"All laywers are either alcoholics or marathoners."
To which I replied:
"But they are all a**holes right?"
I love running stories too. My latest favorite is the story of Dick Hoyt. And me being me, no post would be complete without a link to a giant chicken.
I've been diggin' on Keith and Bob for a while, as well, but I don't think we're that rare. A lot of Keith's fans probably don't realize how accessible he is - he travels a lot, and he makes a lot of public appearances. His (evil twin) sister even owns a shop up here in Seattle. I've never had the opportunity to meet him in person, because my schedule never seems to coincide with comic conventions.
Anyhoo, he's ridiculously good-looking. Watch out if you try to meet him. I hear that people go for the humor, but stay for his chiseled features and abs of steel.
This all sounds really great but IMO it may not be worth the inherent conflict of interest the situation puts the agent in. We used an agent once, who I now realize is probably one of the best real estate agents out there, not just in terms of salesmanship but also professionalism and customer service, who refused to do deals representing both sides because she didn't want the possibility of having her ethics ever questioned. You might get into a situation where the agent won't disclose some potentially negative information in the interest of protecting one party to the detriment of the other. That's not to say that all buyer's agents are perfect, or anything close. In fact, we're buying a house right now and our agent leaves a bit to be desired. Still, he is well connected and has worked with many of the seller's agents in our area. He's been able to get us information on several properties just by using his contacts and rapport with his colleagues. That's not to say that I believe everything he says, or that he got us a great deal on the house we're buying. We probably could've gotten the house for a bit less but we made the decision to spend more in order to make sure we get the house. No agent talked us into that one.
I guess I hate to second the "Europeans once again beat us to the punch" story once again, but yeah, I heard you can get really high SPFs in Europe that are unavailable here because the FDA has yet to approve them.
Will, when I first put the blogpost together, I ended up with a huge, 4-page tangent about curbing vanity and accepting my glow-in-the-dark skin as beautiful enough, but then I realized that the whole reason I was freaking out about tanning was because it was prematurely aging me, which was all about my vanity. So, I let it go. Because there are some things that I am always going to be vain about.
the US was sooooo slow in adopting the idea that UVA rays are bad for you. they kept saying "uvb burns. that means it's worse." europe had long been coming out w/sunblock that protected against uva while the US were still sitting on their SPF factor. so the most important thing to look for when shopping for sunblock is that it's "broad" or "full" spectrum. full spectrum isn't that big of deal since it claims to block uvc rays that can't reach us (absorbed through the atmosphere). but then again... who knows. maybe in another 10 years they'll be saying uvc rays actually do reach us and those are the MOST deadly.
skin girl wrote a good article about the specific ingredients in sunblock to look for that are most effective against uva rays as well as a few other things to protect against the sun besides wearing sunblock, like tinting your car window and using a sunblock additive to your clothes - not sure if i'd go that far just yet though.
My story was a bit different - I got burned by a few too many agents who had an "in" with each other... you know, the "I know Jim. Jim wouldn't lie. This deal is going through," when, in fact, Jim was orchestrating a bidding war between myself and another buyers.
When we finally found the place we wanted, we didn't want to bother finding another agent at all. The seller's agent did all the work for us, saving us what probably would have been several thousand dollars, and was helpful enough.
What I'm wondering is if I want a seller's agent when I SELL my place, or if I can do it all by my lonesome.
Wow. Perhaps more people should read your article about curbing vanity. Then again, I live in Southern California so maybe I take my chiseled, bronzed, and well-oiled body for granted.
I haven't been to a goodwill in years, but I did just move within easy walking distance of our local Savers (The Thrift Department Store). If I ever make it over there, I'll be sure to post on what I find!
I used to always reward myself with a shopping spree on my credit card whenever I'd had a particularly tough week at work, etc. I soon realized that the bill I received at the end of the month made me feel 10x worse. Now, I still go shopping for clothes every weekend, and buy as much stuff as I want to... however, it's at Goodwill now. So I get to spend some money on myself and feel like I'm giving myself a treat or a reward, but the most I've ever spent was $25, for about ten pieces of clothing (they do a 1/2 price sale every other Saturday here). In a way it's a have your cake and eat it too situation. It doesn't help the whole materialistic society thinking, I-am-what-I-wear attitude, but at least I have a much more interesting wardrobe for it. This is not for everyone, just for those that love a treasure hunt.
