Irvine Anecdotes

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My son just earned his yellow belt at Woodbury's Elite Fitness tonight, and Master Doug had us all laughing with his usual nonstop stream of hysterically funny comments. Then we walked home with the chew monster aka puppy. Frequently, I go to Trader Joe's or the cleaner's while he's in TKD class. And I walked to the nail salon at lunch today to get one chipped fingernail fixed. I heart Woodbury!
 
Phantom Notes

Those of you who live in an IAC know what I am talking about. The leasing office has a mysterious way of leaving various stealthy notes/letters/fliers at our door. I walked in the door only to realize that I forgot something in the car; within five minutes someone has managed to stuff a Christmas flier unbeknownst to the entire family including the cat! I mean how did the cat miss someone at the door? It's actually a little creepy. You can see who is home and who hasn't been home for a few days, by the fliers still stuffed in the front doors of a few neighbors.
 
Rage against the Hedge

In an attempt to exert my freewill and sovereignty; I have done something so rebellious, so contrary to everything master-planned and Irvine. I decided to? cross an Irvine hedge. The kid and I were finished playing/swinging at the tot-lot and it was time to go. We were a little late so I thought; that is stupid; why should I walk another three minutes all the way around the Commons when I can just jump this puny hedge and get to the car directly. In an impulsive, brave act of defiance, I took the kid and went for it. Little did I understand how mistaken I was. The Irvine hedges are so perfectly constructed and maintained that it is virtually unpenetratable. TIC has gotten us so comfortable with shorts and flip-flops, that I felt every scratch and prick from the bushes. After I managed to jump the dreadful shrub there stood the waist-high retaining fortress wall. I managed somehow to get the baby safely across the obstacle course; only to turn around and see the disapproving glares of other Irvine parents. I was literally shammed all the way to the car for rebelling against the Irvine system. This is a word of caution to others who might be tempted break away from the conformist nature of Irvine; I am currently in process to reconcile with the Irvine master-plan landscaping gods so I can return to a life of compliance.
 
Sunday Reunions

I ran into a guy I went to High School today; at church of all places. How often does that happen? The funny thing about going to an Irvine mega church is that you never know who you'll run into. A few other people that I have run into come to mind: The Trader Joe's lady that serves the samples; an old couple from another previous church; a few doctors/clients that I work with; a few networking acquaintances from LA; and a cousin that I see about three times a year. The conversation usually goes something like this. I didn't know you go to this church? How long have you been coming here? Wow, a few years? How come I never see you? I'm just waiting to bump into an ex or two?
 
Who Gets the View?

We recently have quite a bit of new neighbors that moved in this month; almost as busy at the summer months. One neighbor in particular moved in directly across the court yard, in the next building. The buildings are mirror images; so our kitchen, dining room; slider glass door and patio face each other. We do most of our living in these three spaces. We treasure our view of the court yard, the trees, the flowers and grass; however we also enjoy our privacy. The goal is to "condition" our new neighbors early into not using their view and "forcing" them to shut their vertical blinds for the most part; that way we, can have the choice of either leaving our blinds open all the time or choosing to close them on our terms. The most effective way to accomplish this is just to open the blinds, turn the lights on and put on an embarrassingly silly show for our new neighbors. I would dance with the cat, the baby and wife. When I got tired, I would trim the cat's nails and brush his fur out in the patio. When that was done; I would just sit down at the dining table, eat my lunch, type this anecdote and feed the baby all in full frontal view of our new neighbors who are getting settled in. After a full weekend of this, the message was sent and received loud and clear; we are crazy, exhibitionist family and they just better keep their blinds closed. We win!
 
[quote author="roundcorners"]Who Gets the View?

