It’d be great if I could snap my fingers and have my place organized. Papers are everywhere!

On the dad front, we’ve picked a lawyer. He’s an acquaintance of the family and went to school with my uncle. My mom’s financial advisor  (who also went to school with my uncle and this lawyer) says he’s very thorough and very knowledgeable. My parents have used his services for other things. So, I trust him.

My dad’s friend and my mom had a telephone conversation. The friend is actually a friend of my mom’s friend’s sister. She asked the mutual acquaintances to pass along the message that she wanted to talk to my mom, so my mom called her. The friend was afraid that my mom hated her. She just talked about my dad and how his life was before he passed away. It sounded like my dad hadn’t changed much over the years…didn’t care too much about his health (no exercise and lots of bad eating), was still really depressed, and raged when he didn’t get his way. She said she had left my dad several times. My dad went to be complaining of a headache and never woke up. She says she doesn’t want to live in my dad’s place when she comes back to Canada and she says she will help in whatever way to deal with my dad’s Chinese property better.

On the Vegas front, we’ve booked a hotel but no flight yet. US Airways keeps hanging up on us whenever we tell them we want to book a trip using a credit.

On the Hong Kong front, I need to pack some more. I almost forgot to grab a pair of dress shoes for my dad. I wonder where he keeps them…or if he really had any. He had the most horrid ties in his closet, too. I will also have to contend with lugging around a big box of stuff from the airport to my hotel to my aunt’s place. Too bad I can’t attach temporary wheels to the box!!

On the leaky condo front, compensation is still stalled. The developers were willing to give us money but they hadn’t agreed on the amounts. They were wanting to give us 25% of what we paid and top off the amounts after TBD milestones. The developers’ insurance company would be the one covering these costs. However, their insurance company is now going through their own legal matters, and what happens to us will depend on the decision in their case. This case will even set a precedent. Basically, their case is about insurance companies having to pay for developers’ claims in situations like mine.

Also, I was really relieved last night to find something I had signed before I purchased my place. I need that document in case the developers say they will pay only those with that signed document.

On the job front, I am still hoping they terminate me right after I give them my notice although I will not like missing a week or two’s worth of pay. I think we may be getting our bonuses while I’m away. I just want that extra time off. At our weekly team meeting this morning, my boss gave us the reasons why they terminated my coworker who gave his notice. They thought it was in the best interest of the company and the team to let him go to show that not finishing tasks on time is unacceptable. They told him he had not been performing the last two weeks because he needed more time to finish his tasks. Also, they figured his heart wouldn’t be into doing his current work knowing that he was going to another company.

By the time I return, I will have been away from the office for 3 weeks, which makes me think they will tell me I have not been performing up to their standards because of my absence. And they will probably bring up that I surf at work too much. And of course the face that I am a month ahead of schedule right now won’t make a difference!