to be "cool."

The above is a comment left on my MySpace page.

Didn't really know quite how to react to that lil' blurb on first read, but after thinking about it, the guy's right. Compared to the jocks that turned into dump trucks, and cheerleaders that turned into whales (complete with cottage cheese breasts and butt pickles), I think I'm doing okay. Still got all my hair and no grays, and didn't get fat. At present I'm only slightly (said honestly) more than my high school weight. Once I get my treadmill from my Pop's place down here to Tampa, I should be able to get at or below my high school weight in record time.

Recall.. Recall.. Recall..

I got a notice in the mail that on some 2005 GMC Canyons, the brake lamp switch may screw up and it needs to be replaced. Fortunately for me, I routinely check my brake lights and the switch has never been an issue. However, I'm going to have it replaced anyway. I had my Pop contact a dealer and he says he may he the part in by Friday. If not, I'll have the switch replaced next week.

Cheap livin'

My electric bill this month: $29.19. That's not a typo. In September it was $46.33, and I thought I was doing real good back then, but wow.. never thought I'd break the thirty-dollar mark.

It is very obvious to me now that the air conditioner unit is the main culprit in spiking my electric usage.

And yes, I still use my air conditioner about twice a day - in December.

House stuff

Pop is aiming to re-fi his mortgage so I've been doing a lil' research of my own on that. For the longest time I didn't seriously entertain the idea of being a homeowner, mostly because it's almost IMPOSSIBLE to do that in Connecticut without a double income (as in you + wife's income). People up that way are no stranger to $1000 to $2000 a month mortgages. And by the way, that's just the mortgages; it doesn't include utilities or taxes.

Here in FL you can get mortgages for as little as $450 a month for the same size houses as you would find in CT. No joke. So being Pop is doing his re-fi thing, I did a quick search on the internet to see what's out there in southern Tampa Bay. I know this sounds really cliché, but right now it is a buyer's market. People are struggling to sell their homes left and right. For all intents and purposes, the real estate bubble has burst in grand fashion.

I don't know if I'm ready to buy just yet. Buying a home is just a huge, and I mean huge thing. For whatever I get, I'm going to have to really like it and be very comfortable in the town the house is in.

Perk of being single: I have more choices for a house. I don't need 2000 square feet. In fact, I would be very happy with 1000. I'm just one guy and all I require is a garage (of course), some decent living space and I'm good to go.

And lastly, "Excited" Manatee