Where else will your weather program say the following??
Always the comedian, Mike stated “who’s dust?” after mentioning this output to him.
Tag: arizona
The HEAT!!!
Okay, for those of you that have been reading my blog, you know already that I’ve always seemed to have issues with my AC unit in my house. Well, this past weekend, it finally decided to give up to ghost, or rather, I decided to stop throwing money at it and just get a new unit. For the past 4 days, I’ve been living with no AC and the outside temp has been 104 or above (that means it was a cool 92 degrees in my house). It’s been real plesent! Anyway, I purchased a new unit on Sunday from The Home Depot and it was installed today! Cool air has never felt so good!! Sadly, the large chunk ($7000+) that is now missing from my wallet is not much fun… but it’s totally worth it!
Anyway, I have a cool house once again. Hopefully the AC gods will look down kindly upon me and keep this unit from having any issues in the forseeable future!
12 Of 12 – May 2009
Well, I am in Flagstaff, AZ this entire week getting my house ready for the new renters (yes! we got it rented!!). My 12th of May was spent running around town getting items and working in the back yard before my sister and her husband showed up later in the afternoon to help out. Here’s how my day went.
My sleeping arrangements for the week – full size at least!
The house was painted yesterday! It’s so clean and fresh looking!
Today was going to be another day of busting my hump in the small back yard.
I had to run to the bank to close an account and transfer money.
Home Depot to pay for the carpet that is going to be installed this week.
This rose bush was the bane of my existence today. It really didn’t want to come out.
My sister arrived and we went to the nursery to buy plants! This is a lemon smelling creeping thyme plant.
This vinca is growing in the front, we’re moving a huge chunk of it to the back.
An up close look at the purple flowers this vine produces.
I was starving so we had dinner at Buffalo Wild Wings. It. Was. Good.
My sister chilling after a hard day of work! You can vaguely see her husband chilling outside on the back steps. It was a busy day for all.
My new sleeping arrangements. My sister brought a twin mattress to sleep on with her husband… Oops! So I gave up my full for the night.
Even though I was not at work, I still found it difficult to get 12 pictures. I think it was mostly because I was concerned with getting to where I needed to be at whatever time I needed to be there. I had a list and I needed to stick to it. I was able to get everything done that I wanted to on Tuesday and my luck has followed me into Wednesday. This house has been weighing on me lately and getting it ready to rent (finally) will really put me at ease. I’ll post pictures of the back yard after the full day we put into it on Wednesday soon. You won’t believe your eyes!
Holy Heck!!!
WTF!? It’s still April!!
Happy Birthday Arizona!
Today Arizona is 97 years old.
Historic Homes with Historically Low Prices
I have been searching the home prices of places that are located in this historic district here in Phoenix. These homes, for the most part, used to sell at over $500,000 a few years ago. Now, some of them are selling just above $200,000. A lot of hard work has been put into some of these places. Lots of nice upgrades, plumbing completely redone, electrical totally replaced, etc. As I sit and wonder if I can afford to buy one of these places (sadly, I don’t think I can) I seem to forget that someone is probably losing their shirt in the deal. I don’t quite know how to feel about that. Anyway, I won’t be moving any time soon, unless I win the lottery or someone decides to come and rent my place from me at a price that is higher than they could rent a larger apartment nearby.
Anyone reading my blog in the position to purchase a house in this wonderful buyers market?
Valley Metro – Raising Fares?
Today it was announced that the City of Phoenix along with Valley Metro are looking to raise fares across all public transportation by 40% (at the minimum). The news story on AZCentral had over 15 pages of comments just a few hours after it was published. People are pissed and that’s understandable. Who wants to pay more to ride the bus or the light rail? Obviously, the rate increase will hurt those who have to use mass transit the most – the working poor and elderly.
This post isn’t really about how I agree or disagree with the rate increase as much as it is about how dumb the people are at the AZCentral site. They try to make the comparison between the new proposed fares and the fares of mass transit in other western states. The article focuses more on the one day pass being doubled in price along with mentioning that the one way ticket will go up by $.50 to $1.75. I have included an image of the proposed new rates for Valley Metro along with the comparisons they showed on AZCentral.com. Unfortunately, they don’t clarify what the comparison fare is and this, I’ve found, caused confusion among those who read the article and resulted in a lot of comments being posted on the story. So, let’s do a better job in giving some comparisons. Since the article focused both on one way tickets and daily passes, here’s what I’ve found while looking up the prices in other western cities.
- Denver – Bus and Light Rail Fares (2 zones) – One Way Ticket = $2 – All Day Pass = $6
- Dallas – Bus and Light Rail Fares (Dallas Only) – One Way Ticket = $1.50 – All Day Pass = $3
- Las Vegas – Bus Fares (Local Only) – One Way Ticket = $1.75 – All Day Pass = $4
- Los Angeles – Mass Trasit (No Metrolink) – One Way Ticket = $1.25 – All Day Pass = $5
So, as you can see, PHX has had pretty cheap mass transit fares compared to other cities on the west coast, especially when it comes to all day tickets. These mass transit systems are surviving and have decent ridership. I think people will be shocked by the changes initially but will get over it quickly. Do I think an increase in fares will make people choose to drive instead of ride? Possibly, but only by a small percentage. Some of the new riders that came on board because of the light rail may be turned off and might go back to driving. People that relied on the Red Line that was replaced with the Light Rail will continue to ride it. The increase in fare may also keep some occasional riders from using it as often as the currently do, depending on their reason for riding.
How will this rate increase change how I use the Light Rail? It won’t really have an impact. I use the rail to get downtown because parking is atrocious and PHX is upping the rate at the meters, extending metered time, and will start charging on Saturdays. I guess what will change is that I won’t be buying an all day pass when I want to take a round trip ride downtown. I’ll end up having to buy two single ride tickets. It’s not really that big of a deal if you think about it.
Super Bowl XLIII
Good job Cardinals! Too bad you’ll be losing to my Steelers! Fingers crossed for a good game.
Using Mass Transit
I’ve been using the light rail here in Phoenix whenever I’ve had to go downtown. Parking, in recent months, has become more and more difficult downtown. I end up having to drive 1 mile in the opposite direction of where I’m headed to get to a park and ride lot. I think that it’s worth it though. I don’t have to worry about parking downtown, driving up and down every street looking for a spot. On more than one occasion, I’ve found myself looking fir a place to park downtown for over 30 minutes. Thank goodness for light rail and a park and ride lot close to my house.
New Downtown Eatery
Mike and I recently went to Hanny’s in downtown Phoenix for dinner before a show. I was very excited to try this place. I had been intrigued by this restaurant since I first heard that the old Hanny’s department store was going to be converted.
Likes: The atmosphere. The space itself (the items they restored and incorporated into the new space). The bathrooms.
Dislikes: The service. The service. The service.
I have to cut Hanny’s some slack. They are still in the soft opening phase but the level of service was really lacking! It took forever for our food to come and, when it did, half the order was wrong.
Will I go back? Yes. I may make a visit before the new year. When I do, I’ll be sure to write an updated review.
If you’re in the area, give it a try. If you’ve tried it, how’d you find the place?
