I Am Pacing the Floor

I need to put a bag of sand on top to my head to weigh me down and
keep me from being so hyper. There is no reason for the way I am
feeling. The closing papers were delivered by FedEx. There was one
charge that was included that should not have been. I had called
earlier in the morning and left a message inquiring to make sure I
would receive the papers today. When my call was returned, I asked
about the charge. The lady I talked with told me to just deduct it from the
amount I wire. She assured me there would be no problem. That was a
simple resolution.

My yard man mowed the grass today. I told him about the upcoming move
and explained that I wanted him to continue to take care of the yard
until the house is sold. He has been mowing my yard for five years,
and I have never figured out just how much English he understands. His
wife speaks perfect English. I am waiting for her to call me back so I
can be sure that they have my new address and will send me bills and
continue the lawn care. SE Texas has had so much rain this summer. My
yard looks better than it has in years. Usually by late August it has
brown spots. This year it is nice and green. I hope it stays that way
while the house is on the market.

I called my credit card company and alerted them to expect the credit
authorization from the moving company. It is a much larger charge than
I typically make. The credit card companies have so many anti-fraud
programs in place, I was afraid they might refuse the charge. The
representative said she had noted the information in my record.

I tried to change the address online for the mutual fund company that
administers my largest 401K plan for the big oil company that was
formed when the company I had worked for merged with another large oil
company. The website said I could not make the change online and gave
an 800 number to call. I was on hold for more than twenty minutes.
Then I was told I had to call the oil company. I called and had a
terrible time getting to a human being because I did not have a PIN.
Finally I talked to a man who was very nice. He accepted the address
change and is mailing me a PIN. He said he would notify the mutual
fund company.

I then tried to change the address for a couple of individual accounts
I have with the same mutual fund company online. Their computer would
not accept my new address. I then called another 800 number for
customer service for the individual accounts. Finally I was able to
change the address.

I then tried to change the address for my brokerage company online.
That computer did not like my new address either. I called the 800
number and again was successful in changing the address.

I did go out in the garage and swept up the spilled potting soil. The
garage is not as clean as I would like to have it, but I think I have
done enough. When I filled out the disclosure forms for the realtor,
she told me the things that were concerning me are not significant.
She said this is not a new house. I have tried to keep my house as
like new as possible and worry about every little defect.

I made copies of the Walden floor plan and sketched in where I want my
furniture placed. The one big complaint I have about Del Webb/Pulte is
that they did not give me scale drawings of the house. I crawled
around the model on my hands and knees and wrote down the critical
measurements. My sketch of my furniture arrangements certainly are not
to scale, but I think I have worked things out so that everything will
fit.

My Del Webb customer relations manager called while I had the phone
tied up with the address change calls. She said they were telling the
residents to obtain TV and Internet from AT&T. They have the bundled
package that includes phone, DSL and Dish Network. She said Time
Warner would not have service to my house until my block is complete.
There are nine houses on my cul-de-sac. All of them should be complete
within a month, but the official "Block" is composed of 13 lots. As
of late July, construction had not started on at least two of the
lots. I checked the information I had received, and I do not think
those two lots are in Phase 1, 2 or 3. I will find out more next week.
If I know for sure that there will be a long delay in getting Time
Warner, I will go ahead and get satellite TV and DSL. I really do not
want the dish put on my roof.

It makes me feel better to unburden myself by writing in this blog. I
hope the people reading it will forgive me.