Your Q Score is: 17
The Q score ideally should be as small as possible, indicating maximum agreement among elements. However, even a tiny Q score may not mean optimal functioning, since all four elements may in fact be relatively undeveloped.

Your Primary Mythical Creature
Air Types
The main strength of the Air types is intellect. The second element indicates the most probable focus for this intellectual activity.

Pegasus
Air and Earth

Astrologically associated with Libra and the Seventh House

Pegasus types are theorists who aim to achieve in reality what they conceive with the mind. They are perfectionists who strive to produce order from what they regard as the chaos around them. They detest disorder and ugliness and have a particular flair for creating beautiful surroundings in which to live. They can be highly original and possibly eccentric. They are curious and open-minded but will require convincing evidence to back up ideas. They show exceptional organizational ability. Although they are among the least outgoing of the types they are very concerned with promoting social harmony. Their ability to be objective and impartial makes them popular as fair-minded arbiters of disputes. They are extremely independent and can seem emotionally distant.





Your Shadow Creature
Fire Types
All the Fire types have problems relating to anger and aggression. The weakest element indicates the main focus of these problems.

Wyvern
Fire and Water

This shadow is both insensitive and hypersensitive. They are unsociable, emotionally illiterate, and mean-minded. Relations with others are characterized by conflict and calculated reprisals. Passive aggression is used to full effect. These types seem to dislike other people. They are plagued by powerful emotional undercurrents and they blame their discomfort on others. They appear cold; their emotional expression, when it is given vent, seems immature. They exhibit a sense of entitlement and do not think that they should have to earn what they get. They are poorly motivated and prone to bitterness. The biggest obstacle of weak Water is to overcome insensitivity and alienation; the biggest obstacle of weak Fire is to overcome anger and aggression.

Closing Time

Closing time
Open all the doors and let you out into the world
Closing time
Turn all of the lights on over every boy and every girl
Closing time
One last call for alcohol so finish your whiskey or beer
Closing time
You don't have to go home but you can't stay here

I know who I want to take me home
I know who I want to take me home
I know who I want to take me home

Closing time
Time for you to go out to the places you will be from
Closing time
This room won't be open till your brothers or your sisters come
So gather up your jackets, move it to the exits
I hope you have found a friend
Closing time
Every new beginning comes from some other beginning's end

I know who I want to take me home
I know who I want to take me home
I know who I want to take me home
Take me home

- Semisonic

The last lines of that song have been running through my head all day - 'Closing time/Every new beginning comes from some other beginnings's end'

So yes, we closed. Gah - It's been a LONGGGGG arse day.... let's run through it, shall we??

8:20am - eyes pop open. Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!! It's Closing Day!! Hop up, shower, dress, check email, no email from Paige giving me directions - I know what the closing costs are from Mike, and Yahoo! gives me directions, so it don't really matter.
8:45 - wake up husband and tell him I'm going to the bank for the certified check.
9:05 - at bank, lady asks if I'm buyin a house, I say yes, she congratulates me and comments that I'm the THIRD person that morning to come in for a closing check. Apparently, a LOT of people close on the last day of the month.
9:20 - back at home, C is dressed, we discuss one car or two, decide on two - just in case things run long - head out. Stop to get some gas and water - cuz ya know, we don't keep the little bottles around.
10:00 - at the attorneys' office - everyones cheerful.
10:15 - Paige arrives, we are starting to sign stuff, I'm - oddly - quiet, I guess is the right word. It's not a weight on me - but it's - huge. A House? Holy shit. I've always wanted one - but the moment of achieving that which is desired is never QUITE as magical as we would like it to be, is it? In fact, it's usually (at least for me) a little sad. Maybe because I've reached the end of a road, and even though I'm glad to be moving on, I'mma miss that path, just a little bit.
11:00 - We're done! Paige gives me the key & a hug, Me & C take a picture, C heads out.
11:20 - For some reason, I'm still at the attorney's office - running mah mouth.
11:30 - Finally leave, lay the folder of closing documents on the hood of the car as I call my mom to tell her that we are officially home owners.
11:45 - While kiki'ing with my mom, realize that I LEFT the folder on the car, and being five blocks away from the lawyers office, this ain't good. Turn around, and see papers just blowing ALL OVER THE STREET.
12:00 - Park car, and proceed to walk up and down Stage Rd gathering the loan/closing papers. *groan*
12:40 - go BACK to the lawyers office, admit my utter dillheadishness, get another copy of the paperwork.
1:00 - arrive at the house - OUR house. Heh. Mr W (the former owner) is there cleaning stuff up - he gives me the rest of the keys, and a few last pointers before his wife calls and tells him to come on so she can deliver a cake.
1:35 - figure out which key belongs to which lock and which ones need to be duplicated, call Ms. Bella to confirm that we are still meeting for the boxes and camera.
2:00 - make a sudden decision and go to Meineke to see if they can tell me what's wrong with my brakes and how much it will cost to fix it.
2:10 - find out that my wheel lock has gone missing AGAIN (this is the third damn time) and head off to Home Depot to get a copy of the key made, and to pick up a plant for a thank you gift to Ms. Bella - her recommendation of Paige most likely saved my sanity, AND a couple thousand. You ROCK.
2:25 - become the proud owner of a Home Depot credit card with a relatively staggering limit.
2:45 - realize that I am STARVING, as I haven't eaten all day, and pull into Sonic for a wee snack.
3:00 - Meet Ms Bella, exchange baskets and plants - she & her hubby gave us a LOVELY collection of herbs - the perfect thing to start the herb garden!
3:30 - Swing by liqour store to pick up some celebratory champange.
4:00 - FINALLY back home, proceed to collapse in a giggling, drained, heap.
4:30 - Finish comparing the 'lost' papers to the new copy, realize that the WORST possible page to have missed (the front page of the loan application, that has the kind of info on it an identity thief would CREAM to get their hands on - shit, the only thing that WASN'T on there was my mothers maiden name) is missing. Desparately hope that it was one of the pages I saw go down the sewer drain.
4:45 - Call the credit unions and put a fraud alert on my account. Wonder dismally if the Home Depot card will ever arrive, much less work.
6:30 - stop stubbornly ignoring the packing that still needs to be done, and pull myself up to pack some more.
7:15 - finish the downstairs closet, glare at the kitchen, pour a glass of wine.

AAAAAAhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!

It's been a reaaallllllyyyy long day. And - we're homeowners. But - ya know, it hasn't really sank in that - we have a new HOUSE. And - it's like - not an apartment. You should have seen me giggling madly over the fact that as I filled out the Home Depot application, I could now mark that I OWN and not that I rent. Holy Shinoli.

It's almost 8 now, and - the steps to upstairs are almost completely blocked with boxes and other stuff that I need to take upstairs to pack, but oh my gods, I'm so dang TIRED. And then, I planned on going to tBH and cleaning tomorrow. Shhhhhhhhhhessssha!!

So. Yes. We have Keys. We are Owners.

*grins giddily*

Oh, like - Wow. *grins* I'd be going to the house tomorrow ANYWAY to take pictues. Heh. So I just need to force myself to take lots of cleaning supplies - I think there is a DollarTree up there, as I realized that I don't own a 'real' mop, nor a bucket, and I be damned if I Swiffer that WHOLE place. Sheeeee.

But right now, I think I wanna let my brain rot, have another glass of wine, and mentally ponder whether my cat will come home before we move. *sigh* I'm leaving one cat behind here (and don't think I didn't consider unearthing Nikki - but - *wrinkles nose* ew. I think I'll just take the ivy I planted on his grave instead), and I don't want to leave two.

G'night ya'll.

---

Sea of Calm

I'm about as content as a cat with a bowl fulla fresh milk. I feel all - settled and - cozy.

I seriously, seriously, seriously, MUST invest in a new camera - it's just RIDICULOUS how fabulously photogenic our house is! I went by yesterday (partial stalkage, partially making sure a branch didn't fall off during the storm Tuesday, or a tornado didn't touch down and take tBH to Oz) and just - wandered around. I keep forgetting the fact that C has only been in the house ONCE, so when we are talking about what we wanna do to it, he doesn't have nearly the crystal clear mental image of tBH that I do. Anyhow!! So - I was outside (as we don't have keys yet, obviously) just kinda wandering around. I spotted some stuff in the backyard (like a huge tin tub!) that I would REALLY like to keep - seriously, they can leave any danngone thing they want there. But (I keep loosing my train of thought) as I was wandering around - I mean, the place is GORGEOUS. Seriously - and I've always loved nature photography, but actually making time to go to a park was always like - eeeeehhhhh. So. Must get new camera.

