Blog

Short blog posts, journal entries, and random thoughts. Topics include a mix of personal and the world at large.

Can't return a house

Not that I could ever afford to buy a house here in the San Francisco Bay Area. But, if I were hypothetically able to, it’s kind of a crap shoot, isn’t it? I’m talking about one thing you cannot change after you’ve bought a house: bad neighbors.

Buying a house in a supposedly “good neighborhood” is no guarantee of good neighbors either. Sure you may not have to content with the constant loud music and occasional robbery shooting. But maybe your new neighbor next door runs a wood-working shop out of his garage. Good luck concentrating with that ruckus whilst trying to work from home. Because you do work from home, right? Who can afford a house around here without a remote software engineering job anyways.

That’s why I am a fan of renting (and not just because I can’t afford a house). The longest I would be ever stuck with a crappy situation is one year. Heck, if it’s truly unbearable, I’d have no problem paying to break the lease and get out of there. You simply cannot do that with a 30-year mortgage! Call up the bank and be like: “Yeah, I would like to return this house…”

It’s too bad you can’t test-live a home. Move in for a month, and if your neighbors happens to be from hell, you have an escape clause.

I actually like the idea of homeowner associations. There’s a clear set of agreeable rules that every homeowner in that subdivision has to abide by. If Jacob next door likes to practice guitar late into the morning, a polite email to the HOA will take care of that quickly. HOA takes care of any potential bad neighbors anxiety because the rules are typically what a civilized society should be: don’t intrude on others.

That's my spot

I’m lucky to live in a neighborhood where street parking is abundant. There’s no war here to preserve spots, or perform car musical chairs on street cleaning days. I don’t worry about not having a spot to park when I return from from errands. It’s a complete contrast to my previous abode (read: my parents’ house), where street parking is at a premium. Even now, when I go back to visit, I often have to park blocks away.

There’s so much street parking here - and large, useable driveways in the homes - that there’s really no “dibs” on any space. Typically, the space directly in front of a home is assumed to “belong” to that household, an unwritten rule of sorts. Neighbors know to respect that arrangement, because they wouldn’t want someone taking the spot directly in front of their home either. There’s no need for such rules in this neighborhood. Someone took the space directly in front? The space next to it is almost always open.

But, it seems one particular neighbor is surprisingly specific about where he like to park his Lexus sedan. So much as that he would move it to the prefer spot soon as it gets vacated, even though the Lexus is parked literally one spot further down. Fire up the engine simply to move the car 20 feet? I guess not everyone is as sympathetic to a car’s mechanicals as I am. Worse thing you can do to a gas engine (electric is exempt from this, obviously) is to cold start it up and then shut it off again in a very short period. The condensation from sitting for a long period never gets a chance to burn off.

This is why when I move my BMW M2 for street cleaning, I actually drive a loop around the neighborhood to get the engine up to temperature. I would never start the car only to drive to the other side of the street. Nor would I get angry that someone have taken “my” usual spot.

Criminal elements

My mom informed me there was a police raid recently in their townhome building. Thankfully this time it was not for my felonious brother (no joke). Rather, it was for the son of our downstairs neighbor, who is about my age. Apparently (and allegedly) he was a major fentanyl dealer. The feds came bright and early to smash in and arrest him. San Francisco’s new district attorney - Brooke Jenkins - is not messing around!

It was kind of a surprise to hear about this because I’d always thought the son was a stand-up guy. A regular dude with a job, a wife, and a baby daughter. Growing up in Visitation valley’s public housing, I expect to be amongst some criminal elements. For over twenty years there wasn’t a peep of bad news from our direct neighbors. If anything, it was my own brother who’s had trouble with the law. It’s sad to see.

At least it wasn’t strong-arm robbery or killing a guy. Just distributing some illicit substances to willing customers (again, allegedly). Victimless crime? These are consenting adults making transactions with one another, after all. Sure, I live in a neighbor now where I don’t see any drug users on the streets. People who live in the Tenderloin would say there’s definitely victims to this whole drug thing. The blocked sidewalks, the human excrement, and the street harassment.

