An update on life.... after realizing my company was in some serious trouble, they managed to stay in business until June. When June came around they came to realize they were no longer able to commit to any sort of time frame on constructing homes and they were better off "temporarily" closing the sales offices. Admittedly, I held some hope they would come around and open back up, but as the months go by, I feel less and less confident they can turn the business around. At this time, it is my understanding they are still fighting with the banks to work out a deal and continue building. We are seeing a change in heart and more flexibility with the banks on the resale end, maybe a little bit of that will trickle down to this builder.

Realizing I couldn't sit around forever and wait for Element to turn around, I began to focus my energy and time into the resale market. I quickly picked up a client and got back in the groove of resale. To say resale is rough in the market is an understatement. These were first time buyers dealing with some of the most complicated and constantly evolving loan requirements we have seen in years. On top of that, they placed 8 full price offers on homes, were haggled on each one, and lost every offer until the last one accepted. Its not pretty out there.

While working with these clients I came to realize I have a passion for working with home buyers especially first time buyers. There is something about taking the time to get to know the buyer, and educate them on what is involved with buying a home that is enjoyable and rewarding. As began to get back into the resale side, I started remembering the oddity of this industry. With real estate, in most instances, if not all, you work with a Realtor who is working on their own. Maybe they have an assistant or they are part of a team, but one way or another the client only deals with that one individual. Personally, it never seemed logical. Maybe it is my education and experience in the corporate world, but I always felt the buyer would have a better experience if they were able to work with a company and a fluid team of Realtors. This way their questions could always be answered, they wouldn't have to worry about finding time in their Realtor's schedule to make an appointment or preview homes, they would be able to find a Realtor at anytime. Its is a unique way of looking at the industry. In my discussions with agents and home buyers, I have found a strong resistance from the Realtors, they think it takes away from what real estate is and.... ohh yeah, they didn't have much else to say except they didn't like the idea. The home buyers on the other hand really liked the idea.

And with that, I have started a new company, focusing heavily on buyers and being a resource to their needs. A couple weeks ago, we launched our website. Its a blog style site that is already loaded with great information for home buyers, sellers and owners. While it is focused towards Arizona real estate, it includes countless articles on market overviews, real estate news, mortgage news, home buyer tips, inspections, home warranties, loan officers, loan programs, the purchase contract, all contract forms, realtor qualifications, and statistics on Gilbert, Chandler, Mesa, Tempe, Queen Creek, Maricopa, Gold Canyon, Scottsdale, Phoenix, Casa Grande, Coolidge, Fountain Hills, Peroria, Cave Creek, Anthem, Glendale, Avondale, Laveen and Arizona as a whole. Here is a screen shot, I have no doubts this will be outdated in a matter of weeks, but I think it will be fun to come back to this post and remember how it all started. Here is the address: www.flinskrealestate.com

Aoy Mates!

So my x-mas was interesting... I went to a fellow manager's house for
dinner. It was great to meet his wife, kid and a few friends.... for
some reason i didn't think much about being the outsider, since the
family was somewhat american and i will soon be working with manager
at his store soon. Nevertheless, i have never met the family, and
hardly know the manager.

what i found wierd was the quiet japanese girl that came along as
well.... at first i thought she might be a coworker, or a friend of
the family, but i was wrong. She was a customer that walked into the
store that very morning. As she ordered her drink the manager asked
her what she was doing that day, and she said she had nothing planned,
because her family didn't live here and because she was traveling
around without friends. Instantly an invitation was offered for the
girl to come to dinner with the rest of the family... and thats how
the sweet japanese girl came to x-mas dinner.

She didn't speak or understand a lot of english, but that didn't keep
her from being part of the family, and joining in with the movies,
games, and festival.

The food was amazing, the endless supply of red wine was heavenly, and
the company was some of the best. It was a great x-mas in New Zealand,
one that truely reminded me of the Kiwi hospitality i heard so much
about before coming over here.

