The Boys Are Back In Town
And when the boys are back, there ain't no foolin' around.
The Trip part of the trip to the farm & back was not ideal. Emily and our boys and us and our stuff was a tight fit in the Monster Truck, so the boys were in each others' space for too long on the way there. They have reached the "he hit me" "he touched me" "stop that!" age, apparently. And as much as the frazzled driver dad is mocked in film -- it's a real reaction to the constant whining & bickering. The trip home was a little easier since we rearranged the seating, but still Evil's Twin Minions are very loud little people. And then we lost AK's wallet somewhere in Belle Vernon. And then Ben was visited by Kirmy/Kirby (that's what he named his tummy bug).
The VISIT part of the vacation was just wonderful! Kids succumbed to mind-rot, watching TV in another part of the farm. Grownups got to have quiet grownup time. AK knit. I got some Ebay work done for Xmas money. We got to hang out with Granny, Aunt C and The New Oliver Crew. Our new nephew is a truly righteous baby, and he gets my full mental props (including mental high-fives, mental flying chest-butts, and mental surfer-nods/hang-loose signals).
Now we are back and readjusting to real life, albeit a much more Christmassy and perfumed real life. AK and Max went on a decorating binge Sunday, so we have one of the more Christmassy houses on the street now. Our tree is up & decorated, and I don't know what it is or if it's even technically Christmassy, but there is a nice aroma hanging around ever since they opened the X-mas boxes. It might be Fresh Breeze Scented Poop-Away Glade Renuzits Air Fresheners as far as I know.
On an unrelated note, AK's work load has lightened temporarily so she's been honing her Google Fu skills. Her internet research has proven beyond any even partially reasonable doubt that LEAVING LA WAS THE RIGHT THING TO DO. Take note, any of you out there who still think I went off the deep end simply due to a Bad Boss: it was so much more than that. We submit the following to the court. . .
-My kindred-spirit Honda buddy who was hired with me, worked with me, promoted with me, and introduced me to my own inner redneck -- who embodied the love of riding more than anyone and gave me my own reborn love of the sport -- who, as much as me, seemed to live his whole life only as preparation for his career with the world's largest motorcycle company -- and who was as happily married to that company as I was -- has been alienated. He left, and is gone back home where life can focus on the important things (with one less important thing to worry about: Honda).
-Riverside County now tops many People Who Know's lists of "Places You Don't Want to Own a Home Right Now On Account of The Market Being About To Crash And All"
-We got an ARM to lower our payments soon after moving there. Soon after we left, if we'd still had the ARM, we'd have been unable to pay the gigantic mortgage payments. The house would have foreclosed.
-The people who bought the house from us? They lost it. It went into foreclosure in September.
-Gas prices have doubled since we left. And that's important when you a)work 70 miles from home and b)live 30 minutes from civilization.
-When we sold -- and waited way longer than we thought we should have had to -- there were just a few 4 BR homes for sale. Today, counting just the 4 bedroom homes, over 1800 are for sale in Corona. Asking prices in our development are barely above what we got for our house 2 years ago.
The Trip part of the trip to the farm & back was not ideal. Emily and our boys and us and our stuff was a tight fit in the Monster Truck, so the boys were in each others' space for too long on the way there. They have reached the "he hit me" "he touched me" "stop that!" age, apparently. And as much as the frazzled driver dad is mocked in film -- it's a real reaction to the constant whining & bickering. The trip home was a little easier since we rearranged the seating, but still Evil's Twin Minions are very loud little people. And then we lost AK's wallet somewhere in Belle Vernon. And then Ben was visited by Kirmy/Kirby (that's what he named his tummy bug).
The VISIT part of the vacation was just wonderful! Kids succumbed to mind-rot, watching TV in another part of the farm. Grownups got to have quiet grownup time. AK knit. I got some Ebay work done for Xmas money. We got to hang out with Granny, Aunt C and The New Oliver Crew. Our new nephew is a truly righteous baby, and he gets my full mental props (including mental high-fives, mental flying chest-butts, and mental surfer-nods/hang-loose signals).
Now we are back and readjusting to real life, albeit a much more Christmassy and perfumed real life. AK and Max went on a decorating binge Sunday, so we have one of the more Christmassy houses on the street now. Our tree is up & decorated, and I don't know what it is or if it's even technically Christmassy, but there is a nice aroma hanging around ever since they opened the X-mas boxes. It might be Fresh Breeze Scented Poop-Away Glade Renuzits Air Fresheners as far as I know.
On an unrelated note, AK's work load has lightened temporarily so she's been honing her Google Fu skills. Her internet research has proven beyond any even partially reasonable doubt that LEAVING LA WAS THE RIGHT THING TO DO. Take note, any of you out there who still think I went off the deep end simply due to a Bad Boss: it was so much more than that. We submit the following to the court. . .
-My kindred-spirit Honda buddy who was hired with me, worked with me, promoted with me, and introduced me to my own inner redneck -- who embodied the love of riding more than anyone and gave me my own reborn love of the sport -- who, as much as me, seemed to live his whole life only as preparation for his career with the world's largest motorcycle company -- and who was as happily married to that company as I was -- has been alienated. He left, and is gone back home where life can focus on the important things (with one less important thing to worry about: Honda).
-Riverside County now tops many People Who Know's lists of "Places You Don't Want to Own a Home Right Now On Account of The Market Being About To Crash And All"
-We got an ARM to lower our payments soon after moving there. Soon after we left, if we'd still had the ARM, we'd have been unable to pay the gigantic mortgage payments. The house would have foreclosed.
-The people who bought the house from us? They lost it. It went into foreclosure in September.
-Gas prices have doubled since we left. And that's important when you a)work 70 miles from home and b)live 30 minutes from civilization.
-When we sold -- and waited way longer than we thought we should have had to -- there were just a few 4 BR homes for sale. Today, counting just the 4 bedroom homes, over 1800 are for sale in Corona. Asking prices in our development are barely above what we got for our house 2 years ago.
posted by Chris at
6:52 PM
3 Comments:
Ooh, yuck. What kind of horrible person would have set you up with an ARM in this day and age?
Well he's OK. You know, he was just doing his job. Though his karma would probably clean up a bit if he offered me a place to flop for a few nights in Vegas this Spring while I attend an airbrush seminar. I was just thinking he should send me an e-mail at chris@luxgraphics.com. Thanks for reminding me!
Hey, I'm grateful for that ARM! It got us through the last few months we were in that house and they refunded all the prepayment penalties when we stuck with the same company for a fixed-rate here in PA. They still have WAY better customer service than our old mortgage company and I love that I can make 15-yr payments on my 30-yr mortgage without a penalty or higher interest rate.
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