Saturday's Tasks

1. Make it out of bed and get presentable - check.

2. Host a group visit at Alma and try to make everyone happy, while not saying anything too stupid - check (and I must have done something right because my VP wants me to do a presentation for the faculty sometime - yikes!).

3. Schmooze at lunch - beginning in fifteen minutes.

4. Return to the apartment to complete the majority of our packing. This is going to be an all-day project, halted only for a quick bowl of chili from the crock pot for dinner.

And on Sunday, we'll need to pack bags for the rest of the week in South Lyon, wrap Mom DeYoung's birthday present, get dinner marinating, take dinner to Mitch's parents', celebrate Mom D.'s birthday, set up the deer blind, clear shooting lanes, check the accuracy of Mitch's scope so he can provide for me come hunting season, make final plans for the baby shower next Sunday, put the finishing touches on my mermaid tale, and drive back to SL.

We are set to move to St. Johns in two weeks. Then life should start to go back to its normal busy pace, rather than this current frantic one!

Me + Panera = A Great Way to Kill Time

Anytime I have some downtime during the day - like when I don't see any students and leave a school early, with at least an hour 'til my next appointment - I go on a mission to find a Panera Bread. Not only is the food good, but the wireless Internet makes it so I can catch up on work email and all my friends' blogs!

So that's what I'm doing right now: I have half an hour left to surf the 'net before heading to my third high school of the day, so I thought I'd update all of you on life in general. The biggest thing, I suppose, is our impending move to St. Johns. Mitch and I were approved for an apartment on the north side of town, so we're going to spend the next couple of weekends packing and move in by mid-November.

Pros of the new place: Our very own washer and dryer, a larger living room, nicer appliances, and a master bathroom (I guess that last one is a pro, though I feel it's sort of a waste of space).

Cons of the new place: First floor rather than second (OK, those helping move us aren't sad about that, but I like second floor apartments, especially because this complex has vaulted ceilings on the second floor!), considerably less storage (we have to get a storage unit for all our stuff!), and a smaller master bedroom. It also costs more, but that was expected given our proximity to Lansing.

What's with the house, though? Well, whatever. Our real estate agent is supposed to let us know when it goes on the market as a foreclosure, but we'll more than likely stay in the apartment and save for a bit longer. I'm fine with that and am really just excited at the prospect of having a home of our own again!

In other news, my brother is moving to Colorado in a few days to start his winter stint on Winter Park's ski race crew. He's living in a duplex with our cousin and another friend from high school. He's really excited, and I'm excited for him, but I'm mostly happy that a new romantic interest insures he'll be back in the spring.

That's it, other than I'm about to realize a childhood dream: in a couple weekends, I'll be a mermaid! The annual Halloween party, while not hosted by us this year, is the weekend after Halloween and my mom and I have been working diligently to sew the most beautiful mermaid tail you've ever seen. Once I've constructed my seashell bra, the ensemble will be complete! I promise to post pictures!

Unwinding

After I graduated from college, I remember having a phone conversation with my dad about how I didn't know what to do with all my time. I would go to work at the hospital from 8:00 am until 4:30 pm, and then I'd have the rest of my night, whereas in college it was 8 am 'til midnight or later, all the time. He told me if I wasn't married and actually liked my job, I'd turn into a work-a-holic.

And as with most things, I'm finding he's right.

Since Mitch doesn't generally come back to Mt. Pleasant with me on Thursdays or Fridays, I find myself at the office much later than normal. For instance, I just finished a campus tour and should be packing up to go home, but I'm unwinding with a blog post and contemplating staying another hour or so to get some less-than-urgent projects accomplished. The only thing keeping work-a-holism at bay is the rumbling in my stomach, telling me that this afternoon's peanut butter sandwich and kiwi-fruit are long gone.

To stay or to go...well, I'll be miserable if I get even more hungry (not that I know what I'm going to make for dinner, anyway) and I can always send emails from my couch while watching back episodes of House. Man, I'm terrible at being single.

Weekend hits

Friday night, Mitch and I went to the Carson City-Crystal Homecoming football game and watched arguably the worst football I've ever seen...it was, however, a great time! While Mitch spent most of the game lamenting the terribly blocking, the poor play selection, and the team's inability to tackle, I was swept up in the strange magic of high school football. Maybe it was the twinge of the cold weather combined with the scent of dewy grass and concession-stand popcorn. Maybe it was the blare of the little marching band or the dull clang of my shoes on the bleachers, or maybe it was the tangible excitement and pride of the players and their student fans when they finally managed their season's first (and likely only) win. Whatever the case, I found myself on my feet, cheering loudly as the fourth quarter drew to an exciting close.

The contrast between the Friday night game and the college spectacle I experienced could not be greater. Thanks to Ray's standing as a U of M dental student, he managed to get tickets for Kristy, Mitch, Matt and me for Saturday's game against Purdue. When I finally stepped into the Big House (after the longest walk ever!), I forgot the pain of my lovely heel blisters and was in absolute awe of the number of people packed in, chanting in unison every time the band played the fight song. The stands reminded me of Sunday Afternoon on the Island La Grande Jatte, a painting by Georges Seurat who used a technique called pointillism on that particular Neo-Impressionistic work: and by that, I mean that each little person could have been part of a whole scene, which tells you the absolute magnitude of Michigan Stadium.

Switching from football mode on Sunday, our little group packed into my new G6 for a trip to Cedar Point. It was my first in almost five years, given my aversion to waiting in long lines. But, on this nice, cool October weekend, we never waited more that 45 minutes for a ride and hit most of the coasters in the park. I was even able to doctor my feet such that I barely felt the big blisters from the day before!

