it's been a long, cold, lonely winter

So much has happened to me in the past few weeks. What makes me happy is that I have been able to accept this change very positively and maintain the momentum.

First of all, Cody and some other people at work convinced me that seriously looking to buy a house was a very smart thing to do. I started by researching available properties online, finding a Realtor and talking to a mortgage lender and getting pre-approved and finding out what price range I should be looking in. I looked at a small handful of houses, and there was one I really liked. My Realtor found out that there had been low offers made on the house, but the seller wasn't going to accept anything less than asking. The price was at the high-end of what I was hoping to spend, but I understand that this house will have a higher potential to regain value than something on the low-end of what I wanted to spend. So, I made an offer on the house, and the next day I found out that it had been accepted. I was in so much shock that I told practically everyone just so I could help it sink in. I have an inspection scheduled for this Sunday, and I won't close until the end of April. I will still have my current apartment until the end of May, so that gives me a month overlap during which I am going to look into painting, recarpeting, and maybe refinishing the hardwood floors under the carpet in the dining room and living room. The house is definitely very large... 1200 square feet - not including the finished basement. It has a large upstairs, and two bedrooms downstairs, one that walks through to a sunroom at the back of the house. It is located on the west side of Ferndale on Beaufield St., just off of Nine Mile. I am going to wait and post pictures until I take my own this weekend.

Second, and what helped me decide that looking for a house was really a smart thing to do... my job has changed around a bit. Essentially, I am now going to be exclusively assisting Chris - our head Creative Editor - the guy who founded the RingSide Creative name when he moved to Detroit. I am still going to have other duties on the side, but Chris only has one assistant, and his old Assistant, Byron, is going to be editing on his own now. With this comes a lot of responsibility - Chris's jobs are generally high-budget and with important clients. It also means that I will be getting a lot of hours. Every hour over 80 that we bill for a month we get premium pay for, and every hour over 120 we get even more prenium pay for. There are still three work days left in March, and I am already over 120.

As quickly as March went by, I hope April goes by just as fast. As long as I get to enjoy the good things.