Wife bought us a house for Christmas...

gkainz

gkainz

Final Approach
Joined
Feb 23, 2005
Messages
8,401
Location
Arvada, CO
Display Name
Display name:
Greg Kainz
or subtitled "Stupid crap I did on my Christmas Vacation"

Ok, she actually just bought 1 week of a house in La Jolla, CA.

edit - just realized this post may rival Nate's for word count ...

I hate CA ... since leaving after the Navy, I swore I would never set foot in CA again.

But then I got a job offer in CA ... so I went back.

And then I married a CA native.

I spent our first 5 years together trying to convince her we needed to move elsewhere. When we were engaged, I interviewed for a job in Switzerland. She said "too far away". So, I interviewed for a job in PAX River, MD ... still too far away. So, that summer we attended a family reunion in CO, and I interviewed for a job in Colorado Springs for (one of the) Cheyenne Mountain modernization projects, and she said "maybe I can handle Colorado." The project didn't happen as scheduled, or the interviewing company didn't win the contract - I don't recall which, but upshot is - it didn't happen. However, I was president of San Diego Oracle User Group (small small startup group at the time - 1989) and happened to start making contacts with other users and user groups. Ended up interviewing with Oracle in Denver, but the job they were interviewing for was in Salt Lake City. Lovely wife didn't think me moving her to Denver and leaving her alone there all week while I built databases in Salt Lake was something she was up for.

Shortly after, I interviewed and landed a job with Coors Ceramics and packed up and said "Adios!" to CA ... yeah, but since her family is still here - I reluctantly have to come back regularly.

Anyway - we have a nephew getting married here so lovely SoCal spouse decides to rent a house in order to allow all the kids and spouses and grandkids to attend the wedding - as a Christmas present to them all. Since she tackles all our vacation planning with the skills and tenacity of a travel agent (back when they actually HAD travel agents), and prides herself on procuring 5 star vacations for 1 star prices, she went to work. Our first venture into AirBnB, VRBO, et al style rentals, and she was quickly frustrated. All these apps have calendars, and the properties are linked to those calendars. However, she quickly discovered that had no relationship with reality. After narrowing down the choices to a few candidates, inquiries started coming back with "sorry, not available" even though the calendars said they were. Oh, and it appears that all booking inquiries start with "enter your credit card info" and suddenly we had a significant sum pending on our card, waiting the results of the reservation.

Then the fun REALLY began! After those rejections, she found a beautiful house with resort style amenities - pool, hot tub, putting green... (choke) acceptable price (outside budget but marginally acceptable) and booked it. The reservation system accepted the reservation, charged the card and stress levels lowered a bit. This was 6 weeks before our travel date, and a little lack of procedural information seemed odd, but a friend who rents his mountain cabin assured us that this is normal. Check in information would be forthcoming, as is normal, he said.

My wife is the planner in the family. It drives her up the wall to not have everything planned out well, WELL in advance ... she packs for trips a week in advance. It drives her up the wall that I pack MAYBE an hour before departure ... occasionally the night before, if I am really feeling adventurous!

So, we send another email to the owner via the reservation system with no response. We find out how to actually talk to a person, who promised to contact the owner for further information. Another day goes by, and ... 1 week before departure date ... we get a text "... the property is not available. Sorry for any inconvenience."

My wife instantly ramps up to "justifiable homocide" or maybe "shock and awe" mode... texting back and forth, it turns out the owner "thought they might" travel for the holidays, listed their property, then "forgot" to ask his wife, and "forgot" about the listing! Who DOES stupid crap like that?

Anyway, more panic and pandemonium ensues, and we finally procure a property thru a rental agency we've never heard of (strike 1) on a property that is "newly listed" (strike 2), and has no online reviews (strike 3). "But, hey - it's in La Jolla! How bad can it be?"

Check in is 2 pm. We arrived in San Diego at 11am Christmas Day and have dinner with brother-in-law and family. The texts start coming in, delaying our check in by an hour at time, until finally we get the details that the sewer is clogged and they're waiting on an emergency plumber (remember - it's Christmas Day ... ok, NIGHT now). We're welcome to "come make yourselves at home" which I decline, because if I truly made myself at home, that means I would be snaking the sewer! No, thanks. ... except by 8 pm, we're wearing our welcome out at bro-in-law, people are tired and want to unwind, so we head to the La Jolla house.

