Still recovering ; Learning about real-estate appraisals ; Getting back into walking and motorcycling
(posted from home)
(This post covers 21 – 31 March, 2012)
--------------------------
Saturday, 31 March -
After yesterday's walk I felt good and believed I was well on the way to recovery from this month-long bout with whatever it is (that's still not clear!). But this morning I apparently had a relapse. We had made plans to go to Carlisle for the day but I suddenly felt nauseous and very, very tired. I went back to bed for an hour or so and slowly improved through the day.
That evening we watched 'Bob Le Flambeur' (Bob, the Gambler), a 1955 French movie. Bob's gambling gets him far in debt and he plans a daring robbery of a casino. Fate intervenes. I'd give it about a 65% on the tomatometer.
---------------------------
Friday, 30 March -
Today I felt pretty good overall but still have too many of my original symptoms to consider myself cured and I'm the better part of a week past the end of the course of treatment. I called in to see when I should schedule a return appointment. The nurse called back an hour later and said we'd try a different drug for ten days.
I wasn't feeling all that bad, I just have a persistent cough much of the day.
I fired up the Concours for the first time since my Florida trip and rode down to the new Starbucks on US30. I spent an hour or so reading news via the Flipbook app on the ipad.
At Rocky Ridge Park, I walked my five-mile end-to-end course for the first time since my return. (I had tried last week but had to cut it short).
I also spent more time researching real estate appraisal practices. After finding a reference describing how values of comparable properties are averaged together to obtain a value for the subject home, I checked the appraisal for the property we have for sale and found it was $1500 short of the average. I posted a query about this on a real estate web site and soon learned it's not that simple. I have more work to do on this.
-----------------------------
Thursday, 29 March -
We've had such wonderful weather for the last few weeks that I'm finding 50-60 degree weather to feel cold. After spending the morning researching real estate appraisal practices, I jumped on the F650GS and rode into Starbucks for a coffee and to read the news. On the way home, though, I was riding against a strong, cold headwind and was very happy to get home.
That afternoon I called up the lender for the deal we're working on House 2 and asked for the procedure to challenge the low appraisal we had received because it contained factual errors. She was remarkably candid in telling me that she has never, ever seen a successful challenge to an appraisal and in this case she doesn't see anything out of line with our appraisal. When I pointed out several factual errors she said she's not familiar with the codes in the appraisal but has been assured the appraisal is good.
That evening we watched two more episodes of 'Wallander' Season Two. We love it!
-----------------------------
Wednesday, 28 March -
I spent the day learning more about real estate appraisals and comparing appraisals we've had done over the years (on several properties) to the current one on House 2. It's clear the current one (and several others) have errors. What's not clear is the impact of those errors on the appraiser's opinion of value. Some errors are obviously minor clerical ones. But there are also factual errors. Two of them, for example, dinged the comparative value of our properties some $5000 for having a shared well... and they didn't have a shared well (one of them had historically shared a well with another home but that had changed by the time of the appraisal).
That evening we watched two eps of 'Wallander', the Masterpiece Theater production about the Swedish detective of Henning Mankell's novels.
----------------------------
Tuesday, 27 March -
I spent another day staring at appraisals, trying to learn enough about them to understand whether we've been treated fairly. It's not looking good.
That evening we watched 'Nurse Jackie'/3 and 'Mad Men'/2 episodes
------------------------------
Monday, 26 March -
I spent the day preparing to call the appraiser who had prepared the appraisal for House 2, which we currently have up for sale.
I also posted questions to a real-estate forum to help me understand what I'm looking at and why appraisers make certain statements they do in the appraisal commentary areas. Some are legally required, some are intended to be explanatory comments but may have unfamiliar language.
I called late in the day and was politely told by the appraiser that he could not talk to me since I had not ordered the appraisal. When I asked if we couldn't at least talk about what appear to be factual errors, he said I'd have to contact the lender about that.
That evening we watched 'The True Story of Hannibal', a History channel special on Netflix DVD.
-------------------------------
Sunday, 25 March -
I spent much of today researching automotive battery chargers. I had bought one in Florida to use for the target-thrower's deep-cycle battery but I didn't like it. It wouldn't reset itself to the proper battery-type setting after a power failure. What good is that? I can of course charge the battery but at any time a power fluctuation could interrupt it and I couldn't depend on it to act as a float-charger.
After about two hours I realized I wasn't finding anything useful. The internet has a lot of battery charger info but the great majority of it's junk. I didn't find even one good comparison review or any reviews I felt I could trust.
