G finally got to playing with the little girls across the street, mostly cause its finally staying lighter later and I finally got home earlier. When I suggested it, she ran over to their house with her blanky and proceeded to enthusiastically ring their bell and bang on the door.
A few minutes later they pulled up, and tremendous bike excitement ensued on both sides of the street. I hung out with their father and kibbitzed while the 3 girls (G, Maddie – 5, and Katelyn – 7) proceeded to circle round us on their bikes shouting like The Three Amigos. Amazing how fast they hit it off. They wanted to run and play in each other’s houses, and did not want to go in when it got dark. We then went for a walk around the block while they rode their bikes. G has heretofore shown little interest in riding around the neighborhood, and I barely got her round the corner she was so shy. Now her pending frustration over the rolled curbs toppling her on training wheels has morphed into determination to lose the training wheels. Nobody wanted to go in for the night, and she got invited to a birthday party in 2 weeks.
That night I asked G if she had fun, but she could not recount the details. She just kept getting all shivery and saying “i love you daddy!” We’re both hoping this lives up to its potential.
I see this at work all the time – the “Idea” people just love to talk. Most of them are the first ones to get fired when times get tight. The best companies I have worked for have balanced the talkers with the geeks, marketing in tandem with engineering. The failures did not. You know politicians are lying if they are talking, yet somehow we felt 25% of our GDP could be master-planned by politicians?
The health care bill is a terrible idea, for no other reason than the debate has ceased to be about economics and has become about philosophy. Our country combining the ideals of freedom and welfare\charity\opportunity\fairness are what makes it unique and wonderful. But i dont think dwelling on it, as all the pundits are doing, will be all that revealing or all that interesting after a few days – the issue is as old as philosophy itself, and at least to this grad-school dropout, irresolvable. I think the only rational thing to do in that situation is stand back and let individuals make decisions. Several facts are undeniable: economies are more efficient when they are primarily driven by individual choices and incentives at a micro level, and correspondingly, master planning an economy will always fail in the long run. I just can’t believe that everyone has gotten so wrapped up in the ideology that they’ve lost sight of the economics.
I think a health care system can work in several different models, the articles and studies paraded around 6 months and a year ago convinced me of that. But no analysis or plan has been able to fully operate with the consistency that either a free market model or a social justice model requires to not be broken, including our current one. I personally do not find the current system broken as much as bent, and am furious that its been destroyed for an unproven plan. I won’t even paint the exterior of my house because its too big a job for someone with no experience, yet we want to master plan 25% of our GDP? Its complete political conceit to think we are capable of that. I thought Obama was more moderate and more grounded, and I am regretting trusting him with my vote; I always knew Pelosi was an evil political backroomer. At least the Republicans who represent me in Scottsdale all seem more centrist than the far-righters in Mesa, cause I guess I will be voting for them again. I’m sure I’m not alone. Once again the Democrats have handed the Republican fringes the ammunition they need to become empowered, by acting like the crazy pinko fringe everyone dreads.
The Roman empire collapsed because it was built on slavery and expansion, and when there was no one left to conquer and fuel the machine, upward mobility became equated with comforts and lavish non-essentials rather than actually moving up. Citizens became content to let 3rd parties do their fighting. The country was no longer hungry, it did not defend itself, and it collapsed. I don’t know if that is a fair parallel – its certainly a great goal to provide everyone health care, but 25% of your GDP managed by politicians?!?!? Its unprecedented in history that we have the technology and means to invest that much in our health, that a life can cost so much, and is worth so much. If you view that as a lavish non-essential, we are en route to being another tired European economy.
