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.
Friday, December 31, 2010
A Final Look at 2010
Now that I've been writing this blog for a while, I sometimes like to look back at what I wrote at the beginning of the year. I want to see if I kept my New Years resolutions. So I looked back at what I wrote on January 1st of this year, and it seems I only mentioned three things, and I accomplished two of them.
I wanted to take the family on a decent, US vacation that wouldn't make us go broke. I had mentioned either Mt. Rushmore and Yellowstone, or Disney World. We ended up going to Disney World (and New Orleans), which was pretty nice. We managed to save some money on the attractions by going to a loathsome timeshare meeting, but it all worked out pretty well in the end. The kids got their day at The Magic Kingdom, and another day at the Hollywood Studios. If we go back again, we'll have to do the other two parks (Epcot and the Animal Kingdom.)
My next resolution was to get over my anger issues towards my brother. To be honest, I've barely thought about him this entire year. We did send him a Christmas card earlier this month. As expected, we didn't get anything from him. He can keep the feud going for as long as he wants. I don't really care. I've moved on.
The third one was more of Christy's resolution than mine. She would like for me to talk a little less about our personal life on the blog. But I still do. If I didn't, that would just leave me to talk politics all the time, and the few readers that I have here don't seem to really appreciate my liberal rants, although I fully intend to keep ranting when I feel the need.
This year started pretty well, with us moving into our new house and discovering what it's like to actually own a house. My fears of insane electric bills didn't come to pass. I think our biggest bill for one month was $130, and that was because we had the heat on all the time. Our house has very good insulation, so it always tends to stay warm (or cool) even when we're not using the A/C or heater.
Life went along pretty well until we had a death in the family in the late summer. Christy's father seemed to think that life no longer had any meaning for him, so he killed himself. That was a bad time. Christy crashing our new Toyota Corrolla was also a low point during the year.
In better news, David (in Taiwan) got married in October, so let's hope the third time is the charm for him. Probably the biggest highlight (for me anyway) of the year was seeing Roger Waters (of Pink Floyd) performing "The Wall" in November. I can't even really describe how awesome that show was. Looking back, my only regret now was that I didn't see it more than once. He's going to be filming his upcoming shows in London next year, so I expect we'll get a blu-ray of the concert soon. Most likely he'll be filming the show where David Gilmour makes his surprise cameo.
I've been on Facebook now for about a year and half, and I'm having some odd experiences there. Just recently, I've come across three people that I knew decades ago. Two of them became "Friends" and one of them blocked me from ever seeing his profile again. The first one, a girl named Abra, who I worked with back in 1991 at Crown Books. David (in Taiwan) and I were managers of that store in Grenada Hills, CA, and she was one of the cashiers. The second guy, Kerr, was a kid I knew back in something like 1977 when I was in elementary school. He looked totally different. He was a guitar player for a heavy metal band, with long hair and a long beard, looking like a roadie for Motorhead. I sent him an email saying "Is this the Kerr who used to go to Imperial Elementary school in Downey back in the 70's?" He replied "I am." Then I asked him if he remembered me, and I haven't heard back from him since then (this was about two weeks ago). Finally, I discovered another old friend from elementary school (and high school) named David Sandvigen. We were pretty good friends back then, so it surprised me when he not only rejected my "Friend" request, but blocked me as well.
What the hell? I thought. Had I done something to piss him off 20 or 30 years ago? I couldn't really remember. I didn't think I had. I saw his picture, and he had become morbidly obese, and with a goatee, he looked like a gangster from the Sopranos, or a Martin Scorcese movie.
"Maybe he feels ashamed about his appearance?" my wife suggested. Could that be it? I really have no idea, but why even register on Facebook if you don't want people to see you? That didn't really make sense. My only guess is that maybe he wants to distance himself completely from the past. It's just a bit odd when people I've barely spoke to in years want to be friends, but someone I was good friends in the "non computer" world don't want anything to do with me. C'est la vie.
There didn't seem to be any big superstar deaths this year, nothing close to last year, when we had Michael Jackson and Farrah Fawcett at the same time. The only big shocks for me this year were Gary Coleman and Corey Haim. And Abe Vigoda is still alive.
So, that's it. My last blog for 2010. Happy New Year to everyone!
I wanted to take the family on a decent, US vacation that wouldn't make us go broke. I had mentioned either Mt. Rushmore and Yellowstone, or Disney World. We ended up going to Disney World (and New Orleans), which was pretty nice. We managed to save some money on the attractions by going to a loathsome timeshare meeting, but it all worked out pretty well in the end. The kids got their day at The Magic Kingdom, and another day at the Hollywood Studios. If we go back again, we'll have to do the other two parks (Epcot and the Animal Kingdom.)
My next resolution was to get over my anger issues towards my brother. To be honest, I've barely thought about him this entire year. We did send him a Christmas card earlier this month. As expected, we didn't get anything from him. He can keep the feud going for as long as he wants. I don't really care. I've moved on.
The third one was more of Christy's resolution than mine. She would like for me to talk a little less about our personal life on the blog. But I still do. If I didn't, that would just leave me to talk politics all the time, and the few readers that I have here don't seem to really appreciate my liberal rants, although I fully intend to keep ranting when I feel the need.
This year started pretty well, with us moving into our new house and discovering what it's like to actually own a house. My fears of insane electric bills didn't come to pass. I think our biggest bill for one month was $130, and that was because we had the heat on all the time. Our house has very good insulation, so it always tends to stay warm (or cool) even when we're not using the A/C or heater.
Life went along pretty well until we had a death in the family in the late summer. Christy's father seemed to think that life no longer had any meaning for him, so he killed himself. That was a bad time. Christy crashing our new Toyota Corrolla was also a low point during the year.
