Settling into the house

I finally got around to taking and posting before/after pictures of the house this weekend! You can find the entire set here.

As I mentioned in my brief update post last month, we made some renovations to the house before we actually moved in.

We closed escrow on a Friday, and that afternoon, our agent, Rich, dropped the keys off and we stopped by the house after work, exploring and taking plenty of "before" pictures showcasing all the old, dingy carpet and old bathroom fixtures. Here's a shot of the living room, with views into the adjacent dining room and kitchen:

Saturday the folks from Andros Flooring came by to pull out ALL the carpet in the house, and replace the carpet in all 3 bedrooms with brand new ones. The rest of the floor was left bare. They then delivered the laminate flooring we ordered from them, and stacked them in the living room, ready for my dad and Allan to tackle the next day:

Allan and my dad worked hard for the next 3 days to lay down the flooring. The process was made more difficult by the fact that our house was full of all sorts of odd, angled corners. If you recall the floorplan from my post with the listing photos of the house, you'll see what I mean.

In the meantime, I was left with the task of packing up stuff from our apartment and moving it, piecemeal, to the new house, as well as cleaning up the apartment as I went along. Fortunately, I had my mom to help me with this, and fortunately, Todd being away at school all day freed us up to concentrate on the work.

We hired housecleaners to give the house a thorough cleaning on Tuesday, and on Wednesday the movers came to move all the furniture and larger boxes of things I wasn't able to move myself. Some last bits of cleaning up/moving out, and the apartment was ready for inspection and key turn-in by Thursday. We were moved out of the apartment, but still had plenty more to do at the house, starting with unpacking the endless boxes:

So it took us a few more weeks after that to actually complete the move-in process. There were finishing touches to the floors that needed to be made: reducers and thresholds to install, new baseboards to put in and spackle. Plus, of course, all that unpacking! By the end of May, though, we were fully settled in.

So what's left? Well, the inside is more or less done:

• We sold the original washer and dryer set that came with the house, and installed our own-- remember the service woes we went through with that set?


• We replaced the bathroom faucets, toilet seats, flush mechanisms and showerheads.


• We replaced the chandelier in the dining room with a more practical one that provided enough light for its use as a study, and could be mounted high enough to avoid hitting our heads on it. Yes, I've already managed to cut my head by slamming into the old one :-/


• We are enjoying our big flat-screen TV-- even bought an antenna so we could enjoy a few local stations.


• We bought a cute little bistro set to fill our little breakfast nook in the kitchen. Since the nook faces east, it will be a nice, sunny spot for Todd to enjoy his breakfast in the mornings.


• Tomorrow we're expecting delivery of a small patio set from Osh. Might as well enjoy that big front deck!


• We've been shopping around for a new sofa set. We have an idea of what we like, and plan to hit some more furniture stores in LA this summer-- bigger selections, no doubt.

What about the outside?

Well, as you can see in the above photo, the plants, which have pretty much been neglected for over a year, are in dire need of trimming. There's plenty of weeds that need to be pulled, too. Allan and I took care of many of the big ones last weekend, but there's a ton of especially difficult ones. Plus I wouldn't even begin to know how to trim the plants properly. So, we're going to hire a gardener to take care of the initial work, and then see about some regularly scheduled maintenance.

So, that was a brief sampling of the 60+ photos I've taken of the house, before and after the move. Don't forget to check out my photo album for the rest of the photos: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?id=3605072&aid=2669639

What makes a good karaoke experience?

A few weeks ago I was reading a karaoke forum mostly frequented by professional KJs throughout the country, even the world. They had all sorts of discussions going about the business, and I found it fascinating and eye-opening to learn about how things work from the other side of the stereo equipment. How they work out pay with the bar they set up in, how they set up singer rotations, how they handle guests that bribe them to go first, what kinds of equipment they use, whether karaoke at weddings is a good idea, how to make song selections available, etc... Though opinions on best practices varied from KJ to KJ, one thing they all seemed to agree on was that the one main thing that kept people coming to a karaoke joint, no matter what the other factors were, is the KJ him/herself.

