Finally Settled In

Well, I've finally found a few minutes for an update.  The last month has been incredibly busy, but we accomplished a ton:

• The condo is empty, clean, re-carpeted, and generally fixed up.  It's in better shape than it was when we moved in four years ago, and we handed the keys over to our new renters on Monday.
• The new house is done, moved-into, and mostly furnished.  We managed to scrounge up extra furniture from family attics and garages, and it feels like we were at two or three stores a night for two weeks straight, getting everything ready for our first visitors.
• We had 11 people down for a very successful Thanksgiving.  It was a collaborative process....we provided the house and groceries and the family provided the cooking expertise and execution.  It was great to see them and we managed to find room for everyone.
• D's been working full time, then coming home and unpacking/straightening/etc for weeks.  Grades were due on Tuesday so the Thanksgiving weekend contained some serious grading time as well.
• I've been working mostly within an hour's drive of home, so I've been able to contribute at night as well....lots of car trips from the condo to the new house with various boxes of "stuff" (read: crap).
• The book is completely done and has been turned over to production.  We're now starting the marketing phase of the project, where we have to convince people to buy the 960-page technical book we've written about a very specific product.  Fortunately, that doesn't take as much time as writing, so I might start to have some nights free again.

So, the gist is that we're mostly settled and the house is presentable.  The immediate result of that is a gathering this Saturday for the USC-UCLA game on our big new TV (our old one broke two days before we moved).  Anyone reading this blog, living in Southern California, and known to at least one of us is welcome to join in the festivities.  Call us for details.  Speaking of calling, our new neighborhood has very little cell phone reception, so we will be forced to use our home phone more often than we would like.  If you don't have our new number and want it, email me.

I still plan to take pictures (and maybe video) of the new house and post them here, especially now that all the furniture is in.  However, several of our Thanksgiving visitors mentioned that the pictures don't really do it justice, and I tend to agree.  Even after you see the pictures, it's much better to experience it in person.  So, it is at this point that I would like to introduce our new Open Door Policy.

J&D's Open Door Policy

Our new open door policy has its roots in a few key principles:

1. We are lucky enough to have a huge new house, with lots of room for visitors and very few permanent residents (2).
   
2. We love our family and friends, which include those of you that read this blog.
3. We would love for our family and friends to come visit us in this huge new house, and we have both the capacity and the desire to make it happen.

Which brings us to the rules:

1. If you're in the area, stop on by!  It doesn't matter if you've seen the house, not seen the house, or couldn't care less about the house.  We want to see you, so come by and be our guest.
2. It doesn't matter where you live.  If you're in the general area (up to and including all of Southern California), feel free to visit.  Family from Michigan/Iowa/Texas/Alabama/Greece/Italy/elsewhere? In California to spend time with Mickey Mouse at Disneyland?  Come on by! Friends from SD running errands in North County?  Get over here!  Family from LA/OC/NorCal that happen to be driving south?  Keep driving and come see us!
3. We don't need that much notice.  Some of you know that I often work from home, and occasionally I will take conference calls and get some work done in my pajamas on the couch.  That means I need about a 20 minute heads-up (max!) and I'm good to go.  Give us a call and if we're here, you're welcome.
4. Two minutes, two hours, two days.  If you can just stop by and say hi, that's great.  If you can spend some time here, that's even better.  If you need a place to crash for the weekend, absolutely.  If you're one of the people we really like, you can practically move in.  However, be sure you're one of those people before you ask, because kicking you out will just be embarrassing for us both.  :)
5. Bring a friend.  If you have friends or family that are coming with you and that we know (or would want to know), bring them along.  At the moment we can sleep 10-12 comfortably with zero notice and without resorting to couches.  Our room rates are reasonable and you'll find them very competitive with other hotels in the area.  Just kidding!

J&D B&B reserves the right to refuse service to anyone for any reason.  The terms and conditions of this Open Door Policy may change at any time....for instance, when D wakes up tomorrow morning and sees that I've just invited half the nation to come live with us indefinitely.

I don't know if we'll have time to have a formal housewarming get-together before the holidays, but we'd definitely like to have one at some point.  If you can't make it for the USC-UCLA game this Saturday, then start thinking about free weekends in January.