Today I met the realtors who I'm going to marry*, in a sense

Doug, my dawg of wonderful colors is on vacation. But he left an interactive post to help me design my new house. So help me please!!!

This is long and maybe a bit verbose but my heart is bursting. I forgot to say my apartment’s 600 square feet. Everything I did was with tricks and gives an illusion…

In Manhattan it’s always been about real estate and always will be about it. A good apartment with that intangible “wow” factor brings up the apartment’s worth immensely. Today’s consumer might be perfectly prepared on paper, but falling in love is falling in love whether with a person or an apartment.

*Actually I met them yesterday.

Ten years, seven and a half a months ago, on my birthday, I circled the ad that led to the first apartment I found that said to me: WOW, I HAVE TO OWN THIS.

Daddy today’s your birthday–where ever you are. Up there somewhere with mommy, you two are smiling at me, and saying: see every detail does count.

Making the decision to move was difficult. Renovating almost impossible as no renovation story runs smoothly. But it’s oh so worth it when realtors I respect come and are trying not to show how “wowed” they are

Other people need realtors to tell them what to get rid of, how to renovate, how to stage the apartment to look incredible. I’m great at that last one, and sweated the first two for four frigging months.

The realtors I’m going to sign the exclusive with couldn’t hide their enthusiasm. It has that first most important thing–light, air and views. It’s a luxury renovated apartment with every detail thought about. After moving in I bought a metal very high double bed that takes up no visceral space. The bedroom that looked so small when I first saw it looks immense. It’s divided into bed, TV and reading areas.

I hate couches, that have great lines, next to walls. But my “great line” tiny couch looks great next to a wall. I made the living room look lofty and wonderful. The newly sanded herringbone floor shines. There’s a great dining area.

The colors on the walls aren’t my colors. The furniture, glass and pottery collections scream “Pia” the walls didn’t have to.

The realtors were oh so psyched when I said I would leave my stuff though I won’t be here during the sale process.

Again usually they tell people to take away cherished things. Again it was the opposite. They even love my gigantic CD collection–see daddy buying musical CD’s can pay off as much or maybe more than the type of CD’s you espoused.

The wall unit I had made is now worth I don’t know how much but a lot. Lucia designed it to my concept. It’s unique and it’s wonderful. Again the realtors were salivating. Oh, realtors have been salivating over everything. True confession: I’m not ready to leave the wall unit, but it will live on in pictures. Many many pictures.

It’s a difficult apartment to price as it’s so unique and I understand that. That’s why I was sooooo obsessive about the renovation and why everything had to be so perfect.

Rafe came in when I was meeting with the realtors I’m going to marry until the apartment is sold. Of course they were charmed by the Latin Paul McCartney of the hair industry–sometimes he looks like the Latin Elvis before the white suit–yesterday he looked just like Sir Paul. If the buyers are new to New York or whatever, I’m going to throw in free hair cuts, dye jobs, highlights. Rafe’s salon just celebrated its third anniversary. We spent many a night here discussing whether he should or shouldn’t open a solo salon. Rather he’s the solo owner with many many hair stylists. I’m waiting for my consultant fee. It’s a success. A great one!

I think the realtors wished Rafe came with the apartment. My sweet Latin platonic lover who still asks after all these years just to keep in shape. Love his wife and respect the sanctity of marriage so…..Yes of course I have been tempted but….

The realtors said they usually ask for closets to be cleaned, for things to go into storage, but in my case everything almost is perfect. They asked I take off the window screens. I’m getting the apartment deep cleaned and the furniture steam upholstered but I had told them that before they came. I told them I needed them to tell me what to do.

I actually needed them to tell me to stop looking for faults or things to be redone and they picked up on that immediately. It was cloudy when they came, and they laughed at me for saying the apartment should be shown in the morning exactly when the sun comes out. I did tell them I’m leaving as I don’t want to mess up the apartment or let my control freak ways ruin their sale.

It was very cloudy when they came, and they loved that, for if it looks so great in a gray cloudy sky….True confession: I will probably never have ever this much light and sky again and have loved every second of it. It will bring in more money.

I only have one closet but it’s as large as many Manhattan bedrooms, with a bureau, many shelves and much room. I had it made shortly after closing. I believe the storage cage belongs to the apartment. Have to find that out, but I’m almost positively sure. The storage cage costs every month but is cheap for one and is in the building. It’s another thing that makes the apartment worth so much more. That and the perfect closet. And so much more I intuitively knew makes a Manhattan apartment worthy.

