New house, new job, same crazy schedule

Well hello there! Let me get you current. We got the house I mentioned last time, and we got it for an even better deal. I can't help but think the hand of God was on this one. I locked my mortgage at the absolute lowest rate available (4.875%, can you believe that?) and then this crazy wrinkle with the appraisal happened. The house listed at 187.5K and we offered 195 with the seller paying 5000 in closing costs (so the actualy price is really 190). That was a payment we could afford, and still 5K less than we were budgeting for. So far so good. We did the inspection, and given that the house was bank-owned it's in great shape (probably better than the one we just sold). Still looking great. Then the appraisal came back at only 180. What? I thought I was getting a good deal, not screwed. Well, you can't get a loan for more than the value of the house, so 195 is now out of the picture. It turns out there was a short sale in the neighborhood for 175, a very comparable house, and the most recent and overpowering comparable the appraiser had to look at. So all he or she could stretch it to was 180. OK, so we went back to the seller and told them the situation. If they wanted to sell to us, it had to be at 180, not 195, or we wouldn't be able to get a loan. And the thing is, no one else would be able to either. They'd have to wait for that short sale to get ouside the six month window that appraisers use and then cross their fingers that the market went up or another comparable sold for more and who knows? Well, they took the sure deal, so we ended up offering high and getting it low. How's that for a deal? And the loan approval went through with no problems. I closed Thursday and we moved in Saturday. Already, Jaime (my wife, if you don't know her) has the house half unpacked. We put in new, stainless steel appliances and a laminate hardwood imitation floor in the dining room and I'm starting to love the house. There's less closet space, but the master bedroom is bigger and the laundry room is on the top floor, which should be very nice. The picture for this entry is our kitchen, pre-appliances. It's the best I have at hand (sorry).

So yesterday I started my new job. It's nothing too exciting; I just moved from one casino to the other. The thing is, business had gotten very slow at the Lodge. In fact, it was so slow that they were cutting schedules like crazy. I, and everyone hired after me, had been sent back to our sister property, the Gilpin. The money isn't in the same category over there. They pool tips which means nobody's working for their own money and the tips in general go down, both in frequency and amount. There was no way I could work there for very long and expect to make my bills. Even if I'd stayed at the Lodge, though, business was so far down that I wouldn't make my bills that way, either. So I bailed. I got hired by Ameristar, the company I used to hate, the looming, 32-story hotel tower that casts a shadow on the whole town (not literally; it's on the northern side of town so it casts its physical shadow on a mountain). I can't say a whole lot about it because I don't fully understand the company's policy on communication via blog about your job, but I like it so far. I made as much last night as I did in my entire week at the Gilpin (I only did one week there before I got out), and if I make that much again tonight my bills are met for the week. They're on the gravy train there right now, which is a place I've been before (last summer and fall at the Lodge), so I'm going to ride that while it lasts. I'm not going to sleep a lot, since they're working everybody 40+ hours per week, but if I can get some solid savings established from here to the end of the year, I think it's worth it. I think.

Side note: How bad does it suck to be a Cleveland sports fan? It's like their sports teams only look at recently fired coaches and managers to fill their vacant positions. I guess you have to get them from somewhere, but isn't there a reason these other teams fired them? Well, at least they have LeBron. And the Big Aristotle. And the Rock'n'Roll hall of fame. And.... Lake Erie?

My final grades in Science Foundations I and Drug Information turned out to be B+ and A-, respectively. I'll take it. Now I get a fresh start on Science Foundations II, which is mostly biochemistry, and I am killing it. No points missed so far, although we haven't had many. We just took our first test and I feel good about it. I may have missed a point or two, but I feel solidly in the A range. The other new course, taking the place of Drug Information, is Public Health and Economics. That should be easy but boring.

I think I'll stop here for now. Thanks for stopping by, and come back soon.