Working 7 Days a Week

No one will listen to my complaints anymore, so I have to whine on this blog. I lost my (real estate) related job in April. Since then I've been searching and hoping for a great job to come along again. I've sent out over 150 applications. And now I've found a job I can work Monday to Wednesday, and another one I can work Thursday to Sunday. That's great, right? I owe $4200 per month, and between the two jobs I'll be making $3800. And don't forget the taxes that will be taken out of what I earn... This economy is killing me! Any suggestions? I am thinking about taking a third job waiting tables at night.

Free iPod

Last Sunday was sweet! I drove Dana, my blind black judge friend, to Santa Barbara so he could give a speech at a lawyer's retreat at El Capitan State Park. We were there for about 3 and a half hours. The general partner stood up in the middle of the meeting and said, "Everyone in the room gets an iPod!" I couldn't believe it. So today I've been downloading all my music to my iPod. It's kind of boring but it should be worth it in the end.

Thanksgiving was really fun. We had my grandfather, his daughter Josie and her husband Peter, and 12 other people. We pulled out ALL the china and crystal. I nearly died when they put Tostitos in my great-grandmother's Fostoria crystal bowl, but what can one do? It's like putting cases of RC cola into the trunk of a Rolls Royce. At least it's being put to use, I guess.

I've got my "interview" with my future landlady tomorrow. I've been cleaning up all day. It actually looks worse because I found all this paperwork I need to deal with and it's all over my bed, but I've been making major progress.

I'm still hung up on Scott. Half the time he acts like he loves talking to me and the other half he sounds annoyed. Maybe it's that red-headed temperament.

I've been begging Jinna, Julie, and Sunny to go to Basque (a club) with me. I think we're going to Echo. I'm down with that. Sunny says he's going to take me shopping to buy me an urban outfit tomorrow. I'm not sure how I feel about that. As long as it's jade green or has something sparkly on it.

I'm moving to Santa Clarita soon. It's going to be a big pain in the ass but it should be worth it!

My Ex is Famous

I just found an article about my ex-boyfriend from Camarillo, CA. This guy had gorgeous blue eyes and was ripped! Anyway, he won a gold medal in Judo. It's called the Master's and I think it's for people who are too old to go to the Olympics. Anyway, he's freaking fit so I'm not surprised he won. He was a sweetie. I hope he won some money.

http://www.usjudo.org/2006USOpenMastersDay2Results.asp

I'm BORED. I'm the toastmaster at Toastmasters tonight. It will be the highlight of my day. I keep waiting to get offers on my listings and nothing is happening! As Bridget Jones would say, "Gah!"

I'm at work right now, waiting for the phone to ring. Melissa is here, too, but she's downstairs so I don't get to gossip with her right now.

David, this crazy farmer guy, keeps sending me these weird comedy commercial-type e-mails but he has a spam blocker or something so I can't send him an e-mail telling him to stop sending me that crap. Actually, one of them was about a "trunk monkey" and it was pretty funny. The monkey would do stuff like jump out of the car trunk and whack a policeman over the head with a wrench if he was writing you a speeding ticket. Yet my boredom quickly returned.

I'm moving to Santa Clarita in a couple of weeks. I'm excited about it because I'd really like to have a social life again. Lancaster/Palmdale is mega boring. I'm going to live with my friend Christine and our major plan is to date dozens of guys off of match.com.

I think I'm a home wrecker. My friend Christine left her husband because I'm an enabler, my friend Melissa is about to leave her husband, and both my friends Mindy and Nicole split from their guys after I started hanging out with them for substantial amounts of time. Perhaps I carry a curse with me.

Yawn. I'll write more later.

Praying for an offer

As far as listings go, I'm doing great. As far as selling those listings go, I'm sucking a**. I just listed a $485,000 house in Santa Clarita and a $15,000 land parcel in Cal City. Not bad. If they both sell I'll make nearly 30% of what I earned in a year as a teacher.

Grandma went to the hospital today. Because I don't have a real job, it was no problem to go get the coffees and danish and camp out in the ER with Grandpa.

I've been reading a couple of awesome books about buying and holding real estate. I'm excited about buying some low-middle rated houses and renting them forever. I'm going to get my creepy, rough-looking guy friend Lance to go with me to collect rent the first couple of times. That should be fun.

