(no subject)

[vicarz]

I finally got around to visiting my old roommie GT last night. He's not quite as loopy about working out as he used to be, and has filled out a little. He looks more mannish than he used to. More importantly, as we talked for hours (or rather he talked I listened for the most part) he sounds more mannish. He went over all the political insanity he faced in two workplaces, and talked about all the problems with being in the field of art/editing. I tried to mostly listen and only give pieces of advice - overall thing I couldn't help but notice was that while his tech skills are good, he has trouble with people politics. He feels the work should speak for itself, and it sounded like he might be surpassed by artists who engage in suck-up skills in the workplace.

It's hard for me to listen and not give advice.

I told him the story about Hugo the photographer I worked with in the lab. He was very open about the fact that he was a so-so photographer, however he often scored jobs over his better qualified competitors. He would show up for interviews with a professional portfolio (mediocre) and in a suit & tie. The others would have much more impressive resumes and portfolios, but be artists and show up in jeans and not act professional. He did the stick-up-the-ass-white-guy act and got jobs because the interviewers were typically businessmen with no concept of art, and they'd feel more comfortable with him. I also told him about my friend that photoshops strippers.

http://www.apollogt-studio.com/ He was one of the few body buidling / modeling men who does photography himself. As a model, you're avoiding the land-mine field of photographers raping you for money and/or sex. He had built-in credibility for being the artist and the subject. While I like hte place quiet, I do miss not knowing when I came home whether there would be a hot naked man in the living room, 8 lights showing every aspect of his physique.

I always meant to do another photo-shoot with him - he does such amazing work with the male body, and I have such an amazing body! Heh - I'm not anywhere near the league of the body-builders he works with, but I really am happy with this package and would like to see what he would do with it (stop that and stop thinking about my package). I might ask him for a shoot at some point, and/ though I'm not at my physical peak being in school. He sold a couple prints of my friend Tracey, wow (is she a friend, was she? Another subject...) It would be worth it plus maybe timely.

OH MY GOD THE FUCKING VIEW!!! I'm being punished for my insecurity. I could have picked up a unit in the co-op down the street for 35-50 k a short time ago. Nobody wants a co-op, not even those that overlook the city. Well, I could not believe the view from his apt, my god my holy god. The entire living room wall faces DC, showing from the mall to most of G'town. I was there after dark, and it was all lit up and gorgeous. He took me to the bedroom (mreow!) and he had another wall-length window that overlooked from 14th street to the mall. He said that was the east, and every morning he woke to sunrises over the city. 9th floor.

He built his own bed - taking scrap wood and just constructing something that made sense to him at the time. He built it high so he'd be able to see those sunrises from bed. We stood on the patio as well, another amazing view from a small patio. A plane took off - and he's right in the flight path. I told him very seriously that when he moved - if the owner was the least bit interested in selling to let me know. It's a one-bedroom and having parties in that place would be an unlikely logistical nightmare, but my god...I remember having a view for a short period of time, and I never got tired of looking at it. Seeing the lights, the cars traveling along the highway...just incredible.

I scanned the listings today, there are no co-ops listed at all. I knew they wouldn't be 35-50 k again, but the change from 10 at a time listed to none caught me by surprise.

Comments

[turbogrrl.livejournal.com]

Don't freak out too much about the lack of listings- sellers and real estate agents both have a natural antipathy toward getting started on listing a house [or doing anything with a listed house] in the lull between xmas and new years.

The general rule is, nothing happens during the holidays... so they ensure nothing happens during the holidays. The only place this is being turned on its head is in Manhattan- the nytimes just ran an article on the rush on homes in the 1-3 million dollar range. (!)

Here in dupont, even co-ops have astronomical (to me) prices, and are selling well. I expect once interest rates climb they'll languish more. But I can't imagine living anywhere for 50k... where is this magical place?

[vicar.livejournal.com]

The place is a co-op, and they don't own the land they reside on. Rumors have flown that it would be a mall or the baseball stadium (that old fight) at some point. Chances of them not taking the land eventually = nil of course, but co-ops are never popular in this area. I decided not to grab them in the 35-50k range 5 years ago not knowing if I'd stay here. Well, 2004 is here and so reside I - and while I'm rich through appreciation of my property...I could easily have acquired something there.

Still - you're dead on about the timing - I hadn't thought about that. There are some serious disadvantages about being there, but the view...my god the view. Maybe I'm better off, but the view!

I'm not in the million and up price range, not on my gummint salary :)