Day 211

Ive got a lot of good stuff for you so lets start off with the most important. THE CONDO HAS BEEN SOLD!!! Yes, it is true. Exactly one week with the new realtor, we got an offer. We countered and they accepted. The buyer is a single guy with a part-time realtor, who obviously didn't do their homework, because the could have squeezed more out if us probably. Either way, we are thrilled. I've got to give my guy some props - Anyone who is a home owner in the city of Chicago and looking to sell, use Phil Byers. The guy is a miracle worker. He told us he'd sell right away and he came through. We actually had two more second showings scheduled after the offer was made. The whole thing is unreal. We are closing in mid-January. Only one more month of double mortgage. It feels like the 8000 pound gorilla has been lifted off my back. So what do you all think - should I call our old Realtors and tell them it took them one whole week to sell our place, the same place they had for 5 months and didn't get one offer? Those two frauds need to be exposed. All they did was give us excuses. I'm actually glad they didn't sell it - they don't deserve the money. The photo attached is of my lawyer representing us in the closing. Also known as Grundel.

I was out in LA for work last Thursday and Friday. It turned out that I was able to have dinner and drinks with friends Thursday night. It was a long day to say the least, but I was able to catch my second wind. I loved Chicago and could see how people live there. LA - I don't get. Great place to visit, but talk about a city that is spread out and tough to get around. My meetings were in Downey, which was 23 miles away from where I was meeting Fritzer Friedman himself. The Browns were playing the Steelers Thursday night at 5 PM PST. I knew there would be traffic and would miss some of the game as my meeting let out around 5:15. I had Sirius radio in my rental car so I was able to listen to the game. It literally took my an hour and 45 minutes to go 23 miles. I arrived in the third quarter. Luckily, I had Sirius to get me through the drive and believe it or not, I remained pretty calm. Nothing I could do, but that traffic was horrible. Another old friend from high school, Billy, who I hadn't seen in a few years, met us. He was my old doubles partner on the Tennis team and a good friend of mine. It was great to hang with him again. The three of us, met my friend Beej for dinner at Koi. Koi is a big time celeb hangout that you always see on these gossip websites. Beej's wife Megan is #2 there, so with a phone call, we were right in. Rick Fox, former NBA player, walked out as we walked in. As we were waiting for our table, Jamie Foxx walked right passed us. Sitting at his table later in the evening when we were there was the great K-Fed, Fed-Ex, Kevin Federline. David Spade was also spotted by Billy outside. As for the food, this place gets a ton of hype and I will say it lived up to all of it. Beej and Fritzer both eat there regularly, so they ordered for the table. Everything they brought out was amazing. Clearly the best Sushi I've ever had. Megan hooked us up as well with a bunch of sampler teasers and deserts as well. It was solid. Great dining experience over all. Great food, great company. As great as the short trip was, flying back from the west coast is a chore. It literally wastes a full day. I left LA at 7 AM and arrived in C-Town at 5 PM.

Friday night, we took it easy and grabbed some Geraci's pizza and went shopping for our niece and nephew's Hanukkah gifts. Saturday, our friend Jen was in town so we went to brunch with her and then hung out at the house. I had my eye on another pathetic performance from my Jayhawks who sleep-walked through another win against Toledo. It was great to see Jen as always. Saturday night we went on a triple date with the Miller's and Abrams. We went to this new Mexican restaurant in Ohio City. The food was C-. The drinks however were flowing. Both couples have two kids each and were definitely taking advantage of their night out. We all got pretty wasted and luckily we had a designated river in Leah, because we definitely needed one.

My crazy month of December roles on as I am leaving for St. Louis in about an hour. I will be at the Bears/Rams game tonight. Should be a good time. My live sports schedule in the last 10 days has been legit - KU/Depaul in Chicago last Saturday, Chiefs/Browns last Sunday, Thrashers/Maple Leafs hockey game in Toronto Tuesday, and Bears/Rams tonight. Solid.

In a sad note, there was another shooting in Chicago last week where unfortunately, someone we know suffered a tragedy. For the second time in three months, a girl we went to school with, Annette, lost her father in a shooting in a downtown Chicago office building. It was a disgruntled former client of this law firm who came in and started shooting. Nice world we love in. My deepest sympathies go out to Annette and her family.

Song of the Day: "To Live and Die in LA" by 2PAC