karl.tsakos.us/blog

That’s an excellent question. I have been mum recently. Well, I have been embarking on one of the biggest undertakings I have ever undertooken. That would be the purchasing of my first home.

For the past 12 to 15 years (I have a bad memory for dates) I have been renting the same apartment. It has been great in many ways. I have had freedom here to make noise as you only have in the middle of a town or the middle of nowhere. I’ve had several bands which practiced here and I even shot part of my movie here (perhaps I tell you more about this some day).

However, in the past few years, the town has been getting louder then me. I’m also tired of giving someone else my money every year and having no control over my environment. It is well time for a change. Thus, I began looking earnestly for a house this summer. My searching paid off. I was fortunate enough to find a house I could afford in a neighborhood I never thought I could. Afford. Good price and excellent taxes (for the area).

Of course, such a deal does have it drawbacks. For one, the house is in the need of some work. By some work, I of course mean a lot of work. The work began in earnest today as I convened a work party. You see, While I have lived in the same place for many years, my friends have not. I have always been willing to help when they wanted with their moves. It turns out, they too are happy to help out when asked. And what they did was prep the walls fixing cracks in the plaster and painting the dining and living rooms. It’s amazing how quickly such work gets done when everyone pitches in. But of course, there will be lots to do beyond just those two rooms.

But there is good news on that front as well. Several of us have a lot of house work to do for various reasons. What we discovered was working together was not only efficient but fun. We are considering having smaller, weekly work parties changing houses each week. Knowing someone is coming over to help out will make me focus on what needs to be done and to focus on preparing. Of course, with everything prepped and started, there is no excuse to not continue the work on my own.

Anyhow, that’s where I’ve been. Buying and now prepping my new home. Yep, I’m now a homeowner.