A Temporary Home

The closing on my old house was scheduled for Sept. 24 but the buyer wanted to do a final walk-through so I needed to move out before then.  The closing on my new house was tentatively scheduled for Sept. 28 (today) but this is the week of parent teacher conferences and I knew it would be unrealistic for me to move while I was busy at school.  I also didn't want to move on a school day because I didn't want to take any time off (if I am going to use a personal day I want it to involve going to Denver to see the Colorado Avalanche).  With all of that in mind, I scheduled a moving company to move me out of my house on Saturday, Sept. 19 and move me into the new house on Saturday, Oct. 3.  That left me with two problems which were both solved by my Dad.  First, where could I put all of my stuff during those two weeks?  My Dad ended up renting me a storage unit and I had the movers take everything there.  Second, where would I live during those two weeks?  My Dad told me that I could live at his house but then he came up with the idea of parking the motor home at an RV park near my new house.  My Dad is the best!  I looked at it as an adventure but I have actually really enjoyed being here for the past week (I will be here another week because, even though the closing on my new house was moved up, I thought it would be easier to stay with the original plan).  The motor home is incredibly comfortable with a kitchen, bedroom (with an amazing bed), bathroom, living room with a TV and DVD player, and dining room.  The RV park is like a resort with anything you could possibly need.  I feel like I'm on vacation.  The people that I've met here have been so friendly.  Many people live here for months at a time doing construction jobs and then move on to another place when the job is complete.  I am in limbo right now but, surprisingly, it has been a very pleasant experience!

Note:  I usually inhabit the motor home with two dogs who enthusiastically greet anyone who opens the door.  Over the years, I've learned to brace myself for their greeting as I come in.  Even though they are not with me right now, I still automatically brace myself whenever I open the door.  I kind of miss them!

Rollercoaster

I am posting this photo at the beginning so that you will know that this story ultimately has a very happy ending.

At the end of the school year my sister randomly showed me a townhouse that was for sale.  She drove by it every night and thought it would be perfect for me.  I looked at the website every day for weeks but didn't do anything about it.  Just when I had made up my mind to make an appointment, the house went off the market.  I was so upset but, mostly, I was angry with myself for not taking action.  I knew that I really needed to sell my house in South Jordan (I had been unhappy there for years) but I only complained instead of doing anything about it.  Suddenly, the house came back on the market because the buyer's financing fell through.  I made an appointment to see it within the hour!  Once I saw it, I immediately fell in love with it and made an offer.  However, even though my offer was an aggressive one, it was contingent on my house selling.  The sellers didn't want to take a chance and accepted another offer (I understand this decision now).  I was upset but decided to focus on selling my house first so I would be in a better position to make an offer on another property.  

My agent thought my house would sell very quickly because South Jordan is a prime location and, once it was on the market, I immediately had requests for showings, sometimes four and five a day.  At first this was really exciting but it got old quickly.  I had to be ready to vacate the house at a moment's notice and it was sometimes hard to find a place to go, especially if I had showings back to back.  I ended up at the library a lot!  After six days on the market my house went under contract!  I was thrilled because I didn't really believe my agent when she said it would sell quickly.  

Now it was time to find me a house.  My agent spent an entire day taking me to showings and I found another townhouse that I really liked.  The next day I decided to make an offer and I found out that my offer was accepted several days later when I was on the bus to a Leadership Conference in St. George with my students.  They all cheered when I found out!  On the last day of the conference, my agent called me to tell me that the buyers of my house had backed out of the contract.  I really wanted to cry but I was with my students so I had to keep it together.  My agent immediately put my house back on the market and I had several showings scheduled by the time I got back to town.  I had an offer the next Saturday and I accepted it but, after thinking about it over the weekend, they backed out on Monday.

The sellers of the townhouse I was under contract with decided to put it back on the market but they would give me 72 hours notice to counter if they received another offer (which I thought was very generous of them).  I really hoped that my house would be under contract again before they got another offer but they had one within days.  I ended up losing it.

So my house went back on the market and, after some interest, I had two weeks go by without any showings.  I decided to lower the asking price.  I had quite a bit of equity in the house and stood to make a substantial profit any way so at this point I just wanted it sold!  After the price reduction, I had so many showings scheduled that I decided to join my parents on a week-long vacation to Southern Utah.  While I was there I had multiple offers and accepted one of them.  I signed the paperwork on my phone while waiting to see a play at the Utah Shakespeare Festival!

I didn't want to rush into making an offer on another house until my buyers reached some important deadlines in the contract but my agent started to panic because school was starting and I wouldn't have much time any more.  She called me one day because a townhouse that she thought I would like had just gone on the market that morning and I would be the first to see it.  Of course I fell in love with it and made an aggressive offer (at the very limit of the amount I was pre-qualified for) that afternoon.  By that evening the seller had multiple offers and didn't accept mine.  I was starting to feel really dejected.  The weekend before school started my agent decided to take me to see every house I had liked on her website.  One particular townhouse was one I had looked at online several times but I was very lukewarm about it.  As soon as I walked in, I noticed that the entire house had recently been painted a soft gray with new carpet throughout and new travertine tile in the kitchen and bathrooms.  There were all new fixtures and new stainless steel appliances.  This townhouse had been on the market since early June (longer than mine) without an offer so the owners decided to do some upgrades and that made all of the difference.  I fell in love with the loft above the living room because I thought it would make a nice library!  I made an offer that same day and, even though there were multiple offers, mine was accepted!