... and then i got up and worked a 12hr day the day after... good old
starbucks :)

How was everyone else's x-mas?

Marcus

If you plan on coming to New Zealand be prepared to answer these questions...
Category: Blogging

If you come to New Zealand be prepared to answer these five quesitons
and probably in this order...

1. Are you American?!!! - good guess dumbass, was it the accent that
gave me away? By the way, was that a question or just a statement said
SO loud that the rest of the room could hear the announcement?

2. Where are you from? - the country is so damn big, that if i told
you what state i'm from you'd just nod your head anyways and assume
you know where it is... and if you give two cents, then you'll
probably ask me if its next to california or texas... which brings you
to the next question.

3. What do you think of Bush? - by this time the entire room has been
silenced, as they want to know what the american has to say about
Bush... don't be stupid, there is only one answer to this question...
Bush is a fucking dumbass, plus or minus the fucking part, either way
its the quickest way to the next question.

4. Have you ever been to New York or California? - What are these, the
only two places on the earth? Come on people, you could fit 60 New
Zealands into America, and the two places you are interested in are
New York and California?! Give me a freakin break!

These next three questions are pretty much in either order, and often
are based on the level of intelligence of the poor kiwi you are
talking to.

5. What do you think of the war? - I already told you what i thought
of Bush isn't that enough? ... its never enough... ok fine, i think
the war is stupid, we may have achieved great things but who knows
just yet, yes its probably just daddy's vengenance, and don't you dare
ask me about Bin Landin! I personally don't have any opinion about the
war, but good luck telling that to a kiwi.

6. What's up with American Football? and why do they call the baseball
World Series, when only the states are involved? - Football is the
sissy, over regulated version of Rugby. and Baseball, well who the
hell knows, the game is far less boring than your stupid five day
cricket game, so why don't you start there.

7. Ever been to canada? - who the hell wants to go to canada? its
cold, canadians are a bit off their rocker, and they enjoy thier weed
a bit too much... not that i blame them for it... see canada is to us,
what australia is to them, and they want reassurance that they are not
the only other country in this world that has an odd love/hate
relationship with the big country next to them.

For those of you that finished this blog, congrats. As you can see i'm
just blowing off some steam from the kiwis that i just met on the bus.
And well i guess i'm rather tired of the same 5questions being asked
everytime someone picks up on the accent. Its 12:30am here, and i
gotta be up for work in about 6hrs so i'm off to catch a taxi home.

Can't wait to come home to the states!


















Coming Home
Current mood: anxious

Alright, so i've talked about it a ton of times, i've considered it
even more frequently and now its finally going to happen... i'm coming
home people!

I gave my one month notice at work on Tuesday and that begins the
plans for my departure. Feb 28th will be my last day at work. March
1st I will celebrate my birthday, a coworker's b-day and my final day
at work with an all out party. This is becuase the coworker turns 18
and that's same as the big 21 in the states. After that i am giving
myself one week to travel around a bit and spend some of the money i
have. Since it pretty much dissolves into nothing when you convert it
into US currency, i'm doing all i can to get ride of it before i
leave. :)

Wednesday March 8th begins the journey home. I will be taking a 12hr
train ride through the beautiful country side of the north island.
then i'll hope onto an 11pm plane to LAX... and from there back to
PHX. I am sure after 24hrs of traveling, i will be exhausted, but it
will be a great trip to take.

Upon arrival at home i'm going to take a week to just relax and enjoy
the ammentities that i have missed so much... things like american
television, the comfy home my folks have provided for the family, and
its time to catch up with all of my friends that i miss so much!

After resting and eating for a week, i'm going to Real Estate School.
This among other things has been on my list of things to do with my
free time, i just never thought i would turn it into a job. With
Karyn's help, once again, i hope this will become a successful venture
for me. I'll need a part-time job to bring in some cash. So i'm back
to teaching yoga, and i'm going to look into bartending.

and that marks the begining of my venture home... Whee!!!!






vacation
Category: Blogging

So here it is, 8pm on a Thursday night and my family is dead asleep!
Come on people! You're in a beautiful country and you fall asleep
watching TV at 8pm! You have got to be kidding me.

