Home Update from Ravi

NEW HOME

The story of our new home starts back in March 2007. Priya and I were looking around for a new home for a few months with the help of my high school friend Luke Hagenbach, who was now a realtor in Orange County. It seemed like everything was out of our price range, regardless of what the property looked like. We checked the new listings and the paper every weekend to see what we could find but nothing caught our eye.

On my birthday weekend, we had just returned from Palm Springs on Sunday afternoon and saw a new advertisement for a new development in Aliso Viejo, CA that was having a grand opening. I decided to call them and get a description of the models over the phone and was already hooked! Although we were tired, Priya and I took the quick drive down to see the models and we were both hooked. Aside from having the best layout we had seen, the pricing for the townhomes in this new development were the same, if not better, than all of the other new and older homes we had found. With our sights set on the " Delaney – Plan 5 ", the next step was waiting for the first phase of the project to release.

We got the e-mail on April 6 that the first phase release was going to be on Saturday, April 14. Priya and I were excited and were ready to get in line the night before, if we had to. We called on Friday the 13 th to determine if they would mind us getting in line early for the release the following day and were given the news that people were already 'camping' since April 7 for the release!

For clarification, the 'camping' process was not overnight camping. Essentially, you would have to be on site from open to close of the sales office and could either sit in the models, in the sales office, or in your car. You would be given a two hour break each day for lunch or other business where you could leave the premises – but you would have to sign in and sign out to make sure you did not go 'over' the time limit.

So, given the news that people were already 'camping', I left work immediately and got my name on the list. Unfortunately, out of the seven homes that were being released, only two of those were Plan 5s. In addition, out of the people 'camping', I was number 6 on the list. So, given that all of the people ahead of me had their first choice as a Plan 5…our hopes depended upon at least four of the people ahead of me to not show up on Saturday morning – that didn't happen.

With our hopes diminished on Saturday morning, and with no time frame for when the next phase was going to be released…we were kind of annoyed but had to look forward to the next release and/or another housing community.

On Monday afternoon, I got a call from the sales office that they would be releasing the next phase on Saturday, April 21 and they would be announcing it via e-mail on Tuesday, April 17. So, this was basically the heads up to come out early on Tuesday and start camping. Priya and I did better than that – basing our guess that there may be some old people that wake up earlier than we do, we threw some sleeping bags in the back of Priya's SUV and parked in the sales office parking lot overnight.

Luckily, we were the first one's at the Sales office that night. We posted a 'sign up sheet' with our names as #1 and #2 on it and stuck it on the front door with a band-aid (we didn't have any tape)! When we woke up, we were still the first in line. A couple of people came by in the early morning, before the office opened, and checked out the sign up sheet…good thing we posted that.

Priya had to go to work, but I purchased a wireless internet card for my laptop to work from the Sales Office for the rest of the week. When the doors finally opened to the Sales Office, I signed in and started my first day of camping that Tuesday morning. I had the chance to sit in the different models and do my work for the remainder of the week. When I sat in the Plan 5, as people came into the great room / kitchen area, their first reaction was typically 'Wow! Look at that island in the kitchen!' It felt like I was already getting complements on our new place.

Saturday finally came around and Priya had to take off for a work trip to India that morning. So, lucky me – I got to read through and sign the hundreds of pages of documents on her behalf as well as mine…fun..

Over the next couple of weeks, with Priya still in India, I had to get started with the design studio for our home to pick out cabinets, counter tops, extra lighting, extra electrical outlets, and other upgrades. Luckily I had a webcam and my laptop so Priya could 'sit in' on the design studio meetings to help out with some of the decisions.

With the upgrades selected, we had the chance to come in every couple of weeks and take pictures of the progress of our house. We did several walks through the home during the process – before the drywall was put in to see all the wiring and plumbing, before the flooring was put in, and after everything was complete. All of this in anticipation of our closing day on November 14, 2007 – if everything was on time, which it was!

NON-STOP NOVEMBER

Friday, Nov. 9, 2007 – With Monday being a holiday (Veteran's Day), we had to sign all our loan documents and wire all of our funds to be certain our money would reach the lender by Tuesday to successfully close on Wednesday.

Tuesday, Nov. 13 – In anticipation of closing and getting our keys on Wednesday, we packed up our first load of boxes in our cars to head straight to the sales office when they called us in to pick up the keys. With Supriya, Parag, Priya's Parents, and my Parents coming for Thanksgiving, there was plenty of work to do within only the next couple of days to be ready for them. So, we didn't want to waste any time.

Wednesday, Nov. 14 - This was by far the longest day ever. We were told to not expect to get the call until the afternoon…but of course we were still waiting for a call earlier in the day. The time passed slowly … 1pm....2pm....3pm...4pm...4:45pm and finally the call came! The sales staff would only be in the office until 5:15 p.m. so we were out the door from work and met up at the new place by 5:05 p.m.. With our cars packed, we moved our first load in to the home. We then went and packed up a second load from our old place and brought that into the new home as well. We managed to unpack all the kitchen items (there's a LOT of cabinet space - compared to our old place – plus an island!). It was almost like Christmas as we opened up our wedding gifts that were still unopened since the wedding last year since we didn't have any room to put them anywhere before! This kept us entertained for a while and then we slept around 2 a.m.