Why did the system need to be overhauled, and not just fixed? My approach would have been cost standardization within each provider, greater cost bearing by the patient to remove the obscurity of a 3rd party payer and incentivize different choices, and a designation of a “welfare” level of universal service but not even attempting to make it the same as a private level. Less cost shifting, better incentives, more transparency, but no re-architecting. Its easy to say a family should not have its savings wiped out because of 1 illness, but what costs does that impose on every other family? If you make $30k a year, and have 5 kids and the last one has some half-million dollar condition…how can you impose your need on your neighbors? If we didn’t have such amazing technology developed in the past few decades, this would not even be an option for the 30k family…how did it get to be an entitlement? Inexpensive and vastly effective prenatal care or immunizations for everyone makes sense as we are a wealthy nation, but the 1% and the corner cases and all the money invested in the last 6 months of life is the giant SUV or 60 inch TV that no one needs. Its hubris to think we can address these catastrophes, its hubris to think we can scheme around a way to pay for them. People die, resources are finite, why did this issue become about philosophy and not about economics? We make these tradeoffs with everything else in the world. Will the person who does not buy insurance or the 19 illegal immigrant crammed into a van be denied service now in the ER? If they are not, then all arguments about fairness in the new system go out the door, and it proves itself to be just another bullshit Democrat big government powergrab.
One democratic pundit suggested that we are heading for a consumption tax to make up for the revenue gap this plan will cause. Oddly, opponents of consumption taxes are often the same people who champion the poor, since the poor often have the least choice in using discretionary income.
I was up til 3am installing a dog door. When I’d finished and re-hung it, Kila immediately trotted over, stuck her nose through the flap, and boredly shuffled back to her pillow. Turtle jumped through, then only came back when she knew i was locking up the garage for the night. At least it will get utilized immediately, and animals can shit in the grass, though a thank you would have been nice. I meant to go to bed sooner, but these things happen when you start at 10pm after several other projects and reconnaissance.
One of G’s good friends from school was having a party the next morning, way the hell over in AJ. But we had to deal with the pond at the Mesa house to remove it from the plate of the renters, and G was going to freak out if she didn’t play with some kids. We got to Mesa at about 2:30. G and Alana had both had a full day, but would not rest, depsite being stuck in an empty house and an empty yard with parents too busy doing prison labor to listen to any of their yammering.
I feared this might take 2 days. The rocks pulled back and pond emptied of plants in an hour, another hour to pull the skin. Instead of bailing we ripped the skin up in pieces and let everything spill over and sink in, periodically requiring one of us to get nearly under water to eviscerate the rubber lining and let a cascade of crud fall on the slicer.
some serious roots on the mesquite, one of em was wrapped in cloth, which told us it was huge before the pond even went in over 10 years ago
more amazing roots on the water plants
G and Alana keeping busy in the sandbox
We were now so foul and in awe of the enormous sinkhole in front of us, we just pushed nearly all the crap right back in. Getting splashed as rocks and plants and the compost pile were hurled into the murky, green-brown pit was barely noticed. Then we stacked up the cinder blocks and dug up the garden and shucked it in on top. A tuckbed of dirt and a truckbed of gravel and you will never know any ot it existed. It will keep things simpler and make the house look cleaner to sell. When I told my parents we filled in the pond, Mom didn’t even know we had one. Filling it in was the 2nd time ever I got in to work on it, I hated it that much. Beckie gave it one brief eulogy then hurled in filler as fast as she could. It took 2 of us about 4 hrs to kill it, and at least twice that to maintain properly every year. Still not sure I can handle the Happy Meal sized yard i now have, but i sure as fuck never want any of that shit again.
Alana and G both were exhausted, bored, stressed, and wailing inconsolably. Had they not fallen asleep when they did, they might have ended up in the pit too. Finally i let G play with the camera, and she did quite a remarkable job capturing the day.
