Location, Location, Location

           In Real Estate as well as in Business the saying goes that the three most important factors are location, location, location. That’s why when I moved to Winters 14 years ago I thought I had hit the jackpot.

            Winters was located a quick 10 minutes from where I worked 3 days a week in Vacaville and right off the freeway for the other 2 days I commuted down to the East Bay. Within a couple of hours we could be in San Francisco or at the Ocean or just sipping wine in Napa. Whatever leisure activity we fancied was just a day trip away.

            Talk about prime location, the house we bought was it. Right downtown within walking distance to all the amenities that were available back then. Restaurants, bars, video stores, hardware and drug stores, a bakery, the bank, the post office, the library, art galleries, and even community theater.

            We couldn’t believe our luck, and it just got better. The Palms came to town and we had live music to go with everything else. Berryessa Gap was building their tasting room and there was a vibrant art scene going on.

            In 2003 when they started renovating some buildings at Railroad & E. Main I thought that would be a perfect location to open a Coffee Bar. It was just a couple blocks from my house so I figured I could walk to work.

            At that point, my life was located in this perfect dream. But like so many dreams there can be some nightmarish qualities to it as well. What I recently realized is that for the last 12 years I have been living and working in a construction zone.

            It took over a year for the coffee house to be built out. As soon as we opened they started renovating the two buildings right next door as well as Ficelles behind us. Then the following year the City expanded the parking lot at the community center. For months we had heavy equipment and loose dirt and dust right across the street.

            Not to long after that, construction of the bulb outs commenced at Railroad & Main. Once again heavy equipment, dirt, dust, and ugly fencing. They even closed the intersection to traffic for what seemed like months. That sure didn’t help our business at the time.

            After we sold the coffee house and the economy tanked there was a short reprieve but then Preserve started construction just a few doors down from my house. Even after they opened they were still working on the patio.

            And finally in the last three years they took out a dam, built a temporary bridge, tore down a bridge and are now in the final phases of completing the new bridge and redoing the intersection at the end of our street.

            I almost forgot to mention that right next to where I work they’ve just demolished 3 businesses and the old fire station. They’re making room for a hotel, so I guess no end in sight as far as construction goes.

            So where am I going with all this talk about construction and location? The point I’m trying to make is that the location where I live and own my house is no longer the idyllic dream it once was, at least not for me.

            All the construction we’ve had Downtown has been great for the businesses and there are more visitors coming to Winters now than we could have ever imagined a decade ago. But like with almost everything there are two sides to the coin. With that growth of outside visitors there are now some quality of life issues for the locals.

            In the grand scheme of things our local’s problems are pretty minor. Sometimes we have to wait longer for a seat in the restaurants or wait a little longer at the ever increasing number of traffic lights. Parking can be a pain especially if you’re in a hurry. Everywhere downtown is more crowded and louder, not exactly the definition of quaint.

            Like I was saying, I’m not too happy about where I live but that really has more to do with me than with the location. I’m older, set in my ways, and somewhat socially awkward. If I was a hip Millennial who enjoyed the loud vibrancy of the new and improving downtown Winters I would love this location.

            So I think whoever coined the phrase “location, location, location” was a little off, it really should be “perception, perception, perception”.

Oh by the way if you know a Millennial with money to burn, feel free to give them my location, it could be a dream come true for both of us.

To view the column in it's original form go to page 13 of the following link. Winters Express 10/15/15

Irreconcilable Differences

            I want a divorce! No, not from my wife, I want one from myself. You see I’m starting to realize that I have irreconcilable differences within my own psyche.

            Those of you that know me or even if you’ve just read my columns you probably think that I tend to lean towards the pessimistic. You would be correct if you just looked at my writings or even the outward persona I portray in public. But if you were to look at just my actions you might actually think I was an optimist.

            So what are these optimistic actions I’m talking about? First and foremost would be the big move to California 16 years ago. We left the life we knew so well for an unknown opportunity 3000 miles away. Then after just 18 months we bought a house that we really couldn’t afford in a community we didn’t know anything about. A couple years later I invested everything I had to start a business in this same community.

            That’s the more recent stuff; I have a whole long history of blindly diving into jobs and businesses.

            I seem to have a negative outlook on life, yet I always act like I can make it better. See what I mean? Irreconcilable differences between my thoughts and my actions.

Here’s another example of the ambiguity in my life. One of the reasons I moved to California was to be closer to my Mother and siblings. I thought that since we had lived so far apart for 25 years it would make me feel more like part of the family if we were in closer proximity. But the reality is that we’re not a close knit family, never were, never will be. What I realize is that it’s not about the miles, it’s about the emotions. Or in the case of my family it’s the lack there of. It’s not that we don’t love each other or wouldn’t do whatever we had to do to help each other. It’s that we don’t have a strong emotional need to show it.

But that last example is another case of that irreconcilable difference in my mind. Even though I don’t have a need to show much emotion towards my own family when I see sappy family crap on TV or at the movies I get all teary eyed and really can’t control it.

OK, enough of the family and emotional issues, that’s just kid stuff. Let’s get to the really big issues; you know life and death stuff. That’s where I have the real psychological conundrum, reconciling living and dying. I don’t mean death per se since that’s inevitable for all of us and I’m resigned to that. What I’m talking about is the half glass thing, pessimist versus optimist. That’s my big issue, am I living life or am I just killing time and going through the motions until the inevitable end? I mean all my life I’ve heard the hype about “live life to the fullest” or “don’t worry, be happy” but that’s just not me.

Don’t get me wrong, for all intensive purposes I consider myself a happy person and I have enjoyed many moments in my life but have I ever “seized the day”? I don’t think so. Sure I’ve lived many a day but most of them without much forethought or planning. I’ve always pretty much just lived my life in the moment. I’ve never had a “life’s plan” or given much thought to the future.

I never thought I would be this age; it was just one day after the next and now I’m here.

I never thought about a long term relationship or marriage but 35 years ago Diane and I were spending so much time at each other’s apartments that we figured we should just live in one. Four years later she changed jobs and I didn’t think she should be without health insurance so I suggested we get married and two weeks later we did. Now 31 years on I couldn’t imagine it any other way but I sure didn’t plan it.

I never thought about having kids, no I take that back. I did think about NOT having kids. Lucky for me and my marriage that Diane wasn’t very interested in kids either.

So not having a plan is how I’ve lived my life but contrarily I really like things in order. One of my biggest sayings is “a place for everything and everything in its place”.

So all that’s another irreconcilable difference, who I am verses how I am.

Damn, now I’m even more confused with myself than when I started writing this column. I think it’s just time to call it a night and go to bed. Because as I always say, “there’s always tomorrow, or not”.

To view the column in it's original form go to page 15 of the following link. Winters Express 10/1/15