Thursday, Nov. 15 – Knowing/hoping that we would be getting our keys on Wednesday, I had already scheduled the cable guy to come Thursday morning. They arrived at 10 a.m. to install cable, internet, and phone. It all worked. They were impressed by our huge 15" screen that we were using… After work we brought another load to the new house and continued to unpack more boxes and organize.

Friday, Nov. 16 - Awaited lighting guy to arrive at 10 a.m. to help install a couple extra lights in the bedrooms / living room. There were a couple lights that the lighting guy could not do since we didn't have all the right screws, which left me with a couple to do on my own after getting the proper screws…but in any case…we managed to bring one more load of boxes to the new house after work and continued to organize. We also had a chance to order new couches which would arrive by Wednesday, the day before Thanksgiving.

Saturday, Nov. 17 – I got the right screws to install a couple extra lights on our own. The big project for the day was to get a U-Haul around 10 a.m. to do the final load with all the big stuff (beds, couches) from the old place to the new house. Hardik and Chaitali helped out and made the move easy…except for the King Size mattress. That thing takes like ten people and a lot of planning, but luckily we had to go down the stairs to the U-Haul – so with just the three of us, we had the benefit of gravity J. With Priya waiting at home for the new bed for guests to be delivered, we decided we would let those movers bring the mattress up to the third floor in the afternoon, rather than make fools of ourselves trying to get it up on our own. Luckily, the movers were kind enough to help J. We continued to unpack and organize the last set of boxes. We also took a break to go grocery shopping to fill up the new fridge! Only a few more hours and our first overnight guest would arrive!

Sunday, Nov. 18 – We managed to unpack most of the remaining items and organize a majority of the boxes in the kitchen and living area. The office was the last area to tackle – which we postponed until Monday. With Supriya coming in the afternoon, we grabbed some more food from Trader Joes and spent the day with her. We stopped by Ikea for a bookshelf and a couple of other items. We also put Supriya to work to help us finish cleaning the old place J…what are sister-in-laws for... :)

Monday, Nov. 19 – Today was fun with the speaker guy coming at 8 a.m. He installed our surround sound system…for the receiver and TV that would be arriving on Wednesday. We put our Ikea bookshelf together and finished organizing the office. We installed an extra towel rack for the guest bathroom. The moving boxes were all emptied and the garage organization remained as the last task. Not too bad for a couple days work!

Tuesday, Nov. 20 – Priya's parents arrived in afternoon. Parag arrived in evening. The house is starting to get filled. Oooh, and we get home cooked meals for dinner! Yay! We went for another round of grocery shopping for Thanksgiving and checked out some shelving for the garage. Priya's dad needed a fun project :)

Wednesday, Nov. 21 – While Priya's dad put together shelving for the garage, the big things for the day were the couches and TV were to arrive. The TV installers came a few hours late and arrived in the afternoon. What they didn't know was that our built in cabinet was 56" wide, 36" tall and 7" deep. This was supposed to fit the 52" Sony LCD (XBR4) that had dimensions of 55.5" wide, 33" tall, and about 5" deep. With the wall mounting bracket adding about 2"…this was going to be a tight squeeze, if it could fit at all. The installers took a look at the space and said it would not fit. After measuring and debating a little more, and after signing a waiver that they wouldn't be liable for any damage to the cabinet if they 'ding' it when trying to put the TV in…they decided to try. They mounted the wall bracket, lifted the TV, and pushed it as far as they could on the left side and then slowly tried to move it in on the right side. Rubbing up against the side of the cabinet they used a little force and VOILA! In goes the TV. Not looking forward to moving any time soon and having to try and take that TV out…but it looks great right now J! With that in, and the two couches arriving from Macy's in the early evening – our living room is almost set (aside from a coffee table we are still researching).

Thursday, Nov. 22 – We woke up and started making food around 10 a.m. My parents arrived in the afternoon. By the time they arrived, we had just about everything ready for a big Thanksgiving meal. We had Turkey, Tofurkey, Green Bean Casserole, Stuffing, Mashed Potatoes, Gravy, Biscuits, Salad, Cranberry sauce, and two Pumpkin Pies to top it all off! With not much to do, we watched the movie Salaam-e-Ishq. A long movie with too many stories wrapped into one. Can anyone tell me why Salman shows up in the end? In any case, we got a chance to teach our parents how to play the 'presidents' card game and were entertained with that for the rest of the night.

With a hectic week, this was an awesome way to start living at our new home. We hope to see you all soon at the new place! The guest room is all set :) …no need to make a reservation. Just come on down :)