Playing on the heartstrings of desperate people

Thursday 12 February 2015

4 degrees rising to 15!

Rose early to listen to the replay of E Herv Eker's 'Masterclass' on MindValley.  If possible, it was even lighter on content than that of Christie Sheldon and lasted two and a half hours. The joy of the replay is being able to bypass the obligatory sob story (76 minutes) and then, what a surprise, he makes a breakthrough by embracing the idea that he can be spiritual and really, really, really (he loves repetition) rich.  He also gives us the nugget that your route to success must match who you are.  Much, much later, he does a visualisation of being at a fork in the road and going in the right hand direction and all is bad etc etc and how does that make you feel and then back to the fork in the road and take the left hand road and all is wonderful.  And to take the right fork, you have to buy his Spiritual Laws of Money products and they are nearly 300 dollars.   Apparently 147 people signed up for this crap on the first day.  Oh, sad and desperate people.   If Eker is indeed a multi, multi (counted to ten on his fingers) millionnaire and desperately wants to help people, why the fuck is he charging them?   The first step to being a millionnaire is to have your scruples cut out and burn them.   Decided to write a help book myself.

Dropped off utility vehicle for MOT then back home to drop off OH and go to meet today's clients.

Hung around in a car park, waiting for the clients, and they were waiting in a different car park.  Finally met up and took them to the house and they were impressed by the interior, which is indeed lovely.  They were not so keen by the barricades erected by the frankly strange neighbour and also there were quite a few trees.  They are selling because there are a lot of trees and the guy is fed up of picking up the leaves.  We are there for well over an hour.  They are going to draw up a list of favourite properties to revisit next week and will then make a decision.  I suggest two other properties and send them the details.

Back home and find OH just about to take the dog out and did I want to trail around in the mud with him.  No I didnt.  Not pleased to find that, yet again, no dishes washed and crap all over the floor.  Cleaned up, in bad mood.  Filed papers that were trailing around everywhere.  Looking at my meter readings for the rental units, I really hope I have read them incorrectly because the difference between last years consumption and this one is absolutely vast and over 1000 euros.

Made chili and did the VAT return online after having turned out all my bags and pockets to find the maximum of chargeable receipts.

Down at the gym, my subscription card had disappeared and no one was available to help so I took the card of a person with a similar sounding name and dived into the blissfully warm and frothing waters.  The lifeguard did notice and I said it was a mistake and he said OK and went back to throwing the bikes in the small pool for the aquabike session.  They landed with some force and large waves splashed over the people who were still doing lengths.  Sod health and safety.  You have just got to love it.

Did 30 lengths and the sun shone on the water and steam rose off the wavelets.  Heaven. Watched GBSB.  Very difficult waistcoat as first task then some brilliant relooking projects and then a 3d construction exercise.  Puffing, pouting black haired lady bunged off.  Men are very strong contenders this year.

Being zen gets me let off the hook!

14 January 2015

Pale and clear skies 6 degrees rising to 16 degrees
Sahara air scooped up by weather systems and we are bathed in it

Wake up early and the oh crap monster is banging on my forehead.  I have to clean the house plus the rental unit and all by the end of tomorrow.   Start on the kitchen and get rapidly depressed.  Email client with rental details and feel grateful that some cash is coming into the bank account.

Decide to start on upstairs instead.  Steam the floors and then notice there are cobwebs everywhere so knock them off and then have to hoover them up.  Just starting to feel like I am making progress when I get a call from the notary telling me that she has seen the owner of property whose sale is due for June.  The seller has informed her that part of the retaining wall has collapsed.   I ring the seller and ask him if he can sort it out with his insurer.  He says, no, he has had problems with it for years.  I tell him he will have to get it fixed or it is very likely that the purchaser will back out.  He says he isn't bothered.  I ask him to send me a photo.  He then says kisses and hangs up.

This was a real 'oh crap buggery bastard' moment which if it had happened in 2014 would have led to me committing myself to a small white room.  Last year I would have ground my teeth and hated him intensely.  This year I am zen.  These problems will be overcome.  

This sale was one of two which drove me to tears and complete desperation last year.  The seller achieved what I would not have thought was possible, and found a buyer who is as obdurate as he.  Negotiation went on for four long months before we even got to the signing of the reservation contract.  The seller had 'omitted' to tell me that the local commune wanted significant repayment for the works carried out on the property and initially blocked the sale.  They argued over the price and the agency fees.  They argued over the delay before purchase.  They argued over furniture which was included in the price.  They argued over furniture which wasn't included in the price.  At the end, I was the intermediary down to arguing over the price of the piano.  My hair started dropping out with the stress and anxiety.  I am on commission only and once I get an offer, it is going to go through no matter how much pain and torment I am made to endure.  I was talking to a fellow agent and he said that estate agency was like offering one side of your body and saying 'kick it' and then presenting the other side and asking 'would you like to kick this side too'.

OH rings up to ask me something and I update him on the situation.  He is seriously not zen but at least he has got around the lake with the dog's ears in the same condition as at the start.  He arrives back an hour later and asks me what I have done about the situation. Apparently hoovering was not the correct response.   We decide we will wait for the photo and the quote to come in and deal with one day at a time.

More cleaning after lunch.  Ring client to ask what time she is arriving tomorrow.  She appears surprised to learn that I am expecting her tomorrow as she is not arriving until the 22nd.  This is news to me as I have been heading up all of my emails to her with this weekend's dates.   Breathe huge sigh of relief, change all the appointments for next weekend and then remember I have clients next Saturday to revisit our house.  A week's grace to clean up outside.

Down town to the gynaecologist to have my bits checked out.  The lady is about my age and, as in most medical professionals in France, doesn't wear a white coat.  She is nattily dressed in camouflage trousers.   Apparently I am all in working order.  She also squeezes my boobs.  Hers is not a job I would like to do.  OH says he would happily be paid 28 euros for 15 minutes looking at ladies' bits and squeezing their boobs.   Apparently I should have had a mammogram in 2014 - I dread these and worry that the machine will not stop and squash my boobs flat to my chest.  At least they are done locally and you get the results to take away with you within 10 minutes.

Ring one of my former sellers who has just signed on the sale of her house and find that she has already found a house and is about to sign on it.  It is in an area that you normally can't sell property for love nor money.  Oh well, I hope they are happy there and don't want to resell for a long time.   Lovely swimming pool.

Feel very tired and nose is bunged up.  Football on telly so go to bed early and read Queen Camilla by Sue Townsend.  Hilarious and highly recommended to y'all.