As you probably noticed, I changed the look of this blog. I was getting tired of the old format, so... voila! I added some new stuff.
I'm going to try to post on the blog a little more often this year, so instead of always trying to come up with a singular topic to write about, I'll occasionally have these "Ramblings" posts. I'll just write about whatever happens to be on my mind at the time. I don't use Twitter, so this will be the closest to "Twittering" that you'll see from me.
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I didn't catch the State of the Union address, but I saw bits and pieces. I still support Obama and think he's doing the best he can possibly do under the circumstances. The Republicans seem to be shooting themselves in the foot spending so much time on healthcare reform when most of the country is looking at them to focus on jobs and the economy. Sure, they're making a "symbolic" statement, but who cares? Can't your symbolic statement wait a few months? Or a year?
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Christy and I completed our taxes for 2010. We're getting a lot less than the previous two years. I guess that should be expected, considering we got the "Homeowners Credit" last year (which was $8,000). But, seriously, this time it's pretty low. I guess it's because we're not as poor as we used to be. Not that we were really that poor, but since we only worked for about 4 months in 2008 (the year we moved back here from Taiwan), Uncle Sam assumed we were poor, so they gave us some pretty big tax credits. Not this year, though. I guess now I'll have to join the chorus of those who complain about the illegal aliens getting all the free money!
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The Oscar nominations came out this week, but it seems like a pretty dull year. Out of the 10 nominations, I've seen 4 of them: Toy Story 3, The Social Network, True Grit, and Inception. They were all good, but none of them really blew me away. I guess I'd give the award to "Inception", but that's not going to win.
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Just watched the movie "Buried" on pay per view last week. Surprisingly good for a movie that takes place inside a coffin for the entire running time.
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On the right of this screen you will see a new feature regarding blogs that I visit. "Meigouren Adventures" is David's blog. There's another cool one called "Bootleg Tunz World" where you can download concerts for free (and good stuff, too, not crap.)
Thursday, January 27, 2011
Friday, January 14, 2011
A Year in the House
It's expensive to own a house.
If there is one thing I've learned over this past year of living in our new house, it's the above sentence. It was a year ago today that Christy and I signed the papers and moved into our house. At the advice of our real estate agent, and because we had a one year "bumper to bumper" warranty on the house, we decided to get another home inspection, at the cost of $345. Yep, $345 for a guy to come out for 90 minutes and tell us what needs to be fixed.
I suppose it was worth it, because right now as I'm typing this, our front driveway is being torn up and re-paved. According to the inspector, the driveway "has severely separated, heaved, and moved away from each section at the expansion boards." Our back fence needs to be fixed as well, and about 15 little interior problems. Most of these things we would never have noticed, and because of our 1 year warranty, everything will be fixed at the builders expense. As of tomorrow, though, only the foundation of the house is covered (for 9 more years). Since we might move before then, I'm glad these things are covered.
We also got our first "Home Owners Association" (HOA) bill in the mail. Our "annual maintenance fee" is $220. Not as much as some neighborhoods, but still, this seems like a lot of money to pay for virtually nothing. There is no community swimming pool here that needs to be maintained, and everyone maintains their own property. So what do they do? Oh yeah, they send letters to residents telling them to cut their lawns. Big freaking deal. For this I have to pay $220? The HOA just seems like a big fat scam to me. Perhaps someone can write to me and explain just why the HOA is necessary. For condos, I can understand, but not for homes.
Our house payment increased by $7 as well. Perhaps it's because the value of the house went up a few dollars? I'm not really sure.
So, yes, as everyone has informed me, it is indeed expensive to own a house. Were we tricked, like many other Americans, into buying a house that we couldn't afford? No. We can manage. One of the reasons we decided to live out in farm country is because of the low interest and mortgage rates out here. Our monthly mortgage payment is less than rent money for a one bedroom apartment in California. Christy and I could work minimum wage jobs at McDonalds and we'd still have enough to pay our mortgage payment (although I hope that never happens!)
A year ago, I wrote that I feel "content", rather than "excited" about living in our new house. I still feel that way. I still like the house, and I'm glad that D.R. Horton (the home builder) isn't giving us any crap about fixing everything that we want them to.
We now begin year two in the house, with the economy still in the toilet, and with more home foreclosures expected this year than last. Some economists predict six million people will lose their homes this year (primarily in the states already suffering, like California, Nevada, and Florida.) Pretty scary figures. Although it's something I never thought I'd say, but right now I'm glad I live in Texas.
If there is one thing I've learned over this past year of living in our new house, it's the above sentence. It was a year ago today that Christy and I signed the papers and moved into our house. At the advice of our real estate agent, and because we had a one year "bumper to bumper" warranty on the house, we decided to get another home inspection, at the cost of $345. Yep, $345 for a guy to come out for 90 minutes and tell us what needs to be fixed.
I suppose it was worth it, because right now as I'm typing this, our front driveway is being torn up and re-paved. According to the inspector, the driveway "has severely separated, heaved, and moved away from each section at the expansion boards." Our back fence needs to be fixed as well, and about 15 little interior problems. Most of these things we would never have noticed, and because of our 1 year warranty, everything will be fixed at the builders expense. As of tomorrow, though, only the foundation of the house is covered (for 9 more years). Since we might move before then, I'm glad these things are covered.