Things were proceeding with both sales and I anticipated closing on my old house the second week in September and the new house shortly after that.  I took one weekend and packed my entire house to be ready to move.  Then my agent called to say that the people buying my buyers' house had their financing fall through so my buyers couldn't proceed until their house was under contract again.  This would most likely put the purchase of my new house in jeopardy because I obviously couldn't proceed unless my house was under contract.  It was a domino effect and it was the last straw.  I cried for days but I had to make a decision.  Should I give my buyers two more weeks to get their house under contract again or should I put it on the market and start all over?  Instead of thinking logically I reacted very emotionally and decided to cancel the contract.  My agent wisely decided not to do anything so I could think about it over night.  Luckily I came to my senses and decided to give them an extension and their house went under contract two days later.  The sellers of my townhouse agreed to extend my contract as well!  My agent did some fast talking on that deal, I am sure!

In the end I am actually glad that everything was postponed for two weeks!  Even though it was difficult living with all of my possessions in boxes, there is no way that I could have moved during Homecoming!  I also locked into a better interest rate on my loan by waiting two weeks!  My agent kept telling me that I would end up where I was meant to be and now I really believe that.

This whole process was definitely challenging, with lots of ups and downs, but I am so glad I did it!  I got the keys yesterday and I can't wait to move in next weekend!  Definitely a happy ending!

42nd Street

The Broadway in Utah 2015-2016 season began with 42nd Street and I got to see it last night.  What a fun show!  The story is about a young dancer from Allentown trying to make it big in a brand-new show called Pretty Lady during the Great Depression, but more than that, it is a singing and dancing extravaganza featuring many familiar songs such as "You're Getting To Be a Habit With Me," "I Only Have Eyes For You," "We're in the Money," "Lullaby of Broadway," "About a Quarter to Nine," "Shuffle Off to Buffalo," and "42nd Street."  The young performers are absolutely amazing, many making their debut during this tour, and it almost seems as if their experience performing in this show mirrors that of the characters they play.  All of the big production numbers are completely over-the-top with dazzling choreography and sparkly costumes.  At the beginning of the show, when the curtain slowly rose to reveal row upon row of tap-dancing feet, the entire crowd cheered.  Matthew J. Taylor (Julian Marsh) has a fabulous voice and can really belt it out and Kaitlin Lawrence (Peggy Sawyer) is an incredible dancer and I especially loved her performance in "With Plenty of Money and You."  I definitely recommend this high energy musical for a really fun night out.  It plays at Capitol Theatre through Sunday.

Note:  If you get tickets you might want to go early because parking downtown is really tricky due to Salt Lake Comic Con.

Fiddler on the Roof at PTC

Pioneer Theatre Company chose to open its 2015-2016 season with the classic musical Fiddler on the Roof.  I had the opportunity to see it last night and, in my opinion, they couldn't have picked a better to show to start the season!  Fiddler on the Roof is one of my all-time favorites (I even played Fruma Sarah many years ago) and I loved absolutely everything about this production.  Every song is instantly recognizable ("Tradition," "Matchmaker," "If I Were a Rich Man," "Sunrise, Sunset," "Far From the Home I Love," and "Anatevka.") and I had to try really hard not to sing along!  All of the actors are simply wonderful and I was particularly impressed with Michael Thomas Holmes as Tevye.  His characterization is quite different from other actors I've seen in the role and I loved all of his dialogues with God and his interactions with Golde (Tia Speros).  His rendition of "If I Were a Rich Man" is absolutely hilarious, with most of the audience laughing out loud.  I also thought that Kim Sava (Tzeitel), Nadia Vynnytsky (Hodel), and Mandy McDonell (Chava) had lovely voices and I thoroughly enjoyed "Matchmaker."  The choreography is absolutely incredible!  The Russian dancers in "To Life" and the bottle dancers at the wedding took my breath away and resulted in many cheers and whistles from the audience.  I also thought the choreography involving the Fiddler, who interacted several times with Tevye and then again with Chava during the "Chava Sequence," was quite effective.  The stark set features bare trees and the various houses and shops of Anatevka all appear to be crooked or leaning (emphasizing the precarious nature of their lives as Jews living in Russia).  Even though I have seen Fiddler on the Roof more times that I can count, my attention never once wavered during the entire show and I was completely caught up in the emotion of the story (I had tears streaming down my face during "Sunrise, Sunset").  Trust me, you definitely don't want to miss this beloved classic!  Get your tickets here!

Beethoven Festival

For the first time in about fifteen years I missed the Utah Symphony's opening weekend last week (because of a little thing called Homecoming).  To celebrate its 75th Anniversary, the Utah Symphony opened the 2015-2016 season with a Beethoven Festival consisting of four concerts featuring all of Beethoven's symphonies.  While I missed the first two concerts, I was able to see the third one last night and I certainly enjoyed it!  The orchestra began with Symphony No. 1.  I really liked it because it reminded me a lot of Mozart who was a big influence on Beethoven during the period when this symphony was written.  I particularly enjoyed the second movement because it had a light and playful theme featuring the woodwinds and the horns.  After the intermission, the orchestra played Symphony No. 3, which is known as "Eroica."  This piece is believed to be written about Napoleon Bonaparte, who Beethoven viewed as a hero.  I think it is absolutely amazing with themes which are very dramatic and stirring.  I especially loved the second movement because I thought was highly emotional.  It was such a lovely evening, one that was very much needed!  Even though I really enjoyed watching the Utah Symphony perform in outdoor venues throughout the summer (Go here, here, and here), I was so happy to be back at Abravanel Hall and I look forward to many more wonderful evenings throughout the rest of the season.

Note:  I really need to study composition to find out what it is about the second movement that appeals to me so much in symphonies!