I went tanning in the stand-up high intensity booth yesterday. BIG MISTAKE. I could only handle 6 minutes. I felt like I was going to puke. I had 10 but I'm glad I bailed out because my posterior and neck are BURNED.

I'm thinking about going to Santa Clarita... If I lived there I could get my car cleaned for free every Saturday at the Mercedes dealership. It would be sweet.

Ohh, I got a new computer for my birthday and I have to pick it up now. It's a Toshiba. I'm stoked. Thanks Heather and Grandpa!

Love,
Kat

I Heart Mercedes

Yesterday was the Mercedes commercial filming! It wasn't what I expected, but I think these things rarely are. I got my hair straightened at 9 a.m. Mom called me at 9:45 and started complaining about her broken toe and generally stressing me out. I had two things to do for work -- put my new listing in the MLS and draw up comps for a lady who called to find out the value of her house. I told her I had to go to work and she got all huffy. She's going to be 50 on the 11th! Maybe it's getting to her...

So anyway, I put on about 3 pounds of make-up and left for Valencia at noon. I got there at 1 on the dot. It was being filmed at the director's house. It was a really pretty house in a lovely neighborhood. A 30ish woman was there with her parents. Her parents were Scottish! The camera was loving the old Scottish people, let me tell you. "My experience was Grrrreat." You get the picture. An Israeli girl named Hilla was the make-up artist. She went to work giving me some big, sultry eyes. I wore my gold silk blouse and black skirt. The sound guy came over and molested me with the microphone-down-the-shirt technique. His name was Tim. He was low to medium sexy.

They pulled my car up in the driveway and spent about 20 minutes getting the lighting right. The lighting guy was medium to high sexy. Then I said things like, "I never thought I'd be able to afford a Mercedes at 25!" and "It was so cool to walk out on the lot and see every kind of Mercedes!" "I went to 2 other non-luxury car dealerships and there was a lot of pressure to buy that day. But at the Mercedes dealership there wasn't any pressure at all. They let me decide when I was ready."

The cameraman said I was "Glamorous yet real." I hope they don't cut this thing together so I look like a total fruitcake. They said it won't be just one commercial. It will be cut into several. That's why they're using 4 different testimonials.

Anyway, it was a lot of fun. I just sent the Mercedes PR woman a request for 200 goodies for our area Toastmasters conference. Hopefully I can get something in exchange for that commercial! I think I spent 200 on my hair altogether -- I had to get it done twice!

OK, I have to write a speech for Toastmasters tonight. I think it will be about my day in the spotlight.

Old Pizza

Today was weird, so I wore some weird clothes. Brown alligator heels, jeans, wine-colored jacket, and I carried a bright pink alligator bag. And I didn't care.

Didn't do any mega deals today. I'm trying to be patient. I've got 3 houses for sale right now and I want to SELL THEM!!!!!

Plus my phone is acting psychotic. I had voice mail and it didn't tell me!

I got a form today from the Bar Association. Heather's future happiness rests in my hands. What to do? I mean, do I really believe the applicant's reputation, with respect to honesty, trustworthiness, diligence, and reliability is good? I guess. Can I attach an additional sheet if necessary?

Active

I've just been reading over my blog and thinking, "God, I'm so self-indulgent." It's true. Well, I'm single again. But I think I'm happy. A lot is going on all the time. I've been doing tennis lessons at the city park this month. It's been a lot of fun. My roommate, Jill, and I have been doing it together. I can't believe how bad I sucked when I started. I'm not so bad now.

I've got three listings at the moment. None of them are selling yet. It's depressing. But I sold 2 in September and that was a nice payday. Whatever keeps the repo man from taking my Mercedes.

I'm applying to business school. I'm feeling the east coast. The west coast has been very tough on me.

I have a major crush on one of my clients. I can't sell his damn house! He doesn't like me. He can tell when I'm flirting with him. For instance, I mentioned that I was at the Studio City Golf Club this weekend. He was like, "The Studio City Golf and Tennis Club?" I said, "Oh, I didn't know they had tennis there." And then he said, "Yep, they do. OK, all the forms are done. I'll get them faxed over."