I had a show me the money, I will believe it at the closing attitude but I can’t help but be psyched. I wasn’t a bitch during the renovation but there were things I insisted be done and other things I insisted be done over.

For months I lived in discomfort. With the bedroom as a supply closet. I can give classes on how to get exercise from using a remote as the TV was close to the bed and the remote had to go over the gunmetal foot bed. I forgot how beautiful “my stuff” is, until I had things brought back up from the storage cage.

Yes daddy you raised two daughters who get mired in details. But nobody ever complains when we finish a project. I hate or not to say this but we might be better at it than you. Because you saved everything, I save just enough.

I love you daddy. I love the world today. I wish I hadn’t woke at five AM, but this weekend is for rest and relaxation. This coming week is for hard work with movies thrown in, next weekend for parties, and then North Myrtle….

Oh daddy I turned into a good photographer. The realtors were mesmerized by my slide show. I’m leaving the desk top during the sale process and they will have the slides going….

Daddy you were the first of two great men I know to be born on February 16. Oh my obsessive perfectionist father you raised two daughters in your image. Perfection is more difficult for me than for Elka in most cases. But when it comes to selling an apartment, I know just what to do.

I have to send a birthday ecard to the man who shares your birthday. You knew him well and like me knew he was going to grow up to be somebody special, maybe even important. When his “big deal book” comes out in the fall, there will be something written by me in the book.

I talk about being a child with dyspraxia/non verbal learning disorder. I am so proud of how I “turned out.” Many or most other people with this disability couldn’t have done what I did and will always do. I am house proud daddy.

I hate to analogize a person’s worth to their house, especially in times like this. But this is Manhattan and I found this apartment on my own. One of the reasons I loved it so much was I knew it could be recession proof. I had no idea in 1997 how much real estate would go up–but I did think I would be squeezed out, if I hadn’t bought exactly then. I was proven right. I had no idea we would have the government from hell, and America would lose its cache.

But I had faith in Manhattan and The Upper West Side. I live in a perfect looking building in the heart of an incredible area–too busy for me but not for other people. Oh daddy I won’t miss Fairway–you would have hated it and been attracted to it at the same time. It does have the freshest fish in New York–“study” after “study” shows that.

I’m scared I’m going to jinx this by saying more. I can’t put in pictures. But after the closing…..I hope within the next several months, I will put in many. Including one of the building itself as this is a big deal hot building. I do have pictures in the blog that show many buildings including this one.

Last night I relaxed for the first time in months. My darling Rafe was a photographer for NASA. He took many many pictures and will come back when the sun is out. We sat and ate Greek food from New York’s best taverna. He hooked up the stereo–listened to Levon Helm, The Subdudes and Warren Zevon–three people and or groups I have made him listen to over the years. Somehow I added Dion to the equation–Dion, a Bronx boy and ultimate New Yorker at heart.

I miss the city already but will be back often. New York you will always be my home. I join many of the realtors “arty” clients in moving to The Carolinas. Daddy I know you thought people should never leave New York, but you died in 91. I know you would think differently now.

Here I’m a person with assets who feels poor. Many New Yorkers feel the same way.

There I will be a person with even more assets who doesn’t feel poor. This isn’t a political post but a happy one and I feel oh so happy this morning as I watch the sun begin to stream in.

Happy birthday, daddy, wherever you are. Happy birthday you other person. You have played many important roles in my life since I was eighteen and you were nineteen. I am proud of you. I am proud of me. I’m proud of us both, separately and together. Many people thought we were immature and would never amount to much. Our parents never stopped believing. And we left the rest as they staggered, not near the finish line. We were slower but we persisted. Yes this century belongs to us. Yes we can!!!

Obviously there’s nothing more important to a New Yorker than finding realtors who share our vision. I watched these realtors sell apartments and thought they were the most clever and the best. I feel so validated and that might be immature but it’s a New Yorker’s dream. They know the building. They have all the info. They know they can sell it. I dare not dream of the price. They brought comparative apartment info–but once they saw it, said it was unique, and the comparisons are just the merest of guidelines.

I am unique. I own a unique apartment. Now all I can do is have a bit of faith….That’s hard, almost impossible for a control freak like me but….

Now I leave it in their more than capable hands.

Yes I can!!!! Yes we can!!!!!! (My political statement for the weekend.)

I will be writing about the sale process from my perch in South Carolina