Master bedroom toilet is plugged, flooded the bathroom, but no other rooms, so we drop luggage in the living room and wait. The choices are we can wait up for the plumber to arrive some time between 10pm and midnight, or come back in the morning after the plumbing problem has been resolved. At this point, there are NO other choices ... not even upgrading the compact rental car to a Suburban and sleeping in it. We wait. And I let the plumber in while he works on the problem. 10 trips back and forth to the truck for progressively bigger cables, snakes and tools, and at midnight he proclaims "problem solved" and we go to bed.

The next morning we wake up to everyone sneezing their faces off, congestion and coughing and allergy symptoms. I see new furnace filters in the garage, which leads me to believe that was an intended but unfinished job. Yep - furnace filter looks like a wolf in a winter pelt. Changed that out, then noticed the furnace flue was not even connected to the chimney ... put that back in place enough to be somewhat confident we aren't all going to die of CO poisoning in our sleep ... I hoped. ... days later and we're still alive, so I succeeded.

The next morning's adventures discovered ... no trash cans, kitchen service for 4 (we're 8), towels for 4 (we're still 8), WiFi but no cable tv service, garbage disposal jammed, pool advertised as "heated" but the solar heat plumbing neatly piled along side the house. 60* is not "heated". Son and son-in-law tried the pool anyway. Yep, you almost CAN walk on water, while trying to get back out of cold water!

On to stupid tourist tricks that I should have known better, but succumbed to peer pressure anyway - In-N-Out burger at lunch time during holiday week ... 200 people trying to park in a 50 spot lot, cramming into a 90 person seating area and order burgers and limp rubbery fries (I forgot about the off-menu secret of "well-done fries").

A few more days of surprises in store, I'm sure, but for now ... I still hate CA ...
 
Last edited:
Since August I've been making pretty regular trips to SoCal for Cloud Nine. I have to agree with your sentiments on the state.
 
Some day it will slough off the side of America like an old scab and then the rest of the country can heal. :D Maybe it will take Texass with it, somehow.

Sounds like a fun trip full of great memories and it’s not even over yet!
 
Shawn said:
California Represent, Brah....

I wish more people would hate CA...and stay away.
Click to expand...
I’m certainly doing my part.

I did some practice landings at Needles in a Mooney once. Stopped to pee there because it was in California.
 
Last edited:
I found California to be both easy to love and easy to hate.

Easy to love: climate/weather, mountains, ocean, desert, Channel Islands, flying, great airports to fly to, some of the people, good food, etc.

Easy to hate: overpopulation, the traffic, prices, a lot of the people, the government, taxes, etc.

When the time came, I also found it easy to leave.
 
I lived in LaJolla for the better part of a decade. Gorgeous place I never want to step foot in again. And I am utterly unsurprised at Greg's story. I found southern Californians to be the most self-involved people I have ever met. We called it the Trans AM mentality back then.

Last time we were in Southern California (some years ago) Mrs. Steingar looked around and said everyone was stacked up like cordwood. Screw it, I'll live in the cold.
 
Everskyward said:
Heh, heh. You didn't keep me out. Moved to CA this year. ;)
Click to expand...

Ya. And from what we understand you promptly left for multiple trips outta that place. Non?
Clearly CA is tolerable. But only in small doses? :D
 
GRG55 said:
Ya. And from what we understand you promptly left for multiple trips outta that place. Non?
Clearly CA is tolerable. But only in small doses? :D
Click to expand...
LOL, one good point about my current location is that there are many international flights, and I can take Lyft/Uber to the airport for $20; unlike in Colorado where I once paid $200+ for parking my car at the airport for about a month, and no Lyft/Uber to my residence was available. Also, I now live in a condo without any outside to maintain, so it's easier to leave for a month.

There are definitely plusses and minuses to my new location, but all in all, I'm glad I made the move.
 
SkyDog58 said:
I found California to be both easy to love and easy to hate.

