IN LIFE THERE IS NEVER A DULL MOMENT. YOU MIGHT AS WELL EMBRACE WHATEVER HAPPENS. FIND THE GOOD LIFE. by Gary Smolker, Social Commentator and Values Critic

There is an objective difference between (1) knowing something, (2) understanding something, and (3) being able to apply what you know in a real life situation.

EXPERIENCE

I live in Sherman Oaks, California.

I am a tenant in a rented condominium.

I am currently living through a mitigation of water damage situation.

My bedroom carpet became soaked with water flowing in from my bathroom on Veteran’s Day, two walls in my bedroom became saturated with the water that flowed into my bedroom, the drywall on two of the walls in my bedroom became saturated with water and had a moisture content over 17%, and water seeped through the floor of my bathroom and through the floor of my bedroom to the room (a lobby) below.

A water damage company took charge of phase one of mitigation of the above described water damage situation.

My understanding of what the water damage specialist did is as follows: my bedroom carpet was pulled back, the wet carpet padding under the water soaked carpet was removed, portions of two walls in my bedroom were cut out and removed, blowers were turned on, the blowers blew air on the wet carpet and on the wet walls in my bedroom, and either before or after the blowers were turned on a disinfectant was applied to wood members of portions of the walls and to wall structural components.

My insurance carrier STATE FARM told me that my Renter’s Insurance Policy and my STATE FARM Umbrella Insurance policies:

1. (1) covered the water damage claims made by the Home Owner’s Association and the other residents in the condominium complex,
2. (2) but probably did not cover the cost to repair or to replace or to dry out the wet carpet owned by my landlord and rented to me and probably did not cover the cost to remove and replace water soaked carpet padding under the water soaked wet carpet,
3. (3) and that my STATE FARM’s renter’s insurance policy did cover the additional living expense incurred when I relocated to another place to live during construction.

WHERE SHOULD I LIVE DURING CONSTRUCTION?

My insurance carrier hired a company to help me find a suitable hotel to relocate to until the rebuilding of my condominium is completed.

The hotel relocation company provided two hotel locations for my consideration:

Hampton Inn & Suites Los Angeles/Sherman Oaks, 5638 Sepulveda Blvd., Sherman Oaks, CA 91411

Best Western Plus Carriage Inn, 5525 Sepulveda Blvd., Sherman Oaks, CA 91411.

THE BELMOND HOTEL IN SAINT PETERSBURG, RUSSIA

The photo above is posted on Instagram with the following copy:

“Immerse yourself in a world of wonderful Russian cuisine and learn more about  caviar the black gold with exclusive classes, led by undisputed caviar and vodka master Alexander Dmitriev.” 

I am informed that the restaurants in the Belmond Hotel in St. Petersburg serve caviar and oysters from the eastern part of Russia that are not available anywhere else.

The Belmond Hotel is very close to the Hermitage Museum – which I intend to visit some day.

MY QUESTION: If I can book a room in the Belmond Hotel in Saint Petersburg Russia at a rate comparable to or less than the charge to rent a decent hotel room/hotel suite at the nearby Hilton Hotel in Woodland Hills, California, would State Farm pay for it?

I am willing to pay the charge for the round trip flight to Saint Petersburg from Los Angeles.

NEXT

Find the good life.

That is really all it is about.

Everything else is just dust blowing in the wind.

Making the best of a bad situation is a difficult skill.

Gary Smolker, Social Commentator and Values Critic

Copyright © 2019 by Gary Smolker, All Rights Reserved