That's so true! Money and how we spend it are so cultural. I have thought about doing a piece on that, but it's not quite to the point where I can write it yet.
"I had believed that I couldn't change my emotional state, so I might as well spend money and see if that helped."
I am very guilty of doing this in my life. Whenever I get depressed, I feel like I don't have control over my life. I get the urge to spend money with the insane belief that somehow that will make me feel better.
A lot of that comes from the consumption-driven society we live in. Our culture has programmed us to believe that you self worth is determined by what kind of car you drive or the brand of watch you wear. In the end, none of those things make you happy. They might actually just make you go into debt. And when that happens, you end up buying more stuff you don't need because being in debt has made you even more depressed.
Back in 2000 I was driving my wife around on a Sunday and she saw a 'house for sale' sign. We stopped in and saw this gorgeous house with a beautiful yard. The selling agent said the house hadn't even been listed yet but that two other people had already stopped in and were looking for their own agents so they could make offers. I had never bought a house so I thought, well, hell, I can make an offer right here, now, can't I? Sure! So, I did, I made an offer for the selling price. And, I got the house. Boy, those other people were pissed because they offered more!
PS: The agent told me that the people I bought the house from were selling because they were divorcing - they had bought the house only 9 months earlier. THEY were one of three offers made on the house the first day that it became available for sale and their offer was accepted because it was $5,000 over the asking price.
So, You can just walk in, make an offer and buy a house - that easy. Of course, your offer has to be contingent upon NOT finding any insect infestations, structural damage, etc.but the seller's agent understands that - no agent wants to be sued or get a bad reputation - and the agent will readily agree to that.
I have made many improvements to the house - 7 years later it's worth twice what I paid for it. And, it's MY house - rebuilt and renovated to suit ME. Color me happy.
"If there really were an offer it was for less than you offered and if someone had offered $8000 more the agent would have sold it in a heartbeat."
because:
"if the condo was sold for $335,000 in a two agent deal, the two agents would each pocket $10,050 in cash (3% of sales price).However, if the condo was sold for $327,000 in a one agent deal, the seller's agent would receive $11,445 cash (3.5% of sales price)."
i think $1400 is incentive for the seller's agent to try to convince the seller.
"No homeowner is holding out for the extra $600 your "deal" made them."
who's holding out. there's a reasonable amount of time for the seller to wait to see offers come in. and if in that period of time, the seller's agent asks which sale do you want - the one where you get $314,900 or the one where you get $327,000, how unreasonable is it to think that the seller would pick the one where they get $600 more?
i think you need to calm down and let people tell their cute stories and not make assumptions about the deal that "really happened" when you're really the one w/no clue. it must be tough doubting people and assuming everyone's lying to you, but if you don't like the advice, don't take it. if you got a raw deal by using a buyer's agent yourself, don't take it out on those who know better.
Not that your story doesn't make sense, because it does. However, I don't think you bought a damn thing and are using a cute story to prove a point. Regardless of that, the agent "told" you he had a $335,000 offer. While you think you are saving $8000 the agent is laughing all the way to the bank by not reducing his fee but selling a house that the owners wanted $315,000 for for your inflated offer of $327,000. If there really were an offer it was for less than you offered and if someone had offered $8000 more the agent would have sold it in a heartbeat. No homeowner is holding out for the extra $600 your "deal" made them.
Hey thanks Jessica for saving me from making a big mistake. I do have a Sephora around my work place so I will definitely check out your advice about coupons. It sounds like you have a lot of funny stories to tell about retail. I can't wait to hear more. lol
I toiled away at a fragrance counter, and Yoris I can safely say that your girlfriend would be pissed off. You are better off buying her a nice 1.Oz bottle of a nice perfume she likes versus a bunch of samples. (BTW the 3.4 oz bottles are always a better deal). If you are thinking of fragrance as a gift, this is one area I suggest not being cheap, but if you are savvy you can find a few good deals.