But! contentment. Closing is tomorrow (and I refuse to freak, or even worry about the fact that the lender hasn't gotten back to me about the appraisal - it's over the selling price, and that's really all that matters!) and I'm taking both tommorow and Monday off. Most of the downstairs is packed - I refuse to pack the kitchen, considering that I'll most likely end up packing the rest of the house - because ya know, I'm anal like that and I've SEEN what Hubsterman calls 'packing' - and it's more like - toss some shit in a box and tape it closed. *shudder* Except, of course, for the kitchen, where everything is damn near alphabetized by the time he's done packing. *shakes head* Anyhow! The upstairs is really just books, clothes, and toiletries - I think I'll start attacking the horror that is our UnderSink tonight.
I've been stalking the facilities manager here - he told me he has like 15 boxes on a dock in another building, and I want! I want badly! They are the boxes that the reams of paper come in, and I figure 15 MIGHT hold all our books. *sighs* Okay, who am I kidding, we'll most likely need 30. I've got about 5 or 6 at home, and the nice housekeeping manager has been giving me the boxes the cups come in, so - we shall see. This weekend is going to be an orgy of packing and cleaning - mainly cleaning tBH, because I'm not cleaning the apartment until it's empty.

And BLUURRGH!! Our landlord is sticking to the lease, the blimy mop! He's 'agreed' to accept 600 bucks (assuming we will be out on the 5th) and return our deposit (assuming we haven't put any holes in the walls). So, ASSUMING he gives us back the full deposit - we'll end up only being out 350, instead of the 450 that we offered him (which, in my mind, is brightly backasswards, but hey! whatever's clever) so, I am damn well GOING to be out of this house on the 5th, even if we ain't got no fridge. Speaking of which, we are going to have to shop for that tomorrow as well.

Edited: Housewarming!!! We want to have some time to paint, and meebe buy some furniture, and DEFINITELY get a condenser, so we are thinking that the housewarming will be in October sometime...We're planning on making it a REAL par-tay!! :_)

---

Work is - *shrugs*. I'm so glad it pays the bills though.

Okay - work has been mad busy, so I haven't been able to focus on reviewing the festivals like I wanted to. Here's my efforts to catch up.

Yup - four festivals/ritual days - back to back to back. Let's see what I can dig up on each of them.


Day of Het-Hert (Hathor) (17 Pashons)

Het-Hert (more commonly known as Hathor) was originally a universal cow-goddess and symbolic mother of Pharaoh. She was also a daughter of Ra. The ancient Egyptians often chose animals to symbolize a deity´s properties, and as the wild cow was very protective about its calves, it was therefore a perfect ideal for maternal protectiveness and so was used in depictions for Het-Hert. Her forms were many, and she was frequently shown with a woman's head and a cow's ears. This can be found on pillar heads, like at Denderah and her image, smiling and naked, is often found decorating mirrors. Another often seen depiction of her is with a sun-disc surrounded by cow's horns on her head but also with a cow's head or in full bovine form. Also as a lioness, a snake and a tree nymph among the branches of the Sycamore, her sacred tree, which she shared with Aset in later periods. Her greatest influence was as a goddess especially for women, a patron of beauty, love, sexuality, joy, dance and music. At various periods she had a large female priesthood who acted as singers, musicians and dancers in temple rituals and processions. At Denderah Ihy, the personification of the jubilation associated with sistrum playing, is a child of Hathor and Horus. In her motherly aspect she protected pregnant women and children and at some of her temples people could get their dreams interpreted.

Day of Joy of the Ennead and crew of Ra (18 Pashons)

hmm.... I haven't found any explanations of this festival, so let's examine who the players are.

1) The Ennead.
There were several Ennead's in Ancient Egypt, and which one you were talking about depended on which temple center you were worshipping at.
The earliest and most important Ennead was the one of Heliopolis, the center of solar cult in Ancient Egypt. It consisted of the primeval god Atum (solar god), his two children Shu (air) and Tefnut (moisture), their offspring Geb (earth) and Nut (sky) and their children Osiris, Isis, Seth and Nephthys. Horus and Thot are sometimes also counted to this Ennead, which makes the actual number of gods greater than 9.
There was also the Theban Ennead, which consisted of as many as 15 gods, and the Ennead of Abydos, which only counted 7. I need to check my books at home, and get a listing of the netjer that were included in each Ennead.

2) The Crew of Ra
It was Maàt that guided the course of the boat. At the helm of the boat stood Thoth, representative of the moon, who symbolically stood next to Horus, who, in early egyptian myth, represented the sky, and whose dark eye was the moon. It was Horus who steered. Many of the other gods travelled in the boat with them, and one of them, possibly with the assistant Mehen (who may instead simply be nothing more than a boardgame), defended the boat from attack by the monster of darkness, who wished to devour Ra. In early mythology, it was Set who was the hero defending the boat, and Apep who was the attacker, but in later myth, after Set became regarded as evil, it was Thoth who defended and Set who was the demon. Temporary failure to protect Ra was said to be the cause of solar eclipses, and mere difficulty in doing so was said to cause bad weather.

Now, why exactly these two groups are joyful - I don't know - I'll have to do more research. Quick note to self: Get a good collection of Netjer Myths, and a copy of 'Going forth by Day' that was NOT translated by Budge.

Day of the counting of Tehuti (Thoth) who heard Ma'at (19 Pashons)

Now - in the last book that I read, by Mancini, she was saying that 'hearing' Ma'at wasn't actually an auditory process, and that 'hearing' Ma'at meant being able to properly transmit life energy - to bring it into yourself, and to be able to share it with others. The whole book basically said that the interpetations of the Weighing of the Heart scene were tainted by expections of material justice, while the Egyptians may have considered it a representation of transmutive ability. It was an interesting book, made some interesting points, and I'll definitely have to read it again - as well as get an idea of how other scholars view her conclusions. Anyhow!

Thoth/Tehuti/Thot/Djehuty was originally the deification of the moon in the Ogdoad belief system. Initially, in that system, the moon had been seen to be the eye of Horus, the sky god, which had been semi-blinded (thus darker) in a fight against Set, the other eye being the sun. However, over time it began to be considered separately, becoming a lunar deity in its own right, and was said to have been another son of Ra. As the crescent moon strongly resembles the curved beak of the ibis, this separate deity was named Djehuty (i.e. Thoth), meaning ibis.
Thoth became credited by the ancient Egyptians as the inventor of writing, and was also considered to have been the scribe of the underworld, and the moon became occasionally considered a separate entity, now that Thoth had less association with it, and more with wisdom. For this reason Thoth was universally worshipped by ancient Egyptian Scribes. Also, he became credited as the inventor of the 365-day (rather than 360-day) calendar, it being said that he had won the extra 5 days by gambling with the moon, then known as Iabet, in a game of dice, for 1/72nd of its light (5 = 360/72). When the Ennead and Ogdoad systems started to merge, one result was that, for a time, Horus was considered a sibling of Isis, Osiris, Set, and Nephthys, and so it was said that Hathor/Nuit had been cursed against having children during the (360) day year, but was able to have these five over the 5 extra days won by Thoth. I REALLY have to get a good collection of myths!
Thoth was inserted in many tales as the wise counsel and persuader, and his association with learning, and measurement, lead him to be connected with Seshat, the earlier deification of wisdom, who became said to be his daughter, or variably his wife.


Ma'at judges the souls before the Netjeru (20 Pashons)

This one is almost TOO easy - it had to be a festival for this:



perhaps celebating and honoring the souls who had passed the weighing, as well as prayers/rituals to help the souls of those who had recently died pass through the process.


After these four back to back to back to back festivals, there is a break, and the next festival isn't until 30 Pashons.

So - notes to myself about stuff I still need - I'm SUCH a hopeless researcher, and - there are Four THOUSAND years of - history/change/faith to attempt to review and understand. Thankfully, the Egyptian culture in most ways stayed pretty much the same from beginning to end. Not so happily, their faith was - amazing fluid, and not only allowed for different interpetations of the same myth (or even entirely different myths addressing the same situation) but also 'adopted' the gods of other cultures with barely a blink. So - just to remind myself - first, I have to get an understanding of their world view, THEN I have the proper foundation to fully understand their faith. Patience, lotusflower, patience!
1) A good collection of creation/interaction myths.
2) A copy of 'Going forth by Day' (which was their name for the better known 'The Book of the Dead') that was NOT translated by Budge.
3) A basic overview of the various temple centers and their - ebb and flow.

let's talk about The House!

