The antics of the day

I'm Moe. Who wants to be Larry and Curly?

I have had a day of antics.

This morning, I got up early because I had to go the bank to deliver all of our paperwork for our loan. As I left the house, thirty minutes before I usually do, I discovered one of my back windows had been left open the night before. Last night we had a huge storm with crazy winds. I had also parked underneath a tree/bush with lots of pink flower. This morning the tree/bush had no flowers, bu the inside of my car was an operational florist.

When I discovered that half of my backseat was wet and covered in flowers, I made the decision to continue on to the bank as scheduled. The car was wet and would be wet, but our money can't wait!

Our loan officer told me to go to the Bank of Tennessee branch on Court Street and someone there could scan all 40-plus documents and send them to her (her office is in Germantown).

I knew exactly where Court Street was. I drove down it, found a large building that said Bank of Tennessee and pulled in the visitors parking space.

I went in and found the building to be more of a corporate operation than a full bank with tellers. I thought this was part of the plan since I don't want to task any old teller with all my personal financial documents.

I told the lady at the front why I was here, and she called someone to help me.

The new lady ushered me into her office, and although she seemed a little confussed, she said, "No problem," as she went away to her scanner with all my documents.

Several minutes later she returned and asked me to confirm who she was sending these to. I told her our mortgage officer's name. She said, "I don't have her in our system." I pulled out my trusty iPhone and looked up her email address.

As I was doing this, the nice lady said, "You know it's okay, but we don't usually do this."

Ice cold water slid down my spine. I realized that I was in an unfamiliar city, at an unfamiliar office with all my financial documents in the world.

I read my broker's email address aloud.

I said, "Am I at the right place?" Already knowing the answer.

"We are First Bank of Tennessee," said my helper/scanner.

"That's different than Bank of Tennessee, isn't it?" I said, already knowing the answer.

"Yes, and this is the recruiting office."

Ahh, I wasn't even at a real bank! There was no turning back at this point. "Can you send those documents to my email?" I say. I stand there waiting on my iPhone to chirp at me.

"I am so sorry," I say. "I'm at the wrong place aren't I? So sorry to waste your time, but I really appreciate it. I'm new in town and my husband and I are buying a house, and..."

iPhone chirps at the receipt of the emails.

"Thank you for your time!"

(take papers, exit office and scene.)

The Waiting Game

Yesterday, we made an offer on a house here on the island! No, it's not the one pictured above, but it's lovely all the same. We've received a counter offer, and now we're trying to figure out how much a house really costs. How much cash in-hand? How much insurance? How much taxes? What do you pay when? When will the government give us some money back? We're going through every possible cost before we make a counter offer.

Wouldn't it be nice if the sticker price were the real price? $2 should be $2, but not in real estate. Thankfully we have a wonderful Realtor who is patiently walking us step-by-step.

Thanks, Myra!!!

A New Day, A New City

Today I had many things on my agenda: call the utility company, get my name on the lease since I will be living here full time, cook Chris' favorite meal for dinner (meatloaf, mashed potatoes and green beams) and get Grace more dog food.

We feed Grace and Porter a very high quality animal food without the nasty hoof, hair and low-protein ingredients of the normal grocery store food. I went on Wellness' web site--the brand of animal food--and it listed several dealers in Memphis. I MapQuested the closest, which was only two miles away.

Someone was moving a washer and dryer on the stairs outside this morning, and Grace was having a difficult time not barking. I decided to pack her up in my car, with a towel on my seat, and head out for the short drive.

We drove the few miles and found ourselves looking at an empty lot. No pet store. I remembered there was another pet store listed on the web site on S. Cooper. I turned to my Garmin, Chris' Christmas presents from his parents, and typed in S. Cooper. Grace and I set out again.

Twelve miles later, we ended up in the ghetto. In the residential ghetto with no pet store in sight. Thankfully I had my trusty guard dog as my co-pilot.

Once again I looked to the Garmin and looked up pet stores. I found Hollywood Feed and Pets twelve more miles away. I picked it because it was one of the furtherest from where I was, and I figured that was a good thing.

Grace and I drove to Barlett and turned it to the shopping center to find NO PET STORE. I was seriously about to lose my mind. I called the number and they said they had moved three blocks down.

When I went in and told them I was looking for Wellness pet food, they said they only had the treats, and no one else carried it in the area. A customer informed me that All Pets in Germantown carried it and the store was located at Germantown Parkway and Dexter.

I went back to my Garmin, typed in the cross streets and it said no intersection. At this point, I decided I had been beaten.

I went to the grocery store on the way home, and Grace enjoyed her dinner of the equivalent to doggie lucky charms cereal.

Oh the adventures of a new city! Grace seemed to enjoy the car ride. What a face.

World Championship BBQ Fest

So our second day in the city, we visited the WOrld Championship BBQ Festival in Tom Lee Park, along the river. There were TONS of competitors, and we took advantage of the nice weather by walking around, eating BBQ, looking at vendors and getting some free stuff. One of the awesome free things was samples of Tums. Someone was thinking! Here are some pics.

We needed change to buy our tickets, and Chris ran down and up these stairs while I waited at the top. This is his trophy picture. 

BBQ nachos are delicious!

Me on the riverfront

Me on the walkway with the competitors

We cleansed ourselves with a salad for dinner and a long walk on the riverfront. So far, we've enjoyed eating in Memphis. Yum!