I think we have sold our house. We have verbally accepted an offer for 94% of our asking price. Less then we had said we would take, but after the decision was made we knew it was the right one... no since in getting greedy, I mean we are making 63% return on our investment. That is just sick!

And we will have close to 50% equity in our house in Jacksonville.

I have also had 5 moving companies come give me estimates and it is going to cost more then I had originally thought.

So I am half way through my relaxing week off. My last week and Symantec was uneventful and I am getting anxious to start my new adventure. Keep your fingers crossed that everything works out for the best, who knows what the future holds.

How real politics get done.

Sorry for not updating you guys, but the roller coaster was getting too much to handle.

We have decided on a house, and working on all the paperwork, but there is so much up in the air right now that I am a little too stressed to think properly on how to make this blog interesting :)

Basic details: much cheaper then the other houses we were looking at
Solid brick construction, built in the 50's, by a family acquaintance's father. I played tball with the current owner's son. It is the house that he (the father) grew up in. His father passed away late last year, so it is an inheritance.

The current owner remembers my father, and in fact was in the same fraternity at Georgia Tech, but a few years behind, and his youngest son is a freshman at Georgia Tech this year. He has been slow on selling the property due to a self proclaimed sentimental desire to have someone with "Ortega ties" being the next owner. I feel really good about this one. The house needs some updating but for the price we are getting it at, we will be able to redo the kitchen like we want and lighten up the den that is currently wood paneled. And has some plywood patches from previous window units.

It has hardwood floors through most of the house. 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, a generous master bedroom and huge closet with custom storage units. There is also some handicap features that we will need to undo, but we expect to have all of it come in under our budgeted amount and drastically reducing our current mortgage if we can sell our Norfolk home for what we are hoping.

Although I don't have any good pictures of the front of the house, here are some pictures that my mom took when she previewed the house a few weeks ago:
Verona House

After reviewing those pictures, I will say that they do not do the house justice, and I am excited to have a house that Sherry and I can once again go in and make our own... but I think we will be staying in this one a bit longer.

It is a few blocks from my mom's house, which is a good thing... who'd a thunk I would want to live so close to my mom at age 30?!?!

There are two houses there that we are significantly interested in. Will update the blog with progress and pictures this weekend.

So I just learned what the root of Lesbian is Lesbos (incorrectly I might add, as the people of Lesbos are called Lesbosians and not Lesbians). But the term comes from the writing of the ancient "muse" Sappho, of whom I had never heard. From the link below is the following paragraph:

Her style was sensual and melodic; primarily songs of love, yearning, and reflection. Most commonly the target of her affections was female, often one of the many women sent to her for education in the arts. She nurtured these women, wrote poems of love and adoration to them, and when they eventually left the island to be married, she composed their wedding songs. That Sappho's poetry was not condemned in her time for its homoerotic content (though it was disparaged by scholars in later centuries) suggests that perhaps love between women was not persecuted then as it has been in more recent times. Especially in the last century, Sappho has become so synonymous with woman-love that two of the most popular words to describe female homosexuality--lesbian and sapphic have derived from her.

I guess these are some of the interesting facts that my non-Liberal Arts education neglected me of.

More on Sappho here

I recieved this email from my Uncle... and it is worth heeding:

We all receive emails all the time regarding one scam or another; but last week I REALLY DID get scammed! Both VISA and MasterCard told me that this scam is currently being worked throughout the Midwest, with some variance as to the product or amount, and if you are called, just hang up.

My husband was called on Wednesday from "VISA" and I was called in Thursday from "MasterCard". It worked like this: Person calling says, "This is Carl Patterson and I'm calling from the Security and Fraud department at VISA. My Badge number is 12460. Your card has been flagged for an unusual purchase pattern, and I'm calling to verify. This would be on your VISA card issued by 5/3 bank. Did you purchase an Anti-Telemarketing Device for $497.99 from a marketing company based in Arizona?"

When you say "No". The caller continues with, "Then we will be issuing a credit to your account. This is a company we have been watching and the charges range from $297 to $497, just under the $500 purchase pattern that flags most cards. Before your next statement, the credit will be sent to (gives you your address), is that correct?"

You say, "Yes". The caller continues..."I will be starting a fraud investigation. If you have any questions, you should call the 800 number listed on your card 1-800-VISA and ask for Security. you will need to refer to this Control #". Then gives you a 6 digit number. "Do you need me to read it again?" Caller then says he "needs to verify you are in possession of your card. Turn the card over. There are 7 numbers; first 4 are 1234(whatever) the next 3 are the security numbers that verify you are in possession of the card. These are the numbers you use to make internet purchases to prove you have the card. Read me the 3 numbers." Then he says "That is correct. I just needed to verify that the card has not been lost or stolen, and that you still have your card. Do you have any other questions? Don't hesitate to call back if you do."

You actually say very little, and they never ask for or tell you the card number. But after we were called on Wednesday, we called back within 20 minutes to ask a question. Are we glad we did! The REAL VISA security dept. told us it was a scam and in the last 15 minutes a new purchase of $497.99 WAS put on our card.

Long story made short...we made a real fraud report and closed the VISA card and they are reissuing as a new number. What the scam wants is the 3 digit number! and that once the charge goes through, they keep charging every few days. By the time you get your statement, you think the credit is coming, and then its harder to actually file a fraud report. The real VISA reinforced that they will never ask for anything on the card (they already know).

What makes this more remarkable is that on Thursday, I got a call from "Jason Richardson of MasterCard" with a word for word repeat of the VISA Scam. This time I didn't let him finish. I hung up.

We filed a police report (as instructed by VISA), and they said they are taking several of these reports daily and to tell friends, relatives and co-workers.