 MUSINGS
My children and I discovered Pine Mountain Club 12 years ago. Every winter, going back at least 25 years, we would go cross country skiing at Mt Pinos and return home to Manhattan Beach after a full day in the snow. Although for all those years, we were only five miles from Pine Mountain, we had no clue that it even existed. Talk about undiscovered!
Twelve winters ago we decided to spend the weekend rather than drive home the same day. The ski rental person recommended Pine Mountain Club. The word "Club" almost ended our plans for a weekend vacation. We all jumped to a conclusion about the word "Club" and decided it wasn't what any of us wanted for a getaway weekend. I pictured everyone running around in white tennis shorts and probably worse. However, since Pine Mountain Club was the only community that had weekend cabin rentals - we decided to give it a try.
Needless to say, we all fell in love almost immediately. We never did go skiing. We went house hunting! I should mention that my husband was pretty much retired from aerospace engineering and that I was considering joining him. We were both tired of noise, crowds, freeways and Manhattan Beach living. All sense of community had left, as the beach cottages were knocked down and the castles were built. So,we had been looking to move for several years. We were focused on a "gentle" four season location with only a few tourists. We were both from "Back East" (Maine and Minnesota) and didn't want those extreme climates after living in California for 30 plus years. We also didn't want an area like Big Bear or Arrowhead with lots of traffic and tourists.
To make a long story somewhat shorter, my husband I drove up to Pine Mountain the following week. We stayed at the Inn in the village and on the second day we made an offer on a log cabin. In less than three months, I was retired and we were gone from the beach to the mountains. As it turned out, neither of us were ready for total retirement - especially me.
For a year and a half we experimented with several different ideas on how to live our new lives. We bought and tried fixing up old houses. That was too much work but rewarding seeing the finished product. We tried a gift store using local artists. That was too boring we don't have a large enough population or enough tourists.
So nine years ago; I did what the broker that we bought our properties from had suggested since almost the beginning of our relationship. I went back to school, studied and took the exam for my real estate license. The idea of working as a real estate agent was a very difficult decision for me. To me, my past career seemed almost at the opposite end of the continuum from being a real estate agent. My only knowledge of real estate agents was the general stereotype plus our home purchases over the years. Not especially positive!
However,I had noticed that most of the agents that I encountered in Pine Mountain did not fit my negative image. I tried reading several books on selling and gave up in disgust. Not the kind of person that I wanted to be in my new career. So, I decided to focus on the nuts and bolts of real estate and to leave the selling to the beauty of the area itself.
My husband became my assistant. He did all of the grunt work for us. He walked lots, pounded in signs, delivered flyers, wrote letters, set up computers etc. etc. etc. We were a good team and very successful within two years. He died in February of 2005 after a very short illness. I continue to live in our log cabin, somewhat lonelier, but still working (I hired an assistant) and still enjoying the beauty surrounding me.
The only disappointment with Pine Mountain that I have felt over the years is that we didn't discover it sooner. It would have been wonderful to have had a vacation home here in this, "nearby far away place", when the children were young. Plus it would have saved me a lot of uncomfortable and sleepless nights on the ground in a tent.
ABOUT ME
I received my BA degree in Social Work in 1969 and later a Masters degree in Behavioral Science. It only took me nine years, in and around three wonderful children to complete my BA. Our middle son was born during Christmas vacation and I didn't miss a single class. My high school home room teacher always said that the main asset in my life would be my tenacity
My first career was spent in the mental health field. First I worked with Los Angeles County Health Department and than with Kaiser Permanente. As a requirement for my BA I had to complete a six month field placement. Because I was an "older" student, me and another mature student were sent to the Health Departments outpatient Alcohol Treatment Clinic in downtown Los Angeles. I think the professors were honestly afraid for us and I was a bit apprehensive. The other student did not return after the first day.
After several weeks - I loved the staff, the patients and the work. Plus I was effective. I had found my niche. When I graduated the clinic offered me a full time position. It was a wonderful almost four years - full of learning and growth for both my patients and me.
In late 1972 I was offered a job assisting Kaiser in starting their chemical dependency outpatient treatment programs. No one, including myself, had any idea of the need level for chemical dependency treatment among the members of the largest HMO in Southern California. After all Kaiser members were all employed and therefore couldn't have alcohol or other drug problems. I learned very quickly how wrong we all were but it took the Kaiser bureaucracy years longer.
The clinics grew rapidly along with my organization, budgeting, management, proposal writing and politicking skills. There were many days when I felt totally in over my head and felt that I had been promoted directly to my level of absolute incompetence. However, no matter how busy my days got administratively, I never did let go entirely of all of my direct patient care. That was always most important to me.
Regarding my real estate career - I believe that I have taken the best of me, my people skills, my organizational abilities, my real estate knowledge and combined everything into my successful new career. Which by the way - I have come to thoroughly enjoy.
Thanks for listening!
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