I'm Eating the Pistachios Anyway!

As part of a string of errands yesterday, Audrey and I went to Sarkis Pastry in Glendale for some good old fashioned Armenian paklava (Baklava to non-Armenians). Armenian paklava is made with a sugar syrup not honey, so it has a different flavor than the typical store bought baklava.

I was never a huge fan of paklava (or baklava) growing up, but later figured out it was the walnuts I didn't like. Fortunately, Armenian bakeries make various types of paklava, including almond and cashew filled ones. Now that I know which ones to get, I enjoy going to Sarkis Pastry (the only place I buy paklava) and getting my four favorite types.

I thought it would be interesting for Audrey to tag along and see how it all works. She seemed to enjoy the experience and even got a small box filled with about seven pieces to take home. I purchased two boxes. One for tea with a friend in the morning. The other for Andrew to take to work. Audrey and I bought one cream filled phyllo triangle to share right then and there. All the paklava got an extra sprinkling of pistachio on top after it was packaged, and the cream filled pastry got a drizzle of syrup with pistachio sprinkles. Audrey and I devoured our phyllo pastry as soon as we got back to the car. It was delicious, and we were hungry. After getting home and getting settled, I discovered my friend wasn't going to be able to make it to tea in the morning after all. I was a little disappointed that I wouldn't be seeing her, but at least, there's paklava. I had one piece yesterday evening and another piece in the morning.

When Audrey came to work in the morning, she asked me if I had seen the news and heard about the pistachio recall. Well, I don't watch the news, so I hadn't heard anything. It turns out Salmonella was found in some pistachios traced back to a giant plant in California, and the FDA is asking people not to eat pistachios until further notice. Since we both had eaten the paklava and weren't sick, we figured our pistachios were probably safe to eat. Just as a precaution, I called and notified Andrew of the recall.

I rarely get paklava, so it's unfortunate the pistachio recall had to happen now. I think for the most part it will be alright. I'll keep the paklava away from anyone with a compromised immune system and warn those wanting some of the risks. I just had another piece paklava and am pretty certain it's worth the minuscule risk of getting salmonella poisoning (at least for me).

Sign of the Times

Yesterday, as Audrey and I were showing property to a client, my cell phone rang. Normally, I don't answer my cell phone when I'm with a client, but this was different. The caller and the client to whom we were currently showing property know each other. I said, "Hey, it's Jason. I wonder why he's calling."

Jason is a friend and a client. He purchased a lovely home in a nice pocket of North Hollywood. As soon as Jason started talking, it was clear he was not in as jovial a mood as the rest of us. He seemed a little anxious, so I knew something was wrong. He had an issue and he wasn't sure what to do about it, so he decided to call me, a local friend and his real estate agent. There was a beat up designer gym bag on his front stoop when he went out to get the mail that day. My first thought was if he felt comfortable opening it, he would have done so already and not called me. I said, "Call the police."

Jason seemed a little shocked by my immediate and direct advice. I told him not to call 911 or anything like that. Instead, I advised him to look in his yellow pages and call his local police station. I figured he could ask them for advice on what to do. I then asked him to keep me posted. Well, the police came, called the bomb squad, and evacuated some houses around the neighborhood. You can read Jason's account of events on his blog.


I got the sense that Jason felt a little silly about all the hoopla he caused, especially since it turned out there was no nefarious intent and the bag was probably dumped by a transient. It's important to note the police called the bomb squad after coming out and determining they did not want to attempt to open the bag themselves. If the police wouldn't touch the bag, it's a good thing Jason didn't either.

All in all, it was a exciting AND productive day yesterday. In addition to Jason's bomb squad adventure, we also wrote an offer (which looks quite promising) for our client.

UPDATE: It turns out the bag had some shoes in it that were dropped off at the wrong address by a shoe repair person. A man knocked on Jason's door late the next evening looking for the bag. Jason, who was still a little shaken up by the previous day's events, initially told him that he had not seen a bag. When the the man insisted, Jason said he would look to see if his gardeners had thrown it out. The shoes were retrieved from the trash and returned to the shoe repair guy.

Week One

Andrew's been back at work for a couple weeks now, and the first episode is due to air this coming Wednesday. It's difficult to go from seeing him 24/7 to not having him around at all. On the bright side, we spend less on groceries, and I get to lose some of those extra hiatus pounds I put on. Andrew tends to be a little grumpy during the run, so I try to stay out of his way as much as possible. In a few short weeks it will all be over. Andrew will be allotted one week recuperation time. Then, it's off to the gym and hiking and anything else I can squeeze in. Those extra hiatus pounds are not welcome anymore!

Things Are Moving Along

Audrey and me on my wedding day!

It's been almost two weeks since my friend and former co-worker, Audrey Rainbolt, starting working with me in my real estate business. It was a good time for her to start. We currently have three clients to whom we are showing properties. Plus, we have several strong prospects who can turn into clients at any moment.

Most people don't realize the amount of work that goes into a real estate transaction from start to finish. It's going to be nice to have some help, especially from someone like Audrey. We have slightly different strengths and complement each other very well. I'm so excited she actually LOVES to organize the office and set up files. I'm sure she's happy that I can store all kinds of little details in my brain so she doesn't have to.

Audrey is well on her way to becoming a full fledged partner. She'll be taking her real estate exam this month and might have her license as early as next month. Until then, she's learning the ropes by assisting me. Now, we just need a catchy team name with an available URL. We are real estate agents after all. Any ideas?