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Not Designed to Sell

We’re outgrowing our 650-square-feet place. So, Eric and I had hoped to sell our condo in August, but due to some circumstances beyond our control (and some quite in our control, like having a fun summer), we weren’t ready. What we really needed, besides kicking our contractor’s butt to finish our bathroom, was kicking our own butts to get things done.

Thus we applied for the HGTV show, Designed to Sell. We wrote a great application, if I do say so myself, and a couple of weeks later, they called and said they were interested in featuring us. We sent photos of both our place and of us, and then we waited for a callback.

A couple more weeks went by, and we started thinking it was time to get serious about selling our place. We hadn’t heard from the show. So I picked up the phone and called them.

“Um, I don’t know how else to say this,” the contact person said, “but we think your place is too nice.”

“What? Our place is a barren wasteland.” (That’s not exactly what I said, but it was close.)

“If your place is pretty nice to start with, the makeover won’t translate to the television audience.”

“Oh...”

“I hope you take it as a compliment. We all really liked your place.”

Our feelings were mixed. On one hand, we were sort of puffed up and giddy that our condo might actually be worth something, and that, despite some negative comments people have made about our home, maybe we actually did do a decent job. On the other hand, we were faced with the reality of doing all the work ourselves.

We allowed ourselves to be overwhelmed for a few days, and then we got to work. Our place is patched and painted, thanks to the amazing guys at JL Decorating (after we finally admitted to ourselves we were never going to get around to painting the living room); I’ve sold some unwanted stuff on Craigslist; and, CROSS YOUR FINGERS, our contractor might actually show up next week to finish the bathroom.

We think things are finally getting done and moving in the right direction. Once we put our furniture back in place, I’ll try to post some pictures. Who knows -- YOU may want to buy this barren wasteland!

Eric’s World Map

Create your own map of countries visited here.

Traffic Court Victory

I love my alderman! Love, love, love.

A few weeks ago, I was issued a traffic ticket at an intersection with very poor signage. It was infuriating when I tried to explain to the police officer how bad the signage was and he brushed it off with a, “Yeah, yeah, lady. Everyone else says the same thing. I’m tired of hearing it.”

I spoke to my alderman, who backed me up completely. He agreed that it was a convoluted intersection and that unbeknown drivers are issued traffic tickets there on a daily basis. “In fact,” he said, “I’ll send a traffic engineer down there to survey the site. It hasn’t been done in a while.”

Today was my court date. I was very nervous. Not only have I never been to court before, I’ve never had a traffic ticket before. I had no idea what to expect.

They called my name and asked for my plea. “Not guilty,” I said. When the judge asked the police officer and I to raise our right hands, the police officer said that new evidence had come to light. Apparently a traffic engineer went down to survey the site, and the report came back to the city that the signage at that intersection was ineffective and insufficient. The case could not move forward.

“Case dismissed,” the judge said, and handed me my driver’s license. Holy moly!

So, any ideas on what I should send to my alderman as a token of gratitude?

My World Map

You think you’ve seen a lot of places, but once it’s on a map, you realize you’ve seen nothing in relation to everything that’s out there.

Boy, do I have a long list of places to travel.

Nothing Like It

Listening to jazz and eating an avocado.

Fonts Designed for the Screen

Some of you have been asking me what fonts (technically typefaces) to use on your websites. The best advice I can offer is that, when considering large amounts of html text, like in a blog entry, the most readable fonts are the ones designed specifically for the screen.

Who cares about readability, you ask? Well, graphic designers, that’s who. The best designers always consider both form and function.

That said, not a lot of fonts have been designed for the screen yet, which is why you’ll see the same ones again and again:

Georgia
Verdana
Tahoma
Trebuchet

If you want to be different than everyone else, consider experimenting with alternative fonts but solicit your friends for feedback. Ask them if they get dizzy-spells reading your website. If they do, chances are that not many people are going to take the time to return to your site -- no matter how genius it is.