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

*deep breath*

Whoo, okay - no bad news, but - whoo!

Okay.

Talked to Paige - she didn't call me back because she was sick as a DOG last night, and slept in really late today. So, all is well, and she will be our buyers agent. She's going to meet us at the house tommorow, and help us but together to contract with all the negotiables included. I'm curious to see how much more stuff she includes that we did not.
Also - realtors have an acess to a wealth of info that us mere buyers don't have - she sent me lots of stuff on the house.... things that we learned:
1) The house has been on the market since - Thanksgiving really. Hmmm - that has a connection to me that makes this - realllly interesting. That's creepy. But - anyhow, on the market since November, worrying because it's been empty over the winter (assuming they put the house on the market AFTER they moved) but good, because that's what - a little over 5 months? Oh yeah, they wanna get rid of this place.
2) They HAVE A TERMITE CONTRACT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Yay! Whoohoo! WhoopdefreakinDOO! So - that's - wonderful. That eases SO many concerns in my head.
3) They are selling the house as is - which means they aren't making any repairs, they might not be willing to tear down the polebarn, and they most likely won't move the junk on their property. Considering these people were old enough to buy a house in 1950 (1950!!!!! This house is older than my MOTHER - and I wouldn't dare mention that fact to her) I'm assuming they are elderly, and are basically saying - PHHHFFTTTTT!!! Move the shit yaself!
4) A lot of the other homes in the area were sold because of foreclosures - which makes her nervous about our potential resale value. I know, I know, never  assume that you AREN'T going to want to sell - but I wonder how many of those foreclosure folx should have EVER actually gotten the loan to buy the house that they did, as well as how old they were - fixed incomes can be a bitch.

Umm... talked to Ed (the listing agent) and he sounded so DOWN about us working with an agent. I'm going to be NICE here and assume that it's because he's going to have to split the commision after working with us so much, and NOT because he saw us as fresh meat, and while I didn't want to come right out and tell him that - hey, you don't have our best interests at heart - well, I think he got the idea. And yes, I know that Paige wants the selling price to be as high as possible so that she  can get the biggest commision possible - but.... still.
One thing that DID bug me about Ed, is the fact that I know he has access to all the documents that Paige provided - why didn't he provide them when he knew we were working on our own? *narrows eyes* Umph.

She also recommended an inspector - different from the dude I had picked (largely because he had a cool website, I know, I know), but the one she uses is actually one of the other ones I was eying  - but his website wasn't NEARLY as cool. So - I cancelled the appt. with mine, and I'm assuming she will set up an appt with hers. So - that's good.
But they have a TERMITE contract - I'm soooo farking relieved. Now - the heat & the AC. I realized that all of the stuff I have been reading about 'old' houses is talking about houses built in the 20's and 30's - so..... *deep breath* I'm getting more excited and more nervous at the same time!!

Ohhh - phone!!

Okay, cool.

Just got off the phone with one of the loan officers (the one with the 6.5% rate) and comparing his stuff to Quicken - not only is his rate lower, his fees are also a heck of a lot lower - and he's a lender, not a broker. Also - when I emailed the Quicken dude the Good Faith Estimate, he came back really snarky, bascially saying "Only trust MEE!!! Don't trust these other guys - here are all the ways they could be lying to you" Um, sweetie  - you could be doing the same damn thing! And - Franklin's rates are STILL lower.  The Jobs Report is coming out tomorrow, and here's to hoping that the economy sucks, because then, interest rates MIGHT drop a quarter point or two. And even if they go up - well, at least Quickens rate will go up to. I was born AT night, not LAST night. And I'm STILL gonna use Quicken's approval form.

So.
Here's to hoping that Paige doesn't find a super obvious problem that we missed.
Here's to hoping that the interest rates stay the same, or drop a little.
Here's to hoping that the inspector doesn't find a well in the crawlspace (that's the only LESS than perfect thing about this house - no BASEMENT! But - I know how high the watertable is in these parts - so mebbe that's a GOOD thing!)
Hell, Here's to hoping that the inspector doesn't find ANYTHING wrong with the house at all!
*deep breath*

Here's to hoping.

Reading List

I wanted to make a 'sticky' entry to keep track of the books I'm reading and owning and want to own and so forth and so on. An (r) after something in the list means I've already read it, (pr) means I've partially read it. A (b) means I got it from the library. A person's name behind it means I borrowed it from that person....

Currently Reading: Reading Egyptian art : a hieroglyphic guide to ancient Egyptian painting and sculpture by Richard H. Wilkinson (4/25/2006)

Books I own:
Book of the Dead Trans. by E.A. Wallis Budge (pr)
Egyptian Magic (Books on Egypt and Chaldaea, V. 2.) By E. A. Wallis Budge
Maat Magick: A Guide to Self-Initiation By Nema, Samuel Weiser
Amulets of Ancient Egypt By Carol Andrews
Maat Revealed: Philosophy Of Justice In Ancient Egypt by Anna Mancini (r) (04/25)
Daughters of Isis: Women of Ancient Egypt By Joyce Tyldesley (r)


Books I want to own:
Reading Egyptian art : a hieroglyphic guide to ancient Egyptian painting and sculpture by Richard H. Wilkinson (b)
Symbol & magic in Egyptian art by Richard H. Wilkinson (b)
Egyptian religion. by Siegfried Morenz (b)
The Search for God in Ancient Egypt by Jan Assman (Mancini uses him for a lot of her sources)
Conceptions of God in Ancient Egypt:The One and The Many by Erik Hornung
Idea Into Image: Essays on Ancient Egyptian Thought by Erik Hornung
Religion in Ancient Egypt: Gods, Myths and Personal Practice edited by Byron E. Schafer

Books I want to read (maybe own, if they are good)
The complete temples of ancient Egypt by Richard H. Wilkinson (b)
The Mysteries of Egypt: Secret Rites and Traditions by Lewis Spence

Brief Update....

Have finished reading Ma'at: A Philosophy of Justice (roughly) by Manici (roughly - I'll have to look up and correct the names). It was - intriguing, actually - presented a very different view of Egyptians as a whole, and a more - i nmy mind at least - reasonable explanation to the - fluidity of their 'religion' as a whole.
I haven't dug into the library books yet (why do I ALWAYS read the books I own BEFORE I read the books I've borrowed??) but I think that "Reading Egyptian Art" will be next. I was rummaging though those books to try to find a reference to the moon - which I found in "Reading" and it is referenced to as Horus's left eye - never knew that - and almost started reading right in the middle of the book. So yeah.
I've set up an itsy bitsy altar at work - just my two tiny goddess statues (the same ones I took to DotM, actually) - largely because I need to be - grounded and calmed and pulled together more at work, and - *looks around* Gah, I miss my old coworkers.

*sighs* I've decided that I'm not going to PUF this year - our landlord DID give us the extra week that we wanted to move - but! - I have to work this weekend. I'm doing production support, which means that I really just need to stay within spitting distance of my computer. So - *sigh* I guess I'll get a lot of packing done this weekend - and cleaning of the new house. *sighs* I'm DEFINITELY going next year though - seriously.

Okay. Must work now.

Floodgates

Funny, now that I've written about DotM, and now that the house stuff is coasting (must call the insurance guys!) I'm - focused back on my studies a bit more.

So - I finally blended the conversion calendar and the festival lists. What I'm going to do (which is a good way to do it, and will prevent me from being overwhelmed by ALL those FESTIVALS!) is to research each festival on it's 'day', and try to grok an idea of what the heck was going on. So, today is 14 First Shemu or the 14th of Pachons, and today's festival is

Sobek: Represented as a crocodile headed man, or as a full crocodile, Sobek originially started out as a demon of the Nile, and was converted to a Netjer in order to propiate the crocodiles of the Nile. Sometimes the ferocity of a crocodile was seen in a positive light, Sobek in these circumstances being considered the army's patron, as representative of their strength and power. When Neith (Nuit/Nut) took on the characteristics of a goddess of primal waters, Sobek became, as a watery creature, of both good and evil, to be considered her son.
Sobek's ambiguous nature lead some to say he was a repairer of evil that had been done, rather than a force for good in itself, for example, going to Duat to restore damage done to the dead as a result of their form of death. He was also said to call on suitable gods and goddesses required for protecting people in situation, effectively having a more distant role, nudging things along, rather than taking an active part. In this way, he was seen as a more primal god, eventually becoming regarded as an avatar of the primal god Amun, who at that time was considered the chief god. When his identity finally merged, Amun had become merged himself with Ra to become Amun-Ra, so Sobek, as an avatar of Amun-Ra, was known as Sobek-Ra. 
In myths that appear extremely late in Egyptian history, Sobek is credited with catching the four sons of Horus in a net, as they emerged from the waters of the Nile in a lotus blossom. This motif derives from the birth of Ra in the Ogdoad cosmogony, and the fact that as a crocodile, Sobek is the best suited to collecting items upon the Nile.