I had never thought about it like that before, but upon reflecting on the last few weeks, I realized it was true.

You see, throughout the past couple of months, my friends and I have gone to karaoke at the rate of once a week-- definitely a lot more frequent than our usual rate of less than once a month. I think my friends are sick of it and probably ready for a break by now, but it's only fueled my own interest, personally :-) Anyway, we used the opportunity to branch out from our usual venue (Old Town Tavern in Old Town Goleta) to try out some of the other places around here. These visits entailed our first encounters with different karaoke DJs (KJs, as I guess they are known).

Now, our usual hangout is the OTT, featuring G-Man and his awesomely huge selection of songs. OTT as strictly a place to hang out is okay. I'm not terribly fond of the bartender that always seems to be there when I go (she scares me, frankly). It fills up fast, it's too loud, and on Wednesday nights, good luck squeezing your way to the bar amongst the throng of drunken, loud college kids. But G-Man keeps me coming back for karaoke, not only because he's got such a great song selection, but because he's such an awesome KJ. He's fun and sweet and warm and friendly and encouraging, and is all around a pleasure to interact with.

It was a similar experience the first time we tried out the Cliff Room on the Mesa, at least for me. The place itself was loud, and filled with a lot of men (both young and old) who really liked their drink and liked to hit on the women (both old and young). My friends and I had mixed experiences with the bartenders and the drinks themselves (mine were great, Tabitha's margaritas weren't). And while the KJ's system of rotation left a lot to be desired (it's hard to keep track of the right order when our names are written in a notebook instead of on slips of paper he can order), he had a good selection and he was personable and friendly. I liked him. I also liked the fact that his songbook was available as a PDF on his website. Now THAT comes in very handy for a person like me, who likes to plan out her songs in advance. For me, the great KJ more than made up for a venue that I would've otherwise found too loud and filled with boorish men.

Now, contrast this with another couple of places where I had the opposite experience: loved the venue, so-so KJ. First up was Monty's, where the bartender was totally awesome, the drinks were good AND cheap, the patrons were more mellow, and the place itself wasn't too crowded. Second was the Neighborhood Bar, where there was terrific food AND great drinks, at awesomely cheap happy hour prices. The crowd here was likewise better behaved than the ones at Cliff Room or the college kids at OTT. All in all, great places to simply hang out.

But at both places (where the same KJ presided), I just didn't get a very good vibe from him. His song selection wasn't very large, but he was certainly nice enough. I just didn't get that same feeling of warmth and friendliness as I did with the other KJs. I also thought it was a little strange for him to include himself in the rotation even when it was packed full of singers. It was a bit off-putting, as that takes time away from the patrons. That vibe (or lack thereof) alone was enough to put me off visiting those venues for karaoke.

However. The story does change, with our second visit to Monty's.

When we first entered the bar, he immediately recognized me from my past two visits, and greeted me by name. He was experiencing technical difficulties, and kept apologizing for the delay in starting. And later in the night, he even came up to where I was sitting to personally apologize once more for all the inconveniences. I thought that was mighty sweet of him. When I saw him again at the Creekside a few weeks later, he still remembered me, and even asked me to sing one of the newer country duets with him. He still doesn't give off the same sense of warmth and smiles as the other KJs, but I suppose he can't help that-- that's just the way he is. He showed that he cared, and you know what? That totally redeemed my past experiences with him, and I'll gladly frequent his haunts.

And that just goes further in proving the point that the most important factor in a successful karaoke experience is the KJ. If he really cares about his patrons, it will show. Of course... having a wide song selection is important too! :-)

Bits and Pieces

So, it's been nearly 2 months since my last post. A flurry of activity has kept me pretty busy lately, so I thought I'd jot down a bit of a summary of each here.

The House
As you know from my previous post, we bought a house! Escrow closed at the end of April, and we've been busy getting it the way we like. We pulled out all the carpets, put in new carpet in the bedrooms, and laid down laminate flooring in the living and dining rooms. That was an arduous task, as our house is full of odd angles and corners-- so there was a lot of precise measurement and careful cutting.

