We go to a great BBQ, Steve hosts

Dear Family / Friends
Wow what a job Steve did tonight! He invited us to join him for a BBQ at his house tonight. We picked up Kallie at the sitters where she was still asleep. Keanna had been with me all afternoon and Marilyn kept her busy.

This morning I rose, showered, had a quick breakfast and after doing research headed for Alameda and then Oakland to inspect a duplex. Traffic was pretty hit and miss but I arrived about 9:05 where I picked up a key and then drove several miles to the duplex. How can I describe it? It was one of the worst I have seen in years. Grease on the floors in the kitchens reaching the middle of the room, bathroom fixtures so awful they cannot be described, carpets so filthy that the color is gone, every room shows evidence of squatters, all windows broken out, covered with plywood, front doors secured by plywood on hinges and padlocks, pretty grim. Selling for $275K, wow!

Problems began to mount as the day progressed. I started off with 32 oz of water this morning and then drank another 16 oz as I drove to Alameda so when I arrived in town the first stop was a bathroom. I finally found a station and that brought great relief. I picked up the key and made my way to the property but by then I needed to go again, well the water was not on in place so I measured it as quickly as I could. Finding a place in that area was challenging as is basic safety. Finally I found a Home Depot but after walking carefully all the way to the rest rooms I found both had yellow tape and signs saying they were broken. I discovered to my chagrin that all stores in that shopping center were without sewer, yikes now it was getting critical, who says drinking water is good for health! Finally a Michaels saved the day but that door had a code or no entry. By then my time was passing too fast. I had no time to shoot comps and get back to pick up Ms Keanna at 12:45 so planning ahead I headed back to Alameda to return the key and then headed home but what was that buzzing sound? The warning low fuel light was glowing and I had gone 575 miles. Now it was a race against time and had to located diesel as well.
Off the road I went in Castro Valley to a place I used to know and I slid in, found a credit card with room and filled it up with over 13 gallons. Now it was to the minute to get to the school to pick up Keanna but why was traffic slowing in the middle of the day? After a few miles it cleared and I could do 75 again. The GPS taunted me with a warning of 1 hour to reach destination but I only had 45 minutes. Well the GPS was wrong and I had two minutes to spare when I arrived to pick up her highness. She was full of excitement as she trooped through the gate and our afternoon began.
Now mind you she has just finished her lunch at school but needs a snack. Today she announced she would like Aladinos, curly fries and chicken nuggets with lemonade. So we had Lois join us and we all went there for lunch. Keanna played the various machines that eat coins at an alarming rate and finally we coaxed her from the building and drove home. Marilyn presented her with a neat new etch o sketch which filled the afternoon with delight.
Meanwhile I combed the mail for checks but came up dry. Knowing that the car payment was about to hit I drew a few more dollars from the meager savings and went to make a deposit. I also remembered that today was the day for PG&E to be paid or else.
Then wonder of wonders Judy called. Judy and I go way back, she has ordered appraisals from Nan and me for many many years but lately of course she can no longer do that so all of her conventional deals have gone through management companies. Her horror stories were so sad. The latest appraisal request was for something local here in Discovery Bay and the appraiser charged her $1,000 while the going rate is $375. This time she could use me since the deal was FHA. She is always so good about payment, she had the credit card number for me and I ran it so $475 is about to enter the account. I had prayed as earnestly as I knew how this morning for money and work, here it came and I told her that her call and order were an answer to prayer. She was touched and so was I. I will see the property in the morning and have the report completed by tomorrow afternoon. Its the least I can do.
Well sleep is creeping upon me as I write. As usual the day is not boring but I could do with a little less drama. I loved having Keanna here and tonight seeing Kallie in action was great too. I have several photos to share but can't get them out of my phone this evening.
Sending love to all,

Tim