megrar

so, we've been house-hunting for at least four or five months now. some of our friends think we're insane--we're young, we're artists, we can barely feed ourselves. but those are actually precisely the reasons we've been house-hunting. my husband's wages have not been rising, but the costs of rent and food have been. in a fit of despair and daydreaming, i decided to look at some houses online--and stumbled across a foreclosed home that was absolutely darling. the website it was listed on happened to list, in addition to the price, what that price equaled in monthly mortgage+insurance costs.

it was half what we were paying in rent.

and being that all our other attempts at climbing out of the crap-hole we'd fallen into had failed, and we like our city anyway, we figured, why the fuck not?

over the next couple months of looking, the first three bids we made fell through. we then learned that, at the price range we were looking at, the banks weren't taking loans. they ONLY wanted cash offers (ie, investors). it didn't matter that we were willing to offer double the listing the price, they only wanted cash.

so, my in-laws swooped in on wings made of awesome, took out a loan against their house (which they certainly couldn't afford to do), and got us cash to make a proper bid with. and today, which happens to be my birthday, i get to see the inside of the house my in-laws have made a successful bid on.

once we've got it all fixed up (there's a lot to be said for sweat equity), we're buying it from them. we should have a proper home by winter.

no more moving. no more feeling like worthless moochers on our friends' couches. no more roach-infested moldy ghettos. fuck yes. we are thrilled. happy birthday, happy thanksgiving, happy christmas easter ramadan purim passover and martin luther king jr day to us. i'm 26 today, btw.

on deviantart:
has started a contest to show support for the iranian protesters. all the entries will be compiled into a youtube video (recalling that web 2.0 IS both their voice and ears right now), and the best couple will receive deviantart subscriptions. you don't have to do some amazing work of art--just make an image that tells the protesters you hear them and you care.

on twitter:
----do not retweet the names or accounts of iranians.----
incorrect. bad meme is bad. read here for a proper education:
several.amplify.com/2009/06/20…

change your timezone to Tehran's. and if you've got some spare time on your hands--watch #iranelection and block the accounts that are blatantly spamming or spreading disinfo. enough people block them, and they go away. until they make a new account, anyway.

on the wider web (if you're tech savvy):
set up proxies. the iranian government has hackers and tech people of their own, so new proxies are ALWAYS needed. additional details here.

it's not much, but every little bit helps.

catch up with events and information here.

it's been a rough year. more than a year, actually. things have been low since i lost my job last year. a real roller coaster of a ride.

i've started this post, and restarted it, about five times now. i feel like i should say something--it's that time of year. resolutions and summaries and "looking to the future." but i'm sort of at a loss.

so, fuck the summary.

the holidays were good. i've got the new chrono trigger port in my pocket, and extra cash for bills. and by the end of january, we'll be out of the ghetto.

i've never lived in such a miserable place before. just the thought of leaving does a lot to lift my spirits.

2009 has to be better.

barack obama is president!

but prop 8 in CA passed. similar things were passed in Florida, Arizona, and Arkansas (in arkansas, it was decided that gays could not adopt. because getting shifted from foster home to foster home is sooo much better for children). so i'm pissed about that.

but i'm glad obama is president.