These guys wake my ass up every morning at 6am to get ready for a
6:30am breakfast. The problem is that New Zealand doesn't start
business till 9:30am. So what the heck am I supposed to do between 7am
and 9:30? I go back to bed is what I do, and the family pays for a
movie from the hotel, at 7am! What's wrong with this picture people?

Tomorrow we head off to Queenstown, the supposed adrenaline capital of
the world. And that's where I get to jump out of perfectly good
airplane, jump off some crazy ass bridge with a rubber band attached
to my ankle, and ride a hot-air balloon. What is this insane desire
that my sister has about risking her life? I just don't get it, but
supposedly I am going first... yippee...

New Zealand white wine is good….

Hello Everyone!

Well i've decided to push my time table up and come home early! On
March 8th I am going to take a beautiful train ride through the heart
of the north island. 12hrs of nothing but amazing views and solitude,
as the railway is far from any roads or cities. After the train ride
i'm jumping on the 12hr plane ride home. I managed to get a flight
home on one of the new and really comfy planes. Each seat has a tv
screen on the back, which allows you to watch your own movie, pausing
and stopping at any time. and for the kids out there (like myself) you
can play computer games!... yes mom, somethings just never change =)

With my last two weeks I've come up with a short list of things to do.
First, I must see a rugby game. its the crazy version of football and
all the rave in new zealand. I have tickets to a game on friday, and
all of the starbucks girls are taking me out! yay! Second, i must be
the first one in the world to see the sunrise. This little town just a
day's travel up north is the first place in the world to see the
sunrise and is supposed to be beautiful. Its the first place to see
the sunrise because it sits right on the time line. Third, I have to
go shopping for kiwi stuff! I'm not real sure what i am going to bring
home just yet, but i'm sure i'll come up with something.

So if anyone would like anything from New Zealand, let me know now!

When I come home, I'll be around for a couple of days and then I am
going up to Oregon to rebuild a fence at my Aunt's house... yes i
know, six months of vacation and then another week! After that I'm
going to real estate school and finding a part time job somewhere. Who
knows where. I'm open to ideas and suggestions!.... however anyone
suggesting starbucks will be punished... =)

I hope everyone is doing well! I miss you all and I am really looking
forward to coming home,

Marcus

Then there is sky diving...
i thought this was bound to be worse than bungy jumping. Laura was
sweet enough to pay for it (that was the only way i was going bungy
jumping... and sky diving was my highschool graduation gift...) Since
laura paid, we did the highest jump available... 15,000feet. ...

I had no idea what the distances meant, only that the higher the
distance the longer the fall.. and if your falling for 30secs, why not
fall for 60secs right? We showed up for the informational, sell you
more stuff meeting and sign "knowledge of consent" or something like
that... basically it wasn't a waiver, because you can't sue anyone in
New Zealand... it was pretty much a piece of paper stating "I realize
what i am doing is stupid, i could die, and i'm happy with that
choice... ohh yeah and i'm paying a ton of money for this
experience"... seriously, that's what you're signing, its no more than
a page long. But then comes the piece of paper for the 15,000feet
jump... little did i know that you get to suck on oxygen when you jump
this high. It sounds simple enough, but the list of precautions went
through the roof, and the mere thought of sucking on oxygen with my
tiny asthmatic lungs gave me a bit of a startle... never the less,
with the little sis sitting next to me, i went ahead and signed the
waiver.

the bus driver taking us to the jump site was great... a total kiwi,
soooo cute! sooo blonde... she failed her driving test three times in
new zealand until she promised the instructor favors if he passed her.
being the idiot that he was, he passed her. i'm sure he was never
repaid... nevertheless this is what she told us as she was driving us
to the site, on a scary two lane narrow road.

we arrived, and were instantly geared up and the first ones in the
planes, nothing like not having a chance to back out. i got this great
little russian guy, barely spoke english, but was awesome. we jumped
in the tiny plane, three jumpers, three instructors, and three camera
men, we were all sitting on each other's laps, there was no room left
in the plane. As we ascended, i watched the instructor's altitude
watches, like a second grader in math class watching the second hand
slowly pass around the clock.