We got a new big-screen LED TV and that is internet capable, so we're enjoying watching Hulu and Netflix shows on it, in its full HD glory!

I've taken plenty of "before" pictures of the house the day we got the keys from our agent, but I'm waiting for Allan to finish spackling the baseboards before I take the "after" pictures. Plus, I still have to organize my bookshelves and unpack one last box :-)

Nightlife
April was a busy month, karaoke-wise! My friends and I explored all sorts of venues around town, and went at practically the rate of once a week. You know you're going very often when the DJs start recognizing you and even remember your name! I've got another post coming on karaoke DJs, but I'll save that for later. Suffice it to say that we've been having a great time, and that I've decided that (for me, anyway), drinking and karaoke do not go together! I look forward to more frequent trips this summer :-)

Now that summer vacation has begun (i.e. Todd is in LA with my parents), Allan and I have started exploring some of the places around SB to eat and hang out. We've found the Bak Dor, which is a nice little dive bar with an awesome jukebox selection and friendly regulars. We've also tried out the Alcazar Tapas Bar, which is expensive-- but all the tapas places in SB are.

My goals for the summer are two-fold: hit every venue that offers karaoke (every single night of the week, 7 days, there are at least 2 venues doing karaoke) and explore some of the lesser-known bars around town. Looking at my list, we've actually hit about half of the available karaoke venues, and already favorites are forming ;-)

Drive-In
We got to take Todd to the drive-in theater for the very first time! Rio was playing one week, and we decided to catch it one Saturday. We packed snacks and blankets and headed down to the drive-in. What a blast! I really enjoyed being able to put up my feet on the dashboard and relax, and it was great to allow Todd to bounce around and laugh and make noise in the back seat without fear of bothering other patrons. Little kids have to let loose all that energy, right?

My only gripe was with the inconsiderate SUV drivers in the row in front of us-- almost all of them left their back doors open so they could sit outside behind their vehicles and watch the movie. This, of course, meant that the bottom part of the screen was blocked from view. Now that we're familiar with the layout, we know to park in the front row this time.

School
Todd's school let out for the summer early. It wound up closing, which is a bummer, but I guess we'd been expecting it. The economy has hit many people hard, and private schools (especially smaller ones like Todd's) are no exception. We're hopeful that they succeed in opening a preschool, which should provide some good revenue for re-opening the school in a year or two. In the meantime, we're on the hunt for another school for Todd to begin in the fall.

That about sums up the past couple of months. Busy with the house, busy with family, busy with friends. Aside from the house-- it's business as usual, basically :-) And what have you been up to, dear readers?

Service Woes

Nearly 3 years ago, we bought a washer/dryer set from our local Warehouse Discount Center. They had a sale whereby we got a small Frigidaire front-loading washer plus matching dryer for approximately $900 (after taxes, etc). Best of all, the set was stackable, which would be instrumental in saving us space in our apartment. I had intended to blog about our adventures in customer service, dealing with getting our washer and dryer stacked, but kept forgetting... until a recent Bulletin post (sort of an internal Craigslist at work) from a guy soliciting feedback about washers and dryers.

I had actually printed out a calendar and marked down all our adventures with WDC. I figured, if I had to escalate complaints up to corporate, or if they were going to make me pay for something that wasn't my fault, I would have a written timeline of what exactly transpired and when. So here goes:

The year is 2008. The mood is giddy. After years of community washer/dryer usage and using a red wagon to haul our laundry basket back and forth across the apartment complexes, we were finally going to get our own washer/dryer set to put in our balcony storage.

Sunday, Sep 14: We visited the WDC in Santa Barbara and ordered the set we had seen advertised in the newspaper. Understandably, it would take a couple weeks for the order to arrive.

