Five years ago, I never would have thought that I’d have to move again. Having lived here in this spacious class A condo in Buena Park for several years, I like my condo and the neighborhood. However, things don’t always work the way we want them to.

The subprime mortgage crisis that hit the country unexpectedly has affected many states, with California and Florida being the hardest hit. A nationwide bank crisis – who could have imagined that? I’d understand a bank run of one bank, but the thought of banks folding up all over the country, all at the same time, is something my mind still can’t quite comprehend, up to now.

Three years down the road, banks are still reeling and people are now forced to find ways to conserve their money – myself included. I therefore decided to move to a smaller flat in Valencia. I found one that was smaller than my current place, didn’t have the 24-hour security that my current building now has, but was way cheaper. Guess what – my new house is not that far from Six Flags!

If you like rollercoaster rides, you must go to Six Flags. It’s an amusement park where the attractions are the different kinds of rollercoaster rides, each one more thrilling than the next. Have you ever done a 360 degree ride? That one’s sure to make your heart drop to where your kidney is. I love it, though.

Moving companies – now that’s another thing I haven’t had any experience with. When I moved into my condo I had only my backpack, a suitcase of clothes, and my car. I bought new furniture and appliances. Now that I have to move again, I’ve decided to spend as little as possible, so I’m taking all the furniture and appliances I have.

I looked through the local phonebook for moving companies. Although I didn’t know any of these companies from Adam, somebody told me that I should check them with the BBB just to be sure they’re legit. One thing I realized was that here in the West Coast, there doesn’t seem to be as many moving companies as there are in the East. I guess people here tend to stay put.

One company I called asked me – over the phone – what things I had to move, and gave me a quotation on the spot. Yeah right. I’ve had enough experience dealing with people to know that these are the kinds of deals where you’re bound to be in for a surprise later on. The other moving companies sent representatives to take a look at my possessions before they gave me an estimate, and even gave me rates for packing services. I figured, I’m on saving mode anyway, so I’d do the packing myself. Think bank account, or piggybank!

I finally chose one company among the lot that came to my house, and spent the next couple of months doing my packing. It was painstakingly slow, of course – a couple of hours after dinner each day, and half the day on weekends (note to self: I will not give up my weekend social life!). Eventually I had it all done and was able to move. Thank God for moving companies! The men traipsed in and out of the house carrying boxes while I watched on with a mug of coffee in hand. Right now I’m in my new house, looking at the boxes I’ll have to unpack. I think I’ll make a quick trip to Six Flags for some heart-stopping action before doing that. Wanna come with me?

International Moving

If you live in an area that gets a lot of snow cover during the winter, but it thaws out during the spring, you might be familiar with this problem.  Sometimes there can be a quite unwelcome guest underneath all that beautiful snow and you are not likely to find out that it is there until after the snow has already thawed and it has already done the damage it came to do.

If a blanket of snow fails to melt for quite a while after it has fallen, then you might have to deal with mold after it finally does begin to thaw out.  When a thick and wet blanket of snow settles on ground that is not frozen, snow mold becomes quite a problem.  It begins to decompose the grass under the snow and after the snow begins to melt, it is usually too late to do anything about it. 

The main symptom of snow mold is typically a large number of circular patches of deceased grass that can be between 3 to 12 inches in diameter.  In some of the most extreme cases, these patches might not look like circles at all because most of the grass on your lawn has died.  When pink snow mold has matured, it takes on a pale pink to salmon-like color.  This is caused by the mold Microdochium nivale.  This is the most serious kind of snow mold because it can completely kill the roots of the grass it affects if it is not treated as soon as possible.

Gray snow mold is caused by different species in the genus Typhula and can be colored from gray to white.  These molds usually do not cause damage to any other part of the plant than just the blades.  The root usually remains unaffected. 

Snow molds tend to grow in temperatures just above freezing and in semi-wet conditions.  While it is most commonly associated with snow cover, it can also occur when fall leaves cover a certain spot on the lawn for a long period of time.  Kentucky bluegrass-type grasses are less likely to suffer as much damage as others.

If you want to prevent snow mold from growing on your lawn, do not fertilize it less than six weeks before the cold weather begins to roll in and the grass dies.  Also, as long as your grass is still growing, you should continue to mow it.

Water Damage 

Mandatory evacuations during hurricanes and floods are not always fun to have to deal with and even during hurricane Katrina, some people did not wish to evacuate their homes and did not believe that they should be made to leave their property if they did not want to.  If you cannot evacuate from your home for one reason or another or wish not to, then you really need to be prepared to stay there for a long period of time until the flood waters recede and the area is cleaned back up.

This means that you need to be stocked up with plenty of food and even more bottled water than you think you might need for a week or two’s time.  Depending on the number of people in the home, you will want to have more food and water saved up.  Having one gallon of water put up for each person for every day you expect to be staying in the home and even more than that, since you never know exactly when you will be able to leave.  

If you need to leave the home for any reason and the waters have receded, something you need to be aware of is downed power lines.  These are extremely dangerous and you can never tell if the downed line is electrified or not.  Never attempt to cross one of these, not even in a vehicle.

Whatever water damage was inflicted on your home needs to be recorded with a camcorder, if you can get your hands on one.  You can show this to your insurance claims adjuster so that he or she knows just how much damage was done to your home and can give you a good idea of how much compensation you can expect from your insurance company. 

After you have made a video of the damage, drying out your home is the next thing that you need to start doing.  Wet items should be taken outside and left to dry, unless more rain is expected.

Open the doors and windows all around the home so that air from outside can blow through out the structure and start drying things out naturally.  A wet vacuum can be used to help extract some of the water from under hardwood floors, but a regular vacuum cleaner should never be used to do this due to the risk of electrocution.

Seattle Flooded Basement

Austin- Texas April 25, 2008 - “Living in Downtown Austin is hip, and it will continue to be, as the landscape of downtown Austin matures,” says Ray Walter of Walter Capital Funding. Downtown Austin is regarded as one of the best burgeoning condo markets in the country. The landscape in the capital city of Texas is changing rapidly with the growth of new high rise apartments, luxury lofts and condos centered in, and around the downtown district.

The sudden increase of urban living, as is the case in other American cities, is most pronounced in the downtown area, where condominiums, apartments and lofts are being constructed or refurbished. The lure back into inner city is not an isolated phenomenon. It is a worldwide phenomenon that many city planners and developers are capitalizing upon.

“In less than 3 short months, French Place Austin is 30 percent leased out due to the affordability and proximity to downtown,” says Jeff Lewis of French Place Austin Condos (http://www.fpAustin.com). “We feel French Place Condos will likely be a top choice of many urban professionals looking to reside in downtown Austin. With the growth in Austin, we feel that downtown Austin will be a bustling metropolis within a metropolis,” says Ray Walter.

French Place Austin recently was converted into luxury condos and it has given Austinites new options in luxury apartments near downtown Austin. “The buzz surrounding French Place Austin and its’ early on success, can be simply summed up in three main attributes,” says Joshua Geary, Senior Marketing Consultant, Best Online Results SEO Firm (http://www.BestOnlineResults.com), “perfect Location, Luxury at an affordable price and Lifestyle.”

Come join French Place Austin as they celebrate their Grand Opening. There will be free food, autographed Vince Young footballs will be raffled off at the event and free tours of the property will be offered by the French Place Staff. Austin we look forward to seeing you at the event. The event starts at 11 AM and ends at 4 PM this Saturday April 26th 2008.