Sick

Well I'm still not over this crazy bug. Not sure what or who it is but I'm definitely ready for it to be over. I've watched several movies and TV shows in the meantime. On the plus side, I've had a little more time to work on a website and blog. On the minus side, Edie is getting a little stircrazy (no walks or dog park visits, so sad). My website is getting close to being done and the blog needs a new update, but I'll get there.

http://edifulgardenconsulting.wordpress.com/

http://edifulgardenconsulting.blogspot.com/

I'm hoping to really get going once Spring rolls around. It's been good to do a few free consults for practice, though. I think a few more will help solidify things.

Arch Cape Lodge by the Sea

Arch cape lodge by the sea sucks!!

Review

We had an amazing girls surfing weekend planned at the coast and Monica picked out a great cabin. Unfortunately after we left, the jerky owner said it took 2 maids 7 hours to clean the place. The instructions on the website said to leave the place as we found it, which we did by doing dishes, cleaning the floors, wiping the counters and vaccuuming. We placed the towels in the laundry room and left the linens on the beds as instructed. Now this jerk is charging us extra for the cleaning. If he doesn't realize it by now, his maid service just ripped him off and cost him a repeat customer and possibly other customers. Too bad for him.

Here's his crazy rental and operation info:


ARCH CAPE LODGE by the sea
31987 Clatsop Ln Arch Cape, OR 97102
ph: 503 7393638
archcapelodge.com

CLEANING FEES: $150 THIS IS STANDARD FEE FOR THIS SIZE OF HOME. MOST RENTERS HAVE CHOSEN TO LEAVE THE LODGE CLEAN EXCEPT FOR BEDDING & TOWELS & SANITIZE
SO $100 TO $150 UP TO YOU
IT ACCUALLY COST ME MORE TO CLEAN BUT SO FAR ALMOST EVERYONE HAS RESPECTED THE LODGE: THIS IS MY GOAL I LIKE IT
SECURITY DEPOSIT: $300 AND LIKE THE CLEANING FEE WILL BE RETURNED PROMPTLY IF IT WARRANTS
I WANT TO RETURN YOUR MONEY: THIS MEANS YOU RESPECTED THE LODGE.
SOMETHING BREAKS: YOUR FAULT I WILL CAN FIX IT CHEAPLY I BUILT IT. NOT YOUR FAULT NO CHARGE OR PART OF
I'M EASY TO GET ALONG WITH JUST DON'T MAKE ME CHASE YOU.
DISRESPECT MY LODGE YOU WON'T COME BACK AND I WILL CHASE YOU
YOU HAVE TO BE 30 YEARS + TO RENT! NO PARTYS! GET TOGETHERS OK PLEASE! YOU KNOW WHATS ***RIGHT***
BEST DEAL ON THE COAST
RENTAL AGREEMENT ***CONTRACT*** **********CLICK HERE**********
MY HUMOR: I'VE HEARD 2 LAWYER JOKES THE REST ARE TRUE BUT THINK ABOUT IT; MY RENTAL CONTRACT OR ANY CONTRACT IS FOR SOMEBODY I DON'T WANT TO DEAL WITH. 99% OF LAWYERS GIVE THE REST OF THEM A BAD NAME AND THAN THEY VOTE THEM IN OFFICE: THEM NOT ME. HAVE A NICE STAY!!!!
MY DAUGHTER SAID IF I TELL LAWYER JOKES THEY WON'T RENT YOUR LODGE...WELL GOOD. LEAVE THERE SECRETARYS AND THE WHOLE BUNCH WITH THEM
I GUARENTEE MY WORD IS BETTER THAN ANY CONTRACT

RENTAL AGREEMENT ***CONTRACT*** **********CLICK HERE**********
MY GOAL IS TO SUPPLY A WELL MAINTAINED & STOCKED LODGE FOR LESS THAN IT'S WORTH BY HAVING GOOD REGULAR RENTERS RESPECTING THE LODGE WHICH WILL KEEP THE LODGE BOOKED AND THE PRICE DOWN THANKS TO THE RENTERS SO FAR MOST ALL HAVE BEEN GREAT!!! LETS NOT BE A BUM!! IF IT WAS LEGAL I WOULD MAKE A LIST of the BUMS ON THIS WEB SITE!!

