And the "Thanks for Nothing Award" goes to---LOST!!!

Let me begin by saying the only television shows I have ever watched in their entirety are Freaks and Geeks and The Wire, and now LOST.  I like T.V., but I am also very aware of the dangers it presents (time wasting, brain rotting, Fox News, weight gain, etc.), so I don't have cable and only watch television shows on the internet or on DVD. I try to limit the amount of television I watch so that I can avoid the previously listed dangers, but also so that I never feel like a slave to a show. My free time is really important to me and I don't want the way I spend my free time dictated by the T.V. Guide. Then LOST happened and all my high-minded personal philosophies went out the window. I was hooked on LOST from the beginning, like crack, or cake, or late night trips to the CVS (I really love going to CVS, a lot.)

Oh LOST, you were so intriguing and mysterious in your infancy. In the early days LOST was a perfect mix of science and mysticism with really interesting characters that you cared about. There was a potentially science (?) based cult/subculture (The Dharma Initiative), characters named after philosphers (Hume, Locke, Rousseau), polar bears, a smoke monster and flashbacks! The flashbacks to the characters lives pre-crash were always super interesting making this viewer get really invested in what was to become of these castaways.

Granted, it got really weird into the later seasons. Time travel, dead people coming back to life, shifting allegiances that made no sense, the island disappearing! I, much like other folks, got the sense that the writers did not have a grand mythology that they had planned out and would conclude in a way that--for the viewers would be revelatory, but instead they were making it all up as they went along. Many people quit watching for just this reason, but not me---oh no, this sucker was (as I mentioned earlier) hooked, and I was not ready to quit--I had not yet hit my bottom. If I had known what the LOST finale had in store for me I think I would have been able to quit LOST cold turkey. Cold turkey people.

When I was in the 4th grade I read all of the books in C.S. Lewis' Chronicles of Narnia series and when I got about halfway through the series I had a sneaking suspicion that the stories were allegorical but I wasn't certain. At this moment you may be thinking "It was so obvious that those books were about God and C.S. Lewis was a theologian, duh." Well, 4th grade me did not know about Mr. Lewis and his other writings and their theological significance.  Anyway---when I finished those books and had a very in depth conversation about their deeper meaning with my 4th grade teacher, Mr. Olmstead, my suspicions were confirmed and I felt tricked and manipulated. The conclusion of LOST makes me feel the exact same way!

(Spoiler alert--if you have not seen the final episode of LOST and you still want to be suprised stop reading now)

They are all dead. Dead, dead, dead.  The final scene takes place in a church with all of the Oceanic "survivors" we came to know over the course of the series reunited and hugging and smiling and blah blah blah. Jack is the last to arrive, as it was hardest for him to "let go". This whole "letting go" theme was very prevalent in the episode's lead up to this final scene. The room which Jack uses to enter the church is decorated with stained glass and objects that are meant to represent the symbology of many of the world's religions which I found to be such a pandering move on the writers' part.  I know that there are a lot of viewers and pop culture journalists that really liked this ending, but this viewer had hoped for more. I don't think that the writers were purposefully trying to put forth a religious agenda, but while I was watching it unfold---it felt that way for a moment, and I was thrust back to 4th grade and the indignation I felt at being tricked by Mr. Lewis and realizing that Aslan was not just a talking lion, but a representation of Christ. I hope that the writers just got in over their heads and maybe got lazy or maybe they could not in good conscious assign a scientific explanation to polar bears in the tropics and smoke monsters.  Regardless, tying the conclusion to the afterlife with some nods to religion just feels cheap and easy to me.

In conclusion I will contradict my post title and say- thanks LOST for the good stuff and for helping me hit bottom.

The days when I love my job even more....

I am presently working a deal with a buyer client and one of the CONTRACTUAL stipulations of our agreement with the seller is that my client buy the seller a sixer of Arrogant Bastard Ale at or prior to closing. This stipulation was initiated by the seller and that is the total jam. I love my job most days, but when stuff like this happens, I love it even more.

Another Reason to Love Austin --- Knitta Please!

For Art Week Austin Magda Sayeg knit bombed Trominski's blue signs on South Lamar. Driving into the office this morning, on South Lamar--  I actually felt lucky that traffic slowed enough for me to spend some time enjoying the transformed blue signs. I hope there is a time in the near future when I get to meet Magda. I am an amateur knitter at best, but Magda gives a girl inspiration! I love that she is bringing the art of crafting into the larger arts community. Read more about Magda and her plan for world domination one knit and purl at a time on her awesome blog KnittaPlease.

Turner Residential makes the Ellen Degeneres website!

My brokerage, Turner Residential, regularly advertises in The Onion and recently one of our print advertisements was featured on the Ellen website!

Check it out here.

Perception

In the real estate business your clients are everything. No clients, no business, no business, no late night shopping sprees on iTunes. I am really fortunate to have a lot of cool clients who then refer their cool friends, family and co workers to me and the cycle of being around fun and interesting people continues!

