Westlake Village Real Estate Blog

Archive for the ‘Musings’ Category

Once again we are at Lake Tahoe on our annual ski trip. This year finds me skiing with a sprained ankle. The skiing is tentative and the extraction of that foot from the boot can be painful. Oh well…

Here’s a bit of trivia about “the fairest picture the whole earth affords” (Mark Twain).

Lake Tahoe is the second deepest lake in the U.S. (1,644 feet), after Oregon’s Crater Lake (1,932 feet), and the 11th deepest in the world.

If Lake Tahoe were drained, the state of California would be buried under 15 feet of water.

Lake Tahoe contains enough water to to supply everyone in the U.S. with more than 75 gallons of water a day for five years.

Lake Tahoe is as long as the English Channel is wide.

Lake Tahoe never freezes; it’s too deep.

Some 2.7 million visitors come to Lake Tahoe each year.

Marshall Lumsden, of Malibu, died recently. He was the first person to give me a professional break in Los Angeles, and I am forever indebted to him.

A veteran of World War II, he flew as a first lieutenant in the Army Air Force’s 324th Fighter Group, which flew more than 28,000 sorties during the war. He received the Air Medal with an Oak Leaf Cluster for his achievements in aerial combat.

He returned from the war and entered Columbia University, graduating with a bachelor’s degree in history. A former Life magazine reporter, Marshall wrote and edited several other publications, including the Saturday Evening Post and the Los Angeles Times. He was the founding editor of both West magazine and Human Behavior.

Later Marhshall became a manager in an oil company public affairs department, where he took a chance on me in the early 1980s. Although I had virtually no corporate writing experience, he decided my Time-Life Books background was good enough.

While Arco soon had other plans for our department, I remained in touch with Marshall until a few years ago. He was witty by word, gentle by nature and humorous by human condition. “At no time,” ho once wrote, “is freedom of speech more precious than when a man hits his thumb with a hammer.”

You and your devoted real estate agent have been shopping for a home for what seems like an eternity. You have finally gotten an offer accepted on your dream home and are in escrow. This is not the time to relax – stay focused and make sure that your mortgage loan does not derail at the last minute. Lenders are now initiating fraud-detection systems that will alert them if loan applicants make any changes to their credit profile that could impact their ability to make monthly mortgage payments. Follow these simple rules:

• Do not shop for, purchase, or lease a car
• Do not apply for or increase home equity or personal lines of credit
• Do not apply for, accept, or obtain any new credit cards
• Do not accept offers to increase revolving credit limits
• Do not transfer balances between credit cards
• Do not make any large purchases on existing cards
• Do not accept any deferred payment offers
• Do not cancel credit cards or initiate credit disputes

These words of wisdom come from my trusted mortgage advisor, Brownie Stanisch, at Prospect Mortgage.

CAbi. It’s a noun, it’s a verb. It’s even an adjective. Carol Anderson by Invitation. For the unitiated, Carol Anderson has been designing women’s clothing for three decades. She first displayed in Nordstrom, and then other retailers as well. She is well known for her reversible skirt.

In 2001 she reinvented herself, going directly to her customers. Now CAbi is sold only through in-home parties. It’s a marketer’s conundrum: Women who shop for sale merchandise all the time will go to a friend’s house for a CAbi party, have a glass of wine, try on clothes in front of each other, and pay full price. In this stubborn recession, CAbi enjoyed its best August in its history.

I have CAbi-ed for seven years at my friend Betsy’s home in North Ranch – twice a year, rarely missing a show. Last night Betsy’s CAbi rep, Debi Rote, unveiled the new fall collection. The theme this season is New York: Soho, Chesea, Madison Avenue – you get the idea – and the color is black. As the rep said, black is the new black. There were black stretch pants, black skirts, black sweaters, black dresses, black tubes, black jeans – with interesting colors such as spruce, blueberry and hot tamale sprinkled throughout. (Carol’s colors are never simply green, blue and red; even black is not black; it’s licorice.). You can see the collection online, but you can’t buy it there, and in truth the online presentation doesn’t do it justice. In fact, it’s not supposed to: You have to go to a party and get inspired, get undressed and get your wallet out. In short, you have to CAbi.