That afternoon Labashi and I went into town. She had a piece of artwork to drop off at Michaels for framing and we ran a few errands to Lowe's and Rite-Aid.
-------------------------------
Saturday, 24 March -
Before I left for Florida I started looking for a good deal on Norton Internet Security 2012 for our Windows machines. I had been keeping an eye on prices but we're less than a week from expiration of our licenses. When I left for Florida prices were around $31 for a 3-user copy and today it's down to $28.
I made the purchase, downloaded the key, and installed it on Labashi's PC. I then did the same for my old laptop.
Yesterday I had received notice that a new iOS version was available for the iPad. I synced the iPad to the Mac in case I had problems. I then ran the iOS update procedure and it all went smoothly.
That evening we watched two episodes of 'Doomsday Preppers' and one of 'The Closer'/5.
--------------------------------
Friday, 23 March -
Today I decided it's time to try a longer walk. I spent a few hours on the web news patrol, then rode the GS to Rocky Ridge and started out on my five-mile course. But about three-quarters of the way through I felt I was getting too tired to finish without too much strain. I cut the walk short but it took me a bit to get back to the bike. My regular 1:50 walk was only cut down by about 20 minutes.
That evening we watched 'Nurse Jackie'/3 and 'Wallander'/2 episodes.
---------------------------------
Thursday, 22 March -
Today Labashi helped me get the F650GS out of our storage barn. The battery was good and I had treated the gas with Startron. Prep mostly just consisted of re-mounting the saddlebags and swinging the mirrors into place and tightening them down.
Around mid-day I made arrangements to meet Labashi for a walk and then rode in to the new Starbucks for a pick-me-up. I met her an hour later at Rudy Park and we walked for about 45 minutes, working up a good sweat.
That evening we watched a few episodes of 'Mad Men'/2.
-----------------------------------
Wednesday, 21 March -
I spent the morning on the web and updated the blog. I was finally ready to go outside for a bit . I retrieved the Battery Tender and set it up on the Concours for a few hours, then moved it to the Miata.
I'm still having problems with a bit of nausea in the morning and feeling extremely tired in the late afternoon; enough so that I take a nap for about an hour. After a nap I start feeling relatively normal but have problems with coughing. I have drainage in the back of my throat and can't clear it but that sensation only lasts for a few hours. Strange.
********* END OF POST *********
(posted from home)
(This post covers 21 – 31 March, 2012)
--------------------------
Saturday, 31 March -
After yesterday's walk I felt good and believed I was well on the way to recovery from this month-long bout with whatever it is (that's still not clear!). But this morning I apparently had a relapse. We had made plans to go to Carlisle for the day but I suddenly felt nauseous and very, very tired. I went back to bed for an hour or so and slowly improved through the day.
That evening we watched 'Bob Le Flambeur' (Bob, the Gambler), a 1955 French movie. Bob's gambling gets him far in debt and he plans a daring robbery of a casino. Fate intervenes. I'd give it about a 65% on the tomatometer.
---------------------------
Friday, 30 March -
Today I felt pretty good overall but still have too many of my original symptoms to consider myself cured and I'm the better part of a week past the end of the course of treatment. I called in to see when I should schedule a return appointment. The nurse called back an hour later and said we'd try a different drug for ten days.
I wasn't feeling all that bad, I just have a persistent cough much of the day.
I fired up the Concours for the first time since my Florida trip and rode down to the new Starbucks on US30. I spent an hour or so reading news via the Flipbook app on the ipad.
At Rocky Ridge Park, I walked my five-mile end-to-end course for the first time since my return. (I had tried last week but had to cut it short).
I also spent more time researching real estate appraisal practices. After finding a reference describing how values of comparable properties are averaged together to obtain a value for the subject home, I checked the appraisal for the property we have for sale and found it was $1500 short of the average. I posted a query about this on a real estate web site and soon learned it's not that simple. I have more work to do on this.
-----------------------------
Thursday, 29 March -
We've had such wonderful weather for the last few weeks that I'm finding 50-60 degree weather to feel cold. After spending the morning researching real estate appraisal practices, I jumped on the F650GS and rode into Starbucks for a coffee and to read the news. On the way home, though, I was riding against a strong, cold headwind and was very happy to get home.
That afternoon I called up the lender for the deal we're working on House 2 and asked for the procedure to challenge the low appraisal we had received because it contained factual errors. She was remarkably candid in telling me that she has never, ever seen a successful challenge to an appraisal and in this case she doesn't see anything out of line with our appraisal. When I pointed out several factual errors she said she's not familiar with the codes in the appraisal but has been assured the appraisal is good.
