I miss you guys. I've been staying away, lurking occasionally and only piping in when specifically invited because frankly, I haven't been this depressed or stressed since I was a 137 lb suicidal anorexic in high school. Put it this way: The good news is that we have progress such that the swing between one lease and another over the course of ten years is on the order of three hundred thousand dollars. No, not total, between the high and low candidates. And I've been dealing every day with people whom I would erase from existence, given half the chance, and finding myself having to defend their actions to my loved ones because demonstrably, the devil you know is better than the devil you don't. That $300k spread? Determined by three numbers that brokers raise and lower like penny ante poker chips. It's a monumentally disturbing process. I don't want to jinx it but I think we might be entering a new stage of chaos and dread. I have spreadsheets upon spreadsheets upon spreadsheets in which commas and zeroes play out like abstractions and the direction they fly - away from us or towards us - is heavily reliant on having done the calcs right. And I'm certain beyond a reasonable doubt that we've done the calcs right but it's the unreasonable doubt that gets you in the end and unreasonable doubt I have in spades. The fact that I've put this much analysis into a business I have no interest in joining, no expertise in aiding and no business managing certainly doesn't help. But at the end of the day, the next time I change the oil in my car it will be in Washington. The next time I buy shampoo it will be in Washington. My next set of running shoes will come from Washington. My next thanksgiving turkey will be raised by a friend of a friend... in Washington. I have about 5,000 miles of lanesplitting California freeways and then Francesca will be safely ensconced in a land of moss, carpool lanes and sensible drivers. What's hard about this is that if it was just me missing you I'd continue to shut the fuck up. I don't have the closure I want to convince me that I won't be an absolute dick to someone. But one of the reasons I miss this place is I have concrete evidence that you're likely to be missing, me, too. Which is difficult for me, but also a fact, so there it is. We fired our broker last Thursday. By Friday we had two viable leases in front of us and by Monday we had 30 new candidates we'd never seen before of which seven were equal to or better than anything we'd seen since October. PROTIP: never ask brokers if you should fire your broker. They'll make it your fault. In looking over the negotiations we've had so far, however, it now becomes obvious that we were the dicks without even knowing it, without even meaning to, because our broker was a dick. The new guy is still... iffy. I think commercial real estate brokers ought to be culled like Australian jackrabbits. But as vermin goes, he's less noxious than the asshole i've been wedded to for eight fucking months. Wish me luck.
If anyone can pull it off, it's you. It might require some luck but I'm confident you've wrung every drop of luck out of the equation. To use your advice to me: hop to, squire.
First of all, it is a fact. Secondly, congrats on the migration. I'm sorry it's been such an awful experience. Keep driving north to Vancouver for our Thursday night meetup! Aside: I just got rejected for a job I was pretty stoked about. First time I've been directly turned down for a job. Ever. Worst part, they had never met me but made the decision based on a personality test. Weird. Anyways, enjoy your journey pal. Francesca is going to love it. Years ago you mentioned that this was a goal of yours. Now you are making it happen. Do you know how rare it is that people make moves of this size to achieve their goals? My hats off to you. Well done and congratulations. Life is not for the meek.
Nice hearing from you. Good luck indeed. See you on the other side.
Can confirm, do miss kb. Very glad that you've made some good decisions that seem to be helpfing, and congrats on keeping on with the good fight to do what you want to do in the long run. Good hearing from you klein, good luck until your next check in.