Pre Event Report

Illusions on a Double Dimple Photo source: Amazon

Ben, the two of us need look no more

We both found what we’ve been looking for

—Don Black

Weather or Not

I made it to Frisco after taking almost four hours for what should’ve been a 2.5 hour drive, according to The Googles. Waco was probably the most interesting part of the drive. I had to go through a thunderstorm that was like driving through a tropical storm. There were times I couldn’t see the car in front of me, even though the traffic on I-35. It slowed to almost 35 miles an hour.

By the time I made it to the north side of Waco, I had driven out of the rain. The roads were not dry, and the sky looked like it could start to pour again at any second. But it had still been free of the rain long enough for the automatic windshield wipers to stop for a couple of minutes. Then my phone went off in panic mode. “Warning! Warning! Warning! Severe thunderstorm warning for the next 18 minutes. Really helpful, Siri.”

So anyway I managed to get to the event and get checked in to help with the event. My job tonight was to attach badge holders to the end of lanyards, and I did a few hundred of those. Then we broke for the evening and I went to the other hotel because I hadn’t been able to get booked at the Hilton tonight.

I got checked in at the other hotel, which shall remain nameless for reasons you shall see. I went up to the room and found it to be very very nice, if not worth the price that I’m having to pay for it. But that’s what happens when you go to a conference and have to get a hotel in a downtown area.

Rats have their place in nature and science. We don’t have to worry too much about them at the Hermits’ Rest Ranch because we have three dogs and numerous wild raptors who all love rats. Photo source: The Scientist

Ratatouille

By that time, I was hungry for dinner. I went downstairs to the restaurant, and it’s pretty nice and reasonably priced—for a hotel. The waitress was really personable and made me laugh. She took my order and went away. While I was waiting for my food to come out a fairly large gray rat scampered across the restaurant in front of me. I was tired, so I rubed my eyes thinking, “Did I really just see a rat run across the restaurant?”

About the time I convinced myself that I didn’t see what I saw, the rat ran back across the other direction. So when the waitress came by with my drink and to take my order, I told her, “By the way you might want to tell your manager I just saw a rat run across there.” When she realized I was serious, she burst out laughing, “Oh no. Now I have to set traps for it.”

She then left to get my drink refill, and I heard the guys in the bar laughing all the way across the hotel. Mind you, it wasn’t really empty in the restaurant, just slow. Like you expect from a hotel restaurant on a Monday night.

She came back and told me that she told the guys in the bar, and they were having a good time about it. She also told me she poured my second drink so it would be comped. Then she left to check on my order and the rat made the third appearance. I told the waitress about this when she came back, and she told the manager who reiterated that she had to set traps for it now.

Everything was settling down when the waitress went to get my food. She came back and she was laughing so hard she could hardly walk. She said the rat had made it to the kitchen and the three big burly guys in there were all up on the counter yelling that “there’s a bunch of them on the floor and there’s only one.” She says, “Frederico says, ‘He’s been here a long time. He is gray. He’s got lots of gray hair.’ I couldn’t convince him that they’re all gray.”

She and I talked for a long time about how she ended up here and things we have in common. Her husband is a national record producer, and they live in Junction. She came up here to open the hotel and his ended up staying for almost 7 years. I told her that I spent 10 years on a three month contract once. This was a very enjoyable and to what had been a stressful then boring day.

Find your hope and laughter where you can.

Because I was unable to write much this week, Suna adapted this post for republication on the Hermit Haus site on 2018-02-09.

 

Home Again

The Hermit Haus team: Carol, Russell, Suna, and me Suna is ready to go home.

Here I am with Than Merrill of Flip That House, CT Homes, and Fortunebuilders Grand Coast Capital took a few investors to see the San Diego Chargers play. Suna is in the front. Paul Esajian stands behind her, and I’m peeking over his shoulder. I blurred all the face except for us and employees of GCC.

Traveling at night, the headlights were bright

And we’d been up many an hour

And all through my brain

Came the refrain of home and its warming fire

— Karla Bonoff

We’re finally home. It was a long weekend in San Diego, but we survived and we learned. A lot. I’ll be posting about what we learned on the Hermit Haus blog over the next couple of months.

More importantly, we came together as a team and had a good time. Thankfully Russell and Carol rented a car, so we were not stuck eating the dreadful hotel cooking. We were able to get away for a few quiet meals, including on nice sushi meal somewhere in SD proper.

Fortunebuilders put on a mixer for those of us who joined the “Inner Circle,” which gives us better access to the big three: Than Merrill, JD Esajian, and Paul Esajian. From what I can tell, Than is the CEO of Fortunebuilders and its subsidiary companies. JD runs the renovation business, and Paul runs the financials, including Grand Coast Capital, a national hard-money lender.