A week later, and we are almost moved and sustainably settled, evidenced by my being on the trainer and uploading photos. The trainer is my chrysalis, and when i have time to ride a bike again I shall emerge a resident of Snotsdale. Contrasts to Mesa were immediately apparent, others I will be smacked by for months to come. More people in nicer cars driving self-importantly tops the list. There are houses closer together, narrower streets, xeriscape, R38 insualtion and businesses so well camoflauged i nearly ran out of gas looking for gas. There are bike lanes, and smart flow to the signal changes, efficient use of private and public spaces to maximize utility for all, leading to a higher cost per square foot. There was an article in the Repbulic about the Scottsdale waterfont levying a permit on restaurants to fund sewer and grease trap cleanup, cause the area stank. Commenters bitched about government intervention, and clearly they know nothing of libertarianism or market forces or negative externalities…the business will pass it on to the customer, and draw a more well-healed, more decisive crowd to enjoy a beautiful waterfront experience that does not stink. I lived next to the Salt River for 10 years, and I assure you a year-round non-stinky body of water does not happen naturally in Arizona. The overriding theme to Scottsdale is people making choices about their choices, and choosing to invest in a lifestyle that strives to be eco-friendly, value-laden, and giving the homeowner what they want and not what they don’t.
Or perhaps I am just projecting. Scottsdale is definitely more modernly and urbanly designed than Mesa. People may just follow the crowd and move here on the promise of better; we chose it, since Flagstaff would be a colossal waste of our shiny degrees and current market values.
The garage is enormous, the house is enormous, I passed Jack Shepherd on the way to the back bedroom. Every square foot is maximized for daily usage, and every ounce of fat is trimmed, much to the chagrin of the movers attempting to get a treadmill up the stairs and around the corner. Every corner can be well lit, its quiet and dark and light in all the right places. It feels just a bit too tiny, like an ipod, a Japanese template of cleverness for a tidy miniMcMansion. Except for the side yard, which is just barely not wide enough to let the garbage can and the recycling can pass. Its kafka-esque. We have no side yard, whatsoever, but a beautiful wall of windows in the office that looks out onto the only functionally smart space to store the trash. Trimmed a little too close with that one. Perhaps $5k more would have bought me 1000 feet more in the lot, and perhaps I’d still be shopping and waiting a year from now. *SHRUG*. Its so small as to exactly fit a pool and a spa and a bbq, and is visible on the corner. A fishbowl. Beckie and I both grew up on huge yards, our shitbag 1400 sq ft Tucson house had a HUGE backyard. Our Mesa house is a test lab for the NAU College of Forestry. Our new house has nothing. It has less than nothing, it has so little, there is not even room for me to store tools i will not need.
There is more, i don’t see it yet, but i see more possibilities every day. The garden we could not maintain in Mesa may be a manageable source of fresh chilis. Vines and oleander will give us privacy. Brushing off catclaw of opportunity and angst was my mental trainer for the long days ahead where i would not get to work out or ride, full of time-sensitive milestones, rented resources, labor rates, and dependencies. Days of project planning in the making, and within the first mile on the entrance ramp, a dooshbag in a full size pickup jumped between us only to hang out right behind Beckie and her F150 and her ATV trailer laden with shit, going 50 in the 65 zone. Never ceases to amaze how dumb drivers are not to notice 2 cars riding together like 2 bikes. i pulled out a roadie trick: if you cant get on a passing line, speed up, and force your way in until they realize they will die if they don’t fucking let you in. Its hard to miss a shiny black car, with 2 bikes hanging off the rack on nearly every trip. I was the Bandit running blocker with Alana, keeping the tailgaters away.
marking my territory
The schedule on Friday went like this: arise, fill vehicles to overflowing, arrive, sweep and blow out garage, inspect all closets and cabinets, unload all into garage, return and complete packing and loading. There was no time to eat, sleep, chill built into the schedule. I have no idea when I went to bed, but i woke up early.
the old owners accidentally left this, and i am taking to rum after about a 20 year layoff
very full garage after only 2 trips
Saturday was tighter. Drive, unload, expunge from the garage into closets and counters at a ballistic rate, drive, reload, repeat, greet maid service to clean all the crannies, drive, pack.
I met the neighbor across the street, he was clipping his bushes with bonsai-care, and picking up stray leaves with his bare hands. I blew out my garage with a garden blower before unloading, and am about to halve a plant that is in my truck’s parking spot. Somewhere, I still have a drill bit case autographed by Tim Allen in 1991. I bet no one in this hood has a chain saw oush oush!