We also got our first "Home Owners Association" (HOA) bill in the mail. Our "annual maintenance fee" is $220. Not as much as some neighborhoods, but still, this seems like a lot of money to pay for virtually nothing. There is no community swimming pool here that needs to be maintained, and everyone maintains their own property. So what do they do? Oh yeah, they send letters to residents telling them to cut their lawns. Big freaking deal. For this I have to pay $220? The HOA just seems like a big fat scam to me. Perhaps someone can write to me and explain just why the HOA is necessary. For condos, I can understand, but not for homes.
Our house payment increased by $7 as well. Perhaps it's because the value of the house went up a few dollars? I'm not really sure.
So, yes, as everyone has informed me, it is indeed expensive to own a house. Were we tricked, like many other Americans, into buying a house that we couldn't afford? No. We can manage. One of the reasons we decided to live out in farm country is because of the low interest and mortgage rates out here. Our monthly mortgage payment is less than rent money for a one bedroom apartment in California. Christy and I could work minimum wage jobs at McDonalds and we'd still have enough to pay our mortgage payment (although I hope that never happens!)
A year ago, I wrote that I feel "content", rather than "excited" about living in our new house. I still feel that way. I still like the house, and I'm glad that D.R. Horton (the home builder) isn't giving us any crap about fixing everything that we want them to.
We now begin year two in the house, with the economy still in the toilet, and with more home foreclosures expected this year than last. Some economists predict six million people will lose their homes this year (primarily in the states already suffering, like California, Nevada, and Florida.) Pretty scary figures. Although it's something I never thought I'd say, but right now I'm glad I live in Texas.
Monday, January 3, 2011
New Years Resolutions 2011
I spent my New Years Eve doing what I have normally done these last few years. Going to work, and then coming home and watching "Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve." I don't watch it for very long. Just long enough to see the ball drop, and watch a very aging (and stroke affected) Dick Clark kiss his wife. It's kind of sad that they are still dragging Dick Clark out for these New Year's specials. I think it's time for him to finally step down and let these new buffoons like Ryan Seacrest take the mantle.
I've been mentioning going back to Taiwan for some time now, but it looks like 2011 will be the year that we do go back. Money has always been our biggest obstacle against going back. It still is, actually. It will easily cost us $5,000 for all four of us to go, but that burden has eased a little thanks to Christy's mom. She recently sold some items that her husband owned (including a car), and has offered to pay for a portion of our expenses. We've offered to pay her way to come out here to see us, but she doesn't want to, so now she is offering to pay for us. So, it looks like it's going to happen. Still, the idea of traveling for nearly 24 hours (plane, plus train, plus bus, etc.) with toddlers, to go to Nantou has very little appeal to me. It's kind of like flying from Japan to Flint, Michigan. But I know how important it is for Christy to see her mom again, especially after everything that happened last year, so I'll keep my grumblings to a minimum.
I'm trying to take better care of myself, especially now that I'm back under the American healthcare system. I decided to go in for a physical check up last month, and my doctor is advising me to have a colonoscopy. Yes, a colonoscopy at the age of 40. Normally, you don't need one until you are 50 or over, but because my father had colon cancer (in his 60's), they still want me to have one. I can certainly tell you that nothing makes you feel old more than a doctor telling you to have a colonoscopy. So it looks like I'll probably relent and get one this year, although the idea of having a camera shoved into my peegoo makes me very squeamish. I'm told the worst part is the preparation before the colonoscopy than the actual procedure itself, but that doesn't make me feel any better.
I expect this to be another year of me and my brother ignoring each other, and another year of maybe one or two emails to my sister. My sister, who lives less than 3 hours away from us, has ample opportunity to come and visit and see her nephew and niece, but she seems more inclined to spend her time in shopping malls and bars. As she approaches 50 (she is now almost 48), I hope she will eventually become bored of that.
So that's about it for 2011. Staying healthy and trying to visit friends and family members (although not my family members). Seems pretty simple.
I've been mentioning going back to Taiwan for some time now, but it looks like 2011 will be the year that we do go back. Money has always been our biggest obstacle against going back. It still is, actually. It will easily cost us $5,000 for all four of us to go, but that burden has eased a little thanks to Christy's mom. She recently sold some items that her husband owned (including a car), and has offered to pay for a portion of our expenses. We've offered to pay her way to come out here to see us, but she doesn't want to, so now she is offering to pay for us. So, it looks like it's going to happen. Still, the idea of traveling for nearly 24 hours (plane, plus train, plus bus, etc.) with toddlers, to go to Nantou has very little appeal to me. It's kind of like flying from Japan to Flint, Michigan. But I know how important it is for Christy to see her mom again, especially after everything that happened last year, so I'll keep my grumblings to a minimum.
I'm trying to take better care of myself, especially now that I'm back under the American healthcare system. I decided to go in for a physical check up last month, and my doctor is advising me to have a colonoscopy. Yes, a colonoscopy at the age of 40. Normally, you don't need one until you are 50 or over, but because my father had colon cancer (in his 60's), they still want me to have one. I can certainly tell you that nothing makes you feel old more than a doctor telling you to have a colonoscopy. So it looks like I'll probably relent and get one this year, although the idea of having a camera shoved into my peegoo makes me very squeamish. I'm told the worst part is the preparation before the colonoscopy than the actual procedure itself, but that doesn't make me feel any better.
I expect this to be another year of me and my brother ignoring each other, and another year of maybe one or two emails to my sister. My sister, who lives less than 3 hours away from us, has ample opportunity to come and visit and see her nephew and niece, but she seems more inclined to spend her time in shopping malls and bars. As she approaches 50 (she is now almost 48), I hope she will eventually become bored of that.
So that's about it for 2011. Staying healthy and trying to visit friends and family members (although not my family members). Seems pretty simple.
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