Damn it! He's the best prospect so far. Oh well... I'll keep my eyes open for someone else good.

Too Bizzzzzzzzzzzy

God, I'm so tired. I have been working so hard! I got my classroom, the gorgeous one with the high ceilings that I have coveted since I first used that room last... October, I think. It's fabulous. I've been in my room preparing science experiments, math skills papers, etc.

I went to L.A. last Friday to see the King Tut exhibit with Cindy the lawyer, her husband, daughter, Candice (my friend from Torrance and Cindy's assistant), and Tom. That exhibit was so amazing. There weren't only artifacts from Tut's tomb, there were huge sarcophogii from his grandmother-in-law and all these little shabti. I bought the coolest kit that has copies of French and English drawings and recordings from diaries when they found these tombs. I'm having them laminated and we're going to study them when the kids start back. I can't believe I'm going to have my own space and supplies and filing cabinets. This year is going to be so much more organized and we're going to get to do so many more projects because of the storage space I have. I hooked up the fish tank, I just need to find some fish. My students were catching frogs all over the place the last week of school and I let them keep some in the tank. They took them home with them and I'm sure they're dead by now.

As far as real estate goes, I have several warm/hot leads. My scuba instructor broke up with his girlfriend and is selling his 5-acre ranch. I asked him if he would list with me and he said sure. I ran all of the tax records and looked up the other properties that have sold in his area. I consulted one of my brokers and it looks like the property is worth $450,000. My goal is to sign the listing agreement before I go back to school. The catch is that his ex-girlfriend is on the title, so I have to convince her to sign, too. My listing presentation needs to be up to scratch, so I'm working on it tomorrow after I go view the new properties that are for sale in Lancaster with other people from the office.

I met a reasonably attractive man at the Multiple Listing Service orientation, but he has got to be 50. He pressed me for a business card so I gave him one of mine from school. I knew it. He called me a couple of days later and asked me to lunch. Eww. I told him that I didn't know what my schedule looked like and I would call him back. I haven't yet. I don't know how to blow him off without burning the bridge. He's a lender based in Santa Clarita.

Ludovic has been very sweet. Booked a hotel for us for the 4th of July weekend. Wants to go to the French Bastille Day Cultural celebration in Santa Barbara two weeks later, too. He forwarded me the e-mail details of it and it looks so fun! There is supposed to be a drag queen show. Sometimes he goes to the dojo in Santa Barbara to practice Judo. He's got funny stories to tell about dropping people at that place when they least expect it. He is very strong, that is certain. I still haven't met the kid, though he's asked me to twice. I'm scared of it. His name is Nicolas. The thing is, when you are a teacher it is ok if the kids hate you. In fact, sometimes it is better that way. But if this kid hates me, my relationship is screwed. I haven't said that to Ludo and I won't. I'm much smarter about being mysterious around men that I used to be. I do what I want when I want to and it seems to make them very thirsty for more. Plus Ludovic thinks I'm a beauty queen, as he should do.

I ordered my wetsuit and it should be ready in ten days. Ludovic wants me to go body boarding with him and his guy friends (this sounds like a recipe for disaster to me). Then I'm going to go to Catalina with my scuba instructor and some other students in August. Bekah's shower is coming up, too. Bekah is HUGE and her baby shower is coming up. I'm giving her diapers and a onesie.

I spent last weekend with Ludovic. We saw Cinderella Man, ate Greek food, ate sushi for like the millionth time, and went swimming in hot tub and the pool at his complex. He hasn't met Tom yet, but I'm going to arrange that soon if he continues to behave himself. Best of all, he showed me the divorce papers. He pays quite a chunk of child support.

That is all I can think of for now... A lot has happened but it seems ages ago. I'll try to be better about posting!

Yes! Yes! Yes!

So Friday was the last day of school. We had so much fun. I let the kids bring in a whole load of junk food and I made a bunch of brownies. We had our party before lunch. Then, after lunch they came back and we played music and danced until the bell rang. We had a blast.

Then I drove out to Camarillo and met Ludovic again. He's exactly how I like my men. Attentive and intelligent. We a lovely, lovely, lovely time together. He cooked brochettes and cous cous. I saw pictures of the son and the kid is really cute. He does look a lot like his father. I did not realize how fit Ludovic is the first time I met him. The man ripples muscle. I couldn't keep my hands off of him.

