Well, more than a few things have been going on. Most of it all happened in the same two weeks, which was kind of bizarre. For the longest time (well, three months or so), I felt like all these incredibly important things in my life were coming together at the same point in time. Honestly, things got more than a little stressful, but I liberally applied whiskey to the rough spots, and got through it all.

What were some of these life-changing events, you might ask? Well, I'll tell you - My brother and sister-in-law had a child, the first in the next generation. It being a girl, this officially makes me an aunt, and I couldn't be happier. Her name is Madeline Elaine, and she was born with more hair than an ocelot. So that's really exciting, and has major upside. I intend to be an extremely goal-oriented uncle. Clear quarterly deliverables, yearly reviews, the whole shebang. I'll be damned if the little tyke's first word isn't "huge."

I also finally closed on my apartment. Now that I've signed the papers and they need actual cause to kick me out (instead of anything ranging from knowing about the realtor prank to indigestion on the part of one of the board members), I feel like I can say something about that approval process: WHAT A LOAD OF NONSENSE. The kicker was this conversation I had to have at work:

Ken: Bloomberg, Ken Bromberg speaking.

Caller: Hello Mr. Bromberg- this is Janine from Some Security Organization. I've called to schedule a time for sometime this week.

Ken: Ummmm... OK. What is this for?

Caller: Oh, tommorrow afternoon would be good, or anything that's convenient for you. Ken: I'm sorry, I'm afraid you don't understand. What is this for? I have no idea who you are and why you're contacting me.

Caller: Oh, we assumed the co-op board told you. We've been hired by your Co-op Management to come to your home, interview you, and take a picture of you in your living situation. Ken: Oh.


There was a fair amount of that sort of thing. But, it's all done, and I am now the proud owner of the air space for a one-bedroom apartment in New York City's most popular NORC (that's Naturally Occuring Retirement Community for those of you not in the know). Most of the apartments around me are filled with old jewish men and women, and I can't turn around without whacking my head into a kosher bakery. Good times.

So now that I own the place, I can move in, right? Not even close. It's been three weeks worth of work on the place so far, and NOW I'm ready to start putting color on the walls. That's scheduled for. . . Thursday maybe? Saturday? That's the problem with the holiday season - no time for home improvements. It's my hope to move in by the end of December, but we'll see what happens. It might take just that long to get the old lady smell out of the apartment (the same woman was living there since the building was built, and 50 years of pink carpet and housecoats really changes the tenor of a place).