Day: December 18, 2006

Either at Karl&Joey’s Annual Christmasy Christmas Party or chatting with neighbors just before I heard rumor that the vacant lot on the 1700 block of 4th NW is going to get a condo thrown on it. It’s 18 feet wide so yes, stuff can get built. I was thinking it would be great to take over the lot (like neighbors did to another lot) and ‘do’ something with it. But it seems stuff was cleaned off of it and via 2nd or 3rd persons someone mentioned putting a condo up.
I just got this to say to whomever is going to build something on the lot. Ugly don’t sell. If you are going to build something, build it so real live people, maybe even a homeowning type will buy it. There is an ugly house on 3rd that I swore has never had a soul living in it. Why? Because it is U-G-L-Y, it ain’t got no alibi it’s ugly. And ugly don’t sell unless it is dirt cheap. Ultra modern surrounded (rules may differ for end units) by traditional, kinda ugly. Ugly modern next to traditional, very, exceedingly ugly, and probably won’t sell.
Anyway. Rumor. Condo. 1700 blk 4th.

Update: Just to clarify, not all modern is ugly. There is some stuff in the hood that is modern and kinda cute or interesting.

Okay a lot of you are going to be running off for Christmas/End of year/ New Year whatever vacation so a few words of advice:

1. Stop your mail. Go to USPS.gov and put a stop on your mail for the time you are gone.

2. Stop your paper. Call the Post or the Times and make them stop delivering the paper ’cause nothing says not at home like 2 of those things piled up.

3. If you have roommates don’t assume they will be around to pick up the mail & paper, so ask them. They have their own lives and might at the spur of the moment run off too.

4. Tell a trusted neighbor that you are going away. Sometimes those mail and paper stops don’t work out as smoothly as we’d like and then there are the Chinese menu people and UPS that leave things at your door.

There a few other things you might want to do depending on how long you will be gone (like get a cat sitter or leave your car in a friend’s garage). Any other tips for neighbors?