Nancy Chu

With dozens of condos and co-ops on the market in the Montclair area, area realtors are uniting to market them in a new way. Some two dozen agents will participate in the first-ever local "Condo Crawl," from 1 to 4 pm on Sunday, Nov. 1. Sponsored by Baristanet.com, the rain or shine event will present more than 30 units currently on the market in Montclair, Glen Ridge, and Bloomfield. Agents from Coldwell-Banker, Weichert, RE/MAX, Prudential, Stanton, and Zingali Realtors will open the doors to their listings that day.

Roberta Baldwin, a Realtor® at RE/MAX Village Square in Upper Montclair, organized the event, and coordinated sponsorship with local news and current events site, Baristanet.com. "Agents today are trying to think outside the box to get their listings sold in a difficult market. We believe prospective buyers will appreciate the ease with which they can spend the afternoon seeing what's out there, on their own terms."

Buyers will be able to print out the list of open units by going to www.baristanet.com/crawl or find it in the Star-Ledger's Friday and Saturday Homefinders Section. On event day, "Condo Crawl" signs will identify those units available to be seen.

Included in the Crawl are a range of styles and locations: Montclair units at the new Commons at Bay St. Station, The Dorchester House, 101 Gates Ave. garden condos and the hi-rise Bellaire House; units at Whitestone Gardens in Bloomfield, and surprises such as a single carriage house condo conversion on Belleville Ave. in Glen Ridge - and many others.

Liz George, editor, Baristanet.com, was excited to partner as a media sponsor for the Condo Crawl. "We've followed developments in the condo market in Montclair and the surrounding areas, so the Crawl offers a great way to experience those unique offerings in person, in an efficient and fun way."

From the organizer Roberta Baldwin's point of view, the "Condo Crawl" definitely makes selling sense. "Open houses are generally too scattered to make an impression on buyers who want to use their time wisely and see the most and best available. But on Nov. 1, in just 3 hours, someone who wants to purchase in our area right now can get a really good idea of what's out there. Grab a coffee and a local newspaper or go to Baristanet to make your plans for Sunday, Nov 1!"

For a complete list of open house condos, please go to www.baristanet.com/crawl

A Senate Committee reached a compromise yesterday to extend the $8000 tax credit for first time home buyers. They also are trying to add a $6500 credit for other primary home purchasers with a raised qualifying income limit to $125,000 for single taxpayers and $225,000 for joint taxpayers. Under the Senate panel compromise, buyers must have sales agreements in hand by April 30th and must close by June 30th, 2010. Let's hope this passes both the Senate and the House!

I was terribly embarrassed to say that my husband and I were late getting the flu shot this year (my son got his early) - we take care of our children, but often not ourselves, thinking that we just don't have to time or the need. Well, I am getting older and my "supermom" days are over. I realized that I am no good to anyone - work, my family, friends - unless I am healthy myself. So last week, we drove from pharmacy to pharmacy, often just missing the last of the available doses in the flu shot clinics held through out Essex County - finally, we landed at one clinic with a 2 hour line, but at least they had it, right?

And so now, we wait and watch for the next available run of the H1N1 vaccine - we just called the doctor to try get on a waiting list - my doctor isn't doing that, but some are. We have also been tracking www.findaflushot.com - they seem to be a great resource for information about the flu in general.

Even just being aware of the symptoms, and how it differs from a standard cold, seems to be important - and I will be the first to admit I had no idea:

How can you tell if you have a cold, or the H1N1 Flu? There are a number of symptoms that simply present entirely differently, while others just seem to present at varying levels of severity. For instance, both cold and flu will result in body & head aches and pains, tiredness and generalized chest discomfort, but in the flu, it is usually more severe. Each individual will have to make a judgment call from past personal experience as to whether or not these symptoms feel more severe than they have felt with just a common cold. Luckily, other symptoms occur in flu that usually do NOT occur with a cold, like a fever of 100°F or higher for a few days, along with the awful body chills that often come with the fever. On the flip side, colds can present symptoms that the flu does NOT, like stuffy/runny nose, sneezing, post-nasal drip and the subsequent sore throat. Also, both cold and flu may result in coughing, but a cold produces a wet mucus cough, while the flu is usually a dry hacking cough. Lastly, the flu has a really fast take down - it's the lion taking down the gazelle - one minute you are fine, the next minute you are balled up on the bed shivering like a Chihuahua. The cold usually announces itself more gradually - it calls ahead and leaves messages about its visit.

Oh, and what is the difference between H1N1 and the regular flu? Virtually nothing, apparently! Although according to one doctor on Medpedia, the preliminary findings of analysis of cases in Mexico, swine flu patients may present with runny nose, diarrhea, nausea, vomiting, shortness of breath and joint pain, too. Check out the full answer at: http://www.medpedia.com/questions/279-how-do-the-symptoms-of-h1n1-flu-differ-from-the-common-cold#answer_232

We're all parents here - we know how to prevent the spread of illness - constant hand washing, stay home when sick, cover your mouth when you sneeze, dispose of tissues, etc. - this is not rocket science, just common sense.

SO...I recently had the pleasure (or pain - depends on your POV) of attending school tours for elementary schools in both Maplewood/South Orange and Glen Ridge, NJ - both great towns with great schools, but also very different. At my first tour, I found the experience to be chaotic and uninformative - which turned me off to the school immediately. Oh, what was a mom to do?????

