I never thought I would win anything. Michael W., Scottsdale, AZ

Steven's Forum Posts: 14
Journal Entries: 4
Interview Answers: 21
Average Forum Rating: 4.13



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Update

Posted to steve-n-carolyn by Steven in Sun City, CA on 8/21/2011

All, The last time I posted an entry was too long ago! I am grateful to the administrator/owners of this site, as I get emailed occasionally when a local posts. It serves as a reminder to check in once and a while. I feel a sense of community.

After an 8-month period of unemployment, in which time we sold our home, bought a foreclosure on a golf course, gutted it and remodeled, I went back to work! As it happened, the foreclosure was open for bids. I was bidder #8 and bid the full asking price, $100,000. After I won the bid, I found out that my neighbor's son was bid #2. His bid was for $99,999.99. He lost it by a penny!! Halfway through the remodel, I was called back to work. Long days and evenings!

Carolyn's happy here, it's nice and warm. Zip code is 92586. You can get the weather for the area and see we have a warm climate. Carolyn's health is waning, so I don't see us going anywhere else. We still have our property in the local mountains; I don't get up there much anymore :(  The crawler and skip loader along with most of my tools, are in storage containers on the property and are "fairly" safe for the time being.

I am okay with all of this. "Time and unforeseen circumstances befall us all". We are blessed! Many, including many of our friends and neighbors have lost their homes, and other material possessions, and are still unemployed... As I mentioned, I went back to work. I started back 12/2011. Finished a high school, began two new school buildings; almost finished with those. I am penciled in to start a modernization at the same school. In about a year, they will be building a new cafeteria. I am also penciled in for that. I have been working 6 days a week, and 8, 10, or 12-hr. days... more that I asked for or want.

I wish all of you the best of health and best of life! Enjoy your pursuits and remember others!!!
S n C

Photos

New landscaping (I am the fat guy in the middle.)

Two years later

Posted to steve-n-carolyn by Steven in Sun City, CA on 4/29/2009 12:14:04 PM

Hello all,
Well it's been just over two years since my last post.
 
I have finished our building pad! A milestone! The county was out yesterday and said Okay!

Not much has changed. I had to get the well up and going so that I could have water for compaction. Done.

Let's see, I finished drawing my plans, got them engineered & stamped. Since the Civil Engineer was lagging, the Structural Engineering stamp expired. The energy calcs expired. We (State of Ca. (ca-ca)) went to a different building codes. Calif. adopted Fire code 7-a, ($$). We modified our plans a bit. Our economy took a dump too (all of us). I am now unemployed, but grateful.
 
In the last two years I have had my plans on five different computers with three different CAD programs.

I sit just to the 'pessimistic' side of center, I call myself a realist.

Today I will begin retrieving plans and re-plotting them. Apply the new codes (changes) and get them ready to print, and off to the S.E. and new energy calcs too. (Easier said than done).

I will also be updating my resume and looking for employment... But the pad is signed off!!!!!!!!!

AHHHHH  I can't get AutoCAD 2009 to open... from the hard drive that backs up everything.

Just got a lead on a job... gotta go... steve

Photos

Here's another one of Carolyn, again at the winery, 4-2009. Her son visits every April and likes to sample wine; she likes the gardens...

Here's a few more pics.

Posted to steve-n-carolyn by Steven in Sun City, CA on 3/27/2007

I will someday post captions to pics. I have done it before but can't remember how. Remember we're a couple of old people who live in Sun City, Ca. (a retirement community).

There are a few of Carolyn and I. I am the old, fat, bald guy. Carolyn is the other. We are 'posers' for sure in a couple of these... ha!

Note some of the details in these pics. We're installing the well pump, 10/3 elec. cable, and safety rope. Look behind the loader in one of the pics and you can see the galvanized water tanks 400' away. The piping is 1-1/4" P. E. (polyethylene tubing). I have it strung over the loader so it wouldn't kink. The wiring and safety rope were fastened as we lowered it. We used gravity to assist us in this very simple task. A task that I was afraid of attempting by myself, "fear not..." Carolyn was on the other end of the safety rope, w/the rope wrapped a few times around the lumber rack to assist her in lowering /allowing the equipment to lower into the hole [well casing]. We saved some serious $ doing this ourselves.

The loader I purchased online from a guy in Yosemite Ca. Great machine. I will complete my project and sell it off. There is a backhoe that attaches onto it as well. The guy I bought it from was a maintenance mechanic and took great care of his personal stuff.

Photos

First steps

Posted to steve-n-carolyn by Steven in Sun City, CA on 3/24/2007

Hello,

Allow me to introduce us, we are Steve and Carolyn, we live in Sun City, Ca. (with all of the old people). We purchased our 5-acre place in March of 2005. It's in a place called Twin Pines, in the  mountains south of Banning and west of Palm Springs. It was listed for $31,500; we offered $15K and settled at $17K. There are no utilities. Electric is 260' from the P/L and 650' from our building $ite. The electric is not in yet and Edison said they won't deal with it until we are 6 months from final (construction). Est. cost of electric to the new house... $13K-$24K (looks like 24K gold); that was a verbal two years ago. The well and equip approx. were $20K. These prices are with me doing the shopping, and I did! And me doing the work. With the exception of buying and pulling the electric cable 650'. Riverside County requires two gal per sq ft of covered space as 'fire water storage'. 2,000-5,000 gal steel tank$ (Osborne Tanks, in Victorville, Ca.). We had a fire up there 10/2006. None of our stuff burned, some were not as fortunate, some were even killed; (four firefighters). So, regarding the cost of the property, I am glad we didn't pay more.

All of the lot is usable it is rectangular w/a 7% slope, rare for a mountain property. In the pics you will see a shot from the freeway looking to the southeast. The mountain, (with snow) in the background is 7,000' elev. Note the palm trees too! We are about halfway up the hill, 12 miles south of I-10.

Photos

Looking southeast from the I-10 freeway in Banning, CA. (springtime)	Storage container delivery, This one was the bargain container. They called it the 'ugly duckling'...duh.
View from pad looking east	My Wife... my partner in life! 114 lbs (wet) Same weight as high school. At a winery in Temecula, CA	Our neighbor on the mountain. (not really)