Because Suna and I invested in Grand Coast, we got invited to see the San Diego Chargers play a home game and network with other investors. They put us on a bus and led us up to the Fortunebuilders skybox, where they put on a board of finger foods and booze. We had to leave before the game was over, but that’s okay. I wasn’t really interested in the Chargers. Apparently, nobody else was, either.

But the important thing is that I survived flying there and back again. I’ve never been a fan of airports and airlines, but now TSA seems to be actively everyone to drive to their destinations. If only Suna had the time. I love seeing the country at ground level. What I can see now may all be overly familiar, but that is comforting. At least I don’t have to worry about “special screening” at home or in my car.

 

San Diego

Suna and I waiting to fly out of ABIA yesterday Suna having dinner in the hotel restaurant

Does this look like a $30 meal

I never saw my hometown until I stayed away too long

I never heard the melody until I needed the song

—Tom Waits

Suna, Carol, Russell and I are in San Diego for a Fortunebuilders “bootcamp.” It turns out they have a special meaning for that word that goes far beyond my previous usage. A Fortunebuilders Bootcamp is a large educational event that offers a range of classes to hundreds, if not thousands, of investors and potential investors. Russell is attending the “Internet Intensive” while Suna, Carol, and I are in the “Rental Intensive.”

The Internet Intensive focuses on using the Internet, including a proprietary system called Realeflow, to market to a range of buyers and sellers. Russell is a good choice for that since he is in charge of our back office systems and website.

I’m looking forward to the Rental Intensive and hope I learn a bunch of stuff about managing my rental portfolio.

I can’t say I’m impressed by the hotel hosting the event. The restaurant is overpriced as only a “artistic” or “trendy” place can be. Unfortunately, the quality of the food was not up to the pricing, once again demonstrating the difference between confidence and arrogance. I also wonder if the leadership isn’t looking at the hotel as a distressed commercial property that they can add value to.

 

White Sands National Monument

Caption: Photo by:

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We woke up Tuesday morning and headed to White Sands National Monument before heading home. It was great to see all of that nothingness. We managed to get in and out without buying any nicknacks.

We came back through the Lincoln National Forrest, where it turns out you can buy Christmas trees.

The RV was much happier losing several thousand feet of altitude over the trip home than it was climbing to New Mexico. We made it home just before 11:00 o’clock last night for a night asleep in our own bed before heading out to Angleton for Thanksgiving with many of the same people we were with in Alamogordo.

Food for Thought #5

Few things beat this blend of shrimp, garlic, and peppers. Nummy!

Photo source: Closet Cooking

Other than the economy, anti-Americanism has been causing some people in the United States (and some of our neighbors who fear being mistaken for an American) to reconsider travel abroad. That got me thinking…

Appetizer: Have you ever traveled outside your native country?

I have been to Canada, Mexico, Panamá, and El Salvador. Oh, and as Cheech and Chong would say, “and parts of Alabama.” Each country offered something unique in culture and landscape. And even though, El Salvador was the most dangerous—kidnapping is a growth industry there—it was still fun.

Soup: What’s the farthest from home you have ever ventured?

I think Edmonton, Alberta is actually farther north from me than either San Salvador or Cuidád Panamá, but I haven’t done the math recently enough to be sure. Oddly, most of my trips abroad have all landed me in the same time zone—with the exception of my trips to Canada, which have taken me to all the time zones in the lower 48 states, plus one.

Salad: Do you plan to travel abroad any time in the future, however long it may be? If so, where?

I hope so. I want to see New Zealand and parts of Australia. I have also wanted to visit he ruins of the Shaolin temple in Henan since I was a teen.

Entré: What would deter you most, fear of being targeted as an American, the security considerations of your on nation, or something else?

That answer depends on destination. For most of the world, excluding the caliphate (past, present, or potential), I am more afraid of my own country’s security policies. I’ve had to dig through my vehicle for change to be allowed back in to the United States after having spent too much of my cash in Canada. The Border Patrol won’t take an ATM card.

Dessert: If you could go anywhere in the world for free, where would you most want to go?

Answering this one, I realize it is redundant for me. I hope it isn’t for everyone. But since I worded the question in the superlative, I’ll go with New Zealand. Peter Jackson did an awesome job showcasing the terrain, but that only reinforced a desire to go. I first started thinking about a trip there (or possible emigration) in the late 1980s.

