Trey's Blog: October 2007

Earlier this week I talked about my African grey parrot, Peepers, and a feather plucking problem.  I have followed everyone's advice on Active Rain, and say THANKS!  Well today was interesting. I am trying to spend extra time with Peepers to take his bird brain off of plucking. So while cooking breakfast I let him sit on my shoulder and we visited about peanuts and things parrots like. The phone rang and I answered it.  Peepers was on my left shoulder and the phone on my right with me cooking.  I don't know if the bird was jealous of me talking to someone else or not, but he decided to grab on to my ear with his beak. 

I hollered " Oh  S__T !  Get off of me!"  The customer on the phone probably thought I meant him. I finally asked the customer to hold while I dealt with a Bad Bird. Everything worked out with the customer. Peepers is another story. Later today I was cleaning his cage and the bird blurted out plain as day " Oh S__t  ! Get off of me!"  I know I have now created a monster. Well, we made up and are buds again, but I swear each day is a new and fun adventure with Peepers.

Isn't it amazing how you can "feel" when someone is not telling you the truth. I believe our creator put this sixth sense "the lie detector gene" in all of us and that this sense is actually more accurate than the man-made lie detectors.    For some reason after the 90's there seemed to be this evolution in regards to honesty. That bothers me. My Dad used to have a test whenever he hired someone.  He would ask : "on a one to ten scale how honest are you?"  If the reply was anything but ten, he didn't hire them. Recently I told an idividual this story. She began her work career in the 90's.  She replied" Well I would hire someone who said eight or nine,  over someone who said ten. A ten is probably lying" She didn't get it....The eight and nines are already liars admittedly so.   My sixth sense says this test bothered her because she knew she would fail. When it comes to lying you either are, or you aren't. In reality the 1 to 10 doesn't matter at all.   Here are a few great quotes:

The truth will make you free, but first it will make you miserable----Jim Davis

When in doubt, tell the truth. --Mark Twain

There is nothing more frightening than active ignorance. --Goethe

Sometimes the majority only means that all the fools are on the same side.--unknown

Once your soul has been enlarged by a truth, it can never return to its original size. --Blaise Pascal

Men hate those to whom they have to lie-- Victor Hugo

A lie told often enough becomes the truth.-- Lenin

There are two ways to be fooled.: One is to believe what isn't so; the other is refuse to believe what is so.--Soren Kierkegaard

All truth passes through three stages. First it is ridiculed.  Second it is violently opposed. Third it is accepted as being self evident--Arthur Schopenhauer.

                     My favorite:

Every truth must be accomanied by some corresponding act. --George MacDonald

I love my job! Everyday is like a new adventure.   Early this morning I went out to put a sign on a new listing in the country.  When I got fiinished I looked behind the car and a donkey had parked himself. I started backing up and he refused to budge.   I finally was able to manipulate the car to get around him.  As I was driving to town I was thinking about how lucky we are as agents.  We see so much: cool homes, pretty scenic ranches, and sometimes donkeys or other neat wildlife..   We effect and impact so many lives.  We help first time fearful buyers realize a dream, we help our seniors phase out of one lifestyle into another, and we get to help a few souls get literally materially rich.  And we make a whole lot of friends along the way, including our fellow Realtors and vendors we work with.  Yep. I am really grateful for my job.

There is a proper time to use cell phones and a proper time to use land lines, regular phones.   Don't use a cell phone when you are negotiating earnest money contracts. It can be dangerous. It can be embaressing.  And it can be downright irritating.  Isn't it frustrating when you get a call from an agent that goes like this :

"I have a client who wants to offer a zillion dollars on your home at......"  (line goes dead)

They call back 30 seconds later:

"Hey Trey,  Sorry I was in a hole in the valley ha ha ha..... ..."        (line goes dead again)

They call back again:

"Ha Ha these darn things...let'see, we want to offer.......dollars on the ........do you think the seller will go for it?

 Then you say:

  " Was that a zillion or a billion?  Which property again?

These kinds of conversations eat up thousands of minutes in air time a day.  What a waste of batteries and breath.  It reminds me of when I first learned to water ski.  You get in the water and don't know what you are doing .  The boat driver hollars "are you ready!"  You yell back No!  He thinks you said go! so he yanks your arms out of the sockets because you really weren't ready.

I know everybody is in a hurry these days.  If it doesn't happen in 5 seconds our computer tech goes ballistic. Patience grasshopper. Pull over to the side of the road. Get a clear signal or get a land line. Get the negotiations right .

Some years back in the pre- PC era of real estate, I hurriedly typed up some brochures on an upscale home,  to distribute to agents through our local MLS.  This home featured an outstanding array of features for that time period, including an elegant formal bath with a jacuzzi tub, separate shower, etc.  Well as stated, this was the pre-PC era.  We did have pretty intelligent  word processor typewriters however. Ours had this little screen, and a rudimentary spell check program also.  Anyway we hurriedly typed up the information sheets to get them out to all the local offices in time for the next Realtor tour (caravan).  Well all went well until the next day when I started getting strange calls from agents. Here is what a few of those callers said:

"Hey Trey I loved the home, but where is the Jackass?  He wasn't where he was supposed to be." 

"Trey, what color is this animal, I can't find it?"

"Trey, is it color coordinated with the bathroom."

"Trey, is it male or female?"

"Trey, is the owner leaving her husband with the home or what?

All the calls were followed by laughter.

Well after a while someone told me what all the craziness was about... When we typed up the flier and hit spell check  the machine substituted JACKASS somehow for JACUZZI  and we never caught it until several hundred fliers had been distributed.

Oh yes when I hit spell check on this document tonight I had no less that 8 errors. I am gettin better.