Prices aren’t cheap, but they are easy to justify. The fabrics are soft and non-wrinkly. The styling is detailed and glides sinuously over all types of bulges and bumps. And for those who really do their homework, CAbi leggings, for example, are at least $40 cheaper than a recent number at Nordstrom, and Carol’s Paris jacket a bargain compared with a dashing Nanette Lepore at the same store.

So 13 women, some plump, some skinny, some tall, some short, some 20-something, some “we shall not whisper their age,” some friends, some strangers – CAbi-ed last night. It was great fun, and I know those black leggings and that Chanel-like jacket will look smashing. And think of all the money I saved!

Ramadan ended a few days ago. Below is my son’s post about it.

Hey guys,

So Ramadan has finally come to an end. It has been quite a different experience to live in a city in which any shop or restaurant could be closed at any hour, on any day. On past days I have usually eaten at subway for lunch, but on some occasions I have gorged on the extremely tasty foods and dishes of my very own host family. This weekend (Thursday, Friday, Saturday) marks the official end of Ramadan (called Eid), and I’m looking forward to exploring a now wide open Amman absent of pull-down gates and surly stares (these may remain). Of course, most people will be observing this nation-wide celebration at home and with friends, so I’ll have to wait until next week to do my exploring (available taxis will be nonexistent).

Yesterday, I met up with my friend from UCSD, Kevin, who has been helping me through my Jordan Experience. We met at a café called Books@Cafe, on Rainbow Street (not what you think, although the owner of the café is gay). From the outside, Books@Cafe looks like a grungy whole-in-the-wall in which one would be wise to enter caught up on all vaccinations. But inside… beautiful. There is a small bookstore on the main floor, with English and Arabic books, with the café on the second floor. Once you make your way up the stairs, the atmosphere is intoxicating. There is so much space (multiple rooms) filled with huge couches, chairs, tables-for-two, and a very appealing and inviting atmosphere. Kevin and I sat at the bar, and ordered several beers and a very basic version of nachos. We talked about his travels to Lebanon and Syria, and his future plans once he finishes taking care of some things back home. After the stress of being in Jordan for a week and a couple of days, I basked in the sense of home that enveloped me through the sharing of a beer, and a story, with a good friend (in English… thank God). I plan to make my way back down to first circle and Rainbow street many times in the future, since it is speckled with cafés and small eateries.

After we drank our beers and ate our nachos, we made our way to a shawarma joint called Reem… this truly was a hole in the wall. Actually, it wasn’t so much a whole in the wall, as it was a shed on the street. But it was busy, it was cheap, and we were hungry. The small sandwiches that we bought were absolutely delicious. If ever you visit Jordan, do not pass up Reem at second circle (everyone considers it the best in Amman for shawarma).

I wouldn’t say I’m settling into Jordan and the city of Amman. I’m just getting used to it. Amman is not a beautiful city. There is garbage everywhere, especially on the University campus, and walking the streets of Amman, unless you are on a street lined with eateries and cafés, can be stifling and torturous with the air full of smog and dust (most streets). You must also always be watching you feet, since the sidewalks are almost always cracked or broken. Within the first couple of days, one of our classmates really injured herself walking around the university and now must wear a cast/sling on her leg for 3 weeks. Although the US will always be my preferred place of residence over Amman (or anywhere), this is still an experience to be had.

I hope things are going well with all of you back home. I will send pictures later when I find more time. As always, take care.

Cheers,

David

Below is another letter from my son, studying in Amman, Jordan, this year.