Easy to love: climate/weather, mountains, ocean, desert, Channel Islands, flying, great airports to fly to, some of the people, good food, etc.

Easy to hate: overpopulation, the traffic, prices, a lot of the people, the government, taxes, etc.

When the time came, I also found it easy to leave.
Click to expand...

This is pretty much how I felt about CA. Lots to love. Lots to hate. I thoroughly enjoyed the 5 years I lived there, while thankfully not being an official ‘resident’. And when the time came to leave, we were ready to go.

I still love visiting CA, but can’t say I’m itching to move back.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
 
JCranford said:
Whoa! How did we get lumped in with California!??
Click to expand...
Although different ends of the political spectrum both exhibit symptoms of pompousness of "were the best" and raid other states (Colorado) and proclaim your greatness in these other places. Makes it pretty easy for all the other states to be unhappy with both TX and CA.

Of course this doesn't apply to everybody, but if we're going to speak in generalities might as well go all the way! ;)
 
I love visiting California, especially going there, renting motorcycles, and riding the fabulous mountain roads out away from population centers. Dont' think I'd want to live there, but if I did, it would be in said mountains out away from everything.
 
I liked California. San Diego wasn't bad but the traffic was horrible and when I started realizing I should buy a house everything non-crappy in my budget I was promptly outbid on. So, I said screw it and became one of those Californians screwing up Oregon instead. Of course, I didn't move to a city, I moved to a county where population growth has been basically 0 for 20 years and the worst traffic is tourist season when it can take 15 minutes to get through town. Sure, I miss a big box home improvement store and a few other amenities, but it sure beats city living, as I'm reminded every time I have to drive to Portland to catch a flight.

I tell people I have the house closest to San Diego where I could afford an ocean view.
 
I am always amused at how people can say- "I went to Los Angeles, I hate California.", or "I went to San Francisco, I hate California." That's like saying- "I went to New York City, New York sucks!" California has almost anything anybody could want somewhere in it accept far right wing politics. There are plenty of places here where you can live on a 100 acres or more all by yourself and nobody will bother you if that's what you like. Very little of the state geographically is "stacked cord wood".

Having said all that, it is unbelievably terrible here!! Don't ever move here!!

You're welcome to visit our misery though... :D
 
I've been to CA once, no desire what so ever to go back. It really should be it's own country.
 
Dav8or said:
Having said all that, it is unbelievably terrible here!! Don't ever move here!!
Click to expand...

Not a problem..!!!:lol:

However, before we lump California as a lost cause:
  1. California is the world’s 5th largest supplier of food, cotton fiber and other agricultural commodities.
  2. California is the largest producer of food in the U.S.
  3. The unique Mediterranean climate allows California to grow over 450+ different crops.
  4. Some of these crops are exclusive to California: almonds, artichokes, dates, figs, kiwifruit, olives, persimmons, pomegranates, pistachios, prunes, raisins, clovers, and walnuts
  5. California is the largest exporter of almonds in the world
  6. California is the number 1 dairy state in the U.S. (sorry Wisconsin)
  7. California produces over 86% of all the lemons consumed in the United States.
  8. California is the 4th largest wine producer in the world and produces over 90% of the wine in the U.S.
  9. 70 to 80% of all ripe olives are grown in California
  10. California accounts for 94% of the processed tomatoes in the U.S.
  11. California is the nation’s leading producer of strawberries, averaging 1.4 billion pounds of strawberries or 83% of the country’s total fresh and frozen strawberry production.
  12. The value of the California strawberry crop is approximately $700 million with related employment of more than 48,000 people.
  13. California produces 25% of the nation’s onions and 43% of the nation’s green onions.
So, California is good for something a few things after all....;)

(I come from a rural back ground so I tend to pay attention to stuff like this)
 
Zeldman said:
So, California is good for something a few things after all....;)

(I come from a rural back ground so I tend to pay attention to stuff like this)
Click to expand...

And as your stats indicate, there is a whole lot of rural here! I happen to live in part of that rural. There are farms all around our town.
 
Everskyward said:
Yes, since July.

Learning to be a city mouse again. But really no surprises, since I had been going back and forth for a long time.
Click to expand...

