So I finally closed on my condo today. Fuggin $19k in closing costs which was exhorbitant but hey, when you find a property you like, you gotta pony up for it. At least the closing proceedings went off without a hitch thanks to my excellent lawyer Matt. He’s also a bit of a prankster, stopping on the way to the closing to try and convince the security guard at the law office that one of the partners wears a toupee. This wasn’t his firm, and he knows the partner so it was all in good fun. Glad he did that to help lighten the atmosphere, which is always helpful when you’re bleeding money out of every orifice. I signed and initialed a lot of shit, but since I had already gotten all my certified checks at the bank, there wasn’t too much else I had to fill out or write, so it really wasn’t too bad. Da Greek was on my left to make sure all the mortgage stuff was in order, and Matt was on my right eyeballing every document before I signed it. It was a pretty smooth operation, over and done in less than an hour.

Then it was off to pick up my keys and start trying to figure out how I’m going to coordinate this move. I ordered a sweet sofa and a bed from DWR but they won’t arrive for at least 4 weeks, so I have some time to install my phone and cable, get custom closets built, maybe paint, buy more furniture, and schedule an actual move in date. Plus it turns out I know the guy supervising the finish work, so I’m trying to see if we can swap out my fridge with a side-by-side unit with the water/ice-maker on the outside. That would be key, because that way I could install a single water filter for the fridge and ditch my Brita pitcher. There’s miles to go before I sleep, but it does feel good to have the closing out of the way at least. I am pretty damn tired though. So tired I don’t even have the energy to write in detail about my recent poker and food stories. Reader’s Digest version- +$650 in poker last week, should have been +$1300 but I made the biggest boneheaded move all year. Food- did the usual standard at Fleming’s (tenderloin carpaccio, cajun ribeye, sauteed mushrooms, David Bruce petite syrah), but followed it up with J’s recommendation to go across the street to Baumgart’s Cafe (the offshoot of the famous Baumgart’s originally known for great ice cream, but now even more famous for serving ice cream and sushi in one restaurant). She had just eaten there the night before, but she insisted that the mint chip ice cream was worth trying. Boy was she right. A beautifully clean mint flavor with huge chunks of bittersweet chocolate. The butter pecan was pretty good too, but it was underneath my scoop of mint chip, so it was overwhelmed. Gotta bring Stoopid V here when she returns stateside since mint chip is her fave.

Oh and I gotta make mention of V of Mekong fame, whom I affectionately refer to as High Life. She really is living the high life right now, backpacking her way thru South America. She’s been gone a little over a month now and has been robbed, had her journey stalled by countless vehicle problems, eaten alive by insects, and crawled thru a mine with air quality that typically kills miners after 15 years on the job on average. All this and she recounts things like passing time “playing charades in spanish with american movie titles -please dont ask me how we managed this.” Hahahaha I can so picture it. She totally rocks… Here’s to the High Life!