Family-tastic

So we had 4 days of nonstop family craziness. My Dad and his girlfriend Tina came Wednesday night and we went out to dinner with them Thursday and Friday nights. We also took them to the Alberta St. last Thursday art walk, which was interesting. The highlights were the repeated comments about needing a new coffee maker, about getting too many netflix movies per month, about working too much, etc. We also heard engrossing information about retirement with lots of details about the 43 or whatever number of orchids they have, all the different kinds of species, the specific difficulties with each kind, how often they water and fertilize them, when they put them outside vs bring them in, etc etc. Thank god we had Kyle and his new girlfriend Sarah there on Friday night or I think I might have snapped (I practiced all the quips and comebacks I'd make at work that day). On Alberta, we had to practically drag my Dad from booth to booth as he was stopping at every chance he got (Oooh, that's interesting....wow, look at that!) and speaking to all the vendors/artists. Luckily Dad and Tina weren't offended by anything they saw nor did it seem they offended anyone.

Then Derek's cousin came to visit and we were psyched. She was getting us close-up tickets to the Pearl Jam/Ben Harper show for Saturday night. However, she had just undergone sinus reorganizing, or whatever they do to straighten out a person's curvy sinuses a few days before coming and still had nasal splints in with lots of nasal drainage. I think she was feeling self-conscious or maybe just drugged up (she has fibromyalgia too) because she alternated between total silence and manic 20 minute talks about a variety of topics. Sometimes tangential, she'd talk about prior Pearl Jam concerts she's been to (this was number 102), the likely lineup for the night's shows, other festivals and various shows she's been to, what she and her friends ate before the shows, where they stayed, the times that Ed (Eddie Vedder, the lead singer of Pearl Jam) looked at her during the show or the few times they've met, etc. She didn't seem too interested in hanging out, moreso it was about the show. It felt a little surreal hearing about all the experiences and viewpoints of a truly diehard fan. We were fortunate enough too to meet another diehard, a classic 50-something rocker/hippie who was touring with the band . The show itself was pretty spectacular. We ended up getting an awesome concert poster and 2 trailblazers-esque shirts. The crowd were a mix of older folks like us, older former frat boys, teenagers (wow some of that brought me back) and a few girlie girls sprinkled in. Derek and Liz were in the 3rd row and I was back in row R, which was still pretty close. I switched with Derek for the first encore and got to see the lead singer from Sleater Kinney in a duet w/ Eddie Vedder and later Ben Harper came out with Pearl Jam. All pretty amazing from that close. Then I went back to row R, but was still amazed. Great show. All in all, we're pretty thrilled from the concert and a renewed interest in Pearl Jam, exhausted from the family time and weirdness/guily feelings about not having done enough, and overall feel grateful for having at least halfway decent social skills. Honestly it makes me want to spend less and less time with family and more time with friends. Anyway, Maui is coming up, which will be a nice little treat. Maybe New Zealand is closer than we think...

San Francisco!

We had a blast visiting Blake (Derek's brother) and Sabina (sister-in-law) in San Francisco. We stayed with them in the Mission and had an amazing food-centric weekend (Mexican, Indian, Italian, Vietnamese). The first night we had a home-cooked Indian meal by Blake's coworker. The next day we drove out to Half Moon Bay. The next day was spent in Napa enjoying the wine and beautiful scenery. That evening we spent time at Sabina's friend's house on top of Diamond Hill (or Mountain?) above Napa, a beautifully designed, sustainable weekend getaway. The next day we tooled around in the city (last 3 pics), starting out on the Embarcadero, walking up Columbus and around North Beach, up to Coit Tower and seeing the parrotts up there, then meeting up in Chinatown with Blake and Sabina.