Now, we have an idea of who Sobek is - so why was someone removing his TONGUE?? 

One possibility is that there is a version of the Osiris myth where after Set hacks up Osiris' body and throws the pieces in the river, Sobek eats his tongue. When Isis searches for the pieces she confronts Sobek,seeks revenge and cuts Sobeks tongue out (a tounge for a tounge). I have noticed that a lot of the festivals - at least from the list that I found - re-enacts the full Osiris cycle, so that makes sense..... 
(Sidebar: Figuring out which names to use - Wasir/Osiris Isis/Aset/Auset is half of the challenge, I think!!) 
Also - there is the concept that the tongue was the seat of personal magical power - so,  perhaps this reflects the understanding of Sobek as a 'demonic' entity, and the removal of the tongue is to tame him and make the Nile safer.

(Nother sidebar - ooohh!! Interesting links! http://ksumail.kennesaw.edu/~shagin/WLsummariesUNIT2FA03.html  and http://www.aelives.com/ael.htm) 



Hmmm - this will also expose me to more of the Netjer - this tis a good idea!! 

So - I think I have enough brainpower now to talk about DotM.... where to start??

I was invited initially by two women that I know in Memphis, but once madrun said that she was going to DotM, I knew that I had to go.

So, I packed, prepped, and was heading out to the park by 6:30pm on Friday.

Honestly, I didn't have manypreconcieved concepts of what it would be like. I figured there would be talk of men, and sex, and babies, and birth (the conversations that no matter what ELSE is going on, manage to come up when a group of straight/bi women get together) and I knew there would be some rituals (because they told us to bring robes) but - I really wasn't sure what would be happening. Being the blooming Kemetic that I am, and knowing that most of these women were most likely Eclectic Wiccans, I wasn't sure how - smoothly I would be able to fit into things.  And then, considering my general ignorance of the path that I have choosen, I was - bashful, going in, to say the least. 

I get there, and literally, within minutes, my bashfullness is dispelled. The one thing that bugged me at the start, and bugged me all weekened, is that I have - I honestly don't really have a good feel for a lot of interpersonal interactions. I tend to go off and do my own thing - and I don't know if people read that as snobbish and standoffish, or if they view it as downright rude - and usually, that's the sort of question that if you ask, you'll get the same answer no matter HOW they feel. So - large groups of people - I tend to either connect myself with one group (and then feel guilty when I leave that group to particpate in other things) or I drift on the outskirts of everything. Anyhow - that niggling concern tagged along with me all weekend, but in general, I tried to ignore it  and think that I was in a group of adult women, and hopefully, if anyone had concerns about my actions, they would speak on them.

Anyhow!! The festival itself. It started out with the opening cermony, and I was reminded once again that my 'twang' is music/sound. I used to say that dancing in a club was the closest I could ever get to God - simply because dancing is really the only time my spirit is TOTALLY free  - and I can actually lose myself in music.  So - the opening ceremony consisted of us singing the DotM Theme Song, and exchanging our greeting gifts. I got this cool little change purse, and a rather - interesting - jack o' latern candle.

Afterwards - gah, I don't think there was anything really 'planned' for the rest of the night. I got myself throughly distracted repeatedly by getting into different conversations, and meeting people - it was REALLY fun to meet everyone.  Around 10, I got worried about the Nashvillians, and called them to find that they were in the wilds of MS somewhere - the reception in the park was horrid though, so we got disconnected quickly.

Gah...... what next?? More talking, the Nashvillians show up, everyone unpacks, I meet E...... it's interesting really, how the 'unplanned' times just blur into - a medley of cigarettes, laughter and talking.  Ah!! I remember the Bardic Circle, and my closing prayer - as people went around the circle, I thought about which netjer would be most appropiate to honor for the gift of creativity and prose. I was thinking Ptah, but BESIDES not knowing how to pronounce his name, I also wasn't totally sure it was accurate. I finally went with Ma'at, and thanked her for the balance - allowing us to create (the songs, the music, the vibe) while we witnessed destruction (the huge fire that had been consuming wood for most of the circle). It was certainly pulled from the ether, but it felt - RIGHT.

Saturday, I wake up at some ungodly hour (9 or so, I think?) snag a little breakfast, and go to the first workshop.  The theme of the day was Humours, and therefore the first thing that we did was to take a personality profile test and see which humour we were . I was mostly Melancholy,  with a dash of Phelegmatic.  After that, we had lunch, I think..... and after that, the first meditation.

Okay - I have to admit, I have a REALLLLLLLLY hard time with meditations - esp. guided ones. I have a VERY hard time making my brain shut up as it is, and hearing an unfamilliar voice REALLLY doesn't make it easier - esp when they 'walk' fast.  So - for the two 'guided meditations/journeys' (and I couldn't tell the difference between either) I tried to get into it, but between focusing on her words so hard that I didn't 'visualize anything' or visualizing so much that I lost track of her words and went wandering off in the forest, or moving faster than her and having to backtrack when she went a different direction, or making throughly irreverent comments in my head about the descriptions or directions we were being led - well, I honestly don't know that I got much out of them.  They were a definite challenge - I think if I had more time to ground myself, I would have been able to 'lose' myself in the meditation.

After that was naptime - where I TRIED to be nice, and instead screwed things totally up. Gah. I swear I didn't hear her say 'Malboro Lights'! I would have remembered that - I think. It's odd - I was perfectly sober, but even then my brain was doing weird things.

Ummm.... then... the Blood Mysteries workshop I think?? Hey - when it comes to talking about menses with women who don't get squeamish (despite the constant moaning from behind me about how menses was so 'gross and inconvienent and smelly and EEEEEEEEEEEWWWWWWWW'  *sighs* ) I can have FUN! So - me and the Nashvillians TOTALLY took that one over - but honestly, I think that without us speaking out, it would have been a much less enjoyable and inspiring workshop.

After that - was another guided mediation - which was if possible, even worse than the first one for me. Some of the thing my brain was tossing out there made me either want to burst into laughter, or made me want to slap MYSELF on the wrist for being so naughty.  *shakes head*  And - if you are guiding on a symbolic journey, I thin kthat I would be able to focus MORE if I knew what the symbols MEANT. So.

Now - after that was the high point (to me) of the whole festival - the guedra (gay-dra). It was a Tureg dance/trance ritual (I've mentioned how dance &  sound 'tweaks' me, right??) and funnily enough, it wasn't even PART of  DotM originially, the Nashvillians were the experienced ones, and taught it to the rest of us.
It was - amazing. I'm generally NOT the biggest  'energy moving/spirit sensing/ open aura' kind of person - but that - it MOVED me.  And after witchatwork (who's LJ I can't get to at work, because it's flagged as porn somehow????) danced/tranced it was - I literally HAD to do. I could feel the energy vibrating up and down my back. I was swaying and sighing and - it felt - scary. Very very scary, yet freeing all at once. It was most likely another HOUR or so before I danced, and by that time, I was so full of 'juice' that I was barely able to greet the four directions before I nearly collapsed onto my knees. I remember feeling the sarong I had put on starting to slip off (and I'm rather modest - totally not the type to go naked in group settings) and I DIDN'T CARE. I finished sooner than I wanted to, honestly - I think the chant changed before I was really ready for it - but it was WONDERFUL.
And the thing that really blew my mind was how I felt AFTERWARDS.  I was EXHAUSTED. I mean - I was so drained, I was limp. I managed to hang out for another hour or so, and then once I lost the beat three times in a row, I had to leave.
I still managed to stay awake until 5am, but - at least that was just talk.  As much as ANY conversation that went on that weekend could be considered 'just' talk. When I went to sleep, I was hoping for dreams of some sort - but instead I just had these - amazing patterns of color that danced behind my eyes until I fell asleep.

