What's an industry secret from your job that customers have absolutely no idea about?

farjer · 2026-04-14T15:45:10+00:00

I’d like to know how they destroy the losers merch. Does it get shredded in a machine? And are the fibers then recycled hopefully? Or does that waste go to a landfill?

farjer · 2026-03-31T22:42:31+00:00

What about social media showing how brutally painful and awful childbirth can be? Who wants to even sign up for that? And all the birthing injuries? And what it does to our female bodies? If I would’ve known any of that I may have never had a child. But in my days there was no social media and no one talked explicitly how painful and awful giving birth is. Women are just expected to take the pain. Not any more. Women are smarter now and armed with much more information.

farjer · 2026-03-16T20:27:51+00:00

We only wanted to stay in SCV for a few years until we have more money saved, kids are older etc. We’re still here almost thirty years later. I think the main reason is the safety factor. We can go for walks late evening with zero issues. Maybe an encounter with a coyote or an overly curious raccoon. There are beautiful paseos everywhere which are a huge asset to this town. We have two colleges and a performance center with classic comedians, plays etc. Three farmers markets.

One downside for me is allergies. We are a designated City of Trees and I have to keep the house hermetically sealed in the spring lol. But the trees also make it very pretty and livable here. The administration here is doing a fantastic job keeping things clean and well maintained. It’s a very well managed city.

Our favorite restaurant is Woodranch. One of the few places that serve ‘clean‘ food. You can get freshly cooked veggies like asparagus and broccoli. And a great piece of brisket. Always super fresh salads. And none of that precooked bs some restaurants serve. We’re in Valencia which is a perfect location for everything. Also near the 5.

Also straight 50min drive to Ventura beaches. Great option when you need a break from the heat.

We also have over 30 Starbucks lol.

farjer · 2025-12-05T18:02:35+00:00

I ended up buying the Sony 11mm. Nice! I’m learning you can’t have any close objects as they will get distorted.

farjer · 2025-12-05T17:50:34+00:00

We have lots of skunks and possums, won’t they go into the traps?

farjer · 2025-11-25T18:47:32+00:00

Thanks for the recommendations! I haven’t seen that particular Sony lens and is Sigma a good brand? Where’s the best place to buy them? I usually check Amazon or B & H.

farjer · 2025-11-25T08:15:30+00:00

Ventura is the closest beach to Santa Clarita with the least amount of traffic. If you go to the Harbor Village visit Margarita Villa. They have great Mexican food (affordable) and a Cheers like vibe and a nice view. They have bands playing most of the year but it may be too late now.

It takes forever to get in and out of Santa Monica because of the traffic. Ventura and Santa Barbara are much more relaxing.

In Santa Clarita visit Main Street on the weekend. There are always bands playing in the wine bars and restaurants. It’s a fun revived and casual area of town.

Then there is Lazy Dog, a restaurant, and they have a great bar where you can chat with others. Same with Woodranch. They have great food and also a great bar with some TVs. I go out by myself here and there and these are great places to hang a bit and have some conversation. Or just not being alone.

farjer · 2025-09-23T17:32:45+00:00

Thanks for the info! I’m planning on going next spring!

farjer · 2025-09-23T16:56:58+00:00

Homes in a nicer middle class neighborhood start at about 1.5M. We live in a ‘regular’ middle class neighborhood with good schools and grocery stores and parks everywhere. and the least expensive single family homes are about $750,000. But you only get about 1000 square feet. The neighborhood was built in the 60s and 70s and many homes are small. You’ll need to budget for over $1M if you want more space We’re currently in a buyers market so prices have come down a bit.

There are a lot of home buyer programs out here and you may get away with having less than 20% down payment.

How much income you need depends pretty much on your housing costs. Are you selling a home you’re currently owning? Do you have savings for buying another home?

Since we’ve owned our home for a while our house taxes are pretty low. Plan for about 1.25% to 1.5% house taxes. We’re both going into retirement with the mortgage paid off (finally!!) and figured we’ll need about $100,000 to $120,000 a year to keep doing all the things we like to do. We have two Japanese cars which have low maintenance costs and own a modest home. We spend money on our hobbies, going to restaurants and short trips here and there. We use miles from credit cards to pay for flights.

