0129A: Staying Strong

"Oh no...REALTORS!"

For anyone who has ever tried looking for a house or condominium, you know that realtors can be pretty insistent people. They're definitely on a completely different level of sales - even beyond medical representatives, I swear. And given how frequently I've been getting calls and emails from different brokers this week, I can now totally relate to Lemony Snicket's Aunt Josephine (who will forever look like Meryl Streep in my mind).

I can't really complain though. On the one hand, there's a part of all their demeanor that comes from wanting to actually help us find a home. A larger part just involves that drive for the sale and the motivation presented by financial incentives and sales quotas. It's all part of the game and the really good salespersons know how to find the balance between pushing for the sale and thinking about the needs of the customer first. And given how long I've trained people for sales as well, I can totally relate to what they're going to and what they're trying to do.

I'm trying to be as organized as possible about this whole house hunting period. This is probably the most serious I've ever gotten despite repeated hunts over the past two years. For one, the whole condo aspect does make things a bit easier. On the other hand, I guess Tobie and Price are giving me really good motivation to get things done. And it's not like they're forcing things or pressuring me or anything. It's just something that I want to help organize and arrange for all three of us so we can take another step forward in living a happy and exciting life together. And while it'll require significant budgeting and all that sort of stuff, I know it's totally going to be worth it. I mean come on, just look at these two! How can they not be worth moving heaven and earth for?

In terms of the options we're evaluating, I feel it has become a toss-up between Avida Towers San Lorenzo and SM Jazz Residences. I really like the unit layout of Avida plus it's right next to Walter Mart Makati. However that also places it rather near a flood-prone area, which can totally be a majorly bad thing during rough weather. On the flip side, SM Jazz has an almost ideal location that makes it very easy for all three of us to go to work as needed. Its main drawback is the unit layout, which is rather disappointing even for the two bedroom units.

Both are decently within our financial capability and both promise turnover come 2013, although Avida will be ready before Jazz will. We're not exactly in a rush to move, but I know that our finances can only handle so much at one time. And dealing with extended down payment schemes, housing loan amortizations and the current rent here at Sietch Creare definitely won't work out well.

All this financial thinking can get pretty heavy, I have to admit. but I try to focus on why we're doing this and what potential good this can mean in the future and that helps lift my spirits.

It seems like all three of us are struggling to get through this work week. At the time of this blog, we all have two more work days to get through (although my next one won't start until tonight) and our own respective sources of stress from ad hoc tasks, multiple critical deadlines and generally greater workload than what is considered normal or typical, depending on how you define that. And stress can do a lot to bring even the happiest person down a few pegs, so it becomes all the more important to remain supportive of one another and patient with some of the emotional outbursts that each of us are bound to fall into sooner or later.

Love, after all, is supposed to be during all situations and conditions and not just the good times and the pretty little date nights. Love is a bond and a commitment you share with your partners, your family or whatever. It needs hard work, perseverance and a willingness to ask for help when needed. After all, your family is who you turn to when life backs you into a corner and everything else seems to be falling apart around you. And while it's still very early in this new three-way relationship between Tobie, Prince and myself, I have a lot of faith in the forces that brought us together being the same ones that will continue to give us the strength to hold strong through the worst trials and challenges.

And that's what helps me get through each day with a smile of my face and love in my heart.