Sunday, I woke up, and I was dragging. I mean, my ass was so close to the floor it was damn near a miracle that I was able to walk at all.... Breakfast was to be had, goodbyes to be said, and the closing ritual to be had.
As SOON as the closing rit started, and we started singing, I could literally FEEL the energy rushing out of me and into the ground. It was goosebump provoking. And once it was done - I actually had MORE pep and MORE energy. I guess having excess energy trapped in you is just as drag provoking as plain not having enough energy. Thakfully, I hadn't even started loading the car yet because I couldn't IMAGINE doing it feeling how I felt BEFORE the closing ritual. I loaded the car, said my goodbyes repeatedly, and made my way home.
Overall? I enjoyed the heck out of it. I'm glad that I went to all the rituals, if only for no other reason than I could get a 'feel' for things.  I've been invited to PUF (which is the weekend we close) and Beltaine (which is a weekend or two afterwards) and - I REALLLY want to go to PUF, but I suspect that I won't be able to, and I think that I most likely WILL be able to go to Beltaine, but I'm not sure how much I WANT to.  *sigh* Isn't that life?

So - I'm definitely going to be doing some more reading, and more studying - at the very least, I need to research (in the next week) an at least PARTIALLY authentic Kemetic housecleansing ritual.

Shee.

Daughters of the Moon

I desparately want to write about DotM, Kemetism, Recon faiths, community, gender and color, but I'm so blamed brainbusted that I just can't gather things in any cohesive way. Interestingly enough, I find that it's easier to talk about it than it is to write it down - which considering me, is throughly unusual.

One thing that I will say is that last night I realized that I MUST write down the titles of the books that I'm reading and that I want to read. Organization is a must.

*huge yawn*

It's interesting too - I know that I didn't get THAT much sleep during DotM - but I was in bed by 10 last night - I really shouldn't be THIS tired.

And once again, it's on!!

So.sosososoooooooooooooooo.

Okay - firstly!! Can I tell ya'll that I must SERIOUSLY want this house, because I drove through hail, lightening, thunder, literal SHEETS of rain, AND a tornado warning to get to the house - and yes, I was on the highway the whole time. If I was Catholic, I woulda been crossing myself.
But! By the time I got to the house - the sun was back out. Good sign, yes?

So - Paige walked us around (Bella, she reminds me of you!! I'm not suprised ya'll are friends!) pointed out things, and just generally placed her stamp of approval on the place. I think that she was impressed by The House as well - but because it's as-is, AND becuase it's surrounded by foreclosures, she dropped the offered price by 8K.

I went to the bank, got a certified check for the earnest money (which I have no idea of how to turn back into cash, and don't really care, as I don't WANT to turn it back into cash, as that would mean they just out & out refused our offer) and faxed that to her.

Now comes the painful part. Ya'll know I HATE waiting. HATE HATE HATE waiting. And - I THINK the owner was outside mowing the grass when we left the house so *groans* who knows how long it might be before they come back with either an accpetion or a counter (because rejection has left my vocabulary). How long did it take ya'll to get a response to your offers? And it's Friday!! ARRRRRGHH!! And - Paige is leaving town Sunday, I SOO hope we have a response by then. One of my coworkers offered, countered, and accepted all in one day - so that's a good sign.

Paige also recommended another loan officer - a local fellow - and he seems - hell, he SEEMS more open than the internet folx, and he DIDN'T treat me like I DON'T know how people get over - never mind the fact that I don't know - but...hm. The simple fact that Paige knmows him/recommended him, and the fact that he actually took the TIME to explain what he was doing and how he was caluclating stuff - it makes me feel better. Oh yeah, Paige told me that we are now in her ever so capable hands, and I have nothing further to worry about. HAH! Okay, true, but still - HAH!

*thumps head on desk* I seriously just need to go out tonight and party mah ASS off - but then, the last time I did that, I lost my cellphone, and as EVERYONE has my cell number - that might be a verrah bad ting.

*breathes*

*oooohhhhhhhhhhhhmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm*

*deep breath*

I'm being me - all twitchy and stuff. I'm really looking forward to hearing what Paige has to say, but - gah!! I'm SOO not a good waiter when I have found something I want. Heh. I POUNCE!! (House pictures two entries back!)

Anyhow - I was drifting around Yahoo!Groups, joing various urban homesteading groups, and one of their little 'introductory' question thingys asked about your sign, your rising sign, and your moon sign. I looked them all out, and thought they were rather - amusingly accurate, and I figured I'd share with ya'll (besides, it's something to do to take my mind off of the AMAZINGLY slow moving clock. *twitch*

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Capricorn is one of the most stable and (mostly) serious of the zodiacal types. These independent, rocklike characters have many sterling qualities. They are normally confident, strong willed and calm. These hardworking, unemotional, shrewd, practical, responsible, persevering, and cautious to the extreme persons, are capable of persisting for as long as is necessary to accomplish a goal they have set for themselves. They are reliable workers in almost any profession they undertake. They are the major finishers of most projects started by the 'pioneering' signs; with firm stick-to-it-ness they quickly become the backbone of any company they work for.

Capricornians make of themselves, resourceful, determined managers; setting high standards for themselves and others. They strive always for honesty in their criticism of self, they respect discipline from above and demand it from those beneath them. In their methodical, tough, stubborn, unyielding way, they persist against personal hardship, putting their families and/or their work before their own needs and welfare to reach their objectives long after others have given up and fallen by the wayside. In fact when practical ability allied with the drive of ambition are required in employees to make a project succeed, Capricornians are the people to hire. They plan carefully to fulfill their ambitions (which often include becoming wealthy), they are economical without meanness, and able to achieve great results with minimum effort and expense. Because of their organizing ability they are able to work on several projects simultaneously.
They have a great respect for authority but may not, if they reach high rank, be willing to listen to other opinions on things they are directly responsible for. As the ranking authority figure in a given situation they expect their underlings to be as self disciplined as they themselves are, and to perform every task undertaken to the highest standard.
They are, nevertheless, fair as well as demanding. Among their equals they are not always the most pleasant of work fellows for they are reserved and too conservative, valuing tradition more than innovation, however valuable the latter, and they are often humorless.
There is also a tendency to pessimism, melancholy and even unhappiness which many Capricornians are unable to keep to themselves, especially if they fail personally. In the extreme this trait can make them a very depressed individual; ecstatic happiness alternating with the most wretched kind of misery which is so subconsciously buried that he or she should seek help if such emotions become frequent. For the above reason, capable Capricorn should spend many hours in meditation, gathering the strength to control such inner emotions.

The swings in mood are not the only reason some Capricornians deserve the adjective based on their name - capricious. They can be surprisingly and suddenly witty and subtle for the quiet, reserved individuals they seem to be, and they also have a tendency to ruin things by unexpected and utterly irresponsible bouts of flippancy. In certain individuals in whom the characteristic is strong, the temptation to do this has to be resisted with iron self-control. Another unexpected quality in some Capricornians is an interest in the occult which persists in spite of their naturally skeptical turn of mind.

Their intellects are sometimes very subtle. They think profoundly and deeply, throughly exploring all possibilities before deciding on a 'safe' alternative. They have good memories and an insatiable yet methodical desire for knowledge. They are rational, logical and clearheaded, have good concentration, delight in debate in which they can show off their cleverness by luring their adversaries into traps and confounding them with logic.
In their personal relationships they are often ill-at-ease, if not downright unhappy. They are somewhat self-centered but not excessively so, wary and cautious around people they do not know very well, preferring not to meddle with others and in turn not to allow interference with themselves, thus they tend to attract people who do not understand them. Casual acquaintances they will treat with diplomacy, tact and, above all, reticence. They make few good friends but are intensely loyal to those they do make, and they can become bitter, and powerful enemies. They sometimes dislike the opposite sex and test the waters of affection gingerly before judging the temperature right for marriage. Once married, however, they are faithful, though inclined to jealousy. Most Capricornians marry for life.

Their occupations can include most professions that have to do with math or money and they are strongly attracted to music. They can be economists, financiers, bankers, speculators, contractors, managers and real estate brokers. They excel as bureaucrats, especially where projects demanding long-term planning and working are concerned, and their skill in debate and love of dialectic make them good politicians. They are excellent teachers, especially as principals of educational establishments where they have the authority to manage and organize without too much intimacy with the staff members. If working with their hands, they can become practical scientists, engineers, farmers and builders. The wit and flippancy which is characteristic of certain Capricornians may make some turn to entertainment as a career.

