Next Steps...Number 6

When Mark is not checking papers or attending to Bedford, he is
preparing materials for the next property, "Number 6." We hope to
attract a second round of investors for another 4E villa. An investor report from Kaskell Roth LLC is due this July and we hope to share it with you. Overall, the Dubai properties gain 30% per year and the New York properties gain 10 – 12%
per year. Manhattan studios gain 17%. LET'S INVEST!

Bedford

The winter and spring in New York were hard on the Bedford house.
Because of the frequent snow and rain over the past six months, the
water table rose flooding the basement up to an inch of water. Of
course, this scared our musician tenants and this led to an improved
sump pump water system to pump out the water from the house to avoid
the flooding costing $2000. The flooding occurs every ten years, based
on our experience when we were living in Bedford. So, while most
Americans will celebrate Independence Day (from Britain), Mark and I
will spend four days digging a trough from the back of the house to
the pond and laying a small pipe so that the water inside the
basement, should it occur again, will automatically flow into the
pond. The plumbers did the sump pump inside the house. But the
exterior landscape work we will do ourselves.

In addition, we will also do some repainting, installing windows locks
and new lights and will check supposedly leaks from the upstairs
bathroom. I am hoping this is not going to be major. So, it is so much
for a holiday weekend for Mark and I. Since this is a "team effort," I
will be joining Mark and will don my hard hat and working boots.
Alright! You go girl! It also gives us a chance to spend time in
Bedford. I get to tend to my flowering shrubs and my baby trees which
I have heard have now grown taller than me.

So this is really what our summer in New York is all about. Work, work
and a little bike riding at least once a week. When things get really
hectic, we dream of a cocktail drink and wish we were in Dubai. We are
quite used to the small space in New York City. We are beyond the
claustrophobia at this point.

Ahlan wahsalan!

Do you know that we are taking Arabic….again? Yes! Mark's on his take
three and I am on my take two. Not that we were flunkers. Although at
the rate we are going, we do not seem to improve at all. It's the law
of diminishing returns. No matter how much you learn of the same
thing, your cranium can only absorb so much. We are both having fun
though, except for the quizzes and midterm exam we are preparing for.

Boots ala ka-blinky

To complicate my already hectic schedule, my laptop lost its wireless
connectivity and I was not able to check email. If I checked email
when I was at work (although I do not want to do it) or at school, I
will only check my students' communication because that was a
priority, hence I was not able to respond by email to the family. But
you guys are always in my thoughts and prayers.

The laptop named Boots was checked in at the Toshiba Orthopedic
Hospital on June 7, 2005 and was released June 15, 2005. So you can
imagine the back-up and clean-up I needed to do before he went to the
hospital and after he returned. I have 40 Gigs of data! Sige, malula
yung gagong titingin sa laptop ko. Knock yourself off as I would say.

Busy Bee in the Big City

I am soooo sorry for having been incommunicado for a long time. My students have been a source of wonder, frustration and shock, if not awe
for Mark and me. Mark has been a great help to me checking my papers
since my homeworks and a great deal of the exams are in essay form. I
swear to God, you will not wish to have a teacher like me in your next
life. Not that I am into torture. I just want to give the student's
their money's worth.

Finally, I am in a work environment that I particularly enjoy and will
miss when I leave for Dubai. I work as a Marketing Consultant on a
part-time basis for a landscape architectural firm. Every two or three
days a week, I report for work and organize and run their Marketing
Dept. It has been fulfilling since I started, the firm has been
positioned for three projects, was awarded 2 projects and has appeared
in two industry journals. Not bad!

Summertime Blues

My hair has gone long and is ready for a trim. While I want to wait
for my return, it is just too hot and humid in New York that I will
need a trim.