South of Sunnyside

No really, it’s a sign—and a new one at that. That’s right, the billboard announcing Fancher Creek has been updated, and no longer promises stores opening in Fall 2007 (the new sign is much more ambiguous).

What do you mean you can’t see it? Give me a break; it’s a camera phone, and I was on my bike.

Where have you gone?

I lost sight of you last night.

I could not find you this morning.

Dark falls.

Darkness falls.

Disclosure: much of the information provided below is hearsay coming from. It’s a frustrating situation, nonetheless.

Last night, Kim spent a hour or so cleaning up the yards of the two houses next to ours that were abandoned early in the summer. Once again, she met the sharp end of a wasp, but she also struck up several conversations with the neighbor folk, many of whom acknowledged her commitment to keeping the neighborhood presentable.

One of the ladies across the street (she’s about Kim’s age) offered wasp spray; she then proceeded to tell Kim that the house she and her husband live in would likely be going into foreclosure. They don’t own it, but evidently, the couple that does doesn’t want to anymore.

A little background

The houses in our tract were built during the (tale end of the) housing boom. Several of them sat empty for some time, as the owners signed a contract not to sell for one year, and not to rent for two, they their intention was to turn a quick profit. This particular house became the first one we tended to, as the owners never came around to see that the sprinklers had stopped working, and wouldn’t mow the dying grass; I cut it as short as I could, which in turn killed it completely.

One day Kim noticed a car in the driveway, and approached the front door. She learned that the visitors were the parents of the homeowners, who were real estate investors living across town. The “didn’t have time” to keep up the property, so the parents were helping out.

Eventually, the house was rented, but the first family stayed only a few months. The current neighbors moved in shortly after.

Don’t tell the Post Office

The neighbor Kim spoke with last night unknowingly opened a letter addressed to the homeowners; it was mixed in with her mail, and like us, she doesn’t look at the addressee before opening. The contents identified the home as in default, so a call was placed to the property manager. In the process, the neighbor learned that the owners have nine additional properties, but this was the only one in default. When she mentioned moving, she was told she couldn’t because of the rental contract.

Yep. She signed a contract, and makes her rent payments, but they’re not being applied towards the mortgage on the property. Yet she’s bound by contract to stay; to fuel the fire, she and her husband had hoped to rent until they had enough saved to make an offer for purchase. They like the neighborhood, and don’t want to move.

My vote goes to the mayoral candidate who’ll marginalize such negligence.

I’m not sure I noticed the change in seasons nearly as much before moving to Fresno.

My dad always joked that Louisiana (where I was born, and spent the first 11 years or so of my life) has two seasons: the rainy season and the monsoon (read: hurricane) season. There’s humidity year-round, a winter chill at most, and the heat of summer is far less oppressive than here in the Valley. North Carolina had even milder weather than Louisiana, with a bit more of the winter weather.

Alas…I digress. Seasons—mild, severe or otherwise—change everywhere, but I feel them much more in Fresno. When summer hits, and the days get longer, I’m much more active, and thus, productive (despite the heat); at some point in May I start waking up an hour early, and my schedule shifts for the next several months. In a similar shift, I feel much less productive once the sun starts setting before 8:00 p.m., and my overall mood changes.

For the last two years I’ve dealt with a full class load, in addition to my full-time job and freelance activities, so I’m hoping that without the burden of school I can maintain some of my summer habits—especially the biking and (slightly) healthier diet.

Oooh…shrimp and corn chowder sounds good for dinner…