NorCalUrban

OK - I know I haven't been posting much lately. After the  CCDA conference, then a week of vacation I came back to a whirlwind. I hope I still have some readers! Here's a few things that has been going on to catch you up on the randomness of my life: - Andy Hartwell, founder and former Executive Director of my former employer Bayshore Christian Ministries attended Max Torres' funeral. Here's some of Andy's reflections "I went to Max' funeral. It was pretty amazing. We got there a little before 10 and still ended up sitting in the gymnasium. The sanctuary and overflow room were already packed. Later, the little passageway between the 2 got packed out as well. I think there were 1000 people there, certainly 800+. Lots of bikers. The speakers were great. They really knew Max and reflected well on his personality and his legacy. It was really positive without being at all shallow. It wasn't happy-happy; it was really moving. His oldest son got up to thank...

The last few weeks have been ones of incredible changes. We've been blessed to be able to purchase a house! For eight years we've been living in rented spaces, and for 6 years at the Willow road apartment. If you saw our apartment, you'd know how small it was. None the less, we were thankful and tried to use the place to the best of our ability.  More of less for the last year we've been looking at houses, trying to take advantage of the down market. About 6 months ago we looked at a house on Saratoga Ave in East Palo Alto. It sort of a duplex with a two bedroom apartment upstairs that could be used as a rental. Months ago we contacted the owner about a sale - but he laughed at our offer and sent us away. The market has continued to drop in the mean time, and we ended up picking the place up for just short of $40k lower than our last offer! I have some thoughts about the market and my conflicted thoughts about reaping the benefits of heartache - more on that in the near...