Virgo Rising:
If your Rising Sign is Virgo, you can often give the impression of someone who is very put-together, almost meticulously groomed. You hold yourself in a very modest and dignified, sometimes snooty, manner, and you seem like you would be into high fashion or at least keeping up appearances. Even if you're feeling sociable or boisterous, you may look to the world like a wallflower, like you've got something very serious on your mind. With a Virgo Rising Sign, you might find yourself fielding health-related questions from your friends and family -- you just seem like you'd have the answers!

Your Moon is in Scorpio
Secretive and inclined to brooding silences, it is difficult for others to really know your inner core, for you trust and open yourself to very few. Allowing yourself to be vulnerable and to relinquish control in relationships is not easy for you.
You have intense, passionate loves and hates and are a jealously loyal and protective friend - or a fearsome foe. You have a nasty habit of holding on to past hurts, resentments, and guilt - and to keep such feelings to yourself. It is important for you to learn to forgive and let go, as well as to express your feelings openly and directly, rather than hiding or repressing them.
You are not content with superficial appearances and are always probing beneath the surface of things for hidden motives. You have a great deal of emotional depth.

---

Overall, like I said - it was pretty damn accurate. Heh. Capricorn/Virgo/Scorpio. Fun, fun.

Damn, that didn't take up enough time. *sigh*

Oh, Filth Flarn Franks!!

*pouts*

No DITL today - my camera is behaving badly, darnit. And I really wanted to participate!

(There are pictures of the house in the previous entry!)

It's POURING outside (hail, tornado warnings, the whole nine) but I'm looking at that as a GOOD thing - if there are any leaks in the roof, we'll certainly see them when we go into the house this afternoon after all THIS rain.

Also - the sirens going off made me think about a 'safe place'. In the apartment we are in now, there really ISN'T any room that doesn't have at least ONE outside wall - just the way the place is set up. I was thinking about The House, and realized that the downstairs bathroom would be a PERFECT tornado shelter. So. *nods*

Bah! Unemployment rates went down, dammit - that most likely means the interest rates will drift up a little.

It's FRIDAY!!! *does happy happy bounces*

I'm determined to do some spring cleaning this weekend. Last weeked - I think it was - I attacked the kitchen with a rich & frightening fury. It still looks halfway clean. I think that this weekend - I'm going to tackle the bathrooms - PROPERLY. At least the ones upstairs. I'm starting to think about moving out of this place, so - it needs to be all sparky clean, ya know?

Thinking about this house, I have to agree with the agent - we are doing it 'backwards'. I think we are buying the BEST house in a okay neighborhood, instead of doing the classic thing of buying the WORST house in a good neighborhood. But ya know what - we don't CARE.

I left my wallet at home today - the one that has my house keys on it? *groans* I'm SOOO glad I'm supposed to be meeting the hubby - I need to give him a call in a few and ask him to bring it along.

I'm feeling cute today too - have on a short black skirt and a fun funky purple and pink and glittery shirt and one of my new rings (I HEART eBay!!!) and I'm actually wearing grownup shoes instead of my little clogs (I'm SOOO glad I did that - otherwise my feeties would be soaked today) so - I'm ready to face Friday with a vengence.

*puts on her hot girl shades, cuz her life is bright*

We need a dancing queen emoticon....

Wanna see what it looks like??? (pictures!)

You have to read the entry before this to understand where I got all these gorgeous pictures!! Go head, I'll wait....
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So - these are the pictures from the information that Paige gave me - MUCH better than the ones that we took. I'm charging up the camera batteries now - and I'm going to do a DITL tomorrow - what a perfect day to do it on!!!

Okay - now remeber, these pictures BARELY show half the house. It doesn't show the 'deck' (nice, but TINY) or the garage, or that odd polebarn. On the inside, it skips over the bathrooms, the family room, the den, and three of the bedrooms.

So! Here's - The House.

This is a picture of the front/side of the house. It has two doors - one in the front with a little foyer behind it, that we won't hit on the tour, and one of the side closest to the TINY glimpse of the carpark on the far left of the picture. We are going to enter the house by the door that is there. You can barely see it - it's almost behind the furtherest back tree.



When you first enter the house, you are in the HUGE family room, which is on the back of the house. Straight ahead of you is a door that goes into the den. If you turn and walk to your left, you are in the kitchen. If you turn your head right - you see the kitchen itself.



The cabinets aren't white anymore - they are the same color as the floor. The dishwasher is right there, and the edge of the stove is on the right hand side. If you look through the open door in the back - the door to the left is to the bathroom - the door straight back is to one of the bedrooms.
If you turn your head to the left, you will see the breakfast area.



This is the area that I said I HAD to get rid of the green in there - it's a really lovely area otherwise. Isn't the ceiling GORGEOUS??? It's an exposed light wood almost the same color as the floor.
Okay... if you keep walking straight, you end up in the living room/dining room area. That other front door? The one with the foyer? It comes into these rooms. There is a stained glass window in that door....
Turn your head left, and there's the living room with the fireplace.



Turn your head to the right, and it's the dining room, and the steps upstairs. See that chandelier? That is the one that I want to make sure stays....



I'm sure, that all through the house, you have noticed the LOVE of pink?? Around the corner to our left is a door that leads to the bathroom, and two of the other bedrooms (both wallpapered in plae pink flowers). If we go upstairs (passing one of the stained glass windows that I want to be sure stays) we are in the 'bonus room' upstairs. The is a bay window in here as well as in the breakfast area.



If you turn and walk to your left, you are in the master bedroom.



It's that the cutest little window?? The TINY bathroom is up here (we suspect it used to be a closet).

Okay - back downstairs, and into one of those back bedrooms that you can't quite see. The bay window in the bonus room upstairs, as well as all of the bedrooms downstairs look out onto this:



Which is the side yard. If we walk into the family room and look out of the huge window there - this is what we see.....



which is only a narrow shot of the HUGE backyard. It's a lot wilder looking now - but - that's it.

It's a purty place, ain't it?

bugger!!!

I was almost done with a lovely long entry that was only 3/4 about the house - and my computer froze. *grrr*

Okay - to recap....

1) We are thinking about the addendums to the purchase contract - so far we want
a) The stained glass windows and crystal chandeliers stay. (NOT negotiable)
b) The appliances stay (I'm assuming they ARE going to stay, as they were listed in the online profile, but better safe than sorry. As it is, we would have to buy a fridge)
c) The lawnmower stays (this is a nice to have, but not required)
d) The junk around the edge of the property goes (or he could pay for the rental and disposal of a dumpster)
e) The polebanr goes (this is a negotiable one)
f) They cover 100% of closing costs.
Anything else super obvious we might be missing?

2) The buying agent never called me back last night. After lunch I'm going to call her and let her know that if she isn't interested - maybe she doesn't like the area, maybe she knows the commision isn't worth it (even though, really - we've done MOST of the hard work),  to let me know so that I can move on and find someone else. Really, I jsut want someone to hold our hand through the negotiations AFTER the inspection comes back. *thinks* OneDreamer - could you leave that name in a [P] note again? Silly me deleted it before writing the name down.

3) Did some research online last night, and joy of joys - Tennesee is a termite RICH area.  Two lovely quotes "In fact, termites are holding up our dirt. There are about 15 termite colonies on an average acre, each with about a million bugs per colony. That's a lot of livestock. If all my termites up and died tomorrow, my yard would sink an inch just from the loss of biomass, and wreck my foundation."  and  "Any Tennessee house could have termites at any time. If you want protection against termite damage, you have to buy a service contract from a pest control company. If you have your house under such a contract (and do read the fine print), the pest control company will have to pay to fix any damage termites might cause in the future."
Is there a way we can find out how often (if ever) they had pest control come to the house? Should that be one of the addendums? Dammit - this kind of thing is why I want a buyers agent - If I can't get hold of one before noon tomorrow, we WILL ask the listing agent this stuff, but - gah.

4) Talking to a THIRD loan officer - still dangling the 6.5 rate in front of him - to see if he can beat it. Muahaha..... he's saying that he doesn't think he can because of the points that they are most likely rolling into the rate. I should ask the Quicken fellow if we can pay some of the points up front and drop the rate - I really did like working with him, but if we can get a better rate, I'mma drop him like a hot tater. Just sent him an email with the copy of the better good faith estimate. MUAHAHAHAAAAAAAAAAA!!!

I think that was about it for the house stuff.

Work is - work. I'm semi busy, but still not nearly as busy as I would like to be. I'm skipping out on a team lunch tomorrow to go and sign the purchase agreement, and I don't feel the least bit guilty. I was telling one of my friends that I didn't really realize just how GOOD I had it at Lilly, as far as a team went. We - actually liked each other. We would talk about our lives, we would go out to lunchtogether almost daily - we got along. Here? It's a buncha people that work together, and that's about it. Bleh.

