Gimme Shelter - From the Sun

The best selling novel of all time says that it took God six days to create the world, and on the seventh day he rested. Well, perhaps if he had spent a little more time and done a better job, it wouldn't be so very, very hot here in Phoenix. And if he spent 140 days working on doing it right, he probably would have needed about four days rest, because that's what I needed after such a long trip.

I spent those first four days here at the Treason's, sleeping, drinking, basking and baking, and drinking. Did I mention the drinking - water to hydrate, beer to dehydrate, water to hydrate...it's a vicious cycle.

But by Monday, I had decided it was time to start life again. Nice and slow. I spent the day leafing through books and magazines as well as surfing the net for any available apartments. I found a house just a few miles from the Treason's and went up to check it out. It was nice and remote, with great views, but it looked like it would take a lot of work, and was much more house than I need. It was also pretty far off the beaten path, which is a good thing.

The place was a bit more than I wanted to pay ($1,095 per month). So, in order to test the renters market here, I put in a low ball offer of ($900). I am actually a bit surprised that they haven't gotten back to me. The place has been vacant for a couple of months, and it doesn't seem like there would be much of a market for a rental place this remote.

After thinking about it some more and with some sage advice from the Treason's, I decided it would be easiest to find a schmaltzy rental community to use as my base. These places have all the amenities - cable, high speed Internet, well maintained pool, central AC, business center, gym, the works. Plus they are reasonably priced. I want to save as much as I can for a future purchase, once the market crashes some more and I get a better feel for where I really want to set up house.

So yesterday I set out an all day home seeking trek that took me to one realtor and five of these communities. The first stop was at IronHorse. It is located right on the North Central edge of Phoenix's city limits. I was greeted by a young, beautiful, elegant sales agent. I say this because the quality and style of each and every place I went was pretty much represented by the agent that assisted me. Thus, IronHorse was also young, beautiful and elegant.

The next place I went was CrossRoads; the agent was nice enough, but busy as well as showing wear and tear from the passing of time - perhaps 10 years past her prime. This was a cheap place, and it showed. No view and a crowded section of the city. I sped East on The 101 to Mydale where there is a conglomerate of housing complexes. I tested two of them. Each one was represented by young, sassy, classy, attractive in their own special way agents. Great places, a bit on the pricey side, but well worth the money. Yet they were still in highly populated busy sections, near interstates and 8 lane highways and fast food restaurants and gas stations.

The crowds of cars and people really irked me. It felt like being back in NJ, driving along Route 80 (out here they would call it "The 80") through the northern portion of Jersey. In other words, exactly like my old daily commute, except with sand instead of grass. And I didn't drive 24,207 miles just to end up in the same old, same old for these dog days of summer.

I quickly retreated north and went to my final destination for the day. I was greeted by the agent who said, "Hi, I'm Scott." To which I replied, "Yep, me too." It was a nearly identical place to the IronHorse, so I decided to go with the young, beautiful, elegant sales agent. Actually the real selling point became the view - I will be on the third floor with my balcony facing west across the desert to the mountains at the horizon, and any day it doesn't rain I should be treated to a pretty awesome sunset - based on the forecast that should be every day.

I move into IronHorse on Sept. 10th. (See my western view right.) That should be one day after returning from my trip to NJ. Mr. T and I have purchased a large cargo van that I will be picking up in NJ. I'll be driving up to Hoboken for the fantasy football draft and to load up all my storage stuff. Then Mr. T and I will be driving across the country, as fast as the law will allow.

Since I had signed my 6 month lease this morning, I had the afternoon free, so I took a cruise around my new neighborhood. I headed over to Mydale again, taking only the back roads and really enjoyed the scenery. The more remote areas of Scottsdale are fantastic, and I will surely be exploring it more when I get around to buying a home. I got sidetracked by the Frank Lloyd Wright Blvd, and a trip to Taliesin West. Unfortunately it was closed for an event, so I will have to go back for a tour another day. But I did meet a couple of broads that were on their own Road Trip from Florida. One of them is looking to move to Sedona with her husband and were on their way up there to scout for a house. With my vast experience, I told them to check out Jerome first as it might be more to their liking.

Did I say it's hot here. I could only loiter outsided Taliesin for a few minutes before needing to retreat to the comfort of Pre and her AC. The thermometer on the Treason's porch reads 118 - two more degrees and it will be pegged. Yet, I don't mind. The whole "dry heat" thing you always hear about really matters, and it just isn't that bad. You sweat, but it evaporates before leaving any wet spots on your shirt. And even a slight breeze, makes it quite bearable - I just wish we had a slight breeze.

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By the way, do any of you remember Battlestar and B-girl? Well, they have moved into Seattle and are doing great. I know this because he has started a blog of his own, and says just that. Because I will not be posting any where near as frequent as before, and since some of you seem to need your daily "stories", check out his blog: Battlestar's Blog. I have also added him to the links section on the right.