Home Buying and Random Stuff

In general, I don't enjoy shopping. I've come to believe that my level of shopping enjoyment, while almost always low, is inversely proportional to the cost of the item I'm shopping for. You can deduce for yourself how much fun it is for me to shop for a home in California. Nevertheless, I have made efforts to persevere in this endeavor. When I bought my place in Pearland, TX, it was one of 9 homes that I visited. I'm pretty sure I've been to more than 109 places here. Of these, I'm 0 for 3 on reaching an agreement with the owners of properties I've made offers for. Hopefully, my batting average will improve sometime soon.

While looking at home listings, I've had a chance to read quite a few property descriptions by the realtors. I'm thinking of writing a booklet to help home buyers translate California realtor speak into English. Perhaps Michael and Veronica Thomas will help, having been former CA homeowners. Here's what I have so far:

“Just needs a little TLC.” = needs new paint & carpet everywhere and some sheetrock patching
“Short sale.” = Wait two months for the bank to respond to your offer.
“Make an offer.” = Make an offer that is at or above the list price.
“Must see!” = Ignore these words; every other listing says “Must see!”
“What a deal!” = This place only costs 4 times what it would in Houston.
“Updated kitchen—granite counters.” = Ignore the other rooms.
“Best deal in Martinez!” = Only house that realtor’s seen in Martinez this year
“Must see to appreciate.” = We couldn’t figure out how to make it look good in the pictures.
“Sold as-is.” = Ignore the purple walls and warped floors.
“REO” = Bank owned = Needs TLC due to the former owners trashing the place before their eviction.
“Handyman’s special” = Here’s a pit to dump your money in.
“Great fixer-upper.” = Close eyes upon arriving at the home.

On to random stuff:

I was introduced to the term "mashup" as it relates to music a couple of weeks ago. (not as in "mashup those potatoes") This is where they mix the lyrics from one song on top of the music from another. Here's a link to wikipedia's explanation (check out the image on the flyer for Bootie on the top right). http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mashup_(music) Anyway, I went with some folks to a club in San Francisco that played only mashups the night we were there. It was interesting to hear Aerosmith singing over some 50 Cent music, or Nelly Furtado singing over Salt-n-Pepa. I even heard John Denver mixed in with someone.

Last week, I stopped in at a local Chinese buffet. Upon returning to my table with a full plate, I noticed that I didn't see any other Caucasians in the restaurant. This was only mildly surprising to me, being in an ethnic restaurant. However, while the waitstaff was Asian as expected, the other patrons I saw were all Hispanic. Based upon the location of the restaurant and demographics of the area, I still haven't figured this one out.

I'm not sure if the Houston folks remember a morning radio DJ named Maria Todd. She was paired with Sam Malone before he switched stations. Anyway, if you ever wondered what became of her, I stumbled across her show on a station out here. (I'm guessing that nobody missed her, because I didn't realize she left the Houston airwaves.)

Rob and April Montgomery were in the area this past week for Rob to take a training class at Chevron's Richmond refinery. We had a chance to get together and go play tourist in San Francisco one evening. It was the first time I'd driven into the city, and my brakes got quite a workout. I'd never been up and down such steep grades in a car before. We drove to the top of Telegraph Hill, through Chinatown, and down the curvy part of Lombard Street. After watching the sea lion show, we ate at a small place on Pier 39 . Clam chowder served in a sourdough bread bowl is where it's at! On the way back to Richmond, we crossed over the Golden Gate Bridge (everyone's 1st time across it.) On the way across, we noticed signs telling us that no U-turns are allowed on the bridge. I was relieved not to have to make that decision without guidance.