Grand Budapest Hotel

Just saw this movie Friday and the word to describing it is "charming."

It's the first time I've seen Ralph Fiennes in a role that I liked him in. The story within a story within a story is satisfyingly convoluted, and is obviously a pre-WW II corollary. The many cameos were amusing (Bill Murray etc). Ed Norton is pitch-perfect as a military officer. And F. Murray Abraham is his usual brilliant self. Tilda Swinton is unrecognizable and excellent as a raddled old peeress. Harvey Keitel is almost wasted in a minor role but, as usual, does it well. And then there was Willem Dafoe who stole every scene he was in, even when he's just standing silent in a corner.

But the locations trumped everything. There were several real castles (in Germany) used and they were magnificent -- wood-paneled libraries, sumptuous dining rooms, and more. Fabulous scenery, too.

All in all, a fun flick.

Latest Doings

We closed on the property on 28 Feb. Then I had to get insurance on everything and wound up with Farm Bureau. Seems that NC insurers don't want to insure mobile homes but there's a risk pool, which I got. It's all very complicated.

I'm still having trouble getting the title on the mobile home transferred to my and my brother's names. First, there was an "adjustment" on the original title, which everybody had signed and it was notarized. The DMV voided it because of that adjustment. They gave me a new form to fill and said I had to have my brother's power of attorney so I could sign for him.

I sent him the form, which he filled out, got notarized, and sent back. It seems that in Calif. notaries fill out a separate sheet and attach it to the form they're notarizing instead of signing the form itself. Lots of officials here seem to know that but some don't. Also, on the PofA she wrote in "California" instead of the county, so she crossed that out, initialed it, and wrote the county name above it.

So today, for the third time, I stood in in line at the DMV (I was #20) and finally got to a person, who promptly told me that there couldn't be any alterations on a form so the crossout and write-in the notary did weren't acceptable. And on the title form itself one digit in the VIN I had written as an "I" when it should have been a "1" and that wasn't acceptable either.

So they gave me a set of new forms and told me to start over. I am enraged. I snatched the papers out of her hand and stormed out, fortunately without shouting in her face "jesus h fucking christ, lady!!!"

Tomorrow I'm going to Marshall, a small town north of here, and try them to see if these very minor errors can be overlooked. I've made the I's look line 1's so we'll see. I believe in striving for perfection but I also know that almost nobody can make it. There needs to be some compromise.

On the upside, a new driveway is scheduled to be constructed on the property starting on the 10th, which will make access and parking much easier.

Aaargh.

Oh yeah, I have a tenant who's put rent money down on the MH but doesn't seem to know when he'll actually move in. Being a landlady is hard.

RIP

David Brenner, comedian

I always enjoyed him, not least because his approach was low-key. He didn't yell, he didn't say fuck every other word (because he had a varied vocabulary), he didn't "punch down" like so many do today, and in general he didn't do sexist/racist jokes. He was a good guy who found the world funny and wanted to share it with us.

Property Owner

Well, my brother and I have purchased a piece of property in West Asheville. It's a little less than 1/4 acre and has a 6 year old mobile home on it. We just closed on it last Friday. I've got a couple of minor repairs and then I'm going to rent it out for a while so I can get a second mobile home on the property. Then I'll live in one and keep renting the other out until my brother decides to come home.

That's it -- settled for the rest of my life. I'm figuring about 15 years but maybe more -- you never know. Mom died at 86 but my great-grandmother was 92 when she died and her sister was 102, so I could be around for a while. But I'm using 86 as a guideline.

RIP sob

Paco de Lucia

great flamenco guitarist, full of duende

Hanging up the keys

Yep. Looks like I'm going to be an ex-RVer real soon now.

My brother is buying a place for me to live. It'll also be an investment for him and a place to stay when he comes to visit. It's a .21 acre piece of land with a small, fairly new,  mobile home on it. We're in the contract's due diligence period right now and should close by the end of February.

If all goes well, we'll put a 2nd mobile on it and rent it out for a little income. There are, of course, some issues that have to be resolved (surprise surprise).

When I get fully moved in, I'll put the rig up for sale. It's been my fulltime home since March 2008 (six years! in 100sf!) so I'll be sad to see it go, but it's not likely I'll be on the road again so it doesn't make sense to keep it.

We've been "enjoying" the polar vortex here in western NC but had nothing like the nightmare they had in Atlanta. I mean we had the same amount of snow but seemed to handle it way better. Of course, we're more used to it than they are, but still! Why didn't those people just take the next exit and get off the freeway? Humpf.

Got a few things to do to the car -- valve cover gasket, power steering pump, but it's basically been a good car so far.

I'm going to try to have a space where my RV friends can stay, if they're coming through here. Let's stay in touch.

UPDATE: just deleted a religious fanatic's comment about "dying in my sins." Fine by me.

RIP

Run Run Shaw died yesterday. If you're a fan of early kung fu flicks, you know who I mean. Here's a link to an article on Buzzfeed:

http://www.buzzfeed.com/johnstanton/zen-and-the-art-of-run-run-shaw