Friday, Sep 26: Washer and dryer arrived, yay! Workmen installed it, side-by-side. We told them we wanted the washer/dryer stacked. The tech noted that the stacking kit was missing, and instructed me to call WDC and order one (no cost). So I did. But the salesman at WDC insisted that a stacking kit was not necessary. So we had to set up another appointment for the techs to come back and stack it.

Wednesday, Oct 1: The day we scheduled for the stacking. Despite explicit instructions to please call us when they were on their way from Oxnard (as we worked only 2 minutes away from home), nobody called. They didn't even attempt to call us when they arrived. They didn't even leave a note! For all we know, they never showed up, though they claimed to have. So we had to reschedule. Again.

Friday, Oct 3: Second stacking appointment attempt. Tech comes out, takes one look at the washer/dryer and says: "Nope, we need a stacking kit". When I told him that the salesman had insisted we didn't need one, he got a disgusted look on his face, whipped out his cell phone, and called the sales floor directly. He had a brief argument with whomever he reached on the line, and finally got them to agree that a stacking kit was needed and to PLEASE order one! As he explained, salesman don't know how to install washers and dryers, that's the tech's job. I was inclined to believe the tech.

Wednesday, Oct 8: Thinking that by now the stacking kit should have arrived, I place a call to WDC to find out what the status of the order was. They claim they can see the order in the system, but can't pull up the invoice on the computer. WTF? Fine, I'll wait a couple more days.

Friday, Oct 10: I called WDC again, only to be told that the kit should arrive at our apartment in the mail, and that as soon as it does, we should call back to reschedule another service visit. Sigh. This is starting to get old.

By this point, I am scheduled to fly out of the country for the next couple of weeks, so I updated Allan on what was going on, and told him to expect the stacking kit in the mail, and to call to schedule service once it arrived.

Tuesday, Oct 27: I am back in the country and back in town, and what do you know-- nothing in the mail! So I called WDC yet again, only to be told that the salesman was out of the office. They promised he would call back. I didn't hold my breath :-P

Surprise surprise-- no call back.

Friday, Oct 31: Rather than twiddle my thumbs, I called WDC and managed to get a hold of the salesman, who said he would come by on Monday after personally getting the stacking kit himself from another store. Okay! Now we're getting somewhere.

Monday, Nov 3: Monday has come and gone, and no sign of any service techs or salesmen. You aren't surprised, are you? When I called, they claimed to have received a call from a man trying to reschedule the service date. They thought it was my husband. I checked with Allan, but of course, he had done no such thing. Apparently they got our service call mixed up with someone else's, and canceled ours by mistake. Sigh.

Thursday, Nov 5: Placed another call to the same salesman at WDC, who told me that the warehouse guy had been injured, so he couldn't come out today, but promised that he himself would come out, along with a manager, to stack the washer/dryer on Saturday morning.

Saturday, Nov 8: THE WASHER IS FINALLY STACKED!!! HOORAY!!!

It took nearly 2 months from the time we ordered the set to the time it was finally installed and set the way we wanted it to. Throughout all this time, because our washer and dryer were set side-by-side, they took up so much space in our balcony storage room that we had to put all our storage boxes outside on our balcony. Fortunately, our apartment at the time faced a back parking lot, so there wasn't a lot of traffic to get offended at this eyesore. Also fortunately, we're very happy with the appliances themselves. Small but efficient, and perfect for our small family's needs. That and the convenience of not having to haul heavy hampers downstairs and across the street to the community laundry every week, were the only redeeming factors that enabled us to put up with all the bullshit that went back and forth with WDC. I will be hard-pressed to do business with them again in future, and if I do, you can bet I will be taking careful notes on whom I talk to, what they say, and what ends up happening at each turn!

Now that we will soon own our own home and have to fend for ourselves when it comes to repairs around the house, it will be interesting to see what sorts of service we get from the myriad of providers out there!

