Victoria housing rant - renting owning searching buying chapter 2 · 31.08.10 by colin newell
I have been living with my wife of infinite patience in a really nice “suite” in the Oak Bay, Rockland, Fernwood area.
Digs are kind of nice… 1250 sq. feet. 2 BR. 2 Bath. Laundry on each floor. Mail delivery to the door. Has been called “mind numbing luxury” by someone we know who lives in Hollywood. So that says something. Something to do with the spectacular ocean and 220 degree mountain views. I guess.
Our tower is 16 stories tall and is the highest point in Victoria.
We are just wrapping up a complete window renovation. Single pane to double pane.
The work has been going on for 6 weeks. Has been invasive as heck.
But I am kind of resigned to the noise, the dust and the arrival of gangs of hunky young tool-belted dudes at 7:30AM in the morning. Often without notice… proper legal notice.
If you are a renter, you get 24 hours advance notice of an invasion. In the case of the 80 some tenants in my building… not so much. Not so regular.
It is a BIG project. I will give them that. And the building needs the upgrade. That’s life.
The only thing that really bugs me is the degree of contempt that the owners of the building hold for the tenants.
And I thought it was just me… being cynical and all…
The lack of notice. The 7AM to 7PM schedule. The unannounced arrivals of young dudes.
The dudes don’t bother my wife so much. So there is some upside and balance.
There were a lot of little things that the landlord could have done to ease the pain – like setting aside a quiet area for the many elderly residents. But no.
Maybe NOT working on Saturdays. But no. Giving legal notice with some consistency… but no.
So. We are calling them on it. In a big way. Might report on that as it progresses.
Point of all of this. In my 4 plus decades of life in Planet Earth, I have probably spent 20 of them renting… generally quite successfully. But I almost always get the impression that landlords don’t like their tenants much… always out to screw them.
Just me. Have had some good experiences mind you.
Anyway. Photo gallery of some of the action here labeled Window reno – enjoy.
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Victoria housing rant - renting owning searching buying chapter 1 · 31.08.10 by colin newell
My wife and I have been house hunting in Victoria B.C. Canada for some time now.
Rather not say how long.
Babies become children. Children become teenagers.
Well maybe not that long. But long.
And at this moment in time, I really believe we are on the cusp of a real estate melt down in Victoria (and Vancouver and Toronto and Calgary and…)
Now the CMHC and most real estate companies will wave their hands in your face saying “No, no, no, Colin, no, no, no! The market is brisk. It’s alive. It’s robust. Houses are selling, selling, selling. Prices are rising or stable. Buy now! Buy now!”
Truth is: There is a glut of houses, condos and town homes on a seriously bloated marketplace here in Victoria.
And some odd situations too.
Like stucco bungalows, that 10 years ago, would have been around 220G are now between 500 and 600G. Duplexes that are merely the above, slightly larger and split in two… for 500 and 600G… meaning that the “whole” house is worth 1.2 Million.
No. No, it’s not worth that. Condos for around 450G to 500G. Now why someone would buy a glorified apartment for 1/2 million escapes me… but whatever.
Town houses for 600G (that listed when new 1 year ago for 729G)
And dozens and dozens of houses that have been on the market for 60 to 120 days – many of which that have had “price reductions” of 10, 20, 30, to 60G… and still not selling.
Thing is – the market appears to have lost most of its thrust. And with that ensuing vacuum… there is only one way to go.
Down. But how far?
Stay tuned.
Summer Food Fun and Drink 12 Salmon Kings - what were they thinking · 23.07.10 by colin newell
Folks who know me well know that I enjoy my Salmon Kings hockey…
A lot.
But through a strange twist of hockey club management, my favorite Captain… Wes Goldie, has been replaced with, by the looks of it, a guy who spends more time in the penalty box – than on the ice or on the bench…
Say hello to the new captain of the Victoria Salmon Kings – Pete Vandermeer – third on the all-time American Hockey League penalty minutes list.
Say it with me folks… WTF!
“Our barn, Save-on-Foods Memorial will not be a place other teams will want to return to,” threatened Vandermeer…
“Even if the other guys leave with a win, it’s important they leave missing some blood and teeth when limping out of here.”
Once more… WTF?
A recent perception from management is that while it has been a skilled and scoring team, it’s also been soft.
Soft, my ass.
“Our building needs to be a scary place to come into.” Vandermeer chuckled.
Someone needs to remind Morrison, Salmon Kings coach – that the ECHL is family entertainment and regulars and season ticket holders are not interested in thuggery and bloodletting. Ever.
My opinion: We have not even begun to feel the blow-back from this stupid management decision at Salmon Kings HQ.