Keep in mind that like most cosmetics, fragrance in department stores does not "go on sale." The prices are set by the vendor. You can find deals online, but I highly recommend not buying on Ebay or from "bargain" site. Perfume does get old. You might be buying old stock. What I would do is Google coupon codes for Sephora or Ulta.
If you choose to go the brick & mortar route, this is a great time for you to find not only a nice fragrance for your girlfriend, but probably a bonus gift. If you are charming enough, and the salesperson wants a good sale, you might be able to trade up in a gift. If you are confused as to what to get her, be prepared to let the sales person know what she currently wears, her fashion style, and age. One thing to keep in mind fellas is much like buying a diamond, something small but quality is better than large and crappy. As a decade long veteran of retail, I saw many a gift returned because it was bought without any care or in haste. This is your amour, not your grandma.
As for the samples in department stores, no one loves a "sample whore." The best time to score some nice samples is after you purchase something. I won't say where I worked, but we had samples for the beggars and samples for the buyers. Let's just say Chanel vs. Liz Claiborne. It really wasn't a matter of snobbery, but of not having anything nice left to give paying customers. If you are truly trolling for samples, I highly suggest you at least feign being interested in a fragrance. None of this "Hey, you got any samples" bs.
Oh yeah, trust me on this one--never, ever, ever sniff the bottle of perfume directly, spray it on a card or your hand, because I've seen many a bottle up the noses of some nasty people!
"All laywers are either alcoholics or marathoners."
To which I replied:
"But they are all a**holes right?"
I love running stories too. My latest favorite is the story of Dick Hoyt. And me being me, no post would be complete without a link to a giant chicken.
Great Idea! I haven't even been in a public library since I was in gradeschool. I had no idea they offered anything but books!
I had the worst experience ever the last time I rented from Blockbuster. This sounds like a great way to give them the finger!
I've been diggin' on Keith and Bob for a while, as well, but I don't think we're that rare. A lot of Keith's fans probably don't realize how accessible he is - he travels a lot, and he makes a lot of public appearances. His (evil twin) sister even owns a shop up here in Seattle. I've never had the opportunity to meet him in person, because my schedule never seems to coincide with comic conventions.
Anyhoo, he's ridiculously good-looking. Watch out if you try to meet him. I hear that people go for the humor, but stay for his chiseled features and abs of steel.
This all sounds really great but IMO it may not be worth the inherent conflict of interest the situation puts the agent in. We used an agent once, who I now realize is probably one of the best real estate agents out there, not just in terms of salesmanship but also professionalism and customer service, who refused to do deals representing both sides because she didn't want the possibility of having her ethics ever questioned. You might get into a situation where the agent won't disclose some potentially negative information in the interest of protecting one party to the detriment of the other. That's not to say that all buyer's agents are perfect, or anything close. In fact, we're buying a house right now and our agent leaves a bit to be desired. Still, he is well connected and has worked with many of the seller's agents in our area. He's been able to get us information on several properties just by using his contacts and rapport with his colleagues. That's not to say that I believe everything he says, or that he got us a great deal on the house we're buying. We probably could've gotten the house for a bit less but we made the decision to spend more in order to make sure we get the house. No agent talked us into that one.
Stop by my blog: http://just-a-teaspoon.blogspot.com/
I love Knight and Notely too. It is rare to find fellow fans. Great interview!
sweet! I love Keith Knight too (that and his pal Stephen Notely of Bob the Angry Flower). Great interview.
sweeet. I love Keith Knight too (and his pal Notely of Bob the Angry Flower). great interview.
OMG! I love Keith Knight! Thank you so much for interviewing him!
I guess I hate to second the "Europeans once again beat us to the punch" story once again, but yeah, I heard you can get really high SPFs in Europe that are unavailable here because the FDA has yet to approve them.