That evening we watched two more episodes of 'Wallander' Season Two. We love it!
-----------------------------
Wednesday, 28 March -
I spent the day learning more about real estate appraisals and comparing appraisals we've had done over the years (on several properties) to the current one on House 2. It's clear the current one (and several others) have errors. What's not clear is the impact of those errors on the appraiser's opinion of value. Some errors are obviously minor clerical ones. But there are also factual errors. Two of them, for example, dinged the comparative value of our properties some $5000 for having a shared well... and they didn't have a shared well (one of them had historically shared a well with another home but that had changed by the time of the appraisal).
That evening we watched two eps of 'Wallander', the Masterpiece Theater production about the Swedish detective of Henning Mankell's novels.
----------------------------
Tuesday, 27 March -
I spent another day staring at appraisals, trying to learn enough about them to understand whether we've been treated fairly. It's not looking good.
That evening we watched 'Nurse Jackie'/3 and 'Mad Men'/2 episodes
------------------------------
Monday, 26 March -
I spent the day preparing to call the appraiser who had prepared the appraisal for House 2, which we currently have up for sale.
I also posted questions to a real-estate forum to help me understand what I'm looking at and why appraisers make certain statements they do in the appraisal commentary areas. Some are legally required, some are intended to be explanatory comments but may have unfamiliar language.
I called late in the day and was politely told by the appraiser that he could not talk to me since I had not ordered the appraisal. When I asked if we couldn't at least talk about what appear to be factual errors, he said I'd have to contact the lender about that.
That evening we watched 'The True Story of Hannibal', a History channel special on Netflix DVD.
-------------------------------
Sunday, 25 March -
I spent much of today researching automotive battery chargers. I had bought one in Florida to use for the target-thrower's deep-cycle battery but I didn't like it. It wouldn't reset itself to the proper battery-type setting after a power failure. What good is that? I can of course charge the battery but at any time a power fluctuation could interrupt it and I couldn't depend on it to act as a float-charger.
After about two hours I realized I wasn't finding anything useful. The internet has a lot of battery charger info but the great majority of it's junk. I didn't find even one good comparison review or any reviews I felt I could trust.
That afternoon Labashi and I went into town. She had a piece of artwork to drop off at Michaels for framing and we ran a few errands to Lowe's and Rite-Aid.
-------------------------------
Saturday, 24 March -
Before I left for Florida I started looking for a good deal on Norton Internet Security 2012 for our Windows machines. I had been keeping an eye on prices but we're less than a week from expiration of our licenses. When I left for Florida prices were around $31 for a 3-user copy and today it's down to $28.
I made the purchase, downloaded the key, and installed it on Labashi's PC. I then did the same for my old laptop.
Yesterday I had received notice that a new iOS version was available for the iPad. I synced the iPad to the Mac in case I had problems. I then ran the iOS update procedure and it all went smoothly.
That evening we watched two episodes of 'Doomsday Preppers' and one of 'The Closer'/5.
--------------------------------
Friday, 23 March -
Today I decided it's time to try a longer walk. I spent a few hours on the web news patrol, then rode the GS to Rocky Ridge and started out on my five-mile course. But about three-quarters of the way through I felt I was getting too tired to finish without too much strain. I cut the walk short but it took me a bit to get back to the bike. My regular 1:50 walk was only cut down by about 20 minutes.
That evening we watched 'Nurse Jackie'/3 and 'Wallander'/2 episodes.
---------------------------------
Thursday, 22 March -
Today Labashi helped me get the F650GS out of our storage barn. The battery was good and I had treated the gas with Startron. Prep mostly just consisted of re-mounting the saddlebags and swinging the mirrors into place and tightening them down.
Around mid-day I made arrangements to meet Labashi for a walk and then rode in to the new Starbucks for a pick-me-up. I met her an hour later at Rudy Park and we walked for about 45 minutes, working up a good sweat.
That evening we watched a few episodes of 'Mad Men'/2.
-----------------------------------
Wednesday, 21 March -
I spent the morning on the web and updated the blog. I was finally ready to go outside for a bit . I retrieved the Battery Tender and set it up on the Concours for a few hours, then moved it to the Miata.
I'm still having problems with a bit of nausea in the morning and feeling extremely tired in the late afternoon; enough so that I take a nap for about an hour. After a nap I start feeling relatively normal but have problems with coughing. I have drainage in the back of my throat and can't clear it but that sensation only lasts for a few hours. Strange.
********* END OF POST *********
posted by Bezabor&Labashi | 23:59
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