OK, so they’re simple troubles. We had the “Earth Anchors” people came by to check out the facade and they pointed out some cracks. So I went onto the web sites to try to find out if I could get some plans for the house. I think this 1939 house is “as built.” In other words, “pulled out of the builder’s ass,” but that didn’t stop me from trying. I found out that most of the phone numbers for Multnomah County and the City of Portland are voice mailboxes. The library, however, is still answering the phone and answers questions via email within minutes!

Anyway, while I was fishing around Portland house maps, I found that someone had turned me in for a possible code violation. I was told that these things don’t happen randomly and someone had to rat on me. Well, ham radio antennas are not separate structures and they’re allowed in the City of Portland, so nothing came of it.

I suppose what I hate most about this formerly working-class neighborhood are the new snooty people moving in. With the prices they’re paying for their houses, they expect a gated community with strict covenants regulating what people can and can’t do. Fortunately, the city is just the opposite.