Buying a House

I had wanted to post about this earlier, but decided to wait until the dust settled before announcing anything: we're buying a house! :-)

In the middle of February we made an offer on a house, and after two weeks of negotiation, our offer was accepted and we began escrow. Now, two and a half weeks after that, we're pretty much done with most everything that needs to go into it-- inspections complete, appraisal done, loan approved. Sellers wanted some extra time to find a new place to live, so our escrow period isn't officially over until the end of April, but all the legwork is done. We just sit back and wait now.

The house we are buying is a 2005 Hallmark-Southwest manufactured home in the Rancho Goleta Mobile Home park. Yeup, you read that right. We's goin' be trailer trash! :-P

Kidding, of course.

Manufactured homes have come a long way since the day of the "house trailer" that gave mobile homes such a tarnished image.

The park we're going to be living in is a resident-owned co-op. Which means that we don't actually pay space rent to a landlord, but rather own shares of the co-op. Therefore, the park actually screens its residents, running credit and background checks before determining if they'll allow a resident to live there. That goes a long way toward enhancing the safety of the park. The park itself is also very well-maintained-- as with many condos/PUDs, there is a list of rules/regulations and architectural guidelines that ensure a pleasant atmosphere and appearance overall. There is a lake throughout the middle of it, with fishing and boating allowed. There is a swimming pool, jacuzzi, sauna, clubhouse (w/kitchen and ping-pong table), library and billiards room for residents' enjoyment. It is quiet and tranquil, and only a 20-minute walk to Goleta Beach.

The home we're buying has a huge deck that partly overlooks the lake. It's a decent size-- about 1550 sq ft-- not too big, not too small. Three bedrooms (well, technically two bedrooms and a den). And best of all, it is largely south-facing. That's one of the important features I always look for in a home-- that its main living areas are south-facing. Makes SUCH a difference in not only keeping the place warm in the winter, but brightening the place with lots of natural light.

Here are some photos from the MLS listing. When we close escrow and move in (approximately 6 weeks from now), I plan to take plenty of pictures -- both before and after move-in. And then I will look forward to putting my feet up and not having to move again! In my 10 years of living in Santa Barbara, I've moved a total of 7 times. It gets tiresome, and I'm looking forward to settling down :-)

The front of the house

View of the living room from the front door. Double French doors by the fireplace lead to the den (Allan's room).

Another view of the living room. Dining room is through the archway on the side.

Spacious and sunny kitchen. Just off frame to the right of the dishwasher is a small breakfast nook area.

The large front deck. You can make out some of the lake-front view through the potted plants

View of the lake, clubhouse and pool area. To the left is a footbridge connecting the side of the lake we're on to the other

Floor plan of the house.
This blog scrunches it up a bit too much-- click on it for the full-size view.

So there you have it-- a small sneak preview of the house. Keep in mind that a professional photographer took those shots, so the real deal (as well as my forthcoming photos) will not look nearly as nice. But it gives you an idea :-)

Las Vegas 2010

We had such a blast going to Las Vegas the week before Christmas last year, that we decided to do it again this year. Despite the rain, it was a terrific time to travel. There was NO traffic along the I-15, even as we went past the Strip!

We left Santa Barbara on Sunday morning, made a few stops along the way in Camarillo and Oxnard for some shopping, and arrived at our hotel room in the Golden Nugget in record time. First thing we did was hit up the Firefly tapas restaurant at the Plaza Hotel, a mere 2-minute walk from our hotel. We discovered it during our summer trip with friends earlier this year, and enjoyed it so much, we HAD to go again. Last time, we were seated in the lounge area, this time, we got there early enough to try for seating in the main restaurant area. We got a booth overlooking Fremont Street-- here's a shot of it, complete with the lights up top, from our booth:



Afterward, we hit up the Rush Lounge, another great discovery from our summer visit :-) This time, the regular performers were there-- Frankie Moreno and his band. The music was original and quite good-- all sorts of different styles, but the best part was the off-color humor that Frankie and his brother Tony offered up between songs. The highlight of the evening? A discussion of eggnog that spawned this memorable quote from Tony:

"You can even put it (eggnog) in your condom when you need to fake an orgasm!"