Allegedly the new neighbor has a 5 yr old girl. We shall surely find out soon when G and I let the freak flag fly. He said “dont be alarmed if you hear loud music and drug delaing“. I said be sure to invite me. We shall see… Glen next door turned out to be a great guy, but a challenge to gel with at first. This could be too easy.
The maids went in circles for 2 hours within 5 miles of the house, and i was helpless to help them as i barely knew the area. I was amazed at how incompetent they were with directions. Not mapquesting is very beaner, and while its mean to write this, they are not on the internet. I gave them $10 extra for gas, while they cleaned my half million dollar house. Does that make me a dick, or a guy giving 15% for $70 worth of work that was 2 hrs late? The crew that cleaned the Mesa house today appreciated the tips every year, and asked for me to ask for them when we move. They were playing the radio while i was weeding, and sheepishly asked it it was ok – i busted up laughing, they asked me to say hi to G and Alana for them.
I sallied forth to rescue the cleaning service, and got a look at the bridge over the canal into Horseworld. College Nationals was held here in 1990, my first trip to Arizona. Its got paths, and is a nice steep pitch that is begging for jumps. I need to explore. I want to explore the desert areas and the streets more than i want to ride the trails or the roadie routes. I need my comfot zone, like a cat, doing concentrice circles of caution and daring, gradually expanding the cat-empire.
Turtle bolted across the street the instant we let her out of the car, and was not seen for 10 hrs. We called all day for her, and she finally strolled nonchalantly out of the garage. It took me 2 days to find my cell phone charger, perhaps she was there all along. She is a smart cat. She now darts cautiously about, learning all the patterns I want to see but have not had time.
Sunday was much the same as Saturday, with heaping heaps of stuff and vehicles, but now we thought it was time to bring Bette and G. The hitch-hauler and Prius were conscripted. Kila rolls with me. G gets her first look at the house.
That night i runzeheunded out behind the high school down some quad tracks and back. A tidy 3 or so miles in a lazy hour, all but .5 miles of it off leash. Score one for the new house, and despite the shocking density vs. Mesa, we had the night to ourselves.
last chopper out of Saigon
magazine detritus over the treadmill
Last project on Sunday before working with the movers Monday at 8am was to template the pool table. Only 1 shot at this, the pressure was amazing…
the movers were quite cool and way cheaper than pool table movers and taught me a few things about the table. Its not as hard to scootch around as I thought. Thanks Always Professional in Moving. Awesome job and great value. And, tipping the movers after load but before unload was a savvy veteran move.
cant wait to view the table from the blimp during games
The cable guy came, i fixed things and installed things, i lost track of time and space and diet, it became a pseuo-sisyphean tunnel of honey-do tasks. I spent 10 hours on Tuesday in an empty house not saying a word other than babbling to myself as i patched and painted away 10 yrs of hard living, went snow blind painting the white master closet another shade of white. Coupled with Thursday’s weed-a-thon, i want to shed the Mesa house like a sticky booger and hug the agent-orange blight in the Scottsdale place. At least this week.
I possibly incurred the wrath of my new HOA; I painted my fence today. It was on “the list” that I started writing down over the last few days of exploring the house. After a home inspector noted my fence in Mesa was hanging together by some old dead tree fiber and paint boogers, and it had been about 8 years since i weatherproofed it, I couldn’t not notice that about 2/3ds of the fences in the neighborhood were painted, and i couldn’t not notice none of them in the new neighborhood were, and mine was looking like about a 10 year old fence instead of a 3 year old one already.