We recently have quite a bit of new neighbors that moved in this month; almost as busy at the summer months. One neighbor in particular moved in directly across the court yard, in the next building. The buildings are mirror images; so our kitchen, dining room; slider glass door and patio face each other. We do most of our living in these three spaces. We treasure our view of the court yard, the trees, the flowers and grass; however we also enjoy our privacy. The goal is to "condition" our new neighbors early into not using their view and "forcing" them to shut their vertical blinds for the most part; that way we, can have the choice of either leaving our blinds open all the time or choosing to close them on our terms. The most effective way to accomplish this is just to open the blinds, turn the lights on and put on an embarrassingly silly show for our new neighbors. I would dance with the cat, the baby and wife. When I got tired, I would trim the cat's nails and brush his fur out in the patio. When that was done; I would just sit down at the dining table, eat my lunch, type this anecdote and feed the baby all in full frontal view of our new neighbors who are getting settled in. After a full weekend of this, the message was sent and received loud and clear; we are crazy, exhibitionist family and they just better keep their blinds closed. We win![/quote]

Doesn't that also alienate you from said neighbor? Wouldn't you be setting up the "crazy neighbor" barrier from the get go?
 
[quote author="jvna"]
[quote author="roundcorners"]Who Gets the View?

We recently have quite a bit of new neighbors that moved in this month; almost as busy at the summer months. One neighbor in particular moved in directly across the court yard, in the next building. The buildings are mirror images; so our kitchen, dining room; slider glass door and patio face each other. We do most of our living in these three spaces. We treasure our view of the court yard, the trees, the flowers and grass; however we also enjoy our privacy. The goal is to "condition?our new neighbors early into not using their view and "forcing?them to shut their vertical blinds for the most part; that way we, can have the choice of either leaving our blinds open all the time or choosing to close them on our terms. The most effective way to accomplish this is just to open the blinds, turn the lights on and put on an embarrassingly silly show for our new neighbors. I would dance with the cat, the baby and wife. When I got tired, I would trim the cat's nails and brush his fur out in the patio. When that was done; I would just sit down at the dining table, eat my lunch, type this anecdote and feed the baby all in full frontal view of our new neighbors who are getting settled in. After a full weekend of this, the message was sent and received loud and clear; we are crazy, exhibitionist family and they just better keep their blinds closed. We win![/quote]

Doesn't that also alienate you from said neighbor? Wouldn't you be setting up the "crazy neighbor" barrier from the get go?[/quote]

I know, we do sound like court-yard bullies don't we...? I am a little embarassed of even admiting this... Just so you guys know, we didn't intend on this happening. The long story is that, we always keep a window open for the cat. Wherever we lived, Long Beach, Tustin Ranch, Watatermarke, now; we always have a few windows where the cat can look our on his perch or favorite hang-out spots. In the OC, we started to noticed that if we kept our blinds constantly open, than no one else would. The wife loves to dance to worship music; so I guess we are fairly weird/crazy bunch already. I guess we can bake some holiday cookies and introduce ourselves...
 
No Leaves

We have some friends from church who live down the street in Woodbury. They have a three year old who is painfully shy and introverted. They are always encouraging him to play outside and at the various parks. The kid is in this stage where he loves to pick up fallen leaves. The mom was ecstatic to see that the many medium trees are finally starting to change colors and shed for the winter. Having seen some dead leaves at their front sidewalk yard the day before, she excitedly informed her son; but as soon as they walked out the front door, it has already been blown away and cleaned by the landscapers. They went back inside disappointed.
 
[quote author="roundcorners"]
[quote author="jvna"]

Doesn't that also alienate you from said neighbor? Wouldn't you be setting up the "crazy neighbor" barrier from the get go?[/quote]

I know, we do sound like court-yard bullies don't we...? I am a little embarassed of even admiting this... Just so you guys know, we didn't intend on this happening. The long story is that, we always keep a window open for the cat. Wherever we lived, Long Beach, Tustin Ranch, Watatermarke, now; we always have a few windows where the cat can look our on his perch or favorite hang-out spots. In the OC, we started to noticed that if we kept our blinds constantly open, than no one else would. The wife loves to dance to worship music; so I guess we are fairly weird/crazy bunch already. I guess we can bake some holiday cookies and introduce ourselves...[/quote]

That's the spirit. At least you'll be the friendly crazy neighbor.
 