Salmon Kings Hockey - amazing goal - I was there. · 19.01.10 by colin newell
Play it a few times. I was at the game. This is some of the wildest hockey I have ever seen. And 22$ for a ticket.
The Canucks? An utter waste of space. I have been to Canucks games. They always lose. They always let me down. And the crowd at GM Place? Don’t get me started on these self important folks that go to Canucks games. They are generally there to be seen and not to watch the game…
Which is a good thing.
Because the Canucks suck.
Let’s go Salmon Kings!
Fall colors changing seasons changing lives · 22.10.09 by colin newell
On Monday evening, of this week, I was perusing a technical journal I wrote for in in the mid-seventies and was working on a bit of a tribute to the solidarity, brotherhood and sisterhood of the group of technical professionals – how it has changed my life and engendered and fostered lasting friendships.
And then around 8 PM my phone rang and I was summoned to a local hospital to be with a dear family member who succumbed to a long and exhausting illness.
In the end, she went quickly and peacefully – something all of us could
only wish for and hopefully achieve in our own personal journey through life.
What is kind of ironic were my thoughts leading up to that evening
on something as simple as a subscription to a hand-printed newsletter
from the seventies and how, by chance, I requested a free sample so
many years ago – that so many lasting friendships have been cast and hewn
by the fires of time and have resisted every challenge – including
death.
As word traveled throughout the evening it became quite apparent that my network of friends were way closer that I thought – They quickly formed a physical and spiritual circle around my wife and I – taking our hands in a time of need.
My thanks go out to this immediate circle of folks whose love and devotion I never entirely understood – now it is crystal clear.
And to my regular readers I offer a heart felt thanks – for those correspondents, reliable as gravity, have understood, that over the last 90 days or so, things have been somewhat difficult here.
Chapters are written and then closed – we now move on to the next phase of our life – Fall to Winter and then beyond.
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Fall renewal series Chapter 1 standing at the gateway of eternity · 21.08.09 by colin newell
I have an elderly aunt that has been in the hospital for a while – all the normal issues that one would associate with being in ones late 80’s – and it is part of life.
My sister works in the same hospital. She is an ER nurse and ambulance paramedic. And if that isn’t enough she often signs up for a remote Evac team.
That is a group of people that are on pagers 24 hours a day. When the pager goes off, she gets a cab to the airport and jumps on a sleek nearly new Lear Jet – This Lear is outfitted for a couple of stretchers, medical supplies and equipment, a few nurses, a doctor (maybe) and 2 pilots. It is light and fast. She can leave Victoria and be across the Mexican border or to Hawaii in little over 3.5 hours.
But I digress.
My aunt has been in hospital for a month. In those 30 days I have gotten to know people on the ward… lots of people. And the following names have been changed to protect their privacy and identity.
Maxwell is 82, a millionaire and a former jet pilot. He lost his wife of 42 years last Spring, took a fall, had a mild heart attack – he has been in for a month and wants to go home. But he cannot. He is feistier than a junk yard dog but without some of the important things in his life – and being less than complete, he isn’t ready. He might never be ready.
Daisy is 48 years old and suffering from the latter stages of brain cancer. She is brighter than a super-nova and more cheerful than a roomful of Shriner Clowns. She is really good about where she is going. Her 18 year old daughter… not so much.
Her name is Willow. She is a 21 year old personal trainer and kinesiologist. And judging by her level of anger and sadness, there are a lot of folks that are working with her that are getting the crap kicked out of them!
Daisy, on the other hand is oddly circumspect and resolved – her biggest worry is whether or not she will start acting like an asshole as her illness progresses and devours more of her essence… and how her daughter will cope without her guidance.
Daisy muses, “Willow got a nose ring… I hate body piercing… and I threatened to disown her…” she titters with a diamond glint in her eye.
I whisper closer, “You better get on that!”
We both laugh disturbing and amusing her room-mates at the same time.
I feel boastful as I peel the shrink-wrap off of my CD and sign it – and brag about my brief writing stint on CSI Las Vegas… Daisy chirps, “Willow loves CSI Las Vegas! Damn a celebrity in my hospital room!” “Relax, you’re the celebrity…” I head her off.
In my daily two hour plus visits to the hospital, I spend as much time with aunt as possible and then do my rounds. Max and Daisy used to be my Aunt’s room mates but they have been shuffled around some.
Believe it or not, I find that I am quite funny and empathic (and sympathetic) around the sick and dying – and I am not sure why. With Daisy, I crack lines faster than Robin Williams and with Max, I sit quietly and listen to his stories from his glory days in the Air Force. They usually get 15 or 20 minutes of my time each. And they seem OK to have a stranger talk story with them for a few minutes each day.
In this continuing series, I write about a new phase in my life – and my experience with the Autumn of life.
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