Hey, everybody,

I hope things are going well back home, both on the West Coast and East Coast. The program is just starting to get going. Today we had a placement test that lasted about 4 hours and tomorrow we will meet, and move in, with our host families. The other day we went to the Agloun Nature Preserve for part of our orientation and then subsequently explored the castle at Agloun. I think I’m just starting to find a sustainable sleep pattern as well, sleeping at 9:00pm and waking at 6:30.

 Two mornings ago I rose early and explored some more of the areas surrounding our hotel, or close enough to it. I have attached a slide show titled “A Morning in Amman.” I eventually found myself in a very, very affluent neighborhood and, after trekking up one of its many hills, was able to take some nice panoramic shots of the city in the morning.

 About Jordanians… I don’t have a lot to share. Most are nice, but some still look at me intently whenever I walk by them. I think that as long as I look Korean this will continue to be the case.

 So far, only a few of you have responded to these emails. I like hearing from friends from back home, so don’t hesitate to shoot me an email. It helps ease the feeling of being on a deserted island… with 5 million Jordanians.

 Cheers,

 David

A week ago I reported on Facebook that, in an effort to make a home-cooked meal before my son left for study in Jordan, I searched the Internet for a simple recipe for shrimp risotto – one of David’s favorites. Here is what I found: Shrimp Risotto.

Only after assembling the ingredients did I read the history of the recipe: Forbes magazine, August 11, 1997, from an article by Daniel Roth, who learned how to make the dish from Michael Lomanaco. Chef Lomanaco was then executive chef of the World Trade Center. Lomanaco continues to dazzle diners in New York, but many of his staff perished on 911.

This recipe is both simple and delicious. And as it advises, don’t forget the saffron.

For every parent of a child in school, this is a busy and sometimes emotional time of year. My son, now in college, has chosen an unusal place to go back to school: Amman, Jordan. He left early on August 25. Soon he will move in with a host family. Until then, he is ensconced in a hotel that offers intermittent Internet access. Here is his first letter from Amman, complete with slide show: Picture Show 1 from Jordan,

This is the first email out of many that I hope to send. I arrived in Jordan two days ago and have so far been overwhelmed by all that I’ve seen/experienced. I don’t want to mislead you into thinking I’ve done a lot, since I haven’t. But just being in such a different locale is an experience in itself for one who has never been outside the United States.

My trip started out less than ideal when I used the ladies restroom by accident at the airport customs department, and being consequently directed out of the restroom by the maintenance crew, who no doubt were laughing at me in Arabic (I blame the jet lag and not my inability to understand the universal signs for male and female). From there things went a little more downhill. I spoke Arabic with my cab driver, whose cab was a modified truck with no visible taxi decals (not my best decision). My driver failed to understand what I said most of the time, and I failed to understand what he said in return. This I’ve read, from CIEE (the study abroad organization), is perfectly normal, since local Jordanians speak a fairly different version of Arabic than that spoken by business and government officials (what I’ve been learning). But, even though it is to be expected, it does put things in perspective. I have a long, long, long journey ahead of me that will most likely push me over the edge of my comfort zone, my greatest challenge.

My arrival coincides with Ramadan. This means that most businesses are closed during the day, or open for limited hours. I have been roaming around my neighborhood and have managed to find some places to buy food and water (pretty inexpensive for a huge bottle). I had Texas Chicken last night… yes, Texas Chicken.

Walking around Amman is different, to say the least. One moment I’ll be walking in a fairly nice area and then find myself in a section whose buildings could use a lot of renovation. I hope the attached slideshow will clarify what I mean. As I walk around Amman, I still find myself feeling like I’m walking in the US. I think it’s because I can still hardly believe that I am in Jordan and so far away from home. I still have to remind myself that I am in an environment like nothing I’ve ever experienced.

I still get nervous speaking Arabic with the locals, but it should pass with time as I learn more vocabulary and get used to hearing and speaking the language on a consistent basis (at least I hope it does).

I hope things are well with all of you back home.

Cheers,

David