Here's a shot of Frankie (on the piano) and Tony (on the bass):

The next day, we decided to check out the pool area of our hotel, voted one of Vegas's top pools. The main attraction? It's shark tank. You read that right-- a huge shark tank right in the middle of the pool. You get great views of it from almost all the restaurants in the hotel, the pool and lounge area itself surrounds the tank, and you can climb up to the second floor-- where there is not only a smaller, adults-only infinity pool, but the entrance to the water slide-- which goes right THROUGH the tank, so you're sliding right alongside the sharks :-) There was also a really nice bar (the H2O) area with fire pits and a nice, warm jacuzzi. Only the heated small pool and the jacuzzi were open during our trip, though, or I would have totally made several trips down the slide to see the sharks :-) Here is a shot of them (the plastic tube is the slide):

After a delicious lunch at the GN buffet, we headed down to the south end of the Strip to the Luxor, where we toured the Bodies exhibition. It was really fascinating to see the insides of our bodies at work with real life preserved human models. They even showcased artificial joints, various diseased organs (like the blackened, emphysema and cancer-riddled lungs of smokers) and even fetuses at various stages of development.

We wandered around Mandalay Place, the shopping/dining area between Luxor and Mandalay Bay, where I gagged trying to browse a Lush store, and where we enjoyed Happy Hour at the Minus 5 Lodge/Lounge. We only sat in the lodge part of it-- I didn't realize until we were leaving that there WAS an actual refrigerated bar area behind the lodge-- brrr!

That night, we waited about 1.5 hours in line for the Carnival World buffet at the Rio. I was worried that by the time we got in, I wouldn't be hungry any more, but we timed it just right-- I was famished by the time we got our seats. And the buffet? Well worth the wait! It must've been 10 miles long, and showcased just about every cuisine from every country you can imagine! We had planned to hit up the Rio's iBar afterward for a drink, but were simply too stuffed and bloated after dinner, so we just went back to our room and crashed on our beds, watching cable TV.

The next morning, I took a dip in the jacuzzi, even though it was drizzling and the temperature had dropped to about the low 50s. The water was nice and warm, and I energized myself with a bit of water aerobics-- whew! What a way to wake up and work up a sweat! Here's a shot Allan took of me-- you can make out part of the H2O bar in the background, and the nice comfy (albeit wet!) seating:

We then headed back down to the Strip to hit up Harrah's for their buffet for lunch (with our 2-for-1 coupon), and to catch the Mac King Comedy Magic Show. We had gotten free tickets to it during our August trip. We were too busy and tired to redeem it then, but since it was still valid now, we decided that this was the perfect time for it. All we had to pay was $10 apiece for a drink ticket-- and we basically enjoyed a free show with our drink purchase! Mac King was pretty funny as well-- a bit like Bob Saget, he was able to tell some rather adult jokes that only the adults would get-- it was obscure enough to fly over the heads of the children in the audience.

Lunch left us so full that we opted for a light dinner at the Carson Street Cafe in our hotel, after another trip to the Rush Lounge to redeem our 2-for-1 drink coupon :-) Next day was brunch at the GN buffet again, and then homeward bound we were!

It rained during our entire trip, but it wasn't a torrential downpour like it was in southern California. During the times we were outdoors, the rain was light. And though it was cold outside, it wasn't so cold that we needed jackets everywhere we went. In fact, we ditched our coats after the first day, opting instead to carry small umbrellas that easily fit in my purse. Most of the time we were only outdoors for brief periods of time-- long enough to go from one destination to the other. This, for instance, is what I typically wore (this is a shot of me in front of the Golden Nugget, after we enjoyed the Fremont Light Show, the end of which was holiday-themed and set to Andy Williams's "The Most Wonderful Time of the Year")