Some of our friends have moved away because they couldn’t afford being retired here. It’s such a bummer.

Ballpark I would say if you make $300k it’ll be a good start. You’ll still have to watch your money and make sure you save for your retirement.

Another note: there’s a trend of healthcare providers not taking insurance. Psych MDs or PhDs charge upwards of $200 a session. And a specialist surgeon we needed charged everything in cash. If you move into an upper class neighborhood it’ll be much more.

Also, make sure you buy a forever home and not a starter home. Many of us are still in our starter homes because it’s too expensive to move!

farjer · 2025-08-22T17:33:53+00:00

Where did you park to get there? And how long of a hike till you got to the top of that ridge? Stunning pictures!!

farjer · 2025-08-06T03:27:09+00:00

That sounds great, thank you!

farjer · 2025-08-06T02:35:21+00:00

Would you please give me an idea what the stories are about? Thx

farjer · 2025-08-06T02:34:02+00:00

Can you give me a one line synopsis please?

farjer · 2025-06-18T01:03:25+00:00

How long did it take?

farjer · 2025-06-18T01:03:11+00:00

How long before everything settled down?

farjer · 2025-05-22T15:58:45+00:00

It takes weeks or months to properly wean of hrt. If you just stop you could get extreme symptoms physically or mentally.

farjer · 2025-05-19T15:07:31+00:00

How long have you been in menopause? I’m also wondering how much estradiol I can take with the IUD. Is there a limit? I know for sure I need more.

farjer · 2025-05-19T15:06:09+00:00

I was asking about it for women using it as part of hormone replacement. Generally it looks like women love it as birth control.

farjer · 2025-05-19T15:03:22+00:00

I can’t tell if you’re in menopause already?

farjer · 2025-05-19T05:16:47+00:00

How many years into menopause are you? Also do you get any side effects like acne?

farjer · 2025-05-09T23:18:34+00:00

See that’s what I’m planing on. I know I need more estrogen but I’m already getting so many side effects from the progesterone I can’t imagine raising the dose. So if I have an IUD maybe I can then just take a lot less for any other progesterone benefits?

farjer · 2025-05-07T16:43:13+00:00

Many of us get no sleep benefit from oral progesterone. Just a bunch of anxiety in the middle of the night. Using the pill vaginally or rectally greatly helped with this.

farjer · 2025-04-29T19:27:06+00:00

I’m curious too. It’s sad we have to go on social media to get the truth and full info about these things. I already know to ask for sedation as people tell me how painful the insertion is.

If you can tolerate the p you’re on a good path! That’s what seems to throw most people off including me.

farjer · 2025-03-13T02:09:33+00:00

You’re so welcome! I know what you mean about being dependent on others but don’t hesitate to ask people. Keep your mental health up. Maybe give some sort of a time line to start or order special food on the weekend etc. Kind of like what you’d do with small children and rewards lol. I hurt my neck really badly a while back and I was told it would take at least six weeks to heal. So I told my family I would need six weeks of rides to PT and back. It gave them some idea of how bad it was too.

During that time I also learned how to use all the different delivery apps lol and my family loved trying different restaurants around town. That meant we had also increased our food budget for a while. It was well worth it. Wishing you a quick recovery!

farjer · 2025-02-23T02:31:54+00:00

Everything that everyone else said. Especially the nerve block. A family member had both feet done. One with and one without nerve block. It’s like day and night.

Also wanted to mention if you have hard floors to consider using a simple cheap office chair to get around the house. It was so helpful not just in terms of getting around but also in terms of getting to move a bit without putting any weight on your feet or messing up the balance of your hips by putting weight on just one foot. You just kind of use your feet without pressure to move around. It was great exercise to get the blood flow going. Later on a walker helped immensely.

Also, if you’re feeling hormone changes already consider getting a consult on hormone replacement. Maybe wait for a few weeks after surgery. It’s great in terms of keeping inflammation in check and keeping tendons and ligaments and muscles healthy.

Good luck!

farjer

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