Type-A At The Beach

August is a funny month for DC real estate.  That’s because Washington gets so hot that it seem as if everyone leaves town.  Even I accepted an invitation from my cousin and his wife to spend a week at the beach with them.

OK, so what did I pack?

Bathing suit.  Check.

Sunscreen.  Check.

Shorts and t-shirts.  Check.

Strappy sandals.  Check.

Beach towels.  Check.

Laptop.  Check.

Blackberry.  Check.

So during my week of resting and recharging my engines, I wrote a contract on a house in Columbia, Maryland.  And guess what?  The listing agent was also at the beach with his laptop and blackberry.  When I got home, I wrote another offer on a townhouse in Alexandria, Virginia.  That agent wasn’t at the beach, but she was in sunny California with her laptop and blackberry.

When I first got my real estate license, there were no laptops or cell phones.  Whenever I went off to the beach, I got a friend to cover my business and tried to put it out of my mind.  And I gotta wonder.  Does all of this fancy new technology improve the quality of life for people in my profession — or for that matter, type-A’s like me in any line of work?

Next week, I’ve accepted an invitation to go to Montauk for a week.  Do I dare leave my handy little tools of the trade at home?  Even the thought makes me queazy.

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