C is looking for a new job - I told him he isn't allowed to switch jobs until AFTER we get the mortgage. *laughs* But hopefully, he'll be able to get a job paying a hell of a lot more - either by staying at CC and moving into a salaried position, or by finding an Exec job in a freestanding. He's got an interview with a new freestanding place next Wednesday, so *goodthoughts!gooooddddthoughts!*

Um. I think I'm done (and I better save before this POS crashes again!)

Stuff....

This one is going to be really rambly, as I haven't written here for a while, but have been up to stuff.

So - *thinks* Saturday, I thnk it was, I started working on the new statuette of Ma'at..... *sighs* It didn't feel the same this time, making it. I'm not sure if it was more because of the strggles I had in making the 'faux' lapis lazuli (I've got more scrap shades of sparkly blue than a little bit), but after I got the clay together, I went through about three variations of the statue before getting something that I'm satisfied with - yet even though it's prettier than the first one (I made a mold for the face from a wedding statue that we have - that was fun!) I LIKE the first one better.  At some point, I'll take pictures of both so that ya'll can see them. I have to admit, the actual - construction of this one was done much better - I actually used gold clay for the feather and the headband, so - it's very pretty - but the first one FEELS better. 
I also made the small offering bowls to go in the shrine - those I LOVE.  They need to be glazed though - I need to read up on burning items in FIMO - I would like to use one as an inscense holder, but I don't want to release toxic fumes along with the inscense. I think that I might like the Ma'at statue better if I glazed it - I'll have to find some good clay glaze and see if a buffed shine will make it feel better.
What else? I got the Tarot cards - I don't believe I talked about that  - and they are alll gorgeous. The cards are a little bigger than I expected, but they still can fit into my hands.  I haven't used them yet - though, I've got some stuff going on where doing a reading would be very useful - but I know that I'm no where NEAR objective enough to do one for myself. I'll either interpet everything exceedingly pessimistic or exceedingly OPTIMISTIC.  Maybe someone at DoM will be able to do a reading for me. 
I've gotten all of the books that I've ordered online, and I've put together a list of books to pick up from the library - they have several books that were highly recommneded, so I'm going to read them first, and then I suspect that I am going to want to buy them - anyone know of a good source? I don't think that HoN's online bookstore sells books other than those written by their Nisut, but I'm not sure - I'll have to double check. 
What else have I been up to? 
Okay - not directly related to Ma'at/Kemetism, but I simply MUST mention it - we are looking at buying a house, and I'm seriously trying to be calm and relaxed about it, but I'm already plotting on where to put the shrine, and how I'm going to paint, and all that. My brain is 90% occupied by thoughts of the house, so - yes. 

Hmm... not as rambly as I thought ......

*leans back*

So - I'm very relaxed right now.... another loan place called me about a mortgage, maybe for .25% less. Yes, fight over me my little bankers, FIGHT!! Muahahahaaaaaaaa

I'm currently drinking a glass of wine, and doing my best to avoid watching Baby Looney Tunes. Now, considering I'm the only person in the house, it's not like I couldn't change the channel - but heck, they ARE kinda cute with their firmthump on the head moral tales.

I'm soooooooooo sleepy.  I think that I might go to bed with the sun tonight. *gives phone evil glare* at least I hope so.

I talked to the buyers agent lady, and she seems nice - I'm still kinda kicking around the benefits of having one - but, it's the things that you don't know you don't know are usually the things that screw you up. She said that she would call me back this evening, as when I talked to her we were both driving....
*sidebar: I HATE driving and talking on the phone - I move too much when I talk, and I have a razr which is REALLY thin, and I have a stick shift - yet if the phone rings while I'm in the car I simply MUST frantically dig for it in my gym bag sized purse. I'm crazy, really, I am. end sidebar*
....and so she wanted to wait until we were both in the same place. As soon as I told her where the house was, it sounded like her head starting spinning me around, and she asked me if I was MARRIED. *tilts head* Um, okay. I know that Frayser isn't the most PERFECT neighborhood - but really, I'm not trying to flip this house. I honestly think that in the near future, I don't care WHERE you live, you won't be able to sell your house from 200K more than you paid for it two years ago - and you might be lucky to sell it for more than you currently owe - and that belief is a good bit of the - motive - behind this specific house.

Ah phone.....

Ah - the dude with the potentially lower interest rate calling with a few more questions. Heheheeeeeeeeeee!!!

So - motive and neighborhood. I believe that if we work on the house someone else with very - specific - wants like us will be willing to buy it. As far as crime goes - if Progressive ain't worried about my car getting stole, I'm not worried about my car getting stole - I already checked the premiums if we moved, and they don't change a bit from very genteel Midtown. So.

And really, I'm 3/4 hippie and 1/4 hermit. I would DIE in Germantown. DIE.

*rereads what I just wrote*

I'm still talking about the house, aren't I? Well, I never said I would stop TALKING about it, I just said that I would stop trying to DO stuff for it. Right?

*laughs* Baby Looney Tunes really ARE cute!! Their first trip to the library - how sweet.

I need to go and find some 'Top Ten Signs you're buying a Moneypit' articles.

See - this is me returning to my normal not on speed equilibrium.

Ulcers....-edited with EVEN more Mylanta!

Not really, but my tummy is doing the shimmyshammy.

Waiting on the phone call to say that we've been approved. Should I call the realtor lady back now, or wait?

Talking about a payment of 768 a month - a little over a hundred dollars less than rent, and that INCLUDES all the junk - PMI, Taxes, Insurance, Principal, Interest.

Wait, wait, wait.

*crosses fingers*

*chantsmantra* good credit,low debt to income ratio, mom makes less got approved for more, people making 60K are buying 200K houseesssssssss.... *oHMMMMMM*

I've actually been enourmously FOCUSED lately - I feel laserlike. Even with work... 

 

---

 

Edit:

We got approved.

We are going to sit down with the listing agent at noon on Friday.

All the Crye-Leike realtors are at a team building event until 2, sO I can't get hold of EITHER of the buying agents that I'm interested in.

Holy. Shit. *laughs* I called C and told him we got approved, and he had an attack of Tourettes.

So - I think I need to call the inspector and schedule the inspection for Friday? Or Monday, maybe?

I may SOUND calm, but - but - but - EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE
EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE
EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE
EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

We got the money.

We're about to buy a HOUSE.

Holy shit.

I'm not telling mommy til the inspection comes back.

*SSSSSSSSSSSSQQQQQQQQQQQQQuuuuEEEEEEEEEE*

Have I mentioned that I've been awake since about 5am? And that I didn't got to bed until around midnight? I hate that damn phone.

but - EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I'm SO tired!

And ya know, it's interesting - I'm not even WORRIED about them taking the damn offer, once we officially go over the contract and make it. Did I mention that I went back into my realtor.com history, and I had the SAME house there from - who knows how long ago - and it was 114K? They've dropped the price by 16K!! They'll take any money they can get and RUN.

I'm just a tiny tiny tiny bit worried about the inspection though - nothing MAJOR - but worried.

Friday, yes.

 

---

 

Edited again:

Okay, so not Friday - the listing agent want to get a verbal approval before we have the inspector go in, which is quite fine with me. So - I scheduled the inspector for Monday @ 2pm. Now, I just need to occupy myself until then. I cannot - will not - do anything else house related, because - dammit, if the inspection comes back majorly gnarly, well - *sighs* Our line in the dirt - termites is an automatic no-go. Lead plumbing is an auto no-go. Foundation needs to be replaced  - automatic no-go.
Funky electricity, or odd plumbing we might be able to handle - but it'll cost them - same for the roof. What else could show up? We don't have kids (yet) so lead paint wouldn't bother me - it'll just be the first thing to go. *thinks* I think that might be about it...but oddly, I really don't think there is anything WRONG with the house - but at the same time, I wonder why it stayed on the market for so long? And why they dropped the price so much? I know me & C are oddballs, but seriously - have we fallen in love with a house NO ONE else wanted??

And no, I'm not even going to THINK about planting fruit trees and ripping up carpet and pulling down wallpaper (actually NOT that hideous, but someone was MIGHTY fond of pink), and repainting the kitchen (love the ceiling, HATE the green accents), and adding extra insulation and...and....and.....

I never dreamt about my wedding as a little girl (or even as a bigger girl) but I've always dreamt about My House.

Futhermore....

