#39 - The anticlimactic climax + drinking! - July 11, 2012

Today I met a guy 3 levels above me who used to work with a guy I hired 6 years ago.  Weird how many people get recycled in this small industry, a different company and most of a continent away.

I had a meeting with the guy, and the phone started to ring.  House progress!!   Finally!!!  It was my attorney.  The title had come back.  It was 5 days earlier than I had expected it.  There were a few problems with it that the seller needed to fix, but the report was back.  I breathed a huge sigh of relief.  Then the seller called me.  The oil tank was out and done.  She said she'd have the receipt to me later today.

She still hasn't sent it.  But I believe I'll get it soon.  So we are working on 4 things:
Survey - due Friday
Title - modifications due tomorrow according to my attorney
Oil tank paperwork - the seller will send that over soon, not sure when
Motorhome proof of ownership.

I called the DMV again today.  This time the operator checked the file and confirmed that it had been processed, and went out snail mail Tuesday morning.

Then I went to our monthly customer meeting.  It was exceedingly easy - I'm more comfortable there.  I feel like I belong, and I haven't felt that before.  It was nice to be the guy doing the thing, and for my boss to just sit there and watch.  My comanager does most of the presentation.  He is very good at the details needed to pull it together.  He's actually encyclopedic in how much he studies and retains from day-to-day operations.  I don't know that I'll ever be able to be quite so sure of myself going through specific technical issues as he is.  But we had a cordial conversation, asked each other for help, and adjourned.  We spend at least 40 hours a month preparing for this meeting.  Maybe more.  And when things are going well, the meeting seems very much not worth it.

And at a certain level, the meeting is not.  But the prep we put into the meeting impacts all the other things we do, and when we do well at everything else, the meeting is easy.

After the meeting, I noticed a sign on the FAX machine: broken.  Then I noticed a recent FAX that had Oregon DMV along the top.  It was the first 4 pages of the 35-page report I ordered.  I immediately took pictures of it, put them in a PDF and sent it to my lender.

Half an hour later, I got an email back:
"you are cleared to close"

Hallelujah!   Now we just need 3 things:
clear title,
survey
oil tank docs.

I sent the email confirmation to the seller right away, so she would understand that the ball was solidly in her court. I also sent her a note asking if we could stay in the house for a couple nights before closing.

No response yet.  Hopeful that tomorrow brings more good news.

After the work day, the management team went out to dinner.  It was a good place - a mix of Japanese and Korean, good food, and lots of it.  The team is lots of fun, positive, experienced.  Much of the humor belongs in an R-rated movie more than the dinner table, so I'm pretty reserved, but it is what it is.  Everybody recognizes what my standards are, so I don't have any alcohol pressure, and nobody drank anything but beer.  That's a first for a business dinner.  Nobody got drunk, and that was excellent.  We finished about 10, and I came home and crashed.

A good and fulfilling day.