Address

It seems like I had to give our home address to a lot of people over the phone lately. Friends who wanted to send Christmas cards; student loans customer service; various work vendors; various subscriptions and people visiting just to name a few. Here is how the typical conversation goes: Ok, so we are at XXXXX Payton, Irvine 92620. That's XXXXX Payton Street, Avenue? No, just Payton, its Irvine you don't need Street, or anything after it. Will? it still get there if I put Street? I guess? but don't worry you really don't have to. It's no big deal; I'll just write Street and? send it in the mail.
 
[quote author="roundcorners"]Address

It seems like I had to give our home address to a lot of people over the phone lately. Friends who wanted to send Christmas cards; student loans customer service; various work vendors; various subscriptions and people visiting just to name a few. Here is how the typical conversation goes: Ok, so we are at XXXXX Payton, Irvine 92620. That's XXXXX Payton Street, Avenue? No, just Payton, its Irvine you don't need Street, or anything after it. Will? it still get there if I put Street? I guess? but don't worry you really don't have to. It's no big deal; I'll just write Street and? send it in the mail.[/quote]
Hehe... this is so true.

I've had 3 different addresses in Irvine for the past year and each one was like that. It's usually utility, credit card companies or whoever I have to notify change of address and they always ask about that... unless they are local to Irvine and are familiar with it.

Irvine... the city with no Aves, Rds, Lns, or Sts.
 
Juvenile delinquents:

I recently had a parallel experience in Irvine to one I had in Moorea (a tahitian island). I lived in a few less-than-safe areas when attending college and grad school. I know some warning signs of certain groups of people (posture, how they look around, and other profiling that we all do). It usually takes an almost sure thing to get my attention, but I'm always aware.

Anyhow, my wife and I were walking along the road in Moorea back to our resort. We had just gone to the mini-mart for some snack and had to walk back along a dirt path paralleling the road. About half way there, 4 teenage kids were taking up the path. Some with shirts off, hats backward, lowrider bikes. Generally trying to look tough and up to no good. As we approached, hoping for a no-conflict pass, they all looked up at once, smiled, and said "Bonjour!" ;D <!-- s:D -->:D<!-- s:D --> with HUGE smiles and genuine warmth. They got on their bikes, got out of the way, waived with their smiles still going, and biked off. Needless to say my wife and I were taken aback and it really brightened our otherwise cynical outlook on life.

Well, we recently had a similar experience in Irvine. My wife and I were walking into shop to get some food, but the entrance was crowded with a group of late teen/early twenties kids, trying to look tough (I suppose). As we approached, I saw smiles, a "good morning!" and one even held the door open as we went inside.

These kinds of things do more good than any fluff piece on the news. Kudos to parents to who raise their kids with manners, and even more kudos to those who manage to make sure they keep them in young adulthood. Good old fashion manners, along with proper grammar and conversational skills, will help you get ahead in the business world as much as any extra line on your resume.
 
[quote author="Mojo"]Juvenile delinquents:

I recently had a parallel experience in Irvine to one I had in Moorea (a tahitian island). I lived in a few less-than-safe areas when attending college and grad school. I know some warning signs of certain groups of people (posture, how they look around, and other profiling that we all do). It usually takes an almost sure thing to get my attention, but I'm always aware.

Anyhow, my wife and I were walking along the road in Moorea back to our resort. We had just gone to the mini-mart for some snack and had to walk back along a dirt path paralleling the road. About half way there, 4 teenage kids were taking up the path. Some with shirts off, hats backward, lowrider bikes. Generally trying to look tough and up to no good. As we approached, hoping for a no-conflict pass, they all looked up at once, smiled, and said "Bonjour!" ;D <!-- s:D -->:D<!-- s:D --> with HUGE smiles and genuine warmth. They got on their bikes, got out of the way, waived with their smiles still going, and biked off. Needless to say my wife and I were taken aback and it really brightened our otherwise cynical outlook on life.

Well, we recently had a similar experience in Irvine. My wife and I were walking into shop to get some food, but the entrance was crowded with a group of late teen/early twenties kids, trying to look tough (I suppose). As we approached, I saw smiles, a "good morning!" and one even held the door open as we went inside.

