Musing on Mortgages

(i'm back to the green template - oh the indecision!) Tomorrow I'm heading on vacation! Jeff and I are heading to Moab for the week, and we are leaving Friday as soon as we can get out from work. There are many reasons for this vacation - 1) we got our tax returns, and though I know it's not true, it sure does feel like free money... 2) yesterday we went to the lawyers and signed our mortgage, certainly a watershed moment worth celebrating, and 3) yesterday we signed the mortgage - so now the waiting is feeling intermitable! Oh yeah, and we're bringing our bikes so there's that fun stuff too :)

Signing the mortgage really did seem like a big deal. With all my attempted bad-assedness of my early 20's, it was my first time in a lawyers office (I wasn't much of a bad-ass). Kevin (the law-man) took his time and explained it all and I'm starting to actually understand about owning property. You hear and read all about the realestate market, the benefits of tax-free income, and flipping houses, but without experience it's hard to get a handle on it. Our, or at least my, house-buying motivation mostly came from personal perceptions of space, of greedily wanting to stop sharing with the 2 a.m. vacumer above me, the stinky meat-fryer down the hall, etc... I have a bit of a family history of 'wise investment' in land/houses and I think I've been rather stubborn against giving it any attention. I'm not saying I've begun down a complex road of tax-shelters and market prospecting, but I think I've started to understand how people can see it as a realtively safe road to happy retirement. Once again I realise how far the gap is between knowing something and understanding it!

So, we are off to the desert for a little fun under that big sky and happy cappucinos after a frosty morning ride. Riding with Jeff is daunting, but he's a great and patient teacher, and I am clinging to the hope that you truly never forget how to ride a bike - it's been months since I rode, and my last ride left me with a black eye on the eve of my company christmas party. Biking and I did not part well for the season... finger's crossed for an accident free week!!