The new adventure we embarked on is real estates investments. We finally connected with a good realtor and contractors to fix and sell the old house in August. C no longer needs to spend 2 hours each weekend to check on it. I think we set the perfect price, because there was a single bid in 2 weeks at the asking price. San Jose home prices are supposedly going up, but the time saved and the fact that we were not doing anything with the place makes it a good move.
We bought a house, rather impulsively, in Katy. Houston is expected to grow by the population of LA in the next 10 years. Katy is close to energy corridor and we picked the best schools. The price to rent ratio is 220000 to 1700, better than ca or hi. But property taxes are high. We were lucky to find Fernando who was just retiring from Aspentech to spend time in the RE business, through M. Mendez. He gets engineers and is acting as property manager for us for now. I hope he works out and we can embark on more adventures out there. CVX has bought some land out there. Expansion is more likely in TX than CA, if I stay there. But moving seems like a far fetched idea given C's field.
A house came on the market in Royal Summit. It was priced a bit lower than recent houses because it has not been updated. There is a mango tree, and it cost us 920000! Still mad at Marty for missing the 800000 house on Mott Smith with 2 mango trees. Jim is helping coordinate the repairs. We hope to rent it out, probably to Military expatriates. Of course that plan depends on ongoing military strength and commitment. I can see us living there, if we spend a bit of time and money to renovate.
Job-wise, energy companies are going though a down cycle. Capital is committed, but revenue falls below expectation because of an oversupply. Everybody made plans to expand, thinking to take advantage of the growing market. Then the bottom fell out of the market because the growth did not materialize or there is an oversupply. Why don't they learn? Every single company is greedy but fails to account for the same responses by the competition - what idiocy. It is pretty demoralizing to hear about drastic budget cuts several times a year. At least I was not preparing 4 budgets. However, I don't really feel like I am growing and I am not challenged. When was the last time I took up something with an uncertain outcome that I was in a position to shape or influence? When was the last time when what I was doing actually mattered to somebody? Maybe I don't seek out those types of challenges because I don't like the stress. But it does not mean I don't want or welcome it once in a while just to feel alive.
Family-wise. Dad and mom are getting older and less social. Diana had another brain surgery and recovery was more arduous than previous 2x. More radiation is planned. Great grandma Shigemura passed at 102. Ranny hold Joey she was his dad's mom and gave away her keepsakes. I have more or less given up trying for no. 2. Becky's miracle at 44 ends up in preclamcia and a pile of worries for the development of Micah. Finally optometrist appointment at the end of the year revealed field of vision abnormalities. Family history of glaucoma catching up to me. I too am growing older.