These kinds of things do more good than any fluff piece on the news. Kudos to parents to who raise their kids with manners, and even more kudos to those who manage to make sure they keep them in young adulthood. Good old fashion manners, along with proper grammar and conversational skills, will help you get ahead in the business world as much as any extra line on your resume.[/quote]

Nice Post!! It just goes to show, we can't judge a Book by it's color...

But the scary thing is, we have older, well-to-do and decent looking People trying to cut us off and Kill us on the Freeway with their $80k+ Cars and SUV's. Go figure!!
 
True Juvenile delinqs

I hate it when I'm driving through my community (slowly) and I come around a turn when.... some punk little kids are walking in the middle of the street. At least one or two will not move and keep walking up acting tough because they know that most people will go around them. Every single time, I'm tempted to stop my car and go up to them. During my younger days, I did just that. Some idiot kid rode his bike in front of my then-girlfriend and kept swerving and didn't let her pass. When she told me about it, I got in my car and chased down the kid. He tried to take off, but I drove in front and cut him off. I got out and gave him a mouthful. I told him to never do that again or he'd be in some trouble. He said sorry and squirrelly rode back to his laughing friends.
 
Too funny. My friends and I used to pelt cars with water balloons from some of the smaller intersection corners on Yale in the northwood area. Whenever someone would stop and chase us, the real fun began. We would run like hell. <!-- s:) -->:)<!-- s:) --> What a rush. I would have been really pissed at me. Man, I was a jerk kid. <!-- s;) -->;)<!-- s;) -->
 
[quote author="Mojo"]Too funny. My friends and I used to pelt cars with water balloons from some of the smaller intersection corners on Yale in the northwood area. Whenever someone would stop and chase us, the real fun began. We would run like hell. <!-- s:) -->:)<!-- s:) --> What a rush. I would have been really pissed at me. Man, I was a jerk kid. <!-- s;) -->;)<!-- s;) -->[/quote]

It is no wonder why Irvine's violent crime rate jumped 42% in the last year. <!-- s:P -->:P<!-- s:P -->
 
[quote author="roundcorners"]Address

It seems like I had to give our home address to a lot of people over the phone lately. Friends who wanted to send Christmas cards; student loans customer service; various work vendors; various subscriptions and people visiting just to name a few. Here is how the typical conversation goes: Ok, so we are at XXXXX Payton, Irvine 92620. That's XXXXX Payton Street, Avenue? No, just Payton, its Irvine you don't need Street, or anything after it. Will? it still get there if I put Street? I guess? but don't worry you really don't have to. It's no big deal; I'll just write Street and? send it in the mail.[/quote]

Ha! I hate that, the no "street" or "lane" or whatever part of Irvine addresses. It's so annoying. I feel like my address is incomplete.
 
Dog Poop

I'm not sure if this is a trend in your neighborhood; but this was certainly true living at Watermarke which is next to The Plaza 3000 and here in Woodbury. Walking around everyday; I tend to see the usual familiar dogs and their owners. Some renters only walk their dogs within the apartment complex; some renters mix it up a little and walk into the residential neighborhoods, which is understandable. However there are some home owners who purposely cross the street into the apartment complex simply to relieve their dogs. This was also true at Watermarke; some Plaza people would use our dog run, dogie bags and water. As a renter I can't help but to feel a little pissed-off; sometimes I try to give those owners a dirty look.
 
[quote author="roundcorners"]Dog Poop

I'm not sure if this is a trend in your neighborhood; but this was certainly true living at Watermarke which is next to The Plaza 3000 and here in Woodbury. Walking around everyday; I tend to see the usual familiar dogs and their owners. Some renters only walk their dogs within the apartment complex; some renters mix it up a little and walk into the residential neighborhoods, which is understandable. However there are some home owners who purposely cross the street into the apartment complex simply to relieve their dogs. This was also true at Watermarke; some Plaza people would use our dog run, dogie bags and water. As a renter I can't help but to feel a little pissed-off; sometimes I try to give those owners a dirty look.[/quote]

I'm sure the WB owners feel the same about you. They pay high HOA for their Commons area and still have a lot of renters in the area from IAC with key fob access.

I am also curious if any owners with a WB key fob ever tried to access WB IAC facilities? I don't even know if it would work.
 
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