yay!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Big news in CondoLand, blog buddies: I have a condo!

And more big news: I was never rejected from my old one!

So much confusion. Here's the timeline:

Thursday: Meet with my realtor, who I love. Love love. She makes me want to be a better woman love. OK, you get the point. Saw a cute one, but it was another co-op, so I decided to keep looking. Plus my mom and aunt were coming in for the weekend to help me look.

Friday: My mom and aunt arrive, we have lunch, and then they, being the awesome women that they are, ventured into the 106-degree swamp and looked at condos all day while I sat at my desk. I left early and met them out, where we looked at a few condos, hemmed and hawed (and sweated) and decided to call it a day, after one more.

And it turned out to be The One.

It's in Dupont Circle, on a wonderful block, in a building thought to be built around 1885. The building has been redone and is in great shape. The unit has exposed brick walls, a fireplace and high ceilings. I was amazed. Of course, there is work that needs to be done in the kitchen and bathroom, so my mom and aunt were not as convinced as Adrienne and I, but they started coming around. The owner wasn't taking offers until Sunday, so we decided to get together again then and put our contract together. All weekend I was convinced it would go for thousands more than the asking price, so I tried not to get too excited.

Saturday: I woke up early to head out to the country for a kickball tournament. I kept in contact with my mom through the day to find out if there had been any news. During our final phone conversation, as I walked off the field, sunburned and weary, I got a call waiting. Checking the caller ID, I was surprised to find the owner of the OTHER place (hereupon known as: the Evil Co-op) on the other line.

"Hi, Campbell, it's Meg. I got some interesting news from the co-op board this morning. They said they made a mistake, and they approved your application, so the next step would be an interview, if you're interested."

Um, what? First of all, doing the happy dance, because I wasn't rejected, which, if you haven't ever been rejected, let me tell you: It is quite a blow to the old ego. Second of all, NO EFFING WAY IN HELL do I want anything more to do with you people. But of course I couldn't say that.

"Um, I actually have a bid in on another place [If you've been paying attention to the timeline, you know that is a big lie, because we didn't put in the bid until Sunday] so I will have to wait to see what comes of that. OKthanksbye."

Well, it wasn't that awkward, but I definitely did want to get off the phone, or risk jinxing my chances at the new condo (hereupon known as: the Lovely Condo).

Sunday: We met Adrienne and wrote the new contract, including an escalation clause (basically: If someone matches my offer, I will give you more money than them. So there!) and a non-contingent inspection clause (basically: If it turns out the oven is spewing gas into the condo at a life-threatening rate, I'll still take the place, I just want to know about it, got me?). It was all very Real Estate 101.

So then we left, and I prayed. God, this place is so pretty and so amazing and the location is so fantastic and I just really, really, really want it, God.
Thanks.

Monday: I heard from Adrienne in the morning, and she told me the owner was moving the deadline for offers to Tuesday, rather than Monday evening. I didn't know what to make of that -- either she hasn't gotten any other offers (good) or she got so many that she is going to see if she can get more (bad) or she just wanted to move the deadline. So more waiting

Tuesday: Adrienne submitted our offer in the afternoon ("I vill vait becaus I don't vant dem to see ah cards, ok?" I love her.) so I was jumping every time the phone rang.

I was at a friend's house last night, having a floor picnic and listening to Chicago's greatest hits, in lieu of an actual outdoor Chicago concert in the rain. The phone rang around 9, the caller ID revealed Adrienne's name, and I screeched.

"Hi Adrienne."
"Hi Campbell. Ha aur you?"
"Good, nervous but excited."
"Well, you should be excited, because you are a homeowner." YAY! "And de best pahrt is, you got it for de askingg price." DOUBLE YAY!

So here are pictures of my condo. (for real this time, they cannot reject me. How cool is that?!?!) SQUEEEEEEEEE!!!