ARCHIVE: MAY, 2009

Well, it's pretty late so I'm going to keep this short and head off to bed. My main objective was to get this pics posted... it's been way too long since I posted any of my work. In fact, I think the last of my pics I posted was way back in January or February! Sorry... busy times... I do what I can to find time to take pics and post them... I guess this is what you get. Summer I take more pics, but am usually busier so I post them less often. And with a move coming up soon, that means I won't have computer for a while... most delays. Realistically, the next pics up will be from my canoe trip in Manitoba, in mid-June. Stay tuned....

----- 05.21.2009 --------
I have some great news to share with you... I sold my condo! :) On Friday evening, I received and offer and by the end of the night, a deal was reached and my condo's been sold! The closing date isn't until July, but it's time to find somewhere to live once we're out of here. Wait a sec... CHECK! That's taken care of too! Kim was really excited about the offer, but probably more excited that it meant she could start searching for our new home. Because I didn't want to have any pressure while trying to sell, we were both very disciplined and didn't look for anything. Why? Because if we found that "perfect place that we just have to have", then we'd end up renting it, which would then set the clock ticking because paying rent AND a mortgage is a great way to kill any possible profit from the sale.

So the discipline paid off! As "luck" would have it, a placed showed up on ViewIt.ca that was perfect! We were going away to Michigan (up to Mackinaw) early Saturday morning so we arranged to see it Friday night. It's a 3 bedroom place in the beaches (AKA "The Beach"). We fell in love with it... as did a bunch of others who viewed it on Saturday. Fortunately, John, our new landlord, is a very fair man and since we saw it first, gave us first option to keep it. We got back from Michigan on Monday, drove over and sealed the deal. I've been living walking distance from work for almost 12 years now... this is going to be quite a change to have to take the streetcar (or bike, or other) to work)... but I'm looking forward to it!

Also, now that the sale is done, the hunt for land is on! I'm looking for 50 - 100 acres, within about 4 hours from the city. I found some awesome places... now the tricky part of trying to figure out how to go see them all. It seems like all my summer weekends are already booked, with the wedding and everything coming up. Oh well... I'll find a way to squeeze it in... I always do :)

Michigan on the weekend, you ask? Kim & I drove way up to Mackinaw to party with my sister Laura for her 30th birthday. She was supposed to do a bike ride called "Zoo-de-Mack", but the weather got in her way. We all went up anyway and had a great time. After that, we drove to Windsor and stayed there Sunday night, and then back to Toronto on Monday. Once we got back we went out to seal the deal on the new place and the rest is history! Needless to say, I've been busy lately! Add to that all the BS going on in my building, and I've been very busy! It seems that RezenOwners.com is being well received by my building. Most of them atleast. I'm sure the builder's not too impressed on the fact that everyone is calling them on all their deficiencies. I still have my story to share with you, but I'll wait till I'm out of the building. After hearing my story, you're going to want to stay away from any project associated with Times Group. Anyway, that's for another day. In the immediate future (next week), we've got our turn over meeting. It's being held on May 27th and the builder and his cronies are doing everything they can to confuse the residents about the date. The real date was up for less than a week... and then they've reverted back to the April 15th notice that the April 23rd turnover meeting has been delayed until further notice. Do they really think these tricks can buy them the time they want and the board they want? Not on my watch.... and I'm doing everything I can to help the owners of Rezen connect to one another and share information. If I were Times Property Management or Times Group, I'd have definately joined in the conversation by now, and not just sit on the sidelines letting their customers and clients wander around confused because their property manager doesn't give a crap.

That's all for now... I should have stuck with just the good news... I sold and will be leaving this all behind me eventually. It doesn't mean I don't want others to get pushed around by these bullies. And Tarion, the mandatory warranty company for Ontario? Shame on you for letting this happen to so many buyers in the city....

----- 05.10.2009 --------
To all the Mothers out there... Happy Mother's Day! But more importantly... to my own Mom, I wish you a Happy Mother's day! I love you and thanks for being so awesome! You're the best, Mom! :)

Mother's Day aside, it was a fairly quiet weekend. I saw a couple movies on the weekend... Yesterday I saw "The Spirit". Artistically, it was kinda cool, but overall, I didn't like it and wouldn't recommend it. Tonight, Kim and I saw Battle in Seattle. It was pretty powerful and I highly recommed it! It's barely even a glimpse into what we'll see a lot more of in the next year or two. It's too bad.... :(

What else? Soccer started on Wednesday at the Docks. It was a lot of fun, but it hurt! It hurt during (I need to get into better shape!) and after... especially my knees from all the sprinting. Looking forward to another fun season! What else? Oh yes... Juliano, a friend of Kim's and mine, celebrate his birthday today. We went over today for a BBQ and it was delicious! Lots of tasty, grilled goodness :)

Other than that, things are moving along. Still waiting for the first offer to come in on the condo. There are lots of showings, so I feel good about it. It's just a matter of time and on the bright side, we're not in any rush to sell. Fortunately we restrained ourselves from buying more real estate or renting something until it sells... otherwise we may be feeling pressured. Well, I think that's about it. I have a feeling I missed something important, but if I can't think of it, it couldn't have been that important, right? OK folks... g'nite!

----- 05.03.2009 --------
Today I ran the Sporting Like 10K Run. It's a 10 KM run down Yonge Street, ending in Old Fort York. It's the first time I've ever run it and only my second 10K ever. I was pretty happy with my results: 56 minutes and 55 seconds. Because it's mostly downhill, it's one of the faster 10K races out there. I didn't train much for it, so I was happy to finish without walking! I was training leading up the Harry's 8K race a month ago, but since then, not much running! And last weekend I sprained my ankle, so this was the first run since. I was very pleased that my ankle didn't bug me!

The race had a lot of personal meaning for me. It supports Camp Oochigeas, a camp setup to help kids with Cancer. Some of you know may remember one of my best friends, Chris Mansey ? He lost his battle with cancer in August of 2007. He used to voluteer at the camp and he held it very near and dear to him. I ran the race in honour of Chris and it was a little emotional at there at time because I couldn't help think of him, his battle, and all the others out there fighting cancer. It was nice to have him with me while I ran... I miss him.

OK, something a little more upbeat... the website I setup, rezenowners.com, was successfully launched. Mailing went out to my building Wednesday night and residents received them on Friday. Since then, the site's seen some decent traffic and some good conversation has started. I'm feeling good about this because my condo building, Rezen, will have a communication tool that too many buildings in the city simply don't have. Often in condos, the property management, owners, and the board don't always communicate well with one another and owners' interests aren't best served. I'm really hoping to change that... one building at a time :)

Well, I'm pretty beat after my race and because of all the walking I did today. I'm going to call this update quits, maybe work on the other site a little more, then call it a night. Hope you're all doing well. Cheers - Rob.

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