Will, when I first put the blogpost together, I ended up with a huge, 4-page tangent about curbing vanity and accepting my glow-in-the-dark skin as beautiful enough, but then I realized that the whole reason I was freaking out about tanning was because it was prematurely aging me, which was all about my vanity. So, I let it go. Because there are some things that I am always going to be vain about.
the US was sooooo slow in adopting the idea that UVA rays are bad for you. they kept saying "uvb burns. that means it's worse." europe had long been coming out w/sunblock that protected against uva while the US were still sitting on their SPF factor. so the most important thing to look for when shopping for sunblock is that it's "broad" or "full" spectrum. full spectrum isn't that big of deal since it claims to block uvc rays that can't reach us (absorbed through the atmosphere). but then again... who knows. maybe in another 10 years they'll be saying uvc rays actually do reach us and those are the MOST deadly.
skin girl wrote a good article about the specific ingredients in sunblock to look for that are most effective against uva rays as well as a few other things to protect against the sun besides wearing sunblock, like tinting your car window and using a sunblock additive to your clothes - not sure if i'd go that far just yet though.
My story was a bit different - I got burned by a few too many agents who had an "in" with each other... you know, the "I know Jim. Jim wouldn't lie. This deal is going through," when, in fact, Jim was orchestrating a bidding war between myself and another buyers.
When we finally found the place we wanted, we didn't want to bother finding another agent at all. The seller's agent did all the work for us, saving us what probably would have been several thousand dollars, and was helpful enough.
What I'm wondering is if I want a seller's agent when I SELL my place, or if I can do it all by my lonesome.
Wow. Perhaps more people should read your article about curbing vanity. Then again, I live in Southern California so maybe I take my chiseled, bronzed, and well-oiled body for granted.
I guess there's not a lot of money to be made in the "stay in the shade and read a good book" industry. Maybe palapas will take off here?
Fabulous article...I never understand why people keep tanning.
But the funny thing? The ads are all for tanning beds!!
I haven't been to a goodwill in years, but I did just move within easy walking distance of our local Savers (The Thrift Department Store). If I ever make it over there, I'll be sure to post on what I find!
Kudos on the eclectic wardrobe, Kris!
I used to always reward myself with a shopping spree on my credit card whenever I'd had a particularly tough week at work, etc. I soon realized that the bill I received at the end of the month made me feel 10x worse. Now, I still go shopping for clothes every weekend, and buy as much stuff as I want to... however, it's at Goodwill now. So I get to spend some money on myself and feel like I'm giving myself a treat or a reward, but the most I've ever spent was $25, for about ten pieces of clothing (they do a 1/2 price sale every other Saturday here). In a way it's a have your cake and eat it too situation. It doesn't help the whole materialistic society thinking, I-am-what-I-wear attitude, but at least I have a much more interesting wardrobe for it. This is not for everyone, just for those that love a treasure hunt.
That's so true! Money and how we spend it are so cultural. I have thought about doing a piece on that, but it's not quite to the point where I can write it yet.
Hey,
Thanks for submitting this to The Writers' Block carnival! There are some really delicious sounding food choices here.
Hope you stop by and vist http://www.writersgroupblog.wordpress.com The Writers' Block, and check out your article in the carnival edition.
"I had believed that I couldn't change my emotional state, so I might as well spend money and see if that helped."
I am very guilty of doing this in my life. Whenever I get depressed, I feel like I don't have control over my life. I get the urge to spend money with the insane belief that somehow that will make me feel better.
A lot of that comes from the consumption-driven society we live in. Our culture has programmed us to believe that you self worth is determined by what kind of car you drive or the brand of watch you wear. In the end, none of those things make you happy. They might actually just make you go into debt. And when that happens, you end up buying more stuff you don't need because being in debt has made you even more depressed.
And the cycle continues....
Great piece Sarah. I love this article!
That's how I bought my house.
Back in 2000 I was driving my wife around on a Sunday and she saw a 'house for sale' sign. We stopped in and saw this gorgeous house with a beautiful yard. The selling agent said the house hadn't even been listed yet but that two other people had already stopped in and were looking for their own agents so they could make offers. I had never bought a house so I thought, well, hell, I can make an offer right here, now, can't I? Sure! So, I did, I made an offer for the selling price. And, I got the house. Boy, those other people were pissed because they offered more!
PS: The agent told me that the people I bought the house from were selling because they were divorcing - they had bought the house only 9 months earlier. THEY were one of three offers made on the house the first day that it became available for sale and their offer was accepted because it was $5,000 over the asking price.
