A Definite Maybe

Chick-Fil-A @ 3101 Capital Cir NE in Tallahassee, FL has the most kick ass service I have ever experienced at a fast food restaurant.  I don’t know if there was a shift in management or if they’re trying to make sure customers stay loyal (amidst this economic turmoil), but the service is outstanding.  This has been the case the past four or five times I’ve visited.

More coming soon!  I’ve been busy traveling and working so I will have a few things to blog about shortly.

So, I just purchased my first home.  While I don’t live in a million dollar home, making this leap at the tender age of 23 was pretty significant to me.  When I go home everyday, I have a feeling of some kind of accomplishment, sort of like a reward in life for reaching the next chapter.  I consider it comparable to getting married.  Even though I will not be in the house for an extended period, it still feels great!

However, throughout the entire home purchase process, I was always wondering why a real estate agent was present.  This person was literally holding my hand on a bunch of things that I could do by myself.  Since the agent is used by both the buyer and the seller, I will break this article into two parts, the buyer section and the seller section.

For the seller:
A real estate agent basically gets paid to fill out a bunch of paper work for you.  So you’re paying a shitload of money to get someone to do something that you already know how to do.  If you can read & write, or walk & chew bubble at the same time, then you do not need to get involved with a real estate agent.  This will save a ton of money for the closing costs and eliminate up to 6% (or more!) of what you would be paying to the agent. Real estate agents are kind of like those annoying sales persons you see in a retail furniture store.  They love to play with financing numbers to make it seem like you’re getting more for less.  What does this mean?  When you see a small number like 6% commission on a home closing for an agent, you’re probably thinking, “Wow, that leaves me with 94%!!”  In elementary school, 94% might be an A or an Excellent sticker, but in the real world it represents $12,000 lost on a potential $200,000 house.  Think about that.  Do you have $12,000 to just give away for a week of work?  Gosh, I wish I could afford to pay someone $300/hr to read and write for me!

Also, you’re probably thinking, “If I don’t have a real estate agent, how will I advertise my home?!”.  This is very simple.  There are 238497 free home guides online that will allow you to submit your home, a description, and several photos.  But, DON’T be the asshole who only puts a text description with no pictures.  This just tells me you’re hiding something or you’re about to waste my time.  Have you ever shopped for something online that costs $100,000 with no pictures?  Start with Craigslist or Oodle.  MILLIONS of people look at these sites.

For the buyer: 
A real estate agent will NOT go out of his or her way to negotiate the best deal for you.  The higher the price of the home, the more commission the agent will make. Plain and simple. I don’t know a single person on this planet who wants to voluntarily give you money.

Also, on a side note, be careful when you are viewing advertisements online for houses as well.  Another predator to watch out for are the “home flippers”.  These are the people who fix up old busted houses by adding new appliances, etc.  The BIGGEST red flag for these are the kitchen advertisements.  Be aware if you see a house with 10 pictures total with more than four being different angles of the kitchen.  It’s a known fact that most buyers are dumb enough to buy a house based on the looks of the kitchen alone.  Basically, if you see a house that was built in 1965 with brand new stainless steel appliances listing for nearly the same price as a similar brand new home in the same neighborhood, think twice before you get ripped off.  This is the same thing as a polished turd that increases in value.

In conclusion, we as buyers and sellers need to take advantage of our free market.  There is no need to have some middleman have a hand in a place where it does not belong.  Let these people (realtors) find other careers where they can contribute something better to society.  Laissez faire.

This is the worst place I’ve dined at in Tallahassee, Florida.  To be fair, I have only eaten here once for a birthday party so this could be an isolated incident.

It is very difficult to write a review for a place where I can’t describe a positive aspect of the dining experience.  This is, however, one of those reviews.

First, the service was bad.  Really bad.  The waitress was missing for twenty minute intervals.  Second, the food was terrible.  Third, the dessert was horrible.  This is one of the first times that I have ever had ice cream that tasted bad.  Has anyone else had nasty ice cream before?
One star.  (max five.)