San Fran is a lovely city imo. Have visited many, many times and prefer it to SoCal. Was just there on biz for some meetings at the Ferry Building, Embarcadero in Oct on a gorgeous day.

But...I am not sure I could live in coastal CA. Here's one person't commute LOL:

http://www.bbc.com/capital/story/20170712-the-man-who-takes-a-plane-to-work-every-day
 
Grum.Man said:
I've been to CA once, no desire what so ever to go back. It really should be it's own country.
Click to expand...

And it's one of the few states in the union that could actually survive and thrive as it's own country, the vast majority would suffer on their own. However, simply cutting California loose isn't going to solve your liberal problem that I suspect is the root of your California hate. There are plenty of other blue states that would pick up the slack and that list of blue states is growing, not shrinking.
 
Dav8or said:
And it's one of the few states in the union that could actually survive and thrive as it's own country, the vast majority would suffer on their own. However, simply cutting California loose isn't going to solve your liberal problem that I suspect is the root of your California hate. There are plenty of other blue states that would pick up the slack and that list of blue states is growing, not shrinking.
Click to expand...

My home state turned red in '16.
 
Zeldman said:
Not a problem..!!!:lol:

However, before we lump California as a lost cause:
  1. California is the world’s 5th largest supplier of food, cotton fiber and other agricultural commodities.
  2. California is the largest producer of food in the U.S.
  3. The unique Mediterranean climate allows California to grow over 450+ different crops.
  4. Some of these crops are exclusive to California: almonds, artichokes, dates, figs, kiwifruit, olives, persimmons, pomegranates, pistachios, prunes, raisins, clovers, and walnuts
  5. California is the largest exporter of almonds in the world
  6. California is the number 1 dairy state in the U.S. (sorry Wisconsin)
  7. California produces over 86% of all the lemons consumed in the United States.
  8. California is the 4th largest wine producer in the world and produces over 90% of the wine in the U.S.
  9. 70 to 80% of all ripe olives are grown in California
  10. California accounts for 94% of the processed tomatoes in the U.S.
  11. California is the nation’s leading producer of strawberries, averaging 1.4 billion pounds of strawberries or 83% of the country’s total fresh and frozen strawberry production.
  12. The value of the California strawberry crop is approximately $700 million with related employment of more than 48,000 people.
  13. California produces 25% of the nation’s onions and 43% of the nation’s green onions.
So, California is good for something a few things after all....;)

(I come from a rural back ground so I tend to pay attention to stuff like this)
Click to expand...

Yes, we know about the fruits & nuts aspect.
 
Zeldman said:
Not a problem..!!!:lol:

However, before we lump California as a lost cause:
  1. California is the world’s 5th largest supplier of food, cotton fiber and other agricultural commodities.
  2. California is the largest producer of food in the U.S.
  3. The unique Mediterranean climate allows California to grow over 450+ different crops.
  4. Some of these crops are exclusive to California: almonds, artichokes, dates, figs, kiwifruit, olives, persimmons, pomegranates, pistachios, prunes, raisins, clovers, and walnuts
  5. California is the largest exporter of almonds in the world
  6. California is the number 1 dairy state in the U.S. (sorry Wisconsin)
  7. California produces over 86% of all the lemons consumed in the United States.
  8. California is the 4th largest wine producer in the world and produces over 90% of the wine in the U.S.
  9. 70 to 80% of all ripe olives are grown in California
  10. California accounts for 94% of the processed tomatoes in the U.S.
  11. California is the nation’s leading producer of strawberries, averaging 1.4 billion pounds of strawberries or 83% of the country’s total fresh and frozen strawberry production.
  12. The value of the California strawberry crop is approximately $700 million with related employment of more than 48,000 people.
  13. California produces 25% of the nation’s onions and 43% of the nation’s green onions.
  14. California performs the most plastic surgeries and breast enhancements.
So, California is good for something a few things after all....;)

(I come from a rural back ground so I tend to pay attention to stuff like this)
Click to expand...