So, You can just walk in, make an offer and buy a house - that easy. Of course, your offer has to be contingent upon NOT finding any insect infestations, structural damage, etc.but the seller's agent understands that - no agent wants to be sued or get a bad reputation - and the agent will readily agree to that.
I have made many improvements to the house - 7 years later it's worth twice what I paid for it. And, it's MY house - rebuilt and renovated to suit ME. Color me happy.
"If there really were an offer it was for less than you offered and if someone had offered $8000 more the agent would have sold it in a heartbeat."
because:
"if the condo was sold for $335,000 in a two agent deal, the two agents would each pocket $10,050 in cash (3% of sales price). However, if the condo was sold for $327,000 in a one agent deal, the seller's agent would receive $11,445 cash (3.5% of sales price)."
i think $1400 is incentive for the seller's agent to try to convince the seller.
"No homeowner is holding out for the extra $600 your "deal" made them."
who's holding out. there's a reasonable amount of time for the seller to wait to see offers come in. and if in that period of time, the seller's agent asks which sale do you want - the one where you get $314,900 or the one where you get $327,000, how unreasonable is it to think that the seller would pick the one where they get $600 more?
i think you need to calm down and let people tell their cute stories and not make assumptions about the deal that "really happened" when you're really the one w/no clue. it must be tough doubting people and assuming everyone's lying to you, but if you don't like the advice, don't take it. if you got a raw deal by using a buyer's agent yourself, don't take it out on those who know better.
Not that your story doesn't make sense, because it does. However, I don't think you bought a damn thing and are using a cute story to prove a point. Regardless of that, the agent "told" you he had a $335,000 offer. While you think you are saving $8000 the agent is laughing all the way to the bank by not reducing his fee but selling a house that the owners wanted $315,000 for for your inflated offer of $327,000. If there really were an offer it was for less than you offered and if someone had offered $8000 more the agent would have sold it in a heartbeat. No homeowner is holding out for the extra $600 your "deal" made them.
Try try again.
You can only use them online. They do a nice job of wrapping, etc.
Hey thanks Jessica for saving me from making a big mistake. I do have a Sephora around my work place so I will definitely check out your advice about coupons. It sounds like you have a lot of funny stories to tell about retail. I can't wait to hear more. lol
I toiled away at a fragrance counter, and Yoris I can safely say that your girlfriend would be pissed off. You are better off buying her a nice 1.Oz bottle of a nice perfume she likes versus a bunch of samples. (BTW the 3.4 oz bottles are always a better deal). If you are thinking of fragrance as a gift, this is one area I suggest not being cheap, but if you are savvy you can find a few good deals.
Keep in mind that like most cosmetics, fragrance in department stores does not "go on sale." The prices are set by the vendor. You can find deals online, but I highly recommend not buying on Ebay or from "bargain" site. Perfume does get old. You might be buying old stock. What I would do is Google coupon codes for Sephora or Ulta.
If you choose to go the brick & mortar route, this is a great time for you to find not only a nice fragrance for your girlfriend, but probably a bonus gift. If you are charming enough, and the salesperson wants a good sale, you might be able to trade up in a gift. If you are confused as to what to get her, be prepared to let the sales person know what she currently wears, her fashion style, and age. One thing to keep in mind fellas is much like buying a diamond, something small but quality is better than large and crappy. As a decade long veteran of retail, I saw many a gift returned because it was bought without any care or in haste. This is your amour, not your grandma.
As for the samples in department stores, no one loves a "sample whore." The best time to score some nice samples is after you purchase something. I won't say where I worked, but we had samples for the beggars and samples for the buyers. Let's just say Chanel vs. Liz Claiborne. It really wasn't a matter of snobbery, but of not having anything nice left to give paying customers. If you are truly trolling for samples, I highly suggest you at least feign being interested in a fragrance. None of this "Hey, you got any samples" bs.
Oh yeah, trust me on this one--never, ever, ever sniff the bottle of perfume directly, spray it on a card or your hand, because I've seen many a bottle up the noses of some nasty people!