We sold our house in Orlando! We bought it four years ago, hoping to fix it up and quickly re-sell it for a profit (check out my post from 8/4/05) Unfortunately we got it right at the end of the real estate bubble. Just as we finished the renovations, houses in Orlando stopped selling. We've been trying to sell it since then, and have had a series of tenants living there while it was on the market. The rent never covered the mortgage, so we lost money every month.

We've had a few offers on the house, but none have been very serious. Finally someone came along who actually wanted to buy it. There were some scary moments throughout the sales process. The buyer's realtor didn't contact our realtor for a few weeks. We figured they walked away from the deal. Eventually they got back in touch and the closing process started. At first our bank said that we would have to come up with $14,000+ for the closing. I was able to negotiate that amount down to a much more reasonable amount. I'm not surprised they wanted us to bring money to the closing. We sold the house for almost $100k less than we paid for it. Eventually the bank agreed to the terms and the sale went through. Anyone trying to sell a house in Orlando should contact Pam Potenza at Sutton and Sutton. She'll take care of you.

Yesterday was a big day for Emily and I. On the way to work, we stopped by the AT&T store to buy our new iPhones. We've been waiting a long time to get out of our Sprint contract. It ended just in time for the release of the iPhone 3Gs!

Last night was the Radio and TV Correspondents' Dinner. It would have been fine, if we didn't have to get all dressed up. The one thing that saved it was the fact that our table was right up front in the center of the room. Obama was seated about 15 feet away. He got up and told some jokes and one of the guys from the Daily Show delivered the keynote speech. Priscilla posted some more photos and stuff on the FSN Reporters' blog.

I got back from shooting a conference in the Bahamas a few hours ago. Unfortunately the entire event was 'off the record', so I can't tell you who hosted it or who was there. It was centered on strategic goals for the global war on terror, but they focused on Afghanistan and Pakistan.

The conference itself didn't really hold my interest, but the resort where it was held was great. It was the same place the Pirates of the Caribbean people stayed when they were shooting the movie. I had a room with a spectacular view overlooking the ocean. The conference lasted until 4:00 pm everyday, so I had time to go for a swim in the clear blue water.

It took me awhile to feel comfortable around the other attendees. I was in a sort of a limbo between the guests and the staff. But there was an open bar each night, so I eventually became more comfortable with them. The people were actually really interesting. They were heavily involved in the war and reconstruction of Iraq and Afghanistan and they had great stories to tell. I probably would have liked it better if I understood what they were talking about. The topics were so focused on specific regions and tribes, that most of it went straight over my head.

Emily and I have started learning how to make radio stories. Our company runs a news radio feed which is used by broadcasters around the world. Until now, we have stayed away from the radio side and only done TV. But we decided to expand our skill set and learn how to write and voice stories for the feed. Here is my first attempt at radio and here is Emily's latest story.

Also check out the FSN reporter's blog while you are at it.

I feel so cheated! I just tried to watch the movie Rocky for the fist time. It was playing on On Demand, so I set aside a couple hours to watch it. It was a bit strange though, because there were two copies of the movie on On Demand selection screen. The only difference was that Sylvester Stallone's name was spelled wrong on one version. I thought noting of it and choose one.

By the end of the movie, I was thoroughly confused. The plot made no sense and it seemed to be missing some of the most famous scenes (like Rocky punching the animal carcasses). I went back and checked the other version by fast forwarding through the entire movie. Sure enough this version made much more sense and had the missing scenes. I then fast forwarded though Rocky II and found the problem.

Someone had cut off the second half of Rocky 1 and replaced it with the second half of Rocky 2. Then they cut off the ending of Rocky 2 during the climactic fight scene and switched back to the ending of Rocky 1.

Now I have to watch both movies again, even though they are ruined.

I spent the morning chasing Sonya Sotomayor around the Senate office buildings. She was meeting with a couple of Senators who are involved in the confirmation hearings. The first place she stopped was Senator Barbara Mikulski's office. They let the still photographers in first, then the videographers. By the time we got into the office, Sotomayor and Senator Mikulski had started talking about how much they like Nancy Drew books. It was like listening into a phone conversation between two teenage girls. Sotomayor said that her local library did not carry many titles, so her mom had to buy them for her. Then they started talking about how strict the nuns/teachers were at their school.

Her next stop was in the Russel office building. I was able to get a nice walk in shot, but the cameraman next to me kept elbowing me and telling me to stop moving around. I was standing perfectly still and not touching him. These photo-sprays are always hard, because everyone wants to get the shot and they will push you out of the way to do so. I had to hit a print reporter on the head, because he was leaning his face into my shot. It is much easier when they let the cameras set up first, then they come into the room. Hillary Clinton always does her photo-sprays at the State Department that way and it makes them much more civilized.