Priced_Out_IT_Guy_IHB
New member
I thought it would be interesting to share the close calls we've experienced in the last few years--be it financial or personal--and perhaps look back on them and laugh...or count your blessings.
Considering the nature of the Irvine Housing Blog, I'll start off with a housing close call:
1. Sometime around 2006, an acquaintance and owner of a local cafe next to my workplace, who recently purchased a new home in oceanside, almost managed to convince me about how buying a home with an interest-only loan was preferable to "just paying rent" on my apartment. Why? Because you're banking guaranteed appreciation. His proof? He just made a "ton of money" on the sale of his last house thanks to recent appreciation, and "hey, when it comes down to it, everybody wants to live in Southern California!"
The aforementioned homeowner is now underwater and trapped in his house, stuck commuting on the 5 freeway from Oceanside to San Clemente every day.
2. Back in early 2008, I was going to use a significant amount of my down payment to purchase stock in Toyota and Washington Mutual. Why? I was a big fan of Toyota cars and trucks (still am) and WaMu was great because of their service and free checking. I ultimately decided the stock market was too risky to invest in for something as important as my down payment.
Since then, Toyota's stock has dropped 52%, and well, we all know what happened to WaMu.
3. About three years ago, I was riding my mountain bike in San Diego with a group of riders who were much more skilled and experienced than myself. They were doing all kinds of awesome things: sweet jumps, technical lines, harrowing descents. I promised myself I would not get caught up in the excitement of the moment. Upon approaching one rocky segment of the trail, where all of the other riders before me were taking turns picking up speed and jumping 10-15 foot distances, catching mad air, getting it all on video, and giving each other high-fives, I conservatively and analytically rode the segment of trail, dissecting the obstacles like a surgeon and navigating the rocks at slow speed, only to miss one last granite rock the size of a basketball and be pole vaulted into the air, flipping forward over my handlebars, and landing head first onto the ground with my feet in the air. I heard a sharp and powerful crack in my neck. The blow felt like a fork lift dropped a palat of bricks on my head. Upon opening my eyes I heard a voice say: "Can you hear me? Don't move!" One of the riders was an EMT and evaluated me. I didn't know what day it was, what time it was, or where I was. I had suffered a severe concussion and my brain was swelling. I was shaken up, but alright; no broken bones and I rode the remaining 5 miles back to the truck.
Later that day I learned that one of the riders in our group had a girlfriend who broke her neck on the exact same section of the trail only two weeks prior, and had to be rescued by helicopter. Thankfully, I am still riding today, and will be riding this year's Vision Quest on Saturday, one of the longest and most challenging mountain bike races in the USA.
Considering the nature of the Irvine Housing Blog, I'll start off with a housing close call:
1. Sometime around 2006, an acquaintance and owner of a local cafe next to my workplace, who recently purchased a new home in oceanside, almost managed to convince me about how buying a home with an interest-only loan was preferable to "just paying rent" on my apartment. Why? Because you're banking guaranteed appreciation. His proof? He just made a "ton of money" on the sale of his last house thanks to recent appreciation, and "hey, when it comes down to it, everybody wants to live in Southern California!"
The aforementioned homeowner is now underwater and trapped in his house, stuck commuting on the 5 freeway from Oceanside to San Clemente every day.
2. Back in early 2008, I was going to use a significant amount of my down payment to purchase stock in Toyota and Washington Mutual. Why? I was a big fan of Toyota cars and trucks (still am) and WaMu was great because of their service and free checking. I ultimately decided the stock market was too risky to invest in for something as important as my down payment.
Since then, Toyota's stock has dropped 52%, and well, we all know what happened to WaMu.
3. About three years ago, I was riding my mountain bike in San Diego with a group of riders who were much more skilled and experienced than myself. They were doing all kinds of awesome things: sweet jumps, technical lines, harrowing descents. I promised myself I would not get caught up in the excitement of the moment. Upon approaching one rocky segment of the trail, where all of the other riders before me were taking turns picking up speed and jumping 10-15 foot distances, catching mad air, getting it all on video, and giving each other high-fives, I conservatively and analytically rode the segment of trail, dissecting the obstacles like a surgeon and navigating the rocks at slow speed, only to miss one last granite rock the size of a basketball and be pole vaulted into the air, flipping forward over my handlebars, and landing head first onto the ground with my feet in the air. I heard a sharp and powerful crack in my neck. The blow felt like a fork lift dropped a palat of bricks on my head. Upon opening my eyes I heard a voice say: "Can you hear me? Don't move!" One of the riders was an EMT and evaluated me. I didn't know what day it was, what time it was, or where I was. I had suffered a severe concussion and my brain was swelling. I was shaken up, but alright; no broken bones and I rode the remaining 5 miles back to the truck.
Later that day I learned that one of the riders in our group had a girlfriend who broke her neck on the exact same section of the trail only two weeks prior, and had to be rescued by helicopter. Thankfully, I am still riding today, and will be riding this year's Vision Quest on Saturday, one of the longest and most challenging mountain bike races in the USA.
) Although I did have that time when I was exposed to a fissle core when i worked at a major lab.... yea, 15 seconds of exposure was a lifetime of radiation... joy.