I spent a mere 1.5 hrs at work today and had to get home to ignore the kids and blow off work and obsess over the chaos surrounding me. After 10 nonstop hours patching and painting the Mesa house yesterday, much of it locked in the white master closet painting it white and inhaling paint fumes, avoiding some of the mistakes in that house was on my mind. So i sorted through all the leftover cans and tried to match them to swatches, which led to me replacing the water filter on the fridge, which led to me disassembling and servicing the splash pad, which led to a dog door, which led to insulation for the garage, which led to painting the fence. There is a line through all this, a ginormous 4 lane highway like the Loop 101, but I’m too tired to follow it. The last few days of non-stop tasks and time-sensitive milestones have left me numb. And I have lost all faith in the orderly conduct of packing and unpacking when i can’t find my cell phone charger or a pair of clean socks. Beckie is obsessed with unpacking, fortunately. Such endeavors are too vague and subjective for me, I need minor victories for motivation.
Amazingly, I lost not one of 30 bolts or 30 nuts used to hold the slats in place, even with Genevieve and Alana helping me. G’s help goes like this: ask if she can help, get dressed in the old t-shirt i had moment before been wearing, wield a brush dripping paint like grease from bacon, amazingly take and follow instructions, paint almost 1 side of 1 coat of 3 out of 10 slats, declare she wants to return to her movie, run through the house a Bark Mulch 8374M-colored sprite. Alana’s help goes like this: take every single shiny piece out of my ratchet set, especially the small ones. I was a little worried, but there’s nothing smaller than 4mm so i was pretty confident i could pull it out of her throat as needed. She faced much greater risk earlier trying to crawl through all the chemicals and cleansers under the sink.
One thing I really like about the new house: there are no streetlights in our little neighborhood. One thing I don’t like: the parking spot on the driveway for the truck in front of the door that never opens is just barely not wide enough to not allow me to pass with the garbage bin. Kila can hear the sound of a dish being put on the floor from 2 stories up; Genevieve passed out on the couch must be carried 2 stories up. Vertical space is expertly used to allow gobs of storage, but its all just a wee stretch for a below-average height dwarf such as me. The attic is well laid out with safe convenient access to the air-handlers, but it is useless for storage. The insulation does not itch, but is like swimming underwater in the dark to find the wires buried beneath it. The yard is small, the pantry is big, the side yard is claustrophobic and there is no room to hang clothes in the laundry room. There are outlets everywhere, except for 1 whole half of the garage where I will either store a fridge or a workbench – I’m going to learn how to tap into an existing outlet from behind. I watched the cable guy do it today when he added a cable port for me – there was cable in every room except where i wanted to put the office. The house is weather proof and sound proof, which is good cause i live almost on top of my neighbors.
because I am overcaffeinated or overstressed or ADD or too American, my brain won’t sit still. I can not focus on the ginormous pile of money that moves from 1 place to another and the other ginormous pile of stuff that moves back, I am fixated on how Kila can get out to deuce and the tools i will need to install it. And as soon as I’d bought them, I could not stop thinking about painting G’s room. She wants a castle, maybe with grey and pink and white sponge brushing, and some rolly green hills in the background, and some sky. and then every person who comes to visit can buy some damn colors and paint in a rainbow or a unicorn or some yodas and shit. I am too busy to think about more than the grey\green\blue\white\pink\black paint i need to buy. I may end up shopping for paint, before even having figured out how to buy a hand truck. I’ve got a steam cleaner covered, but i can’t remember if that was before or after the hand truck.
I took Kila out for a dog ride last night, and convinced James to come along, there was knowledge yet to be dropped. Dropped it was. He rode some stairs for the first time woot woot, as did I – the new Bucket List item is now old, and my links are getting localized like my rides and my time on the trainer and the dog rides. Kila spatted with coyotes and javalina in the same night, and got nipped by at least one of em. Recounting these awesome details this morning and this evening got me through the rapids, at least for a day. I dug deep for 1 more hour on 1.5 more projects to finish the 4 insane work toxins I’ve caught today. The current ride is the trainer, which is not nearly so potent, which is probably why i find beer makes it all tolerable again. And my housewarming gift to myself, cuz my back is gonna kill me.