13,000feet... out come the oxygen masks... this is the point where i'm
getting a bit delusional and thinking twice about all the precautions
listed on the waiver that i signed.... damn, should have read them a
bit closer... what did it say about asthmatics again?!

15,000feet, the door opens, out goes the first camera man, and the
first pair of jumpers. and i'm thinking.. Ohh shit this IS going to
happen... but i'm half high on altitude and oxygen, so why not!... out
i go, free falling and flipping for 60seconds. During this 60seconds,
the guide opens a small chute to keep us from flipping and now the
camera man is floating in front of me trying to get pictures... good
luck buddy!!... i'm enjoying this view and trying to remember how to
breath.... breath, breath, ohh yeah, open mouth and let air come in...
so i open my mouth, falling at god knows what speed and go figure, my
lips peeled back to my ears, and the wind just fills my mouth with
air, but nothing is going to the lungs... for some stupid reason i try
breathing through my mouth for a bit longer. Then i try breathing
through my nose, which believe it or not is pretty congested... and i
remember the warning about congested noses, and having any sort of
congestion... shit! i'm going to die, or at least pass out... which
i'm sure will give the camera man great pictures to take. to my
surprise i can breath through my nose... and now its time to make
faces for the camera man... i'll save those surprises for later.

once that part was over, the main chute was pulled, and it was just an
amazing view from there. i pretty much sat in a harness and let my
guide do fun little circles in the air, while i enjoyed the view....
what a view!!! beautiful, city free, mountains and clouds, just
amazing.

when we landed, i was ecstatic! i wanted to go again and again!.. the
camera man was still taking pictures and i instantly grabbed hold of
my guide, gave him a huge hug and made sure he was in the picture. my
new best friend =)

the pictures had to be mailed to us, but with any luck they took at
least one picture of me with my lips peeled back to my ears. =)

Cheers!

Marcus

Hello Everyone!

I can't believe its christmas eve already. Its weird to not go
shopping for christmas, and even wierder to sit here wondering what i
am going to do on christmas day. One of my coworkers has mentioned
that we could probably do dinner with her friends.... maybe i'll be
one of those people that go to the movie theatres on christmas day.

Life in New Zealand is excellent. Its getting a bit windier and wetter
these days, just the way i like it. =)

I am moving flat/apt next week. I've had my fill of crazy, rude,
ignorant and flat out moronic flatmates. So i'm off to the other side
of town, to move in with a 28yr old guy, and his 21yr old partner.
Partner of course being the term for long-term girlfriend.

I'm still having a hard time with this whole partner thing. There
seems to be a lot of gay people in Wellington, and of course working
at starbucks you get to work with a good number of them. But how do
you figure out if someone is gay? you can't just ask them if who they
live with or if they are dating someone, because just about everyone
refers to thier significant other as a "partner" unless they have only
been dating for a couple of weeks. So i've just given up, and i ask
the girls to figure it out for me.

Work is going extremely well. The store that i have taken complete
responsibility for running while we have an absentee manager is
running smoothly, and everyone is getting along great. Don't get me
wrong, starbucks wouldn't be complete with the one mis-hire, and we do
have her. But i like to look on the bright side of things. =)

The store its self isn't doing that great sales wise. As i may have
mentioned before, New Zealand already had a coffee culture long before
starbucks showed up. So starbucks is nothing more than a confusing
mess of options. Our competition, well the mall is just across the
street, and they have five coffee shops in the mall, and on the
opposite corner of us, there is yet another coffee shop, not to
mention the other countless ones spread through out the town. I have
yet to figure out why anyone would seriously put this store where it
is at, but a lot of people seem very happy to have it in thier tiny
little town.