FTFY ;)
 
Zeldman said:
Not a problem..!!!:lol:

However, before we lump California as a lost cause:
  1. California is the world’s 5th largest supplier of food, cotton fiber and other agricultural commodities.
  2. California is the largest producer of food in the U.S.
  3. The unique Mediterranean climate allows California to grow over 450+ different crops.
  4. Some of these crops are exclusive to California: almonds, artichokes, dates, figs, kiwifruit, olives, persimmons, pomegranates, pistachios, prunes, raisins, clovers, and walnuts
  5. California is the largest exporter of almonds in the world
  6. California is the number 1 dairy state in the U.S. (sorry Wisconsin)
  7. California produces over 86% of all the lemons consumed in the United States.
  8. California is the 4th largest wine producer in the world and produces over 90% of the wine in the U.S.
  9. 70 to 80% of all ripe olives are grown in California
  10. California accounts for 94% of the processed tomatoes in the U.S.
  11. California is the nation’s leading producer of strawberries, averaging 1.4 billion pounds of strawberries or 83% of the country’s total fresh and frozen strawberry production.
  12. The value of the California strawberry crop is approximately $700 million with related employment of more than 48,000 people.
  13. California produces 25% of the nation’s onions and 43% of the nation’s green onions.
So, California is good for something a few things after all....;)

(I come from a rural back ground so I tend to pay attention to stuff like this)
Click to expand...

Everything you're promoting is the result of stealing water from other states. The complete drought over much of California means that many of the farming practices used there are irresponsible and unsustainable in the long-term. Almonds are incredibly water-hungry. Why on earth should we be happy that California wastes water feeding them? Personally, I try to avoid purchasing any foods (or alcohol) that comes from California.

Lets farm (and eat) foods that grow naturally in each region of the country rather than forcing things to grow places they otherwise wouldn't. If we can't eat as much citrus (or avocado), so be it.
 
skier said:
Everything you're promoting is the result of stealing water from other states. The complete drought over much of California means that many of the farming practices used there are irresponsible and unsustainable in the long-term. Almonds are incredibly water-hungry. Why on earth should we be happy that California wastes water feeding them? Personally, I try to avoid purchasing any foods (or alcohol) that comes from California.

Lets farm (and eat) foods that grow naturally in each region of the country rather than forcing things to grow places they otherwise wouldn't. If we can't eat as much citrus (or avocado), so be it.
Click to expand...

Somebody's gonna get awfully tired of eating Brussels Sprouts. :D
 
Norman said:
Somebody's gonna get awfully tired of eating Brussels Sprouts. :D
Click to expand...

Add some bacon, salt, and a little sugar (honey or maple syrup also work). Yum. I could eat brussel sprouts every day.
 
Zeldman said:
Not a problem..!!!:lol:

However, before we lump California as a lost cause:
  1. California is the world’s 5th largest supplier of food, cotton fiber and other agricultural commodities.
  2. California is the largest producer of food in the U.S.
  3. The unique Mediterranean climate allows California to grow over 450+ different crops.
  4. Some of these crops are exclusive to California: almonds, artichokes, dates, figs, kiwifruit, olives, persimmons, pomegranates, pistachios, prunes, raisins, clovers, and walnuts
  5. California is the largest exporter of almonds in the world
  6. California is the number 1 dairy state in the U.S. (sorry Wisconsin)
  7. California produces over 86% of all the lemons consumed in the United States.
  8. California is the 4th largest wine producer in the world and produces over 90% of the wine in the U.S.
  9. 70 to 80% of all ripe olives are grown in California
  10. Chttp://www.verticalwayaround.com/prepublish/images/Girls3.jpgalifornia accounts for 94% of the processed tomatoes in the U.S.
  11. California is the nation’s leading producer of strawberries, averaging 1.4 billion pounds of strawberries or 83% of the country’s total fresh and frozen strawberry production.
  12. The value of the California strawberry crop is approximately $700 million with related employment of more than 48,000 people.
  13. California produces 25% of the nation’s onions and 43% of the nation’s green onions.
So, California is good for something a few things after all....;)

(I come from a rural back ground so I tend to pay attention to stuff like this)
Click to expand...

Me...I am a city mouse...

California also has

girls_1024x1024.JPG


8c4c93aebac8ee5060c4f482e687029b
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top