In better news, David (in Taiwan) got married in October, so let's hope the third time is the charm for him. Probably the biggest highlight (for me anyway) of the year was seeing Roger Waters (of Pink Floyd) performing "The Wall" in November. I can't even really describe how awesome that show was. Looking back, my only regret now was that I didn't see it more than once. He's going to be filming his upcoming shows in London next year, so I expect we'll get a blu-ray of the concert soon. Most likely he'll be filming the show where David Gilmour makes his surprise cameo.
I've been on Facebook now for about a year and half, and I'm having some odd experiences there. Just recently, I've come across three people that I knew decades ago. Two of them became "Friends" and one of them blocked me from ever seeing his profile again. The first one, a girl named Abra, who I worked with back in 1991 at Crown Books. David (in Taiwan) and I were managers of that store in Grenada Hills, CA, and she was one of the cashiers. The second guy, Kerr, was a kid I knew back in something like 1977 when I was in elementary school. He looked totally different. He was a guitar player for a heavy metal band, with long hair and a long beard, looking like a roadie for Motorhead. I sent him an email saying "Is this the Kerr who used to go to Imperial Elementary school in Downey back in the 70's?" He replied "I am." Then I asked him if he remembered me, and I haven't heard back from him since then (this was about two weeks ago). Finally, I discovered another old friend from elementary school (and high school) named David Sandvigen. We were pretty good friends back then, so it surprised me when he not only rejected my "Friend" request, but blocked me as well.
What the hell? I thought. Had I done something to piss him off 20 or 30 years ago? I couldn't really remember. I didn't think I had. I saw his picture, and he had become morbidly obese, and with a goatee, he looked like a gangster from the Sopranos, or a Martin Scorcese movie.
"Maybe he feels ashamed about his appearance?" my wife suggested. Could that be it? I really have no idea, but why even register on Facebook if you don't want people to see you? That didn't really make sense. My only guess is that maybe he wants to distance himself completely from the past. It's just a bit odd when people I've barely spoke to in years want to be friends, but someone I was good friends in the "non computer" world don't want anything to do with me. C'est la vie.
There didn't seem to be any big superstar deaths this year, nothing close to last year, when we had Michael Jackson and Farrah Fawcett at the same time. The only big shocks for me this year were Gary Coleman and Corey Haim. And Abe Vigoda is still alive.
So, that's it. My last blog for 2010. Happy New Year to everyone!
Sunday, December 26, 2010
Christmas 2010
Pictures: 1. Sara and Kyle at the Gingerbread house. 2. Sara and the Ice Angel. 3. Christmas morning, and the kids are excited. 4. Kyle shows off his Thomas toy. 5. Sara and Kyle dressing up as reindeer.
Thursday, December 23, 2010
The Nutcracker in Austin
I took Sara to her first ballet yesterday (and my first too) at the Austin Symphony Hall to see "The Nutcracker." I'm not much of a ballet person myself, but Sara loves it. I guess most five year old girls want to be a ballerina, so this seemed like the best time to go. Even though I only bought the tickets a few days prior to the show, we still somehow managed to get front row seats, which was pretty neat. We could see the expression on each performers face, and, though not necessarily a good thing, we could also see just how tight those leotards were on the men.
As expected, as you walked through the doors of the theatre, one of the first things you notice is the souvenir stand selling Nutcrackers. Sara wanted one, but these things were ridiculously priced, ranging from $25 for an average sized Nutcracker, up to $50 and $100 for the larger ones. I've seen the $25 Nutcrackers for a buck at the Dollar Store, so there was no way I was going to fall into that trap, so Sara was just going to have to be disappointed.
The show was nice (although I think Sara liked it more than I did), and the orchestra did an excellent job with Tchaikovsky's classic music.
Photos were not allowed in the theatre, but I did manage a few with my cell phone, which is why most of these pictures look like blurry crap.
As expected, as you walked through the doors of the theatre, one of the first things you notice is the souvenir stand selling Nutcrackers. Sara wanted one, but these things were ridiculously priced, ranging from $25 for an average sized Nutcracker, up to $50 and $100 for the larger ones. I've seen the $25 Nutcrackers for a buck at the Dollar Store, so there was no way I was going to fall into that trap, so Sara was just going to have to be disappointed.
The show was nice (although I think Sara liked it more than I did), and the orchestra did an excellent job with Tchaikovsky's classic music.
Photos were not allowed in the theatre, but I did manage a few with my cell phone, which is why most of these pictures look like blurry crap.
Pictures: 1. Outside the Austin Symphony Hall. 2&3. Blurry pictures from "The Nutcracker" 4. The Orchestra warms up. 5. Sara poses in front of the overpriced souvenirs.
Monday, December 6, 2010
Sara and Kyle Meet Santa!
Yes, it's that time once again where Santa Claus starts making appearances all over town. This time he showed up at the hospital where I worked, so I invited Christy and the kids to come down to meet Santa.
Sara and Kyle still believe in Santa. You've only got a few years where kids still believe in this stuff before they become disillusioned. Christy and I use Santa Claus a lot lately to keep the kids from misbehaving. We tell them that every time they do something bad, Santa will bring them one less present for Christmas. So if they were going to get 7 presents, now they will only get 6. It usually works. We tell them that Santa can always see what they're doing with his magic snowball. It's actually kind of hilarious the things you can tell kids and that they will believe.
Sara and Kyle still believe in Santa. You've only got a few years where kids still believe in this stuff before they become disillusioned. Christy and I use Santa Claus a lot lately to keep the kids from misbehaving. We tell them that every time they do something bad, Santa will bring them one less present for Christmas. So if they were going to get 7 presents, now they will only get 6. It usually works. We tell them that Santa can always see what they're doing with his magic snowball. It's actually kind of hilarious the things you can tell kids and that they will believe.
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