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When I'm not here, you may find me wandering the pages below. (If I'm a regular visitor to your site and I've left your link off or mislinked to you, please let me know! And likewise, if you've blogrolled me, please check that my link is updated: thisroamanticlife.blogspot.com. The extra (a) makes all the difference!)

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Body: in sickness and in health

I won't lie; this body and I have had our issues with each other for many years. Body image -- sure. Physical and mental overextension -- comes with being a Type A kind of girl. I still struggle with these things, so they show up from time to time in my writing.

More recently, illness, pure but not simple, has added itself to the mix in a multi-system sort of way. And the challenges in figuring out exactly what's gone wrong are many. As problems have revealed themselves in the last few years, beginning with reactive hypoglycemia in late 2008, I've documented them here, partly to gain a little clarity on managing complex conditions but mostly to give voice to vulnerabilities I feel but don't normally share with anyone face to face. Better out than in, they say, right? (Oh yes, humor is one way I deal.)

The links below cover the different angles I've examined (and from which I've been examined) within that experience.

Travel: neither here nor there

When the person you're married to lives two time zones away, you log a fair number of frequent flier miles. And if you blog about commuter relationships, you log quite a few posts en route too.

Since we're no longer in separate places, I blog less often from airports. But we do travel -- together now! -- which is much more fun to write about. So in addition to thoughts on our years of commuting, the links below cover the places we've been as a pair and, in some cases, the adventures that have happened on the way.

Writing: the long and short of it

Why do I do it? Good question. Maybe it's not so much that I like to write but that I have to write, even when the words refuse to stick to the page. Believe me, I've tried doing other things like majoring in biochemistry (freshman fall, many semesters ago). Within a year, I'd switched to English with a concentration in creative writing and wasn't looking back.

After graduating, I taught English for a few years and then worked as an editor, which I still do freelance. In 2007, I applied and got into an MFA program at a place I like to call Little U. on the Prairie. I finished my degree in 2011 and have been balancing tutoring and writing on my own ever since.

The following links cover the writing I've done about writing: process, content, obstacles, you name it. It's not always pretty. But some part of me loves it, even when it's hard. And this is the result.

Heart: family and friends

I'd have a hard time explaining who I am without being able to talk about the family I grew up in as well as the people I've met beyond its bounds. But even with such context, it's not easy! In the simplest terms, I'm a first-generation Asian-American who has spent most of this life caught between cultures. That, of course, doesn't even begin to describe what I mean to, but there's my first stab at the heart of it all.

That's what this group of posts is reserved for -- heart. The essential parts of my life whose influences I carry with me, for better or worse. The links below cover what I've written as I've learned how these forces work within me, for me, against me, in spite of me. They anchor me even as they change me, and they keep life interesting.

Recommended reading

What do I do when there's too much on my mind and my words won't stick to the page? I escape into someone else's thoughts. Below is a collection of books and articles that have been sources of information, inspiration, and occasional insight for my own work.

Sunday, March 22, 2009

Still percolating

Well, the owners of the house we placed a bid on weren't keen on negotiating even after our second offer. They didn't bother to call back, not even after their realtor spent a good two hours trying to reason with them (goes to show that our offer was indeed a decent one). Oh well. We know there were at least two other families considering bidding on the house if our bid wasn't accepted, but as of today, the place is still on the market with no new offers. We'll just let the owners sit for a bit -- we figure in a few weeks, if they don't get anything better (if at all), they may come back to us.

So this weekend, we went back out to look at MORE houses. And we've found another one we like that may end up being an even better deal, depending on how much we can talk the price down. So here we go for another round. D is e-mailing our realtor to get the paperwork in order as I'm writing.

Everything else in the whole house-buying process has gone well so far. D met with our intended loan officer on Wednesday and gave her all the required documents for review. Sounds like we're in good shape there. Whether it's because of our credit scores or the influences described in this article, which coincidentally appeared in my newsfeed that same day, we won't know. But we're happy either way.

5 comments:

French Fancy... said...

Yep, it's those two shining eager faces that show there is not a malicious bone in either of your bodies that have got you brownie points.

Shame about the house - maybe they'll have to consider lowering their expectations.

This Ro(a)mantic Life said...

That's the thing, FF -- they haven't reached that point yet with their expectations but they'll certainly need to if they want to get that house off their hands!

We were thinking about bidding on another house (not the one we're bidding on now or the previous one), but we saw that the owners had overpaid pretty badly for it a few years ago when the market was quite different. We're not inclined to bid more than what we've calculated it to be worth, based on more recent figures, but that would guarantee that the owners would lose money on their investment. The chances they'd be willing to do that are still low given that the market is just shifting. The waiting game is necessary, but it would be nice if we could make time speed up a bit to soften everyone up!

Jackie said...

Hee hee, you guys look so responsible. Good job! Good luck.

French Fancy... said...

Good idea having your to do list on here. I love extra details like this on blogs.

This Ro(a)mantic Life said...

Thanks, Jacqueline! Scary new frontier, no?

FF -- I figure the to-do list will keep me from procrastinating too much as I hit this last intense stretch of work before I'm back home for good. I definitely need the motivation.

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Sunday, March 22, 2009

Still percolating

Well, the owners of the house we placed a bid on weren't keen on negotiating even after our second offer. They didn't bother to call back, not even after their realtor spent a good two hours trying to reason with them (goes to show that our offer was indeed a decent one). Oh well. We know there were at least two other families considering bidding on the house if our bid wasn't accepted, but as of today, the place is still on the market with no new offers. We'll just let the owners sit for a bit -- we figure in a few weeks, if they don't get anything better (if at all), they may come back to us.

So this weekend, we went back out to look at MORE houses. And we've found another one we like that may end up being an even better deal, depending on how much we can talk the price down. So here we go for another round. D is e-mailing our realtor to get the paperwork in order as I'm writing.

Everything else in the whole house-buying process has gone well so far. D met with our intended loan officer on Wednesday and gave her all the required documents for review. Sounds like we're in good shape there. Whether it's because of our credit scores or the influences described in this article, which coincidentally appeared in my newsfeed that same day, we won't know. But we're happy either way.

5 comments:

French Fancy... said...

Yep, it's those two shining eager faces that show there is not a malicious bone in either of your bodies that have got you brownie points.

Shame about the house - maybe they'll have to consider lowering their expectations.

This Ro(a)mantic Life said...

That's the thing, FF -- they haven't reached that point yet with their expectations but they'll certainly need to if they want to get that house off their hands!

We were thinking about bidding on another house (not the one we're bidding on now or the previous one), but we saw that the owners had overpaid pretty badly for it a few years ago when the market was quite different. We're not inclined to bid more than what we've calculated it to be worth, based on more recent figures, but that would guarantee that the owners would lose money on their investment. The chances they'd be willing to do that are still low given that the market is just shifting. The waiting game is necessary, but it would be nice if we could make time speed up a bit to soften everyone up!

Jackie said...

Hee hee, you guys look so responsible. Good job! Good luck.

French Fancy... said...

Good idea having your to do list on here. I love extra details like this on blogs.

This Ro(a)mantic Life said...

Thanks, Jacqueline! Scary new frontier, no?

FF -- I figure the to-do list will keep me from procrastinating too much as I hit this last intense stretch of work before I'm back home for good. I definitely need the motivation.