A Loop through Central Texas

Beccano, The Prince, and I laugh at something. We are in front of a large moon-shaped fountain/sundial. Photo by Suna

We went started out today with lunch at a new chain called Which Wich. It is a standard sub shop with an interesting twist. When you go into the store, you pick out a sandwich wrapper from a category like Italian or Vegetarian. Then you mark all the options on the wrapper, hand it to the cashier, and pay. Sometime later, your sub pops out of the oven, fully grown. The sandwiches are tasty enough—not outstanding, but tasty—but the place has the school gym atmosphere that seems to be more and more common. My ears were ringing from the ambient noise by the time we left.

From there we went on a circular tour of Central Texas, out 1431 to 281 and back on 290. We stopped at Whittington’s in Johnson City that specializes in jerky. They sell it for $26/pound, but it is very good. They even ship it free to solder. (I think they mean soldier.)

Then we came back home. The Prince and I smoked some pork loin on the pit, had a couple of Black and Tans*, and generally kicked back. Suna cut and seasoned some veggies. I smoked them with the meat like kabobs. A little pre-packaged potato salad, and we were set.

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* Prince, you’ll want to click on that link. The first picture in the article is of Yuengling’s Black and Tan lable. They suggest pouring the lighter beer first.

Burnin’ Sky

When the sky already has so many beautiful colors, why would you want to change it?

The sky is burnin’

I believe my soul’s on fire

You are,I’m learning,

The key to my desire

—Paul Rodgers

So I worked from home all day today and got everything done.

I had lunch with Eh?—one of my former managers at ALE. It was pleasant, and we caught up on the last couple of months over a nice Chinese buffet. Her sister is being sent to China for a couple of months, but that isn’t why we chose Chinese. She knows of an opening in the technical support side of the not-record-company where she works.

After work Suna, Beccano, and I went out to eat. TubaBoy was at a debate thing, so the rest of us could eat Chinese food without whining. Notice that is two Chinese meals in one day, showing how deprived I have been feeling. We ate at the China Wall, a favorite of mine for a long time. The tables and booths are comfortable. The atmosphere is quiet and respectful. But most important: the food is great.

One of tonight’s specials was Basil Chicken. Not only do I believe that basil is the perfect spice, I like chicken. Adding to the flavor, a couple of jalapeño peppers were sliced across the width to preserve the seeds. I could have eaten this dish until I popped. Suna had the Lemongrass Chicken, which is served with broiled onions—delicious. Beccano had Beef in Oyster Sauce, which is served on a hot plate and finished at the table.

Friday’s Feast

Appetizer: How many times per day do you usually laugh?

As much as possible. I don’t count. I love jokes (even if I have heard some variant of them already). Spontaneous quips are delightful. As the Reader’s Digest column says, “Laughter Is the Best Medicine.” Laughter is good for your respiration, circulation, and heart—not to mention your psychological health.

But I don’t care for so called humor that is based on somebody being proud of their stupidity. One liners on this premise when the person recovers and makes a good, intelligent joke later are OK. But so much of today’s humor is like the “Ow! My Balls” bit in Idiocrasy, predictable, intollerant, and plain stupid. Characteristics the entertainment industry seems to confuse with humor.

Soup: What do your sunglasses look like?

I don’t think I currently own a pair of sunglasses—other than the darkened visor of my helmet. I tend to lose them or break them. And I am too cheap to have a second pair of prescription glasses made¹, which would involve constantly changing between the two any way.

Salad: You win a free trip to anywhere on your continent, but you have to travel by train. Where do you go?

Nowhere. I have always wanted to take the AmTrack to San Diego and then up the west coast to Vancouver. From there I would like to take the TransCanada to the east coast where I could pick up AmTrack again. Take it down the east coast and across the south back to where I started. The whole trip would take about three weeks.

Main Course: Name one thing you consider a great quality about living in your town/city.

Tolerance—at least when compared to the rest of the country. I know that the Southwest is supposed to have that rugged frontier spirit of “Let ’em do what they want on their own property.” But there are very few Texans left, and those who remain have become woefully bigoted Republicans. Maybe they always were (even when Texas was a Democratic state), but we were spread out thin enough not to get in each other’s hair, except in the towns and cities.

Dessert: If the sky could be another color, what color do you think would look best?

I like blue. Not that I am sticking with the status quo; Blue is one of my favorite colors. Besides, I wouldn’t want to change the chemical structure of the atmosphere enough to change the color of the sky. We probably wouldn’t enjoy that very long.

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¹ Suna and others may point out that I do own more than one pair of prescription glasses, but neither of them is tinted. This situation came about because I lost my first pair. About three months after I had the second pair made (which was a while after I lost the first pair), I found the lost pair hanging in a redbud tree in the backyard. Since the last place anybody remembered me having them was in a different town, their arrival in the backyard remains a mystery.