Don't be such a weiner, Aaron

As mentioned in a previous post, my roommates and I are planning on buying our house. We entered into a contract that I am pretty sure is legally binding. About a month ago when we decided to do this, we were all sitting in the living room chatting about the benefits of home ownership. Nick and Lance immediately discounted it as crazy talk and went off to play with themselves or sommit.

Aaron, Calvin, and I excitedly entertained the possibilities that lay before us with a can-do attitude and fervor that would make the Hoosiers look like no account potheads. Within a mere couple of days we had negotiated a price with our landlord and been pre-approved for a mortgage loan. The three of us even pooled together a whopping $1000 to put down as earnest money ($622 of our $700 worth from our t-shirt endeavor, but don't tell Aaron).

I'm not certain how Calvin and Aaron approached their parents with the venture. My parents and I have a very open relationship due mostly to silly adventures where they had to bail me out of jail for toilet papering or egging a Bishopric members house or local school or passing cars or some such mischief. So I happily exclaimed my excitement to my parents over Sunday dinner.

They were not too happy. My dad suggested that someone who was recently booted from school and had no clear career path or experience owning a home would be unwise to embark on such an adventure. He furthered his case by pointing out that going into business with friends of any tenure can be strenuous and taxing, and he said "...let alone a friend that I have only had for the last year, 2 months of which we were separated by 40 states, New Foundland, and the Atlantic Ocean". Oh, Dad.

We talked about it for some time. My mom thinks it's a completely idiotic idea. I pointed out the financial upside of renting the rooms out and even demonstrated how we could very practically have our entire mortgage paid for by the other renters. I also suggested that Calvin and I found each other after only being separated in the Pre-Earth life by birth. He gave up at that point.

I fully appreciate my parents advice. My stance, however, is that there are these big "could"'s involved and my parents are on one side while I am on the other. The furnace could go out. The house could be hard to rent. Calvin, Aaron, and I could fail, fight, and hate each other. That's how my parents are looking at it. From where I'm standing. It could be a learning experience that will shape my future and be far more significant than school. It could make us enough profit to cut down our expense and make us money. It could strengthen our friendship to a degree that the Lord needs it to be for me, Calvin, or Aaron to become one of the Twelve Apostles or something.

My parents are on board and supporting me, with fingers crossed and arms folded. Calvin's parents are backing him, too. Of course, Aaron told his mom and now he's trying to back out.

He's not "trying". He's out. Aaron is a momma's boy. He's an only child, and his mom spoils him something fierce. We are supposed to close on this house in a few days. Aaron comes into Calvin and my room and says, "Hey guys... do you think you could get me my $300 back?" We looked at each other and Calvin said, "Are you out?" Aaron said, "Yeah, it's a bad idea... what with the economy and all."

I said, "Really Aaron, what is with the economy and all?" He looked at me and said, "You know what I'm talking about, dude. The economy is bad." I replied, "Uh, yeah I hear that on the news, but the three of us have jobs. The economy doesn't seem any different to us than it ever did." Aaron got his stubborn face on, "Whatev, dude, I'm not doing it. I don't feel good about it." I was getting mad, "Just because Calvin uses the 'Spirit' to dump chicks, doesn't mean it's gonna fly here. We're supposed to close in a few days, and now... now you bail?" Aaron doesn't like confrontation, especially when he knows Calvin and I will soon start to tag team him with insults and mockery.

Aaron started walking out and said, "You guys owe me $300. I need it." I said, "Well, we'll just have to owe you then." Aaron, "You'll need to pay." I said, "Yeah, eventually, and it's $299, cause I got you that Frosty yesterday." Aaron looked at me like he wanted to punch me. He never would, and I would never punch him back. That's when Calvin said, "You can use it as your first months rent when we own this place." I laughed mockingly, "Yeah, dude, first months rent, security deposit, pet deposit, cleaning deposit." He walked out of the room.

So, a little bump in the road on getting the house. Hopefully when we talk to our mortgage guy we can still do it. He said in the beginning that two of us should be able to buy it, but Aaron does have the best credit score of the three of us so we'll see.

Later I apologized to Aaron, and told him that I was just mad. I tried to talk him into buying still and told him how much we wanted him to be a part of this. That's when he admitted that his mom basically forbade it, and that he just wouldn't be doing it with us.

Hopefully all my hair-brained schemes aren't this hard. At least my best good friend Calvin's with me. I love him. ...and you thought that Pre-Earth life thing earlier was a joke didn't you?

Jake