I opened my first christmas gift yesterday!... well before i make
myself sound like a miserable alocholic, let me explain the situation.
I have just trained a new shift, she only got a week's worth of
training, and has only been with the company for three weeks. She's
got what it takes, but anyone would find this too much responsibility
and since our manager doesn't seem to care about her development, i've
taken to coming in on my days off, and coming in early on other days.
So its been a constant mess of 12+hr days, with crazy christmas
customers, and store problems that just boggle my mind somedays.

At the end of her shift yesterday a customer came up and told us how
nice it would be to have some Baileys in her coffee. Which got us
talking about how nice it would be to have some alcohol in the store
for days like this. And i mentioned how i've always wanted a hip
flask... its something i've wanted ever since i moved to flagstaff.
Not that i would ever use it(often), but its just one of those "cool"
things that i've always wanted. So at the end of my shift, my new
trainie came in with a gift for me... my very own stainless steel hip
flask! - note: i do not plan on filling it up with whiskey and
caring it around with me... however i might put redbull in it, and
take it to work to get a reaction out of the manager :)

speaking of managers, the CEO of Starbucks in New Zealand came in for
a visit a couple days ago... it appears that he was very impressed
with me, and that he wants me to consider staying with them past my
nine month term.

I'm loving it hear and looking forward to a quiet christmas without
the flatmates. I hope everyone is having a great holiday season and
thank you for all the christmas cards!

Marcus

Hello Everyone!

I've found an apartment in Wellington with two great girls. They have
parties about twice a week, but are very conscientious about not
waking me up. I've been looking for a bed for the apartment, but 10yr
old beds that have been heavily used run for about 300bucks, and
that's just out of my budget. Then I start thinking about what it
would be like to be a 10yr old bed… I think about the things people do
on new beds, and I begin to feel bad for the bed, wondering how
insulted it must have been because the owners didn't put a mattress
protector over it. Ok, so I gave the idea too much thought, but never
the less it grosses me out! So what do I do instead? ... I sleep on
the floor. I bought a comforter and some bed padding on sale, and
that's my new bed… which actually isn't too bad if it's not a cold
night.

So I don't know if this is happening in the states, but I've been
noticing some seriously pimped out DHL vans. I'm assuming that each
driver owns their own van over here and as a result they get to do
whatever they want to, after all its only mail delivery. The two
things that remain constant are the vehicle make and model, and the
yellow color, everything else is game for retrofitting. Yesterday the
mail man pulled up in a lifted bright yellow DHL van, he was blaring
Eminem while his thousand dollar rims where spinning backwards.
Another one pulled up with some D12 rap music, pimped out tail lights,
and a guard dog in the back. I wonder if DHL realizes their delivery
vans are the new mobilized gangster vehicles.

Work is going smoothly. Just last week I opened a new store in the
ghetto part of Wellington, fortunately it is right across the street
from a new shopping mall so its not too ghetto. To my surprise we
opened the store with a brand new La Marzocco. But it doesn't have
timers on it at all! The team of employees is pretty good, however
they are rather quiet like most kiwis around here, and it's really
hard to get them to communicate with the customers who are just as
quiet. It almost seems like a really bad combination.

The customers are really shy about walking into a Starbucks. Everyone
likes "American" things, and therefore Starbucks is trendy, but the
excessive drink selection is really confusing to them, and before you
know it they give up and get typical New Zealand coffee drinks, which
are rather disgusting and boring drinks. So whenever I am bored, I
torture a poor kiwi and make them decide on a flavor of syrup to put
in their coffee… you should see the amount of agony they go through to
decide to put vanilla in a latte!

That's about all that's new with me, how are things going for everyone
else? I must admit I am getting a bit home sick, I'd do just about
anything to go out to dinner and get some good American food! Send me
some e-mail!

Missing everyone!

Marcus