"pestering people" and an AC trip

Here's another image for Chappy, Israel's newest guest. :)

My first morning at the home office in a while. This is partially due a lot of meetings these past two weeks, but also due to the fact that my kitten managed to put a perfect little hole into the very center of my laptop's power cord. Now, I love my kitten...really...but sometimes... (I guess kittens are good preparation for when my kids completely destroy my house later in life.) So, anyway, new power cord and charger from Dell, and we're back in business.

I do have a meeting this afternoon and a continuing education seminar this evening, but most of my job today is to "pester" people. Not that I want to be annoying or forceful, or a "parent figure" for that matter. But, seriously, buyers and sellers will procrastinate as long as you let them, and it's often not in their best interest one bit. Real estate transactions involve many steps, some of which can be confusing, and others are tedious, and people have the natural tendency to put things off for days and weeks when they really need to act. In some ways, reminding people of their necessary next step and gently and consistently encouraging them to take it is part of my job. Don't get me wrong...this is different than hounding people, insisting that they buy or sell tomorrow, and blowing them off if they don't. Instead, I will remain in contact with all of these clients and help them however I can as they move along the process at a pace that is comfortable with them.

Therefore, let the e-mails and phone calls commence. :)

In other news, Sara and I booked a trip to Atlantic City for three days in mid-July, which should be a blast. Got a phone call in response to some entry form I filled out when I was up there with my office, and they offered me this trip for $120, plus we get $60 toward food. I'll just use $120 of my poker winnings from the last time I was up there to cover it. You see, finances are tight right now, but my poker bankroll is very separate from the family finances. Combined with my on-line bankrolls, my total poker money is about $1200 (6 months ago, my bankroll was about negative $200 and I had quit playing except for the $30 tourneys I hosted twice a month. Fortunately, out of pity, Sara let me play a little on her on-line account where she had around $80; I won $100, and then deposited this into another on-line site, where I turned that $100 into $400, and the rest is history). If I lose the $1200, no more poker for a long time. If I win more, I tithe on my winnings bi-monthly, and "invest" the rest as I see fit. So, 3-days in AC with my wife seems like a great investment to me. It turns out that her father is going to be in AC at the same time, which is an added bonus.

Good times.

Peace,
Greg