Headline of the Day, courtesy of Netscape.com:

"Is Porn Ruining Your Love Life?"

I laughed...so out of left field...

Somebody please clarify for me...isn't this scalping? Shouldn't this guy be arrested? I thought it was illegal to sell tickets for higher prices than face-value? If I tried this with one ticket outside of Wrigley or U.S. Cellular, I'd be calling somebody to bail my ass out of jail...

It is highly unlikely at this juncture that we would go after, seriously, let alone get this house that I saw...the monthly payments on the mortgage (if she could even borrow that much) would be doable...but the down payment isn't at this moment. At least not without jeopardizing our future a little bit in other areas (read: dipping into wedding funds saved up). Unless something comes up, it's probably out of our reach. And as long as I believe that, we'll be fine. :)

However, it has definitely peaked my interest. So much so that I want to go look at it, just for the hell of it. Of course, it'd probably be wistfully looking at it...but it doesn't hurt to dream, ya know?

We have about 3-4 places that we're supposed to look at tonight...well, Gina is, unless I get out of softball. We shall see.

Meanwhile, I have to take my suits in to get dry cleaned to pick up tomorrow, because Gina and I scored free tickets (through her cousin) for the Green Tie Ball on Saturday. Supposed to be fun...and although most guys wear tuxes, there are guys in suits there, so I shouldn't be out of place. At least not more than normal...

So, on to work I go...

I shouldn't have broadened my search. I saw an actual house today that looks pretty good, but would be a big stretch from our preconceived limit. Now, I'm pretty sure we could afford it...barely...but why is it that I'm a lot more nervous about even thinking about buying a house than I am about buying a condo?

But the place looks pretty nice. And it's in a better-than-thought neighborhood (the address isn't given, but I happened to stumble upon it on the way to Gina's place today). I thought because the price was on the "low side" that it was in shitsville Chicago.

I need to get my mind off this house though...focus on the condo. Focus on the condo. I just fear making a big mistake in buying a house, even though I know those fears are silly to have.

Off to bed...assuming I can sleep.

We continue to struggle finding condos that will take even pets, let alone a bigger dog like Kazak. We looked at a place over the weekend in Norwood Park, and actually were going to bid, even though it was out of our price range a bit, because it was in great shape and in a great area. But then the woman told us that only small pets were allowed. Today I sent our realtor a list of about five places...not one of them took pets AT ALL.

This pisses me off to no end...first of all, what is the big difference between a 50 lb. dog and a 65 lb. dog? And, of all the dogs I've met my entire life, the little punt-able shits are the loudest, most hyperactive dogs there are. They're more of a noise nuisance than a bigger dog usually. Finally, I don't understand how people don't realize that having even one freakin' dog in the building makes the place that much less attractive to, say, a burglar...even if the dog isn't directly in the unit they're "targeting." The fear of the dog barking up a storm keeps them away...

Sometimes I just feel really cheated by the whole thing. As though having a dog is like having some kind of sickness or social ineptitude or financial problem that would prevent me from being a good owner in that condo. It's fucking ridiculous.

And what tears me apart inside is that all this frustration has lead me to consider at times getting rid of Kazak. It lasts about 10 seconds before I realize what I'm thinking and then mentally kick myself in the nuts for thinking that way, but it kills me. It kills me to even think that I would possibly consider getting rid of him. Because I just couldn't do it.

First of all, I love him to death...he's like a child to me. People who haven't had a dog won't understand, and those who haven't had a dog through these years of our lives will understand less. I don't baby him, per se, like some people do...but he's my boy, for what it's worth. Secondly, I don't trust that anyone will take care of him nearly as well as I do. Although I'm not always home, I do take good care of him, and I'm very, very in tune to his moods and whatnot (and he to mine). Third, he's the best dog ever. EVER. Aside from an occasional anxiety attack when I leave, he does nothing wrong. Nothing. No barking, no licking, no jumping on people. Nothing. He was well-trained before I got him, and he's even better-trained now. I don't even have to raise my hand to him any more...I just raise my voice, and he listens. He's a phenomenal dog, and he's really smart on top of it.

I just wish I could show that to condo associations...it shouldn't be this damn hard. We have enough constraints on us already because of the price. Condos that don't allow dogs should be a "luxury" that you have to pay extra for...somewhat like more square footage, extra parking or extra storage...things like that.

So the search goes on...

Headline: Oprah: A brand new car -- for everybody!

Now, I have nothing really against Oprah...don't like her, don't hate her. Nice that she would care about people so much to help them and give them a new car. Very nice...

However, here's what EVERYONE IS MISSING in the media as they laud her as a wonderful person, as pointed out by the CNN (AP) story EIGHT GRAFS IN!!!!!

"The cars, which retail for $28,000, were donated by Pontiac."

Donated!? Wow...what a philanthropist that Oprah is...