Amtrak Discount Codes

One of cooler things about our location is the close proximity of the train depot (unless you are a light sleeper). If you are booking online an Amtrak trip any time soon, check out this site first. Some of the discounts I have seen run from 10% off total ticket price to buy one, get one free!

After you have selected your destination and travel date, just plug in one of the promotion codes available on the website. Note: The "BOGO" deal usually requires a minimum three-day reservation.

In addition, Retail Me Not is a great site for numerous other online store promotions and discount codes.

"Santa Ana Police, This Better Be Good."

I love my dog for many reasons. One of them is because she is so well house trained. When it's time for her to go outside to use the restroom, she tells me–even if it is 1:20 in the morning.

As usual, I brought my cell phone with me just in case I needed to phone the police (speed dial #9), and tonight was one of those nights. Being that Halloween falls on a Wednesday this year, most of the parties are taking place right now, beginning some 4-5 hours ago.

Walking the pooch, I noticed several cars fly by me at speeds close to 50mph in 25mph areas, while others were taking off from stop signs so fast, their tires screeched loudly for a few seconds until they were able to grab asphalt and bolt down the back streets. Then, there were the two dudes in a truck that were obviously drunk, speeding down Civic Center Drive.

I quickly grabbed my phone and placed a call to Santa Ana Police where I was greeted with the frequent "Unless you have been stabbed or shot, then I really don't give a f*ck" attitude from the operator. I gave her the location and direction of the offenders and asked if there were any units available, could they possibly check things out.

"No. We are really busy tonight so that's not possible." I then kindly asked her to see if any units would be returning from calls in nearby areas if they could just drive through to give a Police presence. "That's probably not going to happen, okay? Have a good night". Click.

Frustrated, I headed back to my house, disturbed with the thought that our property taxes due in the next week or so keeps quality employees like this on payroll.

I suppose the only half-way decent hourly employees at this time of night (morning) are the ones working at the 7-11's-and they seem to be the ones always getting robbed. Hopefully, when that time comes, their call to Santa Ana Police is met with a little more professionalism.

Renaissance Meeting Tonight

Tonight starting at 6PM located at the St. Joseph School Parish Hall.

Original post here.

I hope this meeting doesn't turn out to be a 2008 election ploy.

Talkin' Trash About Santa Ana

Though the term Santa Ana Winds has nothing to do with our City, when they come into town, they sure do wreak havoc in Santa Ana. Aside from blowing down trees, piling leaves and pine needles onto your driveway or curb, the winds bring to attention another issue that plagues Santa Ana: Trash.

Walking around our neighborhood, one can easily see that our tall buildings and semi-lush planters have been converted into repositories for trash. If you continue down to Brown Street, you can see that less traveled streets in this City quickly turn into drop-offs for old couches and larger items that, in a perfect world, should be taken to the dump.








This truly is a sad sight to see being that this complex has been up for just over a year, and yet, the refuse of the City increasingly invades our neighborhood.

So why is our City so trashy?

1. People just don't care.


2. Maintenance people don't care.


3. No one knows whom to call.

Time and time again, I've glanced out my window only to see people of all likes carelessly throw their trash on the ground, out of their cars, or into the bushes–even though a trash receptacle was just a few steps out of their way. As for society as whole, the people that don't care outnumber the people that do care.

When I stated that Maintenance people don't care, what I really should have stated was that "Maintenance people aren't paid to care" (mainly this guy on the right).

Never once have I seen a lawn blower guy blow leaves or trash into nice, neat piles, where he or another crew member can easily sweep it up into a bag or bin. Instead, this dude blows all of the crap off of Property A, only to become Property B-Z's problem, not to mention the rest of the City's.

So who at the City do we call to address trash issues in Santa Ana?
Blog reader Eric recommended in an earlier post that we should be calling Richard Lay [(714) 647-3380] who works for the City's Public Works Agency. I phoned Richard myself and he advised me to put in a call to dispatch should a couch or something large and obnoxious end up on the streets or sidewalks. As for the smaller pieces of trash scattered throughout the City, he advised that the City does not have any services other than the street sweeper to combat this endless problem.

On a final note, I'd like to discuss the homeless people and those who dig through trash for recyclables. Believe it or not, these folks are some of the few people I've seen who actually pick up trash (off of the streets) in Santa Ana– mainly because the trash they pick-up puts money in their pockets. It's frustrating to see that the people with the least amount invested into the community can be the ones doing the most about this problem.

"You have a nice neighborhood, FOR ME TO POOP ON!"

This last weekend, our local celebrity, The Poo Lady, twice again visited our complex. It seems to me, after being cussed and screamed at by her (twice), that there is no reasoning with this lady; she is determined to use our neighborhood as her personal baño.

