You looked younger

This picture gives me nightmares of house searching.

Let's talk about neighborhoods. One of the great things I learned about driving around beautiful Washington, DC looking for a home is that DC is not beautiful. In fact, 90 percent of the houses are pretty much brick duplexes. This fact lead me to say at one point while we were driving through the desirable Mt. Pleasant neighborhood, "I hate these damn houses. I'm so bored of brick. I think we should get one of those houses that's in a bubble." Naturally we bought a nice brick home a few weeks later.

Interpolation:
S: What happened to that drain in the back yard?
Seller: Oh. He, the dog, you know, he got back there and started digging around.
S: Did he fill in the drain?
Seller: Yeah. He was digging around and then laying in there. You know how dogs are, just messing everything up.



The advantage of the brownstone is that it is sturdily built. Sturdy enough to cause the house to sink a few feet in the seventy years since it was built. Settling is a great term to learn about houses. If a house is perceptibly leaning or a door doesn't quite shut, you can just shrug and say, "The house is still settling" and that makes it all better.

Later:
S: I think the dog is buried in the backyard on that drain.
M: Is that what she was saying?


Later:
S: I think the dog is buried in the backyard on that drain.
M: Is that what she was saying?




As I was driving to the airport to pick up S tonight I was struck by how much I miss the ocean. It was warm tonight in DC, but not uncomfortably so. I rolled down the windows and sang operatically until I injured my vocal chords and looked out over the rolling hills of lights, sad that they didn't end. In CA, if when you drive along the coast the black shape of the mountains is on your right and the ocean on your left. It reminds you that things besides people and freeways and cars exist. It also reminds you that you just bought a house 3,000 miles away from that particular part of the Pacific Ocean. I suppose every big decision you make brings regrets. I occasionally regret buying an appetizer when I'm out at a bar instead, so in the grand scheme of things it's no surprise that I'm not entirely pumped about this whole process. It's just one more step to getting old.

Facebook related Interpolation:
M: That picture of me doesn't look quite right.
S: That picture I made a comment on?
M: Yeah, the one from the other night.
S: I think that picture is from a few years ago.
M: (Looks closer) No. I wore that grey shirt on Saturday.
S: Are you sure?
M: Yes. It says literary dessert after party.
S: Oh. You just looked younger.
M: (Laughing) Thanks.
S: Don't put that on your blog.