J9's Property

Well, it was an interesting weekend. We're looking at moving sometime in the near future, so we've been taking, well, stabs at the monster they call Real Estate. There's just so much to consider when you're looking at buying/selling homes, I usually end up in a near-catatonic state just thinking about it!

We met yesterday with an agent who we may hire as a buying agent. If all goes well, we might even see if he'd agree to be our listing agent. The problem we always run into, though, is the issue of trust: can we trust this person?

Me? I'm as naive as they come. I tend to trust people, no matter how many times I get burned. Don't get me wrong, if one person burns me, it's likely to be a very long time before I ever trust them again. What I'm referring to, is that I tend to trust new people, unless there is an obvious reason not too. I'd like to think I'm a good judge of character, but unfortunately, I'm not nearly as good as I think I am. I tend to take things at face value.

I have to admit, though, I'm not as naive as I used to be. In my current line of work, I've actually become more cynical than I ever thought I'd be. But, if someone appears genuine on the outside, I tend to think of them as genuine, unless I see overt signs of, well, sleaziness...

Doug, on the other hand, is the exact opposite. Trust does not come easily for him at all, and really, I don't blame him. He's been hurt and burned a lot more, and a lot worse, than I ever have. But, I can rest in the knowledge that if he thinks he can trust someone, then I have absolutely no reason not to...

So, getting back to this agent - I think he's great, on-the-level, honest, and very up-front about his expectations, what he wants to do for us, and what he's hoping we can do for him. Seems pretty good, doesn't it? Too good to be true?.... I really don't know. I guess it's all part-and-parcel with the risk involved in any big (huge!) decision, like buying/selling your home! But Doug seems to like him, and feel comfortable with him. I think it helps that Doug has dealt with him in an informal setting, and I only dealt with him in a formal presentation setting, where everything was scripted, rehearsed, and very, very, smooth...

I guess it's the sad state of our society these days - you can never just take a person at their word, they have to continually prove that they're on the up-and-up, and you're constantly having to question a person's motives. It's one of the things I absolutely HATE about modern society: "love your neighbor as yourself" has turned into "look out for number one".

Am I ready to step out on that limb? Anyone who knows me can tell you that J9 and Risk just don't belong in the same sentence! Who to trust? There's only One I can truly trust to look out for us and our best interests. Maybe I should just trust Him....

Sounds easy, doesn't it?....

Yes, this is a new template -- the black was looking a little too, well, BLACK, and you know me and the colour green.....

To be honest, I can't see this blog being a "diary", where I'll be describing what I'm doing at any one time, or what I've done in a day. (unless it is earth-shattering - I'm not looking to bore people!) I'll probably stick to thoughts, opinions, whatever comes to my head that I want to hang on to, instead of slipping through the swiss cheese that has been my mind lately. Work stress will do that to you...

What I think will be interesting to me, will be to see people's reactions to what I write. It'll be neat to see if what I write is what people think I would write, or if I might catch some people by surprise. You know, the "that's typical J9" vs. "that doesn't sound like the J9 I know" I like to surprise people - I love seeing their reactions! It's just something I really get a kick out of, which is why I always like to be the bearer of news. (preferrably good, or at least interesting. Bad news, on the other hand...)

I guess one thing I've always wondered, is what kind of impression I make on people. I've made a lot of new friends since moving to Scarberia, so it's interesting to see what my new friends think of me, vs. what the friends and family who have known me all my life think of me.

I just realised how self-centered and self-concious this is sounding......YIKES! But then, it's important to be aware of our outward image and behaviour. Whether we like it or not, the world will always judge us based on the outside, or "through the eyes of men". While God may always look on the inside, we can never escape the reality that if we want people to see God in this world, we have to wear Him on the outside, too!

OK, so you've just had a taste of how tangential my thought processes can be. Scared yet? I am!

I think I'm going to be as interested as the next reader, to see just what gets written on this site!

Oh, the inconvenience!.....

Gotta love internet cafe's -- it's the only way I'm actually going to get anything posted! We still don't have our internet up-and-running at home; we just don't have the time to call Dell and go through the whole re-install-windows-so-we-can-actually-find-out-what's-wrong-with-the-computer process. In the mean time, I'm relegated to checking email at work, answering emails for Doug, printing off what I can on the work printers (NOT a suggested course of action!).... That would be fine and good, if it weren't for all the information we not only need to receive by email, but all the information we need to SEND by email. Believe me, you don't realize how much you come to depend on the internet, until you can't access it when you need to!!

So, here I sit in the "internet cafe" at work, attached to our lunchroom, where poor beggars like me sit and do all their emailing, surfing, and blog posting in the few minutes we have to ourselves before it's back-to-the-grind....

Like an old friend of mine used to say, "whadda ya do, when ya live in a shoe? Move into a boot, and get laced!!"

Yes, it's true. I'm actually joining the world of the bloggers. Never thought I'd do it, but what the heck.....
Don't know how often this will be updated, but once I actually have my internet re-connected at home, hopefully I'll be doing a little more! In the mean time, I don't know how often I'll be able to post, but hopefully it will get going soon!