So update on a few things:

Walkersville house: Apparently, my agent and I had a misunderstanding about the cost of radon mitigation. I thought he estimated the costs as $400 for a passive system and $900 for an active system. Turns out though, what he meant was $400 to upgrade to an active system if there’s a passive system already installed… but there isn’t. So that’s fine. Radon is a legit environmental health concern, so we upped the buyer credit some more. The buyers accepted, and we’re onto the next step. Whew!

Companion Pass: Seeing as I was still short a flight, I booked that same day roundtrip to Burbank for $112. But the next day, I figured I would CYA once more and call Southwest to confirm that after this Burbank trip, I’m gonna get the pass for sure, right??? Well, I spent about 30 min on the phone with an agent and her manager: they both insisted that indeed Reno was the last flight I needed. Back and forth. They are unable to provide paperwork or email confirming this. To be honest, the problem seems to be inconsistent fine print posted to various places. Regardless, from what I read in the super detailed fine print, “bookings made before the promo period are ineligible.” So even though these people told me what I wanted to hear, I think they are wrong and I’m not taking any chances.

Rover: Very late on Thursday night (11:35p to be exact), I received a Rover request for the very next day. Given the last minute nature, I assumed this was urgent and dire. I accepted boarding for a 2.5-y/o American Eskimo. I looked through her profile and pretty much no care/vet instructions. The owner was super grateful and when I expressed concerns about age difference with Marty, she didn’t really reply. At worst, I figured I could just keep them separate. So the owner came by after work on Friday and she was in a hurry, so much so that she didn’t want to see the yard or the park. She also didn’t bring the dog’s food or bed. Just a leash/harness, a bone (“I’ll leave this and she hasn’t chewed up anything in a long time”), and a bag of treats. Um, ok. All is fine, Lemon (named after the citrus) is a sweet young pup. At bedtime, we go to sleep and she stays out in the living room. Ok, whatever. Sometimes dogs prefer to wait near the door. Then, in the middle of the night, I wake up to go to the kitchen and I see chewed up rubber nubbies all over the carpet (the door stop). Throughout the night, she comes in the bedroom and I wake up to let Lemon and Marty outside. It’s a restless night. By morning, John gets up and let’s them both out. Then, he goes out to get coffee. I try to sleep in. I hear some crying and then when I go into the living room, Lemon is on the sofa, sitting on top of my Lululemon jacket. As I get closer, I see that she has chewed off the bottom half of the zipper. I think she ingested some of the zipper teeth even. Ugh! WTF?!?! I email her owner saying I think she ingested but I think she’ll poop it out and be fine. Can take to vet if you want. No reply pretty much all day. Later, I notice too that Lemon has chewed through her harness. So now I’m kinda pissed. I mean, she IS young, and this is one of the reasons why I specify dogs over 10 y/o. But I dunno: without any additional instructions/warnings from her owner, I thought Lemon would be easy. It’s fine: not the end of the world. My local dry cleaner says $40 for a new zipper, and fortunately, the owner agreed to pay. But shit, this also gives me a new appreciation for owners who bring their own crates and all that other equipment for when their dogs are left unattended. I mean, in this case, I was home, but after discovering her penchant for chewing, the crate would have allowed me to leave the house at least. Next time, I need to still insist on a thorough screening process… no cutting corners.

What else. I have been studying my real estate for a few hours every day. I did great on Exam 1 – definitions. Awful on exam 2 – prelim. I find the questions so confusingly worded, to be honest. So today was discouraging, but I just have to keep plugging. We’re off to Tahoe and back this week. Hope Marty does ok with the new sitter and her little mutt Cricket.