So You Want to Live in the Country?

                                             
07/10/01

I finally closed up the freshly cleaned rental house 
and got into my Jeep Grand Cherokee -  
All readied for the trip on Hiway 101 heading
down south.

SO you wanna live in the country???? 

07/20/2001

Hello, yes, I am finally ready to live in the country.

Country life, country living is the ultimate dreams
of many city folks!!!!! So I heard!

Finally, I can see miles and miles of mountains,
hills, meadows and vineyards.  Clear blue skies 
right out of my office windows while I am typing
this.

Finally, I can see thousand of stars in the pitch-black
sky at night.  I can see the moon the size of a giant
plate - bright yellow and hanging low over the 
mountain ranges. 

In the still of the night - all avoid of traffic noises or
any human interaction.
No other sight can be more beautiful and 
captivating.

Finally, I can feel the freshness of the earth and 
the clearest of the sky the day after it rained 
during the night.   

The birds chirping on the trees and picking
on the worms while they chase each other
around the yard. The birds even built their
nests in the bushes, on the outside patios
they are trusting of human being.

How great to be able to pick the apples
off the trees, eat them and feel the sweetness
and crispness of the fruits melting right in
my mouth.  Apple pie tastes 10 times better
when they are made with fresh apples.

Finally, fresh herbs from my own garden, 
green and fresh. No dried, old leaves in the bottles,
no  pesticides and no preservatives.  

Food tastes better fresh!!

BUT can you imagine any of the others 
UNPLEASANTNESS associated with
country living??

Can you even think of them before you move
out to the country??

No one would.  At least I never did ...

07/21/2001

Yes, yes,  I live in the country now.  
I used to live in the SUBURB!! Right in the 
HEART and SOUL of Silicon Valley in the midst
of small and big cities after cities in the South
of San Francisco Bay.  It was to me, the area 
where most of the highways and by-ways
are parking lots during rush hours of the day.
It WAS at one time the CENTER of the
INTERNET and HIGHTECH world, or to say
the least CENTER of the INTERNET UNIVERSE!!

I took the Voluntary Separation Packages from
INTEL Corporation - aha, yes, Intel,  the biggest Chip
company in the world!
(But that's another story here in the near future!)
 
I retired in July of this year and now.... 
I have a taste of LIVING in THE COUNTRY!!!

WELL, WELL, WELL....
Really, I never dreamt of these before I moved
down here.....

Slow pace of living in the country.
NO DSL or Cable Modem
That devastating....for our INTERNET biz!!!

Having to dial up to another town, although it is a local
phone call it is still very slow and no capability to
hook up all my servers!!!!!!!

Considering....
$300 a month  for co-location in town or a town nearby.
$150 a month  in another several towns,
all about 50-60 miles away.

Everything is slow here except drivers! 
They all drive 15-20 over speed limit
Most business people do not return your phone call.
(one out of 6 do!)

There are lots of work at the ranch
Right now it is quite hot, 90-107 during the day.
We have to water about an hour to 2 hours by hand.

At night there are some sprinkler running.

Everything is far away the center of town is 
7 miles away.

In Silicon Valley where I used to live, the 
market was around the corner and to the
nearest shopping center was 2 miles.
To work, my daily commute was only 
4 miles one way.

Well, ofcourse living in the suburb 
one has to live with traffice noises,
fire siren, truck and motorcycles rumbling
in the streets near by....

WEEKEND visitors !!!!
So far SO GOOD - We have been busy here
with constant visits from FAMILIES & Friends!!!!

08/11/2001

The computer repair shop gave me a telephone
number of the Satellite DSL company. 
Called and got in touch with Henry.  
He is a business man who made millions 
in the Bank Building Maintenance biz... 
He came to the ranch and told me that
he is planning to install the Satellite DSL 
for this area.  He planned to invest about
$800,000 and he checked around and discovered
that Verizon has a telephone tower near by. 
To have the Satellite DSL installed at a ranch
for $99.00 a month is not a bad deal at all... 
Especially that a static IP address is available
and will be provided so I would be able to set 
up my own servers again....
Servers' UP dude!!!!!

08/25/2001

Making a living or the $$$$$$

I went up to the grove to check on the 
plants at the grove. The packing house 
called and said that the avocados are 
readied for picking.





Picking days are here.... 



  
 




The  crates are avocados ready to go to the packer.   
The avocado grove is 21 acres but there
are about 17 acres of avocado trees.

I have been thinking of and am looking for 
vineyard or good land to grow grapes.  

What about Soy Beans? There are good
produce to grow and now I am interested 
in Soy Beans.

I wrote to a friend who has a farm and lives in
Kentucky.
"Do you get government subsidy for 
growing soybeans? 
Do you have any information? I love to eat 
Soy Beans and they are so expensive.  
Is it a profitable crop to grow?"

He replied to me with quite a bit of 
good information. He is a real farmer 
with 220 acres of crops lol...

09/11/2001
 
Life as we know it changed forever
that day.  A call came in from one
of the ranch hands and I was up pretty 
early that morning.  

Came down and turned on CNN...

We watched in sorrow and it was 
a horrorific experience.  

Most of us were glued to television 
for days which turns to weeks...

09/21/2001
 
Still haven't heard from Henry about progress
of his Satellite DSL installation plans.

Although, I saw lots of activities on the Water Tower
where there was a lone GTE-SPRINT Telephone poles on it.
Now, I can see there are several new poles there...

10/11/2001

The county started the road work construction
on Anza.  It would be nice to have a pave road.

Still... NO Sattelite DSL installation.
Are you surprise? Some people are talking 
about globalization and grand plan for wiring 
the remote places in the world to bridge 
the digital gaps.....

HERE we are in Southern California, 45 minutes
from San Diego, an hour and a half from downtown
Los Angeles...... 

HELP!! Can anyone hear me???? I need the server
connection without paying $300 a month......