Last weekend was amazing, too. I went to Leo Carillo and did the beach dive. The visibility was awful and all we saw was a starfish. The waves were fun to ride, too. It was hard going with the tank and fins and everything, but it was cool. While we were there there was a kayak race going on and we kept watching them wipe out in the waves. We were all cracking up.

Then, the next day we left Ventura harbor on the Spectre boat and did three dives off of it. The boat was so high off the water! I think I had to fall about 8-10 feet to crack the surface. I went down 66 feet on the first dive. You use a lot more air when you're deep compared to when you are at sea level, and I nearly ran out of air. I had to do an emergency ascent. Then we did two more dives and I saw a sea hare (my instructor made a bunch of purple ink shoot out of it), lots of sea lions, sea stars, sea urchins, starfish, sheephead fish, tons of kelp, and all kinds of gorgeous rocks and plants. We were out near Anacapa for those dives. The water was 59 degrees, but it wasn't at all bad with the wetsuit. There was a jacuzzi on the boat, so after all the dives I jumped in it. Then this Israeli guy got in with me and was acting all creepy. My friend Rhonda got in, though, and distracted him for a while. Rhonda and I were the only two from our class that got certified. Others didn't do their homework or chickened out of the beach dive.

I turned in all my gear. I think that I'm going to buy a wetsuit on July 1st. Then I can go bodysurfing with Ludovic. I think he said something about getting me a bodyboard. I was kind of drunk. He made this pretty blue drink full of vodka for me. It matched his eyes.

En Francais

Oooooohhhh, my weekend was so good. Last night I went out with Ludovic. He is from France, near Lens. I met him in Santa Clarita and we went out to eat sushi. He won my heart when he ordered the entire bottle of wine, not just glasses. Ha ha ha. It was excellent Chardonnay. We ate really good spicy tuna rolls and some kind of fried scallop roll thing. He was very interesting and kind. He has a son, which is very weird, and he is going to France in August and taking him along. We talked about everything. I asked him if he smokes, because I suspected he did because he wrote "no answer" in his profile, and it turns out he does. Camel lights. So after dinner we enjoyed the immeasurable pleasure of an after dinner cigarette in the company of one who did not give a shit. Then we went to TGI Friday's and had martinis. He had apple, I had lemondrop. Both were very delicious. Then we went back to his car and kissed a LOT. He is a very good kisser. They are so rare. Tabish was good. My other boyfriends all left something to be desired. The funny thing is that Ludovic is acting very, very smitten very, very early. He hasn't left any doubt. When we were at TGIF's he asked me, "So do you want to see me again?" And then later that night he said he really wants to see me again and then he spoke about when I meet his son I'll see that he looks just like him. His "mini-me" he calls him. At one point Ludovic leaned over and whispered in my ear, "Tu es tres belle." I just smiled and said, "I know." He laughed. "I know you know!" he said. Ludovic is quite rugged and handsome. He has very blue eyes. He said people comment on them a lot. And then he noted that my eyes are green and then he kissed my forehead and then he kissed me (very well). And then we kissed some more, and some more, and today he wrote to me and said again that he wants to see me soon and that he "needs" my kisses. There is a lot more than that that I need, but I'm going to act wisely. I liked that he did not make a move to go too far in the common parking lot. He kept his hands where hands should stay--the waist. Let's see, he body boards and he has a black belt in Judo. And he makes somewhere near 100,000, at least that is what is on his profile. I believe it. And I liked that he paid for everything without flinching and without ceremony. I tried to pay for our drinks and he wouldn't hear it. The only thing wrong with Ludovic is that he seems a little distressed that I am 9 years younger than him (his ex-wife was 2 years older than him) and he tucks his shirt in too far. We spoke a lot of French and he says that I know a lot more than the vast majority of people he has met here. He called me today and he spoke to me in French. I like it. His English is excellent and his accent is not pronounced. He doesn't have any problems with the th sound. He lives in Camarillo, which is a swank part of Ventura county.

Today I went out and bought a lot of stuff. I got some really cute summer stuff from Wet Seal and a gold watch. Plus I got some jeans and two cute casual jackets that I'm going to wear over jeans. And two new pairs of sunglasses. Tomorrow I'm going to get my air tanks filled to prepare for scuba on Wednesday and go join the association of realtors.

