New Horizons

Jeez, it's been a long time since I've written here. My real estate classes have been an absolute whirlwind, and I have been hard-pressed to find much time for myself these days. Between classes each day, and prospecting for clients, including weekend open houses, I have been absolutely wiped at days' end. We even had a week and a half off, but I took it upon myself to put together previewing trips for my class. An average of four of us a day would go out looking at houses all over the area, and it was a great experience. Talk about some freaky places!! And some really great ones, too! The best part was that I got to know my classmates even better, and now I'm the go-to girl for just about everything. For some reason, everyone seems to think I know it all! I wish I felt as confident, but I'm sure that'll come with time. In exciting news, I had a prospective buyer contact me after seeing one of my open houses. I re-showed the house, and he and his family are so enamoured by it - the catch is his sister also works at Coldwell Banker, and unless she moves to Texas (as is the plan) before they can afford a down payment, I'm out of luck. It's stuff like that that's frustrating. It seems like everyone knows an agent already. Albuquerque's housing market is actually one of the strongest in the country, which is heartening, but it doesn't help when you're up against many thousands of other realtors. Luckily, this training program will make us more prepared and experienced than most other agents out in the field. I just hope I can be patient enough to put up with this drought before I finally get some successes.

So what else have I been up to in recent weeks? Well, I finally got out horseback riding again! My buddy Paul, a fellow biologist from UNM, rides horses every now and again, and he invited me along. I got a great lesson on tacking a horse, and then we went out riding along the Rio Grande. It felt so great to be back in the saddle again - it's like that's where I am meant to be. I really hope I get to join him in future adventures. It often seems to conflict with open houses, though. Grrr!!

Beyond that, I was introduced into the evil game World of Warcraft this past week. I haven't played video games in a looooong time, mostly because I know I get too hooked on it. Well, Nate's pal Robert gave him a trial version of the game, and we're both sucked into it now. I've always loved RPGs, and this is the RPG that never ends!! Now that we have a subscription, it's anyone's guess when I'll do something productive again. :P

And yesterday, Nate and I decided to check out one of ABQ's 4 disc golf courses...I was surprised we even had ONE! This one was hidden on an unassuming road south of the airport, amongst ATV courses and barren land. Set on a very brushy high desert course, we attempted to play despite the incredibly gusty wind. We finally gave up around hole 10 when frustration got the better of us. Each throw would be carried off by the wind right down into the 20 foot deep ravine. Climbing down there was no cup of tea, as there weren't many accessible points, and the prickly tumbleweeds didn't help the descent any. I wonder what it's like in summer when there are rattlesnakes!! EEP!!

Well, I know there's been more going on than that, but it's been a while, and I probably should get back to playing WOW, er, prospecting for clients, that is! I'll try not to be a stranger!