And I Looked, and Behold a Pale Horse

You would have thought there was enough to keep us up at night, what with the financial crisis, trillion dollar budget deficits, and a couple of wars going on. Here in Katy, TX, we can add a few things to the list.



Most recently, we received a whole buttload of rain last night (7 - 9 inches in 24 hours). That wreaked havoc with rush hour traffic last night and this morning. My big ol' truck can make it through the water, but the little stalled cars in front of me pose a larger problem. This morning I avoided Mason Rd, had to turn around halfway up Westgreen, and finally drove around a couple of stalls on Fry Rd before I finally made it to the Katy Freeway. And we're expecting rain the rest of the week.



Add to that the current panic over la influenza porcina. I just got back from Mexico City on April 17. So far no symptoms, so hopefully I'm free and clear. I'm scheduled to go back to Mexico City on May 6, but we'll wait and see. They closed all the restaurants in Mexico City today, so if that remains the case, the trip will be impossible.



Just to top it off, Mexico City had an earthquake this week. Luckily, it was centered about 150 miles away from the city. Also, luckily, most any building in Mexico City that could have fallen down, already did so during the 1985 quake. Still, it makes me a little nervous about being in one of those highrise hotels, OR being in the PEMEX tower for meetings.

At least it isn't hurricane season. THAT doesn't start for a little over a month. Not sure when the locusts are supposed to arrive.

Until the other three horsemen get here,
Big S Ranch

Everything Old is New Again

After a little bit of sleuthing on the interwebs, I found that the builder of our current home is still in business, under the same name, in Houston. This is becoming rare in the homebuilding biz.

Not only are they in business, but they are still building our same floorplan, ten years later.

This is a plus for us in our efforts to sell This Old House, since it means our floorplan is not some formerly-trendy, outdated plan, but a real classic. It is sort of the same reason that VW Beetles and Ford trucks held their resale value for so long... not much changed from year to year.

And it speaks to the builder's quality, as did the Hurricane Ike aftermath last year. In our general neighborhood, there are several homes priced lower than ours. They are built by a company called KB Homes. After Hurricane Ike last year, there were quite a few houses that sported blue tarps on their roofs. Every single one was a KB Home. It could be coincidence, or it could say something about the quality of those less expensive homes.

Next week we meet with the construction manager at the new neighborhood. The week after that, they scrape the lot and start pouring the foundation. 77 days later, we should be moving in - ready or not!

It is going to be an interesting summer...

¡El miércoles feliz a todos!

Big S Ranch

Where is President Barack Hussein Obama?

Why, he's here in Mexico City with me! Or he will be Thursday morning.

According to my local sources, he's staying at the Presidente InterContinental in the Polanco district, where rooms go for $300 to $1,000 a night (USD). His posse is taking up 3 full floors.

I can't wait to see what his visit will do to traffic here. I've seen how they "plowed the road" for the US ambassador, Antonio Garza, last year. It isn't pretty if you happen to be trying to get somewhere.

This is not a good time of year to be in Mexico City. April and May are the hottest months of the year, and the only time when temperatures are not in the 70's. The rainy season has not started, so the smog is oppressive (See the photo above - can you see the mountains? No?)

This is a rather long trip for me.... Tuesday thru Friday. It has been a fruitful trip so far. It looks like my two-year project down here is finally going to complete this summer. That is good, because Colombia and Kuwait are waiting in the wings.

Tomorrow's schedule is still up in the air. I will either be (a) here, (b) in Villahermosa, or (c) in Veracruz. Still trying to line up my meetings.

I'm hopeful that we can wrap up our Friday meetings early and get the heck out of here around noon. Looking forward to getting back home.

Hasta que próximo tiempo, lo mantenga en el suelo y girar a la derecha...
Big S Ranch

America's Pastime

I always look forward to the start of baseball season.

The first professional game I watched on TV was a Kansas City A's game back in 1966 or 1967. The A's weren't much good, and were a year or so away from moving on to Oakland. Still, it looked like a fun way to make a living.