And now it's Monday, and I'm feeling the excitement of the weekend fade into the background as I deal with another week of recruiting. This morning was rocky: I discovered I forgot my black dress shoes and had to borrow a pair from my mom. She has good taste, but her shoes are half a size too big and I had to outfit them with some moleskin from my blister-care supplies. Even that doesn't keep the heel from slipping when I walk, but it's better than nothing. I also experienced a (pleasant?) surprise when the PRESIDENT of the ALMA COLLEGE BOARD OF TRUSTEES showed up at one of my high school visits. He has taken a personal interest in one particular young man and decided to join him for my talk that day. Nothing like a bit of pressure! Plus another student's father was there as well, and the counselor, so I felt like a ping-pong ball, trying to answer everyone's questions and not screw up in front of the most important figure at Alma College. Happy Monday to me.

Mmmm. Must get food for strength during tonight's college fair. Must make sure all is packed so hotel stay for next three days doesn't cause more stress. Must get brain unscrambled (highly unlikely).

House Update

When we last left our intrepid house-hunters, they were planning to reevaluate their housing budget, do some research on a lovely home, and possibly make an offer.

Budget determination: We can definitely afford more than we could a year ago, and felt it was close enough to make an offer, especially in light of the information we found on the home...

Home information: Anyone purchasing a house should always take a trip the the county's Register of Deeds first! I went in there with an address and came out know when the property was purchased, how much was spent, and the amount of the mortgage for the house itself. I also learned the house is in the process of foreclosure, how much the owner needs to get to have it not go to the bank, and when the bank will take it away if he doesn't get said amount of money. Oh yeah, and we also now know the name of the attorney with whom he is working regarding the foreclosure.

Offer outcome: In keeping with our budget, we were only able to offer the owner $20K less than he owes on it. He turned us down because there is no incentive for him to take a loss like that. His credit is already shot and he really has nothing more to lose (other than a sense of pride) by letting the foreclosure proceed. Still, we felt we should give it a shot. Unfortunately for him, with the decreased values in the Michigan housing market (up to 30% decreases in the last year), it's unlikely that he will be able to unload the home for the price he needs.

So what now? Well, because we know the attorney's name and approximately when it will go on the market as a foreclosure, we've put the realtor with whom we've been working on the trail. With all luck, she will be able to let us know as soon as it becomes available through the bank, which should be in December, and if the price is right, we may be homeowners shortly after the New Year. In the meantime, we plan to move to an apartment in St. Johns. I have three, possibly four, places to check out on Thursday on the way back to Alma.

And they're ugly, too!

The Prius is one of those cars that make me cringe when I see them on the road, along with that goofy-looking Honda Element. Other than being particularly hideous, they don't deserve all the environmentally-friendly hype. Read this and watch this, and tell me you're not amused.

Bottom line: if you're committed to driving vehicles that conserve energy and get better gas mileage, don't let me catch you in a Prius. Ride a bike or try biodiesel.

It's been almost five years...

...and I'm still waiting to be "blown away," Governor Granholm.

Thanks.

For you out-of-staters, here's what's been happening in our beloved Michigan:

(From an article in the Wall Street Journal's online edition - emphasis added)

Hail to the Taxers
Oct. 2, 2007

Actor Jeff Daniels makes a cool pitchman in those national TV spots inviting business to Michigan, but soon he may have to start pitching inside the state. At about 2 a.m. Monday, a handful of Republicans in the Legislature broke days of gridlock and handed Democratic Governor Jennifer Granholm the $1.48 billion tax increase she has been demanding.

The state's personal income tax will rise to 4.35% from 3.9%, and the rest of the revenue grab will come from a new 6% sales tax on business services. Already 14th in tax burden among the 50 states, according to the Tax Foundation, Michigan is now headed up in the rankings. Congratulations.

The Michigan Chamber of Commerce estimates that two-thirds of the $750 million in new sales tax revenue will apply to business transactions that are tax exempt in most states to avoid a compounding effect that raises costs to final consumers. The tax is especially unfair to small employers that contract out for activities, such as office services, that large businesses provide in-house with no sales tax applied. By the way, last year Michigan introduced a new 4.95% business income tax, which will be applied on top of the sales tax.

Last year, amid the national expansion, Michigan was the only state outside the Gulf Coast to lose jobs and see a decline in economic output. Comerica Bank recently moved its headquarters to Texas, in part because of Michigan's hostile business climate. Michigan's 7.4% jobless rate is the highest of all states and far above the 4.6% national rate.

The state is suffering from the decline of Detroit's car makers, but that's all the more reason to promote policies that attract new businesses -- or at least don't drive current employers to Florida. Ms. Granholm argues that the combination of new taxes to balance the budget, and to finance such new public "investment" as job retraining and education, will reinvigorate Michigan.

She should check her history books. In the past 25 years, the only period when Michigan's growth has exceeded that of the national economy was in the mid-1990s after then-Governor John Engler's tax cutting and welfare reform. For a time, Michigan became the unlikely national leader in job creation. Now the total tax burden is returning to where it was before the Engler years.

Michigan last went on a taxing binge in 1983, and voters were outraged enough to mount a successful recall campaign against two state Senate ringleaders. This time, two of three Michigan voters have told pollsters they want budget cuts, not new taxes. It may be that the only way to get jobs back into Michigan is to make sure the taxing politicians in Lansing lose theirs.