The Happening sucks.  I can sum up the plot with the following sentence:  a bunch of people start walking backwards, and then they die.   If you read the previous sentence, I just saved you about nine or ten dollars.  Also, if any other critic online gives this movie a rating of >1 star, then you will know that person is full of shit.

What was really annoying about this movie were the multitudinous unnecessary elements that were constantly being introduced (i.e. crazy old woman with doll in bedroom, the guy calling Alma’s phone, etc.).  It is almost as if M.N.S. put a bunch of nouns in a Santa hat and drew them out to fill the boring plot.

Basically, this movie is like paying for an expensive nap, and the only other thing I regret after seeing it is that I didn’t have a third thumb to give this crap three thumbs down.

This entry is not meant to be some life lesson or lecture, but it is merely my opinion and thoughts on honesty.

Heights, snakes, and distrust are my biggest fears in life. I left radical fundamentalists off this time. Given the past situation I just got out of, nothing makes me more uncomfortable than being around a person who is not genuine. Whenever someone blatantly misleads me and others, I clearly see the same person that I’m glad that I will never have to see again. Whether it be something important or minuscule, lying just makes things so unnecessarily complicated with regards to friendships, relationships, conversations, etc. It just adds to the insecurity of others around us. Nothing is more frustrating than having a person portray conflicting accounts of a single situation. It’s the hardest thing to forgive, and it’s just something I don’t have to put up with anymore.

The way I grew up, I was always taught that credence is an aspect that is demonstrated and earned by a person. So with that said, it is pretty much impossible for me to blindly trust a person that I have not known for a long time. Some people have told me that this is not a good ideology to follow, but it is what continually works for me.

Granted, no one tells the truth one hundred percent of the time, I do not believe it is too much to ask of a person to at least try to be consistently accurate in their accounts. On the bright side, I do have the option to select the people I associate myself with, and that is the only way I can combat a situations like that.

In closing, the fastest way to lose our good character is to lose our honesty and trust. I may not be able to trust everyone, but I can always trust a dishonest person to be untrustworthy.

Texas de Brazil is a Brazilian churrascaria, and it is currently my favorite restaurant among the hundreds of places I have dined. While dining there, you can expect a wide assortment of meats including filet mignon, shrimp, salmon, parmesan chicken, churrasco, the coveted Picanha, Brazilian sausage.

For the vegetarians, there is a huge salad bar with a large variety of choices which usually includes black beans, rice, sauteed mushrooms, lobster bisque, and other sides that I cannot remember off the top of my head (mainly because I don’t like salad).

The service at TdB is top notch and what you would expect from a tablecloth restaurant of this caliber.

With a decent champagne selection, the tab is usually around $250 with gratuity automatically added.

Five stars. (max five.)

If there’s one place in Tallahassee that I had to pleasure to dine at, it’s Good Time Charlie’s. While Good Time Charlie’s wasn’t a “tablecloth” restaurant, the food was absolutely amazing. The menu was entirely Creole so most of the dishes had quite a bit of “kick”.

I ordered the red beans and rice, sausage, & swamp stew.  The date ordered the blackened chicken w/ rice, swamp stew, & beignets.  Checks were rarely above $30 not including tip.

This was the place to write home about if you love New Orleans cuisine or Creole cuisine.  It has since been replaced by the Black Bean Cafe.

Four stars. (max five.)

Kool Beanz has it going on.  This place can be summed up with two words:  eclectic and delicious.  The food presentation was above average, food was tasty, and the waiter/waitress responsive.  I was also very impressed with the generous portions they served.

I ordered the Pork w/ spring greens & mango sauce.  The date ordered the tortilla crusted chicken.  Both were fantastic.   Expense was just above $75 without tip & including wine.  This is probably my favorite place to dine in Tallahassee ever since Good Time Charlie’s closed.

Four stars.   (max five.)

I just remembered that I’m supposed to be writing some short restaurant reviews. I’m posting this now so I won’t forget tomorrow.