The L.A. Report – Part 12

07-24-2005

 

Hey Everybody,

 

The biggest news I have right now is that I bought a condo.  $319,000 for a one-bedroom unit with no amenities!  Isn't that insane?  Real estate in this country just keeps appreciating, but especially in Southern California.  Home prices have more than doubled in the last couple of years.  In Orange County (the county immediately south of Los Angeles County) the median home price is $590,000.  In L.A. it's only a little less than that.

 

But a condo?  I know, they used to be the brunt of jokes for their reputation of being impossible to unload.  But not anymore.  I was actually a little lucky to get something in the low $300s.  I only looked for about two weeks but in that short time I saw stuff get snatched up before I even had a chance to put in an offer.  I had read about the competition for real estate.  Many homeowners get 15 or 20 offers the same day they put their house on the market.  They get to choose the buyer who put in the highest bid (almost always over asking price), who baked them the best cookies or who wrote them the nicest letter.

 

I moved in July 2nd.  I won't bore you with the details but suffice it to say it took me 22 hours to move!  I put hardwood floors in the new place but the flooring contractor wasn't finished yet because of a delay getting some of the wood from Lowe's so I had to just pile almost all of my stuff in the kitchen for a week.  Oh, that's right, I wasn't going to bore you with the details. :-)

 

My new address is:

5310 Circle Drive #208

Sherman Oaks, CA  91401

(818) 981-4138

 

I'm still running but not as many races lately.  On June 12th, I completed my first lap around the world and have since surpassed 25,000 miles.

 

My M.S. continues to slow me down a little more but is still pretty mild.  The worst problem I'm having now is that my handwriting has gotten pretty bad.  My hand (especially my right hand) has gotten pretty uncoordinated and stiff.

 

I had an audition Thursday for a small part in a movie made by a guy who specializes in doing schlocky movies that go directly to video.  But he does manage to get them in Blockbuster and other video stores.  Unfortunately, I didn't get the part.  Other than that, I've only had a couple of auditions lately.

 

My real job at Crystal Cruises is still going great.  In less than eight months I can go on cruises for $15 a day.

 

That's about it for now.  'Til next time . . . . .

 

Jay