This blog has gone into hiatus. There will be no new posts while this blog is silent. All content has temporarily shifted to my social media accounts.

-Jon
posted by Jon at 1:00 PM  I   I  0 comments

I have achieved many wonderful things in my life. I have created amazing things out of nothing. I have built popular stories and fictional universes that hundreds -- even thousands -- of people enjoy. I am hugely successful at most of the projects I undertake. I have experienced things others can only dream of. I strive to be respectable, trusted, determined.... remembered. But I am not, nor will I ever be great. I am little. I am tiny. I am a miniscule success story in this world -- in this vast universe -- that I am part of.


posted by Jon at 6:14 PM  I   I  0 comments

The process to obtain the new Baas House continues.

This evening, my wife and I attended a first time home buyers class in a nearby city. It's a class designed to help people understand the process of buying their first house. It's also a requirement for a home buyers grant we're hoping to secure. While most of the people in the class seemed to be at an early pre-offer stage, Kelli and I have already signed an offer on a house, we're working with a realtor, we've completed the home inspection, and we're proceeding with the funding process. We're a lot further along by comparison.

To be honest, I was a bit dubious going into this class. I'm not thrilled by classroom adult-learning settings. They aren't an engaging environment for me. The idea of desks, a chalkboard (or it's comparable modern equivalent), and a teacher/professor droning on about a topic is the exact opposite of exciting. If that's the nature of a "class", just give me the text book, and let me read about the topic myself.

Thankfully, the teacher for this class was an interesting man. He teaches these classes regularly, and he knows his stuff. He made it engaging enough to keep my attention, and, although Kelli and I have already worked with much of this stuff first-hand already, I still managed to learn a few things. That definitely made the class worthwhile.

What moved me the most, though, was a detail that was revealed later in the 3-hour class. Our teacher was explaining a few concepts related to home insurance, home safety and the like. He was answering some great class questions, when he stopped a moment and added, "here, let me show you something."

Digging around in his laptop files for a few moments, he opened a file, and had it displayed on the large flat screen television mounted on the classroom wall (the "chalkboard" of the room). It was a photo of a nice house.... that had just burned to the ground. Some of the debris was still smoldering.

After a moment of silence while the class looked at the photo, our teacher quietly informed us that this was a photo of his house. It had burned down two months ago -- in March. An electrical malfunction in his car, while it was parked in the attached garage, ignited flames, which spread to the rest of the house, and destroyed everything. He and his wife were home at the time; neither of them were hurt. But the house, and everything in it, was a total loss.

The mood in the room changed instantly. My heart sank. The man teaching us about safely buying our first home, had just lost his -- a brand new house he and his wife had built ten years ago. It struck home, and it did so in an extraordinarily poignant way. Anything can happen -- even the most unexpected of events. Being prepared, and knowing how to deal with the challenges of home ownership is vital -- long before you move into a new house.

I really felt for the man, though. It physically hurt to see his life burned to the ground in one night. Yes, that fire had happened two months ago, the ruins of his house had already been torn down, and he was already planning to rebuild on the same foundation, but it still hurt. It was a painful revelation. But, on the other hand, given what the man does, and how his job is to help new home buyers..... that was one heck of a lesson and a powerful visual aid.

Tonight was actually the first part of a two-day class. The second part is next Wednesday. Believe it or not, I'm actually looking forward to the rest of this class.

-Jon
posted by Jon at 11:18 PM  I   I  0 comments

So, my wife and I took a new step in life this week -- we're buying our first house. Up until now (for the past five years) we've been living in a nice apartment building. But the time has come to upgrade to something more permanent. So, earlier this week, we made an offer on a house here in Brillion, the offer was countered by the seller, and we accepted. It's legally binding now.... if everything else falls into place (as we anticipate it will), when we close in the near future, the house will be ours.

It's an exciting step. I've never owned a house before. I've lived in many different houses and apartments in my life -- in many cities -- I've moved far more often than I would have liked -- but I, personally, have never owned a house. The nice thing is, though, this is a great house, great location, great neighborhood. We both like it. It has many things our present residence does not. I'm certainly looking forward to the joys and challenges of home ownership, and the growth opportunities it presents, but I can't say that I'm eager for yet another move.

The good thing is, though, when you own a house, the chances of moving drop significantly. I can live with that. It'll be a place to settle into, and a place to truly call home.

I won't say much about the house at this point, there are still a few post-signing steps to complete, and then, of course, there's closing. But when that happens, expect to hear more details. It's a big step, but it's a big step forward. And in life, that's always a good direction to travel.

-Jon
posted by Jon at 12:33 AM  I   I  0 comments

I went to see Avengers: Age of Ultron last night, and I'll be completely honest, it was a fantastic ride! The story was solid, the special effects were jaw-dropping, and James Spader was pure evil (and sounded it too!). If you haven't seen this film yet, go see it.

According to reports, Avengers: Age of Ulron made $27.6 million in domestic ticket sales on Thursday alone. Even before the official opening day here in the United States, the movie has already brought in $287.3 million internationally. And, if the excitement on social media is any indication, I have a feeling it will be breaking a few cinema profit records.

Go see this film. For your convenience, here's the official film trailer.




posted by Jon at 4:17 PM  I   I  0 comments