So! I've started the process of preapproval (bugger, if I had seriously thinking about this earlier, I could have started, oh, yesterday?? Have I mentioned that I feel like I'm on speed??? Eeee!!) by scanning and sending off all of the documents we need.

Total Sidebar: Sometimes, I worry about myself. If there is anything that I can do without actually TALKING to people - I'll do it, rather than get on the phone with someone. It's odd though, because when I AM on the phone with people, I'll be just as pleasant and chatty and it's not like it's - hard or scary. I'd just rather NOT do it. Email and chat RULES!!! End of Total Sidebar

Anyhow - THANK YOU  all of my homebuying favorites. *laughs* I think buying a house is harder than having a kid, seriously.

Anyhow - AGAIN - I'm emailing this fellow from LendingTree.com JUST to get a preapproval. It's odd how this whole process has be trusting my feelings more. I'm on speed because we don't have a lot of time. I feel this, and I'm SO running with it.
I called the realtor that we used to find this apartment about getting a buyer's agent, but after [Serin]'s note, I think maybe we shouldn't? *thinks* Is the potential of getting half of the commison ourselves (ESPECIALLY since, dammit, I did all the bloody work) worth going into it blindly??

HAH! I was just talking to mah girl Andi (Hi Andi!!) and I came up with how I REALLY feel about getting a buyers agent..... continuing my house/baby similie - the first time I have a baby, I want a midwife - but the second time, I might consider going unassisted. The buyers agent is my midwife, and s/he's worth the money. *firm nod*

*deep breath*

So. Hopefully, I'll hear back from the loan officer and the real estate lady tommorow. The real estate lady will have the name of a house inspector. The only thing that would make this a real no-go is termites. *groan*  The loan officer will tell us - you'r pre-approved for some outlandish amount. I will call the listing agent and make an offer contingent on inspection. I will schedule the inspector to look at the house this week. We could be closing - oh, before our lease expires in MAY!
Totally insane. Totally. At least you have a minimum of 7 months to prepare your brain for a kid.

MEMPHIANS!!!!

All ya'll local folx - can you recommend

1) A good home inspector (one you used & liked maybe??)
2) A good buyer's agent (cuz I think our offer is gonna be complicated!)

Thanks!!!

(If you're lost, read the previous entry!)

(and my tummy hurts!)

*very deep breath*

Oh. My. God.

Seriously, ohmygod!

*grins*

I've been giggling for half the afternoon - I KNOW that my coworkers think that I am OFFICIALLY out of my damn mind.

We looked at the house. We went inside and upstairs. It's - gorgeous. Like, seriously. It's PERFECT for us. The kitchen is huge, the stove is gas. The floors are wood, the ceilings are low (cheaper to heat, ya know). The land is lovely - and all you can hear is the wind through the trees and birds tweeting. There are roses all around the front, and the attic is scary.

The only thing that we saw wrong with it on an inital passthrough is that the upstairs bathroom is TINY. I mean - all that should really be in there is a toilet and many a corner shower - not the giganourmous tub that's in there. But we can do that - we can deal with that.

So. What the HELL do we do next? I want to get preapproved, then call the agent and tell him that we want to make an offer, and ask him to act as our agent. I know, I know - you shouldn't have the sellers agent act as the buyers agent as well - but dammit, he deserves the full comission.

How the hell do you shop around for a good interest rate? We are going to do the 80/20 loan - do you have to get a mortgage from the same entity that preapproves you?

My chest hurts, I'm so bloody excited!! Of course, we took (I took!) lots of pictures (with a real camera this time) but silly hubby didn't grab the best charged battery, so I had to take em fast - I'll update with the pictures once I get home.

And oh yes - C LOVED it. Once he saw it, it clicked for him. We really have been SO lucky in choosing where to live - we always seem to manage to find places that FEEL right.

So - Loan, Contract, Inspection - in that order. 

*GASP*

We are seriously going to buy a house.

Oh.My.God!

HAH!! (and stuff about Sims)

So....talked to my husband. It didn't take TOO Much firmness (my man has to be convinced of erryting!) but - we're going to meet the realtor at The House (it's back in caps baby!!) to see the inside.

Okay - Sims2....

1) No, you don't have to have Sims1 to play it.
2) Yes, it's dreadful, dreadful addictive. I played last night (after our happy happy conversation) and 3 hours vanished in - like seconds.
3) ScreenShots - there is actually an OD diary that has nothing but Sims2 stories/screenshots (why do I KEEP wanting to call it Sins2??)

It's currently 7:5freaking9 in the morning (have I mentioned how much I LOVE being on primary production support? Hmmm?? hMMMMM??? I'mma throw that damn phone through the wall one of these nights) so I KNOW that today is going to be a multiple entry day. :)

So - this is officially the first entry of the day. :)

Today is where it all begins.....

I am unwritten, can't read my mind, I'm undefined
I'm just beginning, the pen's in my hand, ending unplanned

Staring at the blank page before you
Open up the dirty window
Let the sun illuminate the words that you could not find

Reaching for something in the distance
So close you can almost taste it
Release your inhibitions
Feel the rain on your skin
No one else can feel it for you
Only you can let it in
No one else, no one else
Can speak the words on your lips
Drench yourself in words unspoken
Live your life with arms wide open
Today is where your book begins
The rest is still unwritten


I break tradition, sometimes my tries, are outside the lines
We've been conditioned to not make mistakes, but I can't live that way

Staring at the blank page before you
Open up the dirty window
Let the sun illuminate the words that you could not find

Reaching for something in the distance
So close you can almost taste it
Release your inhibitions
Feel the rain on your skin
No one else can feel it for you
Only you can let it in
No one else, no one else
Can speak the words on your lips
Drench yourself in words unspoken
Live your life with arms wide open
Today is where your book begins

Feel the rain on your skin
No one else can feel it for you
Only you can let it in
No one else, no one else
Can speak the words on your lips
Drench yourself in words unspoken
Live your life with arms wide open
Today is where your book begins
The rest is still unwritten

Staring at the blank page before you
Open up the dirty window
Let the sun illuminate the words that you could not find

Reaching for something in the distance
So close you can almost taste it
Release your inhibitions
Feel the rain on your skin
No one else can feel it for you
Only you can let it in
No one else, no one else
Can speak the words on your lips
Drench yourself in words unspoken
Live your life with arms wide open
Today is where your book begins

Feel the rain on your skin
No one else can feel it for you
Only you can let it in
No one else, no one else
Can speak the words on your lips
Drench yourself in words unspoken
Live your life with arms wide open
Today is where your book begins
The rest is still unwritten
The rest is still unwritten
The rest is still unwritten
-- Natasha Bedingfield - Unwritten

That song has been - my song - since it first came out. I love it, love it, love it. It reminds me to be open, to be hopeful, to keep moving forward and pressing on.

The weekend? It was rather nice - C had planned on having a few fellows over to watch Wrestlemania23, but only one dude showed up. *shrugs* Saturday he worked, and I spent the day wrist deep in FIMO, and practicing sculpture. Ish is hard - I had to put in down once just to get some space so that I could work again with an open mind. I'm mostly pleased with the result (a little (tiny!) egyptian statue) but - hmm, I don't know - it just - I definitely need more practice.

I started playing Sims2 FINALLY - and wow. It's so much - better! I love the houses and the stuff, and I have a job and for the first time I don't feel like I'm being cruel to my Sim by making them work - there's actually enough time in the day to do everything. I'm just starting out (with a single girl, none the less!) but I suspect that I'll be all kinds of hooked purty damn soon.

Still haven't brought the house back up with C - largely because I really needed to process how I felt, and why the bright blue heaven I was/am so emotional about it. I'm still not sure what the root reasons are, but I'm calm enough that I think we will be able to have a nice, reasonable conversation. The main points in my mind is that it is a great deal (assuming the inspection goes well) and that the longer we wait, the higher the interest rate, and the chance that the house will be sold is wiped out. *tilts head* I know it's a huge step - buying that first house - but it's gotta be done at some point, right?

It's odd - I'm usually one of the MOST logical, rightbrained people you will ever meet. I RARELY - very, very, very rarely, let my emotions dicate an action or a plan - but when I get those REALLY strong feelings, and go with them - it works. It ALWAYS works. And this house - as I was telling my leon - I'm - I'm seriously almost obsessed with it. *tilts head* It's - odd, even to me, but it's telling me that I really shouldn't just dismiss it. I mean, sheesh - look how long it took for me to actually go and LOOK at it?

We shall see.