I think I'm going to buy a wetsuit soon. I can use it when I go diving and if someone takes me body surfing I can use it then, too...

Kat and Mike on the deck 

Good Week

This week has been AWESOME. I started scuba last week and this week packed in the classes. Had to do several hours of preparation on my free CD-ROM and print out lots of homework from it. At the class with Scuba Steve (my instructor--remember the movie Big Daddy??? With Scuba Steve??? ha ha ha) we had to take 3 quizzes. I was the only one to rock out 100% on all of them. Result! Then this week we had to swim 200 yards (I came in second, and I was convinced that I would be last) and we had to tread water for 10 minutes. That was dead easy. I was chatting the whole time. The guys acted like they were about to die. They just don't have enough natural bouyancy (fat!). The gear is insane. I have to wear: mask, snorkel, BCD (a vest that inflates when you push a button) about 20 pounds of lead for weight, boots, fins (I bought some SWEET fins), a huge air tank, a wetsuit, gloves, regulator, alternate air source (basically a yellow regulator), a gauge that shows time, depth, remaining air pressure, and a compass. I gotta get a whistle. On Tuesday we did the swimming tests. On Wednesday we did a bunch of water skills for three hours in the pool. Last night we did 3 and a half hours in the pool and did some crazy tests. On one of them we were at the bottom of the pool (13 feet) and the instructor turned off our air. We had to signal "out of air" to our buddies, yank their alternate air sources off of them, and breathe their air. Then we had to swim around the pool together, connected by the yellow hose and breathing their air. I really like it.

Next weekend we're going to do a boat dive and a beach dive. We have a couple more pool dives this upcoming week. I don't know what we're going to do in them yet.

Oh, Scuba Steve said that once he took a spray can of cheese into the ocean and all the fish came running and ate what he squirted into the water. Then they started getting really agressive and one bit his ear 3 times. It really hurt and it bled all over the place! Ha!

Today I met with that real estate broker that I saw about 6 weeks ago. It's solid. I sign the contract on Monday and I start my training classes on the 20th with his partner. I'm so happy!

I have been out on a couple of dates and they have gone well. No one I want to invest my life in yet. I have another hot date tomorrow night and I'm soooooooo looking forward to it. He is the most interesting and positive guy I have met so far. He's 33. And the funny thing... He's French. We talk on the phone and write e-mails in French and he says my skills are impressive. When I was on the train from Brussels to Koln I spoke French to order sandwiches and beer for Tom and I and the waiter said my French was very good. I love it when I hear that. I know the Alliance Francaise has classes in Beverly Hills. Maybe when things calm down I will register for them and try to get really good. I would like to not have to fish so hard for vocab.

And I got some damn good gossip a week ago. My hot assistant principal really has split up from his wife. I found out from the in-school suspension lady at a party last Friday. When I heard that, that comment that he made about how I should get a sugar daddy came rushing back to me. Was he suggesting that he be my sugar daddy???? I have no idea. So I submitted a request for him to do a letter of recommendation for me. That is because I fully intend to flirt with him and see if he wants to go out for a drink. If he says yes and then later we end up in some horrific break-up situation, it won't really matter as far as work goes because I'll already have the positive rec on file. In theory. I'm trying to be a little smarter than I've been in the past.

Oh, and best of all. That crap student loan situation finally disappeared off my credit report. (There was a time when it said I was delinquent when in reality I was in deferment while I was in the graduate program.) So I couldn't get a decent credit card rate. And so far this week I've gotten 3 zero-interest credit card offers in the mail. Sweet. Thank God! It finally feels like all the skewed aspects of my life are getting good again.

The Chinese baby and me in L.A. 

At the monastary in Germany (we drank Riesling at lunch, of course) 

At my mother's house in Germany 

Me at the Savoy before we saw Blithe Spirit (it was GREAT!) 

Me and the Concord in the background (Tom flew on one with my grandma) 

crazy boat hair 

Katherine outside the pub (drunk)... Note the Vodafone bag! I had to get a new SIM card and phone number! 

Kat and Clare at a pub in Reading