South of Sunnyside

I’ve tried to contact CitiMortgage to discuss any options I may or may not have for repackaging the mortgages on our house. I stopped trying after wasting 90 minutes on the phone and not receiving legitimate responses to my web inquiries. If I stopped paying, I joked, then they might be willing to talk.

I do not plan to stop making mortgage payments, or to ask for a mark down on the loan value, or to ask for any sort of hand out. But I think I scared the lender this month: instead of making an online payment, I sent checks (two mortgages, two checks), which hadn’t arrived as of Monday.

I disregarded their first email, which expressed empathy for any situation I may be facing. The second email, on the other hand, ticked me off. It stated that Citi had been unable to reach me. My response:

You haven’t been trying to reach me. You’ve been spamming my email. If you want to reach me, try the phone: [number removed].

My mortgage payment was mailed, because at 10:00 on 3/9, you wanted to charge me an additional “online transaction” fee of $10 per mortgage.

Thanks for your concern,

james

As expected, I received an automated email that told me not to reply to that address, but it also indicated that the message had been sent. I was certain I wouldn’t hear from the company.

Yesterday, however, I missed a call at the number I provided. The caller didn’t leave a message, but a Google search indicated that it was CitiMortgage.

Did I really get their attention?

…where [nobody] knows your name.

Kim is finishing up one last class, and then she is officially done with school. It’s taken a great deal of sacrifice, and to show how proud I am of her, I surprised her with an overnight trip to San Francisco on Friday to see Phantom of the Opera.

To be clear, I’m not a fan of opera or live theater, so the thought of combining them was less than exciting; that said, Phantom is one of Kim’s favorite things, and sometimes in marriage we have to make sacrifices…

The performance was surprisingly enjoyable, as was our stay in the newly-renovated Hotel Abri. But the best part of the trip was getting lost (as in, submerged) in the city. We love San Francisco: the food, the culture(s), the history and architecture.

We love that it’s not hard to find a hole-in-the-wall for dinner, and that during a short walk it’s possible to lose count of the languages overheard.

We love that everything is accessible on foot.

We love that anything goes—fashion is subjective (though the tighter, it seems, the better), and relationships have no boundaries.

Above all, we love having an evening away.

Because if they’re ringing my doorbell, I’m not home. The lights are off, and the dogs will bark profusely at any sign of motion outside.

Sure, I bought a bag of candy—on my way to sit at Starbucks. It’s all mine. And for some reason, my stomach kind of hurts.

Anyway, I’m not a big fan of Halloween. In particular, I don’t care for the endless supply of “scary” movies that has taken over my TV over the last week, and I don’t like that persistent expectation that I should provide sweets to a crop of kids I’ve never met. Maybe I’ll feel a bit different when it’s my kid in all that makeup.

To all the parents of kids in a Joker costume: I do hope that’s based on commercials, and that you didn’t actually take your child to see The Black Knight.

For each of our church’s four years of existence, the congregation has packed up and headed to the coast for a weekend of camping. This year, we changed locations, heading south to El Chorro Regional Park just outside of San Luis Obispo. (This year’s trip was my first on the Harley, described in detail in an earlier post.)

A few highlights from the trip (mostly related to food):

Harris Ranch

When I worked for the food bank, I was able to get Harris Ranch to donate five gallons of soup for fundraiser, but this was our first stop on the ride out. The breakfast is great; I highly recommend the bacon (they’re very generous with it).

Parkfield (the earthquake capital of the world)

I don’t know if we saw more than three people in the town, but I have to bring Kim back to the inn for an overnight stay. It’s a beautiful area, and evidently the place to experience an earthquake (whatever that means).

San Miguel Mission

We only rode by, but it’s gorgeous.

Fosters Freeze

Okay, I now realize that we have Fosters Freeze in Fresno…

Indian Valley

A perfect route for the motorcycle—we saw less than 10 cars in an hour and a half (and the roads are nice and winding). I learned two lessons from this leg of the trip:

1. An insect that is trapped inside of a leather riding jacket and capable of biting, will.
2. On a motorcycle, with a gas tank capable of holding no more than five gallons (and I have large tanks), it’s very important to know the approximate distance to the next gas station, and to fill up before venturing onto back-country routes.

Baptism at the beach

One of my favorite parts of the annual trip.

Woodstocks Pizza

Next time you find yourself in San Luis Obispo, I recommend making your way to Woodstocks. Just don’t judge it by the decor (and read the carvings on the table before sitting down with your children).

Camp chili

I made a lot (see picture below), and it was damn good.

El Chorro Regional Regional Park

This is where we stayed; it was perfect for our group, and provided several recreational areas. My personal favorite was the dog park.

I could keep going. There were so many great experiences squeezed into a short trip—I’m ready for next year! For those interested in exploring some of these places on your own, I’ve mapped the route I took on the Harley.