Lender Foreclosure Shame

The mortgage crisis is something we all have heard about during what… the last couple of years? People buy a house, then they cannot pay for it, the bank gets it, the bank sells it. I know how it works, I sold a couple of properties that were on foreclosure when I worked in real estate. Fortunately, I never had to meet to unlucky people who lost what they invested in.

Whatever the reasons are for a person to see their house go to foreclosure, I think banks and Realtors are adding more salt to the wound by displaying those huge signs saying “FORECLOSURE” or “BANK AUCTION” — Sure, buyers are getting great deals, but the people who have to see their properties go, and on top of that being on the public eye? I may not know much about how it works here in the U.S., but would it be too much to ask to let people go at least with a little bit of dignity?

Let’s say you lived in the neighborhood for years. Let’s say one day in a bad move you lost your home. How would it feel that what was once your house is displayed in way for people to think who knows what. And yes, it is stupid to think about what people are going to say, but it can’t stop me from thinking that it must be pretty darn hard and humiliating.

Just a thought that I had after watching a piece on the current mortgage crisis on 60 Minutes. And that is just the tip of the iceberg. But I’m not a money/real estate/economy expert. I just think about the emotional repercussions of the situation.

Dashing through the effing snow!

Well, I apologize for the lack of post yesterday. I know I signed up for the Holidailies, but I had important personal stuff to take care of. My hubby underwent ear surgery today, and we had to get ready for it. My in-laws flew in from Chicago last night at 10, and I was just too tired to post when I came home.

And today wasn’t peachy. The surgery went well, thank God, but there were other things to take care of that made my day a very stressful one. Fortunately we all made it home safe, but what the *beep* is wrong with Kansas City’s contingency plans when it snows like crazy???

Seriously, I don’t know about the rest of the city or JoCo, but Overland Park was a freaking sliding park. The job the city did cleaning the streets was ridiculous (or they probably didn’t do crap), not even the main roads were decent to drive, it was scary as hell… and people are just stupid when driving in a snow storm. STUPID! I’m seriously thinking about getting a sledge, or one of those Skidoos Canadians are so fond of. That way I can hit the karaoke bar every weekend for a couple of bières like in my old days in the good ol’ Saguenay.

Maybe it’s all Canada’s fault that I’m so spoiled when it comes to safe Winter driving; in the Great White North, hordes of plows come out before a storm hits like an army of Transformers. Yes, they are used to the white, fluffy crap. But come on, KC HAS a Winter season, snow will hit at some point or another, so DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT! Winter hasn’t even officially started, so what’s going to happen next? This is the first Winter I have to go out in a car around this area, and I’m completely shocked… it is insane!

Now that my vent is over, I will proceed to relax for the rest of the evening, and probably go to bed early. I have another interview tomorrow, I need all the sanity I can recover from this crazy day.

Choosing Your Charities

Mea culpa. I had this on draft, and I forgot to publish it.

Charities. They seem like a good option when people want to give you gifts for Christmas, but you really don’t feel like receiving anything. Yes, it happens. Yes, it’s happening to me. I think I have everything I NEED now. The WANT part, I’m learning to manage it because… I don’t know… I’ve been enlightened? Pffft! I guess I just got enough things for my birthday. Anyhoo!

Someone asked me once what charities would be good to donate to. There are so many, you have to be careful about which ones you can actually trust. If I had to pick my top 5 they would be :

- Diabetes Research Foundation
- Amnesty International
- Breast Cancer Research Foundation
- World Wildlife Fund
- Bread for the World

Which ones are in your top 5?

And I don’t need pills for that!

I just counted how many new books I’ve added to my shelf this month. I won’t tell you… OK, I will. 23! Between birthday gift cards, promotional codes, my husband’s continuous spoiling… 23 new books! That’s a lot, right? When do I have the time to read all those, plus the other ones I’ve purchased this year, plus the ones I brought from Colombia in October? What can I say, I am a bona fide avid reader, it’s an addiction and I don’t want to go to rehab.

I read at least 10 books last month. December has been slow because of many things (personal, mostly) and so far I’ve managed to go through Isabel Allende’s Ines of my Soul, which I’m about to finish, probably tonight. My goal is to read a book at least every week and more if I can. If I could read for a living, I would love to do so. Maybe that’s why I obsess so much about getting a job at the library one day, or getting a job where I can just sit and read. It makes me remember the movie Sabrina (the 1995 version) when Sabrina tells her father she loves the fact that he decided to become a chauffeur so he could read.

And my love for books is ancient history. The first book I read from cover to cover was the Spanish version Cuore by Edmondo de Amicis. I was about 7 or 8 years old, and my neighbor (who happened to be my best friend in that time) gave it to me for my birthday. I’m sure that book is still at my mother’s house, and I’ve thought about buying another copy and read it again. I will never forget Corazón and each of the little stories in it. I guess I owe my love for reading to Edmondo de Amicis.

It all went up from there. I visited the school library every week or so, I read most of the books they had about teen angst, along with some classics and my text books. My friends made fun of me when I was 13-14 and I decided to read “Gone With the Wind” (such a big book, they thought I was reading The Bible). One of my mom’s friends belonged to a book club and I borrowed copies and copies from her, and to this day she still remembers what a good girl I was returning every single book she let me read.

And then I started making my own money and buying my own books. My parents complained about my renting too many movies, but they never said anything about the reading habit. I think they were very proud, and my mom made fun of me saying poor little me had nothing to read. The habit has not changed; if anything, it has increased, the bookstore or the library are my favorite places in the whole world; I see the Borders sign and I think “The Mothership,” I think there is no place where I could be happier than Half-Price Books. And all I want for Christmas is books, hah!

Reading is good for the soul. Reading in three languages has helped me acquire grammar skills. Reading can take me places I never dreamed existed. Reading is in my veins, and I will die an avid reader.

Take a look at my Goodreads profile.

16 Questions

Stolen from Average Jane.

1. Were you named after anyone?
Nope, but my mother always loved the name.

2. When was the last time you cried?
Yesterday morning at the therapist’s office.

3. Do you like your handwriting?
Yeah, it’s nice.

4. Do you use sarcasm a lot?
Not on purpose. I don’t like it.

5. Would you bungee jump?
I’m afraid of heights. You do the math.

6. Do you untie your shoes when you take them off?
Depends on how tight they are.

7. Do you think you’re strong?
Physically? Probably not. Otherwise, unbelievably.

8. What is your favorite ice cream?
I like the plain ones. Vanilla and strawberry.

9. What is the first thing you notice about people?
If they are nervous.

10. Red or Pink?
I like both, dang it!

11. What was the last thing you ate?
Saltine crackers with cream cheese.

12. What are you listening to right now?
My husband talking to his WoW friends.

13. What do you like least about yourself?
That I don’t see who I really am.

14. What book are you reading now?
Inés of my Soul, by Isabel Allende.

15. Do you wear contacts?
Nope. Glasses, when I remember!

16. What did you watch on TV last night?
Last night? Nothing. My husband and I were out.