One year, already? Wow.

Happy Anniversary!

that's AWESOME! quitting smoking was so hard for me too.... i kept going back to it after a month but now it's been almost 3 years. i think that once you pass the 6mo-1 yr mark ur home-free. i'm proud of ya!

Wow, SO proud of you!! Congrats!

congrats! it does a body good!

Woohoo! You made it. Awesome.

(a belated) yay!

ryc:  I agree -- she's finished the payments on the apartment, so she definitely was in Williamsburg pre-Gulliani and consequently was taking a big risk.  I think it's great that she's going to be able to flip that for a huge profit. 

The encouraging lesson for me is that it's okay to think smaller.  Everyone I know keeps trying to talk me up to $500k for our first house purchase, but I really want to aim for about half that (in Queens).  It's less flashy than one of these new developments, but it's (a) less risky and (b) should turn into a decent investment in its own right.  I don't expect it to appreciate like what the night janitor experienced in Williamsburg, but it'll appreciate. 

This is sort of like the moment that I realized that I didn't need to try to double up every time I played poker.  Once I "settled" for 20-30% returns, I started doing much better (but of course, I inevitably swing home and screw myself up). 

ryc(C):  Yeah, I think she's really in a great position.  She can flip the profits on the house tax-free if she's putting it into another residence.  I imagine that would be a big upgrade in PR. 

wow, congrats!

ryc: Awesome, man! DSh!n from law school is also doing it. I think it'll be a lot of fun.