Condo update

I met the RE agent today to pick out my finishes for the condo. I took my friend CL with me just to have a second pair of eyes and ears in case I forgot anything.

I was very happy to see that the colours/style I had envisioned for my kitchen were available. It's a shaker-style cabinet in kind of teak colour (medium orangey-brown) with brushes "stainless" knobs. I ugraded the cabinets to solid wood because it wasn't that expensive. I also bit the bullet and upgraded to the stainless steel appliance package. The countertops are laminate (I just don't have the budget for granite), but they are simulated slate, so it's got some of the warm brown of the cabinets, plus some darker/lighter brown, green and rust.

But then he says that the only colour option for the kitchen floor tiles is WHITE! White?? That's just wrong! He suggested that he was going to ask the builder if we could buy our own tiles and have them install them for us. I want a slate-looking floor, so I really would prefer to buy them myself. I hope he goes for it. I also hope he goes for the proposition of allowing us to include the upgrades in the purchase price and not have to pay cash for them.

On the way home, CL and I went by the site to check the place out since I wasn't able to get pictures yesterday because the crew was working. There was a gap in the gate, so we walked right onto the site and took pictures close up. As we were leaving, I spotted a door open. Hmmm, that was just so tempting, so despite the large "No Tresspassing" sign outside, we went in. I could faintly hear voices inside, but I forged ahead anyway. I walked into the unit that would be right below mine to get a feeling for it. It looked AMAZING! The floors and walls are still concrete and there's nothing in there yet, but it was great to just get a feeling for the space.

As we were walking out I spotted a staircase going up. I couldn't resists, so we climbed the stairs to my level to scope that out. Again, we could hear voices, but we figured if someone sees us they could just ask us to leave - no harm done. I went into my own unit and took a bunch of photos. I even went upstairs and checked out the loft space.

This is going to be SO COOL!!! Although I'm disappointed that I won't be in for Cripsmas, I'm still getting really excited about it and looking forward to moving in.

*****

In other news, I did something yesterday that I haven't done in weeks: I went swimming!! I haven't been to the pool since my clinic a few weeks ago and it felt really good. I was the fastest person in the fast lane, which is always a good ego-boost (yet a pain in the ass when I have to keep passing people). I swam 1800m in 36 minutes. Not a record-setting time, but I did do some kicking drills, which are very slow. My 400m set was 7:50, so I was very happy with that!

I also rode my bike on Saturday morning for about an hour while watching the Ironman World Championships from last year. This year's race was on TV in the afternoon, so I was just watching last year's race as a warm-up. I really shouldn't watch those shows when I have PMS because I just bawl like a baby from all the human interest stories (and there were plenty this year, too). If you've never seen it, it's quite amazing and inspiring.

Today, I went for a run with Run Club and we did 12K in 1:20. It was pretty warm (10-12C) and the rain held off, which was great. My hamstrings are a bit sore still from the race last week so I didn't do so well on the uphills (owie!).