Upon further reflection, I realized that I was a poor advocate for myself - I chose a difficult time of day and an inappropriate tour guide and asked very few useful questions! So, of course I walked away scratching my head! So I have a few notes here that I want to share with you regarding school tours - just a few thoughts so that you won't have the same experience.

First, choose your time of day carefully - if you want to see chaos, go at lunchtime - this way you can see how they manage their traffic flow, recess class mixing and how the kids mingle during their downtime. I was also pleased to see that at some schools, the children were in charge of various lunchtime duties for their class, which was nice. If you want to see kids in classrooms, then avoid lunch at all costs - this way, you can see more class room dynamic. In the morning, the kids seemed energetic, but I noted that in all the schools, by 2pm, they were walking zombies - don't let the post lunch energy dump be confused with a lackluster environment - it's probably just end of day.

Next, make sure you get a good tour guide - I got the chance to tour with principals, vice principals, administrators, as well as teachers. I tended to get the best, most honest feeling answers from the teachers - they ARE the ones down in the trenches. They had informative things to say about class size, inclusive classrooms, the struggle between teaching kids to learn vs. teaching towards the standardized testing - I really felt like many of the teachers could talk about these issues, while administrators and principals often have clearer descriptions about some of the bigger picture - new curriculum directions, ideas for further school improvements, etc. Your best bet is to try to get a chance to talk to both teachers and administrators when you tour a school.

Technology is a big part of new teaching initiatives - smart boards, smart tables, computers in every room vs. computers centers...while I love the technology, I am not sure that my kid will learn better with all of this stuff. I think they will certainly augment his learning experience, but I don't assume that his performance will suffer without these items. Computers are everywhere, and I think a "typing" class is kind of a joke - I am assuming that kids probably pick that up from usage at home. I think we shouldn't be stunned by technology as the be all and end all of modern education - I want to see a big, well-organized library full of ACTUAL books and a nice indoor and outdoor space for physical education and recess, full time guidance counselor/social worker and school nurse, art room, music class, and due to the reduced mandated hours for science and social studies (so that schools can increase their time for language arts and mathematics - see previous snarky comment about standardized testing...I despise No Child Left Behind...), let's see that material being integrated into the course work for Language Arts and Mathematics in a more "whole learning" approach.

Lastly, there are questions that just kind of popped up that were extremely informative - things like:

- How do you handle bullies at school?

- How do you help new students acclimatize?

- What events or programs do you have that increase cultural awareness?

- Do you serve hot and cold lunch and if so, do you use a debit system?

- Do your teachers take initiative (grant writing, sponsorship outreach) in finding resources to fund special arts or science programs (as funding for these programs have been cut nationally)?

This is just a sample of questions - I welcome any and all suggestions for other questions to ask - I think that parents, myself included, can use all the help they can get in navigating, and getting the most of, their local public school system.

It's been a difficult summer here in our household - we've struggled, no doubt as many of you had, with summer illnesses that have wracked our family with doctors visits and prescription antibiotics. Even a bout with pink eye after a particular raucous birthday party, and a trip and fall that resulted in a lump the size of Texas and an ER visit because it was followed by vomiting and dizziness. Most of my friends have battled similar issues - upset stomach, coughing and feverish malaise. And with the healthcare debate raging in our country, I had a few thoughts about how to decrease your healthcare costs...just in case this works for you...

For those of you with healthcare through your work...well, la di da and good for you! You are the lucky ones, and we are thrilled for you. For those of us who have had our benefits slashed due to the economy, or who function as independent contractors have had to search out our own healthcare, and with families, the system isn't always kind on your wallet. After tedious weeks of research, my husband and I discovered that because most insurance companies put a premium on family plans, you may be paying more for a family plan than with individual insurance for each member of your family. We noted that with Amerihealth, for instance, it was cheaper to buy each of us an individual policy over the family policy, which seems to make more sense once you have more than two children (as the family policy is the same price no matter how many kids you have). At the same time, because my husband and I were NOT planning on having another child this year, we reduced my maternity care for the year, which saved us a couple of buck - we can always reinstate during the next renewal period if we decide that we want to try for another baby.

Interestingly enough, I have had some difficulty getting our family physicians to not over-prescribe for us. We don't have the best prescription drug coverage, and I have found myself insisting to our doctors to write us prescriptions that have generic versions in situations where feasible. So for instance, when I needed a simple amoxicillin based antibiotic, I had to struggle pretty hard to get my doctor to write for a generic amoxicillin, rather than the name brand, which costs $65 as opposed to the $4 at the Target pharmacy! But persistence pays off and you have to advocate for yourself in these cases.

What else is to be done other than to take advantage of the family buy-one-get-one-free eyeglass deals...and of course, there are free clinics all over NJ for both medical and dental needs - check them out at http://freemedicalcamps.com/vcity.php?stateid=NJ. Most of these places are primarily for low income residents of the community, and may ask for a donation or charge a small fee. I know when I was a student, I utilized these services in NYC myself all the time, so I know the value of a free community health clinic.

Back to the routine of summer life, just as it is ending, right? Great, only two days left on my antibiotics...let's hope that is the last of the summer bugs to go around...