The first game I saw in person was on my birthday, July 23, 1972, at old Municipal Stadium, 22nd & Brooklyn, in Kansas City. The Royals lost to the Orioles, 8-4. Sitting in the upper deck on down the left field line in that old stadium was a real treat. It was the one and only time I went to a game in that park.

When I was in college, we would hit a couple of games at Royals Stadium, sitting in the sun in the right field general admission, paying more attention to the girls than to the game.

And once, in 1986, I wanted to go to a Royals game to see Cookie Rojas and Amos Otis inducted into the Royals Hall of Fame. Unfortunately, it was a day I was tasked with watching the two kids, then 4 yrs and 1 yr old. I loaded up the kids, went to the ballpark, and bought tickets in the nosebleed section. I did see the induction ceremony, but I don't remember much of the game. I spent the entire time trying to keep Jameson from doing a swan dive off the upper deck.

Fast forward to 1988... We had moved to Houston the year before, and had seen a couple of games at the Astrodome. This time, I watched Nolan Ryan get his 4500th career strikeout. Another treat.

While we lived in Round Rock, the Astros started a AA minor league team there... the Round Rock Express. One year we had season tickets, right behind 1st base. The Dell Diamond is a great place to watch baseball. One particular game, though, Mrs. Big S Ranch was holding our then-1yr old, Connor, when a line drive foul came screaming our way. It would have hit Connor in the head, had Mom's hand not been in the way. The team owner, Reid Ryan (Nolan's son), came running down in about 30 seconds. No broken bones, but Mom had an awesome bruise for a long time. The Express let us move our seats to behind home plate for the rest of the season.

Now we've been back in Houston a few years and go to Minute Maid Park (aka The Juice Box) a couple of times a year. These days, every game is on TV as well, so I keep pretty close tabs on the 'Stros. [The picture above is Astro's rightfielder, Hunter Pence. I took that photo last year.]

As always, I'll be hoping for an Astros-Royals World Series this year. And as always, I'll probably not get my wish. Still, I'd rather watch baseball (in person or on TV) than any other sport. As they say, what can be more difficult than hitting a round ball with a round bat and hit it squarely?

Take me out to the ballgame, please!
Big S Ranch

The One Where The House Is Up For Sale

There isn't a "convenient" way to do this.

Back in the olden days, I used to think it was difficult moving from one rented abode (be it apartment or house) into another. Leases never expired at the right times, so you always had to beg the landlord to let you extend a month or two (or pay to leave early).

Well, that was nothing.

When you own a home, and you wish to own a DIFFERENT home, there are options, but none of them are convenient. You can:

1. Buy the new house and rent the old one (requires money and desire to be a landlord).
2. Buy the new house, then hope the old one sells (requires gobs of money for two mortgages).
3. Sell the old house, move to a rental, then buy the new house (requires moving twice).
4. Sell the old house the exact day you buy the new house (yeah, right).

Options 1 and 2 are not options for us, so we are planning on option 3, which is painful, but affordable (and likely). We actually pulled off option 4 ten years ago, and that was almost as stressful as any of the others.

To pull off the first part of option 3, we have put our old house up for sale. This means we are at the mercy of realtors. This also means we really don't "live" in our house anymore. When your house is "listed", you must be prepared to vacate at any time for a "showing" to a potential buyer. This can cramp your style in a variety of ways.

Dogs

Sorry, puppies, but you are smelly and must stay in the back yard. And we must put up a sign SAYING that you are staying the back yard so you don't lick anybody to death.

Food

Easy on the tasty (but smelly) ethnic foods and NO weirdness like liver & onions, please.

Pants

You must always, ALWAYS, wear pants. This cannot be stressed enough. Especially to our eight year old.

Mechanical Repairs On The Truck/Tractor/Car

Just don't.

All of this to sell our house. But not too soon... or too late... or for too little money...

Yikes. Where did I put the Tums.

Signing out fer now,

Big S Ranch