One of our neighbors put a call into the Police after her first visit. Although she had high-tailed it by the time the officer arrived, he was able to give a little background on this individual. Turns out that officer had arrested her before (just after tasering her), after violently refusing to disband after he instructed her to do so.

As much as it bothers me to see a heaping turd and napkin-toilet paper on our property, Poo Lady brings something to our City that you just don't find in others like Irvine.

Click the image below if you liked peeking at your presents when you were a kid.

Foxy Update

One of our readers posted a comment about "Foxy" saying they did not see her on the adoption site anymore.

I just got off of the phone with The OC Animal Care Services and they did confirm that she did get adopted.

Thank you Dr. Nguyen for helping an animal find a new home and more importantly, a new chance at life.

The 23rd Annual Food Wine & Micro-Brew Festival

So the Renaissance meeting for this week has been canceled–That doesn't mean you should cancel that Tivo recording for Earl, 30 Rock and The Office just yet!

This Thursday, October 11th, The Second Harvest Food Bank of Orange County is throwing their Annual Event in the Crystal Court wing of South Coast Plaza from 5:30-8:30PM.

$55 at the door ($50 if you pre-register) gets you into an unlimited, three-hour orgy of mouth-watering goodies from some of the finest local restaurants, wineries, and microbreweries Southern California has to offer.

The admission price is a shock at first glance, but the proceeds go to a great cause of feeding the hungry in Orange County. Besides, where else can you sample multiple high-end restaurants in one sitting at a fraction of the cost of having dinner at just one of them?

Come get drunk with me at South Coast Plaza and later we'll terrorize the employees at the Apple Store!

October 11 Renaissance Meeting CANCELED

I received a call from Julie Carlos at the City (neighborhood meeting coordinator for Santa Ana) informing me that the Renaissance meeting scheduled for this Thursday has been canceled due to its short-notice.

Julie did confirm with me that the meeting planned for the 25th of October was still on target and scheduled to begin at 6:30PM (the calendar posted here says 6:00PM) at the St. Joseph School Parish Hall.

What's another two weeks when looking at the twenty-year plan for the Renaissance.

Support the Rebirth of Santa Ana

Over the next couple of weeks, the City will be holding community meetings discussing the much delayed Renaissance Project.

The first of these meetings will be taking place next Thursday, October 11 at 6PM located within the St. Joseph Hospital Church.

The next meeting will be held on Thursday, October 25 at 6PM located at the St. Joseph School Parish Hall.

I think it is safe to assume that every one of us moved to this sketchy neighborhood because we all share the belief that there is great potential for this City. Unfortunately, this dream can easily fall apart given Santa Ana's track record and lackluster City management.

Please make time in your schedule to attend these meetings and show your support for a greater Santa Ana (not to mention higher property values).

Below are some links to the City's website if you want more information about the upcoming meetings.

City neighborhood development meeting page
Renaissance Specific Meeting Dates (PDF)

Who Let The Dogs Out? Santa Ana, That's Who.

To the dog owner/lover, Santa Ana can be a pretty depressing town. The lack of clean parks, recent Parvo issues, and having to drive to Tustin for a decent Veterinarian keeps Fido and me on the down.

But on top of all of these issues, the high rate of neglected, stray, or lost dogs roaming our neighborhood is what breaks my heart the most. One can argue that these are just animals that eat up our tax dollars when we should focus our attention on the homeless people in Santa Ana.

While I agree that there is a homeless problem in every major city including ours (Irvine exempted), the fact is that most of the people living on streets are there by choice. Dogs and animals are frequently tossed out onto the streets or get loose due to their owners giving up on them, being irresponsible in their safety, or just plain stupid.

Last night, an adorable Pomeranian-Mix wandered into our complex, seeking shelter from the noisy and frightening Boulevard. A neighbor was kind enough to befriend the little girl and bring her in for a much needed bath.

Once we earned the little one's trust, she immediately jumped onto my lap as she was so excited to finally be safe indoors with a hearty plate of food and a clean water dish to drink from.

This morning, I contacted The Orange County Animal Care Services about possibly locating the owner. I was advised to bring the dog into the Shelter being that would be the first place a concerned owner would check. I expressed my concern to the operator about the sweetheart being euthanized should she not be claimed. She assured me that should the owner not come forward, she would surely be adopted being as sweet as I described her to be.

So if you or anyone is interested in a loving dog that needs a little house training, please give the Shelter a call at (714) 935-6848.


For tracking purposes, the Shelter assigned the loving little doggie an identification number of A0851833, but to me, I will always remember her as "Foxy".

*Update* If you are interested in a loving lap dog, she is available here.

Thank You John and Betsy!

The fire safety was both informative and fun (Not to mention delicious)!
Thank you very much for opening up your home to your neighbors.

Fire and Safety Training Tonight

Tonight starting at 6:30 PM.
906 E. Santa Ana Blvd.

Original posting here.