It looks like our traditional grey skies and rain have officially packed it up for the winter. Off to bother people up north, I suppose. Two weekends ago, the sky was a stunning blue, with warm sun and just a hint of crisp breeze. Last weekend the sky was a stunning blue yet again. No humidity worth speaking of. Temperature according to the local bank’s thermometer: 72. Seventy-two freaking degrees. I’ve lived in this state for nearly three decades, you’d think I’d have gotten over the excitement by now.

A Bay Area Winter: Ridge Winery, March 6, 2004^[1]

So since I can’t get over it, I guess I’ll have to be staying a little while longer. As of March 31st, I close on a nice little two-bedroom condo in San Jose. Yes, I have finally joined the landed class. Well, not really. If I understand condominium legal concepts properly, I’ve actually joined the airspace-between-the-walls owning class. Hey, it’s a start.

There are two things I particularly like about the place. The first is the interior. The bedrooms and bathrooms are not overly large, but that space went to the living room, dining area, and kitchen. The common area has lots of windows and light and ceiling space. Basically, the place is great for entertaining. Unfortunately, I can’t include any pictures of the place right now. The current tenants still live there, and so while they have graciously let me take my fill of interior shots, it wouldn’t be right to post them on the internet. Besides, the current tenants have much nicer furniture than I do.

The second good thing about the place is the location: very close to Winchester and 280, which puts it in striking distance of pretty much everything in the South Bay. It’s even within walking distance of the vaunted, mostly-inflammable Santana Row. Not that I can actually afford to shop there, mind you. Santana Row’s shopping experience tends to fall along the lines of the 100% Copper Cookware store, or the Ugly Revisitings of Classical Art store, or the Holy Crap is THAT What A Suede Jacket Costs store. But a man can aspire.

Before I forget, I’d like to give particular thanks to Jeremy Zawodny. I’ve been lurking on his site for a while now, following his house-buying experience. All along, I’ve been just a few steps behind, and listening to his experence has been both entertaining and educational. So thanks for sharing, Jeremy.

Anyway, the good news is that now that the mounds of paperwork are done and the process is on autopilot,^[2] I should finally have a little more time to post. Maybe even return to a semi-weekly frequency. After all, I can’t imagine that the process of moving in and learning the ins and outs of being a new homeowner could impact my time at all. How bad could it be?

1. I like to think that the haziness at the south end of the valley represents an economy roaring back to life. Don’t you?

2. Of course, I’m the kind of guy who likes to count his chickens before they’ve hatched.