I realize that I haven’t done a real update since I mentioned the closing and all, so here’s some quick information for you all.

Closing went really well; it was pretty short, too. It was about 45 minutes and we were done! We signed a number of papers, although not nearly as many as I’d have expected, and we got a key. Now, we can’t move in just yet, as we’re waiting for funds to clear and all, but so far, we’re all set to start moving in this weekend, most likely on Sunday. I’ve got Monday and Tuesday off of work so that we can finish moving, and then we’ll be all set in our new home. Life is very good right now.

Click the pretty bat for more information.

Normally, I try to avoid doing things in my blog that are considered poor form in standard works of writing. I don’t use smilies if I can avoid it, I try to avoid excess punctuation, and so on. That includes using words in all capitalized letters, because I feel like it looks bad – but, it’s okay to be exuberant right now.

WE CLOSE ON OUR HOUSE IN JUST A COUPLE OF HOURS! I’M SO EXCITED I COULD POP! WE’LL BE MOVING THIS WEEKEND, AND BY THIS TIME NEXT WEEK, WE SHOULD BE SETTLING INTO OUR LOVELY NEW HOME! EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!

Thank you.

So, I look at the post before this one, with house pictures (that are a month old, even), and I know for a fact that we’re closing at 4:30pm on Tuesday, July 27th, 2004, and yet, it just doesn’t seem real yet. It’s a unique prospect to me, to be a homeowner. I mean – just, wow, it’s nuts. I’m very excited about it. I’d always imagined (before Lisa, anyway) that I would have found up living in a studio for the rest of my life. It’s nice to know that I’m going to have a real home. Some days it feels more real (like when I went and set up the utility transfer) but right now, looking at those pictures, oddly enough – it doesn’t feel real, at least not yet. Hopefully, soon.

Okay, I’ve been a real slacker. I’ve had these photos for literally a month, but just haven’t posted them yet. However, Lisa made a request, and so here you go. These are just the outside, but that’s okay. I’d feel kind of funny posting pictures from the inside (of which I have none at this point) considering it was fully furnished with other peoples’ belongings.

Anyhow, here are the pictures! These can also be found in the gallery, as I’ve created a gallery specifically for home photos.

This is simply a photo of the outside of the home, taken from my parents-in-law’s van. He’s holding the camera out of the window and blindly snapping a picture. He took three, and this was the best by far of those three.

This is a shot of the southern portion of our patio, which is done in brick. We’ll need to get some nice patio furniture, but for now it’ll probably have little or nothing in there.

This is a shot of the northern part of the patio. The space feels kind of small in some ways, at least in the photo, but it’s still pretty nice.

We have a small yard and this lovely tree in the backyard. Very nice.

This is a long shot of the north side of the house, where the yard runs alongside the house. Being on the edge of the cul-de-sac, we get a unique lot of sorts, it seems. Our yard is effectively two sides of the house. Maybe this isn’t so unique and it’s just a new thing to me.

Overall, it’s a very exciting prospect. I can’t wait until we can get moved in and have everything all settled! More updates as events warrant.

CNN.com – Meat hook dangling craze mystifies police – Jul 18, 2004

So, apparently these people enjoy hanging from meat hooks on a popular sandbar. Have a read. It’s an odd story.

Ground Zero Typo Caught After Two Years – July 15, 2004

Today is the day of weird news stories, I suppose. Click the link, have a read. It’s hard to imagine such a mistake could have happened.

Fans of Martha Stewart request presidential pardon – Jul. 16, 2004

Martha was sentenced just moments ago. She received five months in prison, followed by two years of supervised probation, including five months of home confinement, and $30,000 in fines. Now, there’s already people petitioning for Martha to receive a pardon.

I feel split on the whole issue – I mean, in some ways I feel like she should have gotten more prison time, considering the level of her offenses, but on the other hand, I hear people saying things like “If she weren’t a celebrity she’d just have gotten a slap on the wrist” and I wonder how much truth there is to that statement. If it’s true and Martha’s just getting a sentence because of her celebrity, then that’s not quite fair — then again, she’s probably getting what everyone should be getting. Maybe people do get higher sentences and we just don’t hear about it, and she’s getting a break. I don’t know.

What do you think?

Fox Networks Group to Launch Fox Reality Channel in Early 2005

Warning if you’re approaching this post more than a month after initial posting – Yahoo has burned me in the past, so the link may have rotted by then. Here’s a quick quote from the top of the article, which basically sums up the channel.

Fox Reality Channel’s planned program line-up will consist of several long and short-form original series, as well as unscripted series newly customized with original bonus features. Fox Reality Channel will likewise utilize original and more immediate off-network content from Fox-owned studios, as well as from outside suppliers. The new network will offer a topical perspective on past and current reality series, and showcase highly popular relationship-based and competitive reality program formats.

Overall, I’m actually kind of torn. I mean, I’m a big fan of some reality television, like Survivor and Last Comic Standing, but generally the stuff on Fox is just utter trash. Therefore, a Fox channel dedicated to their reality programming will also probably be nothing but trash. Sure, there are some funny dating shows, but they’re also quite demeaning, and in general I can’t think of a single Fox reality show that I like. Then again, I like the idea of getting behind-the-scenes type content.

Since I don’t have cable (and most likely won’t for the forseeable future), it’s a moot point, but still noteworthy.