My clients needs are sometimes very similar but often they aren't. At any given time I could be working with a buyer that wants a move- in ready place, a seller that is looking to downsize or an investor who wants to buy cheap and sell high. In any of these scenarios or in any real estate transaction--the key to successfully getting a client what they want is clear and honest communication on my side and theirs.

I was thinking about the way I communicate with clients and people in general recently. Specifically, I was thinking about the way we perceive ourselves and then communicate this perception and how sometimes our perceptions may differ from reality. I see this manifested in the client-Realtor relationship most often with first time homebuyers who perceive themselves to be fixer upper types.

The idea of taking something rough and making it into something lovely and all your own is such an inticing idea and I fully understand why it is so appealing to people, especially creative people. DIYing is also very attractive financially to many people. "Sweat equity" is a term that exists for a reason.

Ok, so here's the straight dope. Everything will be harder and more costly than you thought it would be, a total remodel will take up all of your time and if you are living in the property while remodeling, it will suck. If you are cool with all of that, you should totally do it. Also, just like with everything in life there are degrees of difficulty and ease involved in making changes to a property. For example-- pulling up carpet is easy, but installing a sink is harder than you might think!

This brings me back to my original discussion about how we perceive ourselves. It is so important that clients engaged in the home buying process are honest with themselves and their Realtor about who they are as people, what they like to do on a daily basis and what they hope to achieve from home ownership. I meet many clients that initially want a fixer upper, and once they get out and look at properties that need work and they start to be more honest about who they are and how they want to spend their time, they discover that remodelers they are not. It is always interesting how people come to this realization.

So, what I am getting at is that it's always good to be honest with oursleves about who we are, but it is not always easy. I want to be the person that can knock out a wall, plant a garden, fix the dishwasher and give myself a home perm all at the same time, but I am not that person. It has taken me quite awhile to admit that--but now that I have, I am better at the stuff I am good at doing.

If you work with me, I will ask you all kinds of questions about your lifestyle and what you want out of your home. Questions like :

How important is it that you are near places you can walk to and get a coffee or the paper or whatever?

Do you need lots of yard space for gardens, dogs, babies, bunnies, chickens, underground tunnels etc.?

Have you ever painted a room?

Did you take wood shop in High School and if so, did you do well?

Have you ever been inside an attic space? Did it freak you out?

Are you REALLY going to cook every meal at home or do you have Pizza Hut on speed dial in your phone? You can tell me and I will not judge you.

And last but not least---Do you need help with that home perm? I am available. I am a FULL SERVICE REALTOR.
Those questions are kind of a mix of silly and serious, but I think you get the point. It is not just the "am I fixer upper or not" question that we need to ask ourselves when we are shopping for a home, but the "how do I want to spend my time and what is important to me about where I live" type questions that require a lot of self awareness to answer honestly.

I am here to help you get there if you aren't there already.

Oh- and PS: I have been in more attic spaces than I can count and I still get a little freaked out. Every time.

Austin Woman Magazine -- Who are these women?

While enjoying an awesome birthday on Monday, I came across Austin Woman Magazine in the waiting room of the place where I was having a massage (an awesome gift from an awesome guy, the massage--not the magazine).

I have seen this magazine in the past, but had not formed any strong opinions about its content. The primary mission of the magazine, as far as I could tell from reading it and then from a visit to the website, is to profile, promote and support strong and interesting women making contributions to Austin in the worlds of business, community, the arts, etc... This all sounds really good to me. The website refers to women like Liz Carpenter and Molly Ivins as inspirational.

So, imagine my disappointment when every other advertisement in this magazine is for a plastic surgery center. Seriously, like every other ad. I would assume from the number of these ads that the readers of Austin Woman magazine all have augmented breasts and are hard at work dealing with their varicose veins. If the readers are indeed spending time and money on surgeries and "beauty" treatments --where do they find the time to affect change in their businesses and their communities? While resting up after the last tummy tuck?

It is no news flash that women in our culture are confused about how to feel about the way we look and how we age. There are very few places where we can find positive reinforcement about dealing with these issues in an organic and enlightened way. Many women feel that they must look a certain way in order to be successful and to stay competitive in their chosen professions. I know that this is a very commonly held belief among women working in real estate. I feel very lucky to be able to run my business successfully and find fulfillment in my work in t-shirts and jeans and without a nose job.

Now, I would imagine that running a magazine is hard and to run a magazine you must have ad revenue. Can you turn away advertising dollars because you don't agree with the product for sale or the message it sends? Would that constitute censorship? These are all questions that I don't have answers for, but I do know this--plastic surgery and appearance are not a part of the conversation when it comes to men and the way they do business or participate in their communities. If there are any men out there that disagree with this, I would love to hear from you.

