My commute is a nice sedate 7.5 miles up a major street. No freeways, no HOV lanes. A couple of schools so you get the dropoff madness, but in general it is a smooth trip. Heck, if you time it right, you can miss almost all the red lights on the way in. Lately, the traffic load has gone up. Significantly. Not sure whether it is the seasonal uptick (the snow birds slowly making their trek back to...
A little over a year ago, we moved to Chandler as I took a job there. We bought a good house in a great neighborhood. However, I knew there were some things to fix. I already had the plumbing nightmare where every step of the way in replacing a bad bathroom fixture, and replacing a hot water heater valve, and ultimately replacing the main water shutoff valve. The concrete in the side yards looks...
The local Fry’s Foods is a smorgasbord of people watching. A few days ago, I was in the mood for beer, so I maundered in the alcohol aisle. In front of the cooler with the microbrews and imports was a gentleman (and that is a loose interpretation) who was idling in front of the good US micros. I watched him hem and haw for a few minutes. I could almost see him thinking out loud: “I...
A little over a year ago, we moved from our “edge of civilization” house in Tucson to Chandler, a much more standard suburban setting. For the most part it has been a pretty good experience. But there has been a soft underbelly. We live next door to a house with a just graduated high school baseball player (presumably he is playing ball in college as well) who seems to love having...
After being in Chandler for a year, I do have some things that I miss from Tucson. The weather – The predictable, and at times wild summer Monsoons. The smells of the desert after a storm is intoxicating. The critters – The den of gila monsters near our house, the snakes (gopher and diamond back rattlesnakes). The Colorful banded lizards, the cotton tail rabbits, the javelinas, the...
Out on the bicycle today, putting in my usual punishing 26 mile loop, I got to thinking how much I miss off road cycling. Alas, with my health concerns, I can’t get back on a motocross bike and roost like I used to, but I can get back on a mountain bike. I have had mountain bikes in the past, first a Diamondback Ascent EX (which came with the shittiest wheels EVER, replaced them with...
On this date, one year ago, we were busting our humps with the movers to get our stuff moved into our house. There were boxes everywhere (most where they belonged), and furniture that was almost in the right room. That day was a blur, but it felt good to arrive in Chandler and get down to settling in. I remember the AC was flakey in the south side of the house (the living area), and the sod that...
In general, I love living here in Chandler. Great neighborhood, great neighbors, lots of quality restaurants, and good shopping. But there is one bad thing. We have biting ants. Not the usual fire ants that you can see and avoid. These little black ants that swarm up your legs and sting like crazy. We had a nest in our yard, fortunately the pest control people eradicated it post haste last year...
Ah, the children are back in school this morning. Apart from the fact that it is only July 22nd, and that is a sucky/short summer vacation for the kidlets, it also means chaos on the drive in. School buses are learning their new routes (they practiced last week, but it always seems like it has kinks when there are actual pickups). Kids are doing lots of dumb things getting to and waiting for the...
I don’t mind the heat here in Phoenix. Yep it is hot, often getting well above 110F, and the sun is punishing when it does. It doesn’t stop me from exercising, but I do adapt, and adjust my routine to remain safe. But what is killing me is the humidity that has settled in. It has been as high as 60% RH. Couple that with 105F, and it is brutal. None of the usual “It’s a dry...