These quality of life stuff is hugely important. Residents ought to feel safe and protected in their own neighborhoods. The reason we recalled the previous district attorney is because we largely did not feel safe. It doesn’t matter of crime statistics show otherwise. Often times, feelings don’t care about your facts, and not the other way around. Good to hear that DA Jenkins is on it.

Loaning out my car

I’ve written previously that most of the time, my BMW M2 Competition just sits parked outside of the home. I walk to work so it practically never gets driven during the weekdays. And because gas prices are so high these days, I limit fun driving on the weekends as well. What I’m saying is: I’m pouring money down the drain with licensing and insurance costs. The car is a mere sculpture, something (really) nice to look at.

But a car enthusiasts can’t go car-less, can he? Besides, the M2 Competition is such a potent little thug. All that power in a short, condensed package. I remain determined to keep it a very long time.

Though putting more miles on it would be nice. A few weeks back, a fellow enthusiast neighbor messaged me about borrowing the M2 for a few days. The five year ago me would have declined instantly: no one drives my car but me! The present me isn’t precious about any of it. At the risk of sounding nihilistic, none of this material stuff lasts forever, and neither do we. So might as well enjoy and use while it’s still here.

Two hours after affirming, I handed the key to said neighbor. I should have filled up the tank before doing so, but the gas station is only two (long) blocks away. Not enough distance to properly warm up the engine (I try to avoid short trips on a cold engine). Impressively, this 19-year-old I loaned the car to knows the code well: always return a borrowed car with a full tank of gas. At nearly five dollars to a gallon, this is not cheap to do. This gesture alone guarantees another borrowing opportunity, should he asks.

The kid also washed the M2, which I’ve neglected to do for the past months. This means I don’t have to wash it again for another few months, which is just lovely. 500 miles of driving in exchange for a full tank of gas and proper bath? Now that is a fair trade in my book.

Be generous

With the coronavirus still raging on - even though we are at the endgame now with the vaccine rollout - there were to be no Super Bowl party this year. We simply cannot take the risk. Getting COVID now would be like getting shot after the war has been declared over. Just need to hang on until we each get our date with the vaccine needle.

So I was fully content with watching the big game alone, until my housemate said our neighbor is having a party. He - the neighbor - pulled the TV from his bedroom, placed it on a stand in his driveway, and circled it with various folding camping chairs. Since it’s not wise to have an indoor party, our neighbor brought it outside. Turns out I watched the Super Bowl with a crowd of people after all. It was a good time.

What struck me most was the sheer generosity of the neighbor. Along with the television setup, he had the barbecue going with various meats, and coolers full of beer and soda. All this out-of-pocket money just to serve others, to give them a good time. I have to say, enjoying this generosity humbled me to do better myself. To be kind, and help make the lives of others better and happier.

This same neighbor let us borrowed his absurdly tall ladder to string up our own Christmas lights last December. That is someone you are glad to have to live by you. A person you can count on in case of emergencies.

I endeavor very much to be that type of person as well.

That could've been easily avoided

Last week my neighbor's brand new car had the misfortune of a hit-and-run. While it was parked on street in front of the house, another car bashed into its rear quarter-panel on the driver side, leaving a sizable dent on it and the lower bumper. It isn't pretty, and sadly yet another casualty of street parking in San Francisco.

A major part of why I sold the ND Miata was the peace of mind from not having to deal with this kind of bullshit anymore. It ups my anxiety anytime I had to leave the car on the street due to fear of another driver bumping into it during parallel parking maneuvers. Or more commonly use my bumpers as feeler guides to know when to stop - we all know and have the battle scars. The Bumper Bully was invented because of cities like San Francisco.

So part of me sympathizes with my neighbor, yet another part is full of disapproval. That's because my neighbor's house has a fully functioning garage, yet for whatever reason his family never park cars in it. Wouldn't it be smart to store the new car in there knowing full well the hazards of parking outside? Had his RAV-4 been in the garage my neighbor wouldn't be staring at an expensive claim on his insurance right now.

Why don't people use their garages to park cars?

I am not lucky to have a garage in our apartment complex, but if I were to have one you can bet it'd be used for its intended purpose.

Remember, kids, don't take photographs on live train tracks, no matter how awesome it looked on instagram or tumblr.