To be clear, nowhere in the Austin Woman magazine mission statement does it state that the publishers are feminists or supporting a specifically feminist agenda. In a conversation with a colleague about this subject HE made the observation that plastic surgery and feminist ideals could coexist. I wonder what Liz Carpenter would have to say about that and I wonder if I have blown my chances of being featured in Austin Woman magazine? :)

Marijuana Law for Musicians

Charlie Roadman is a friend and client. I helped him and his family buy their current house and sell their old one. I like the idea of being able to use this blog to promote my real estate business as well as the endeavors of my clients, especially when they are doing cool stuff. On April 19th, 2010 Charlie will give his 5th annual "Marijuana Law for Musicians" presentation at the Mohawk. You can read more about him here, http://www.roadmanlaw.com/ and below is an interview with Charlie that appeared in the ONION.


If the mere mention of April 20 (a.k.a. 4/20) makes you giggle, chances are you could do well to heed the advice of Charlie Roadman. A local musician (he fronts the Wilco-esque band F for Fake) and promoter, Roadman is also an attorney whose pet cause is defending people accused of marijuana violations — particularly musicians, such as Los Lonely Boys' JoJo Garza. In what's become an annual tradition on this stoniest of days, Roadman conducts a seminar called "Marijuana Law For Musicians," a humorous PowerPoint presentation in which he details many of the dos and don'ts of getting busted in Travis County. The A.V. Club recently spoke with Roadman about the common law violations musicians face, how not to get arrested (and what to do if you are), and what it's like being one of the town's most visible defenders of marijuana.

The A.V. Club: How does your being a musician aid you in defending them?

Charlie Roadman: I understand that $100 is a lot of money, which a lot of attorneys don't. And I've hung out with musicians all my life, so pretty quickly we can have a dialogue that doesn't have the dominant position of lawyer and client. [When I started], I thought there would be a lot more musicians getting arrested, and there really aren't. I think they're too busy making flyers and rehearsing to get in trouble.

AVC: Besides marijuana violations, what are musicians commonly in trouble for?

CR: DWIs, mostly. One of the things I talk about in my seminar is that — even though it seems funny to drive while you're stoned — if the officer thinks you're high, you will get a DWI, and that's not easy to get out of.

AVC: How would they decide that you're high?

CR: The eyes and the smell mostly. They're always looking for it. Then there's the field sobriety test.

AVC: What would spur them to give a field sobriety test?

CR: For them to let you go, they have to be willing to rish their job. They'll never, ever get in trouble for arresting people. So when they ask you to do the field sobriety test, nine times out of 10 they've already decided that they're arresting you, and they're just trying to gather evidence. Those tests are not designed for you to pass.

AVC: Let's talk about one of the most famous local cases: Matthew McConaughey, which you use in your seminar. What could he have done differently?

CR: The thing he did wrong was resist arrest and refuse to put on his clothes. He's an example of absolutely what not to do. He's standing there totally nude, screaming at these cops, "Get the fuck out of my house!" Don't resist. Don't be terrified to go to Travis County jail on a marijuana charge. You're gonna get out in eight to 24 hours, barring a few variables. You don't have to join a gang to stay alive, or whack anybody to prove you're a man. You can usually get a class C ticket if you haven't pissed off the cops, if you have a job or go to school, and haven't said too much that's incriminating.

AVC: But in McConaughey's case, it was his celebrity that got him off?

CR: Absolutely, yes. The punch line to my "Top 10 Ways to Avoid a Marijuana Conviction" is "Be a movies star and number one UT football supporter."

AVC: What about people whose celebrity is linked to marijuana? How is it that Willie Nelson isn't always in jail?

CR: [laughs] I have no idea. If it were you or me, we definitely would have been arrested. Cops don't want to arrest Willie Nelson, but really, the whole criminal justice system is based around people not wanting to lose their jobs.

AVC: So do you philosophically disagree with marijuana prosecution?

CR: There's no way I could prosecute somebody for any drugs, but absolutely not for marijuana. The first marijuana case that came across my desk, I'd dismiss it and I'd be fired. The system is really effective at stopping people from being cool. And not just marijuana, but the way we handle all drug users. If this culture ever has an enlightenment, 200 years from now, they'll look back at this and go, "Those guys were barbarians."

AVC: Do you think marijuana will ever be legalized?

CR: It pains me to say it, but I don't have faith that it will. There's just no rationality to it at all. Luckily in Travis County — which is a little bit of California surrounded by Alabama — you have the possibility that someone on the jury will be like you or me. So if prosecutors aren't reasonable in the plea bargain for a marijuana case, defense attorneys can say, "We're going to jury trial and we may win." You don't really have that option in Hays or Williamson County.

AVC: By putting yourself out there with these seminars and proclaiming yourself as a "defender of marijuana," do you find you're under closer scrutiny?

CR: People do the same thing with DWI charges, and that's a lot riskier in terms of public reaction. I think that people in Travis County smile when it's marijuana. The judges don't even want to deal with it. But they can't not deal with it, or the next time an election comes along a candidate will say, "My opponent is soft on drugs." It's a hypocrisy that everyone wishes they didn't have to deal with you, but it's not possible because of the bureaucracy. I wish it were.

But then you might be out of a job.

CR: That's okay. I could do something else.