Monday, January 14, 2008

Yow. I need to stay away from the sugars so late in the day. No more donuts after dinner. I dreamed last night that I was trespassing on estates down by the river and lecturing the owners about how Bend used to be, and all about my mother, Libby, the gardener, and her aesthetic sense.

Weird.

Thing is, Old Bend wasn't all the great. It couldn't provide me with a job with living wages;I was lucky to create the one I have. I kind of like the anonymity of a larger city, and the arts -- even if I don't partake of them much myself.

And I want to avoid lecturing on this blog. But...well, that's kind of why I have it, right? So....come and listen or not, it's up to you. Hopefully, it will sound less like hectoring, and more like gentle prodding.



Meanwhile, I've finally found a show this season I really like: the new Terminator series, Sarah Conner Chronicles, was great. The second part of the beginning is tonight on Fox at 8:00. Be there or be square. Don't let another Firefly, Veronica Mars quality show get crucified by American frakken Idol!
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5 comments:

Anonymous said...

I recently flew US Airways to Phoenix and the in-flight magazine was chock-full of ads for "condos" on golf courses in Arizona and Nevada. I can't believe how many there are -- and they are either "80% sold" or they just have an architect's sketch of the exterior.

Again, I think it's the developers getting over-excited about high-flying baby-boomers flush with cash who want a 2nd home with low maintenance, resort atmosphere, granite countertops, stainless steel this and that, blah, blah, blah. Yes, there's a lot of wealthy baby-boomers out there, but do they all want to live in a condo??

P.S. "See you" in February, Duncan. I'll be in a non-internet Asian country for the next month.

January 14, 2008 at 10:52:00 AM PST
Anonymous said...

Bend is definitely in trouble if/when the weathly slow down/substantially curb their spending on consumer goods, eating out and entertainment:

From an article in today's Register-Guard:

Spending dip fuels recession worries

Article Quotes:
"Even wealthier consumers, who were seen as invulnerable to rising gasoline prices and falling home values, are feeling the squeeze.

“People are clearly concerned that we are headed into a recession,” said Stephen Sadove, the chief executive of Saks Fifth Avenue, the upscale department store whose runaway growth throughout much of the year slowed markedly in December.

Chains that cater to the middle and upper classes, which have benefited from years of trading up — when customers splurge on select expensive products — struggled as well. Coach, the leather goods maker, said sales of its popular handbags had become sluggish, prompting the company to issue rare coupons to drum up business."

If/when you hear scuttlebutt about any of your "upscale" retail neighors seeing a downturn in their business, keep your readers posted, OK?

January 14, 2008 at 3:40:00 PM PST
Duncan McGeary said...

I'm not sure how these people think. I know that Bend until the last 5 years wasn't all that kind to high end, so which is the real Bend?

January 14, 2008 at 7:19:00 PM PST
Anonymous said...

What is the real Bend??

**
Is a min wage job really that good??
**

Good report's tonight from monday night @ Deschutes Brew Pub,

Very thin crowd for monday.

Lot's builders, and lots of sad story's. For Generals It's never been better year-to-date bid on full frame for +3k-sqft is now below $5k. I explicitly asked, and the response from all is "The subs must work, ..." The rumor is soon we'll be paying people to work, break even is already under-water.

Think about this, the price for full rough-frame is now down to almost $1/sq-ft!!!!!! I was talking to some builders who were paying $15k a year ago, and now sub's are taking jobs at below $3k for a 3k-sqft house. Note, two years ago wages went from $60hr to $15hr, now they have gone below min wage. The response? We have to work.

Nah, I say its time for a lot of people to find a new home.

Hey, I feel for these guys, but what's the point of building more SPEC here really? What's the fucking point? It ain't going to sell.

Yeh, subs can keep busy taking jobs that lose money, it looks good to have work?? Yeh, right... This all goes back to what Homer said yesterday about builders with 6th grade educations. There comes a time, that it is essential to pull the plug. Our own Duncan raves about the merit of working for and/or below min-wage, but folks this isn't the fucking life, that you all came to Bend for

January 15, 2008 at 8:18:00 AM PST
Anonymous said...

I know that Bend until the last 5 years wasn't all that kind to high end, so which is the real Bend?

*

Yes, but five years ago there was no pronghorn, brasada, ... Tetherow, ... this stuff downtown, real-estate is art, will all be gone, over 50% of downtown is now 'gallerys' selling an image of Bend that has been over-sold. A Bend that never was, a Bend that only existed in the mind of those selling Bend as Aspen.

By definition, the rich aren't that stupid, Bend is already not cool,

There's clamor at Broken-Top ( all of them ) right now for more gates, more security, more exclusivity. That seems to be the keyword I'm hearing from realtors now is 'exclusivity'. It means to keep out the riff-raff.

The Bend of 2005 is gone, and not coming back. A lot of these new rich came here 2004/2005.

All that's left of Bend is Typhoon, and Deep. Stocatto isn't hot no more, Merenda is dead. The new re-modelled blacksmith might make it, ... for awhile. Already Typhoon isn't as good as when it opened. It's much better than Toomys, but that place has always had rotten vegies.

The big thing in the media this weekend, was keeping the tourists for ten days. I'm mean hell, most people who spend 2-3 days here are ready to leave.

What is 'high-end' in Bend? A few boutique RE shops, this is great for tourists, in their one hour walk-around downtown Bend, but that's it, done that seen that.

Today's Bend is setup up for an endless continuous bus load of tourists, who are going to wonder into Tetherow, Brasada shop's, and buy a time-share. These aren't the 'rich', these are the Reno Suckers, out on an over-night.

Bend is a cheap Carny town, and the real rich know it.

January 15, 2008 at 8:32:00 AM PST

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