As I've probably mentioned numerous times before, December right before Christmas is one of the best times to hit Las Vegas. The crowds are much thinner and you don't have to worry about being trampled or encountering human traffic jams in popular spots like the Strip or downtown along Fremont Street. Everything is beautifully decked out in holiday decorations, and the music everywhere (like the Bellagio fountain accompaniment, or the Fremont light show, or shopping centers and restaurants) is likewise Christmas-themed. The fact that it rained this year was a bonus: first, it meant warmer temperatures (well, at least during the first half of our trip), second, it meant higher humidity (desert dryness can be a bitch, especially in the cold winter) and third, it meant even fewer people than you'd normally find in December :-)

We've also found what's probably our favorite hotel thus far (and between the two of us, we've stayed in about 8 different hotels-- on the Strip, off Strip, and downtown): the Golden Nugget. It's centrally located right in downtown Vegas, and it feels like one of the more upscale hotels, yet its rooms are inexpensive-- we, of course, stayed in the cheapest rooms they had (at $39/night), and even they were large, spacious, well-insulated and newly renovated. The hotel itself has some interesting shows (some of which I plan to see next time), the Rush Lounge is an awesome place to hang out for drinks, relaxation and enjoying live entertainment, the buffet is inexpensive and really delicious, and of course-- you can't beat the awesome pool area!

More photos here: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2607043&id=3605072

Viva Las Vegas-- here's to next year! :-)

What's in a Dream Home?

Many people (want to) pursue the dream of home ownership. Just how easy that dream is to attain depends on a number of factors, not the least of which is your own personal preference for what you want in a home. I blogged last month about the insane cost of housing in Santa Barbara, and how it drives some people to live 30-40 miles away, either north in Buellton, or south in Ventura, where housing is more affordable.

For the past year or so, Allan and I have been investigating several different options for home ownership, and have been keeping an eye on the market, seeing what kinds of homes sell for what prices. We've visited many open houses and kept tabs on how much those homes ended up selling for, giving us a good idea of whether a given home's price is too high, too low, or just right.

Throughout the course of this, we've started developing our own ideas of what we'd like in a home. And every time we visit a home that has a particular feature I find neat, I add it and prioritize it in my list of things I'd like in a dream home.

So what does my dream home consist of?

At a minimum, 3 bedrooms and 1.5 baths. Size-wise, something in the 1400-1700 sq ft range. Larger homes, I've found, are not only less energy-efficient (too much space to heat/cool!) but also more work to clean.

A laundry room, whether inside the home or in an attached garage. That leaves some condo units around here out of the realm of possibility :-)

Speaking of garages-- a garage isn't so important to me, I'll be happy with a carport connected to the house, as long as I have some shelter to protect me from the elements as I go from my car to the house.

I want a small yard. I'm not a fan of yardwork, and don't really want to have to worry about maintaining a large lawn or trees. But I do want enough of a small plot of land so that I can plant a little vegetable garden. And maybe have space for a clothesline. I would love to not have to use the dryer anymore-- saves energy and saves the clothes!

What about the interior?

We prefer homes that have larger bedrooms and smaller common living spaces. Having a separate living room and family room is a waste of space, in my opinion. We don't entertain much, and so have no need for two separate rooms like that. I'd much rather have that space go into roomier bedrooms, where we can set up nice little niches: a bed, a desk, a recliner of some sort, and voila! Cozy little home office, one for each member of the family :-)

I also like openness in the main living areas of the house. The apartments in Willow Springs are great for that-- the kitchen looks into both the living room and dining room (both of which are connected as well), so that even if I'm puttering around in the kitchen, I can still see the TV when doing dishes, or keep an eye on Todd working at the dining table. So, if possible, I'd prefer such a layout instead of having the kitchen closed and walled off from the living room.

I don't want windows on or around the front door (unless they are up high and small). Too easy for someone to just break in, and if I just want to quietly sneak a look through the burglar hole when someone comes knocking, so I can "screen" the visit, a window would reveal my presence and defeat the purpose of that :-P

Skylights are cool ways to let more natural light into the interior, but my goodness are they an eyesore when they start collecting dirt! No thank you!

Other considerations:

I'm not a fan of two-story homes and would prefer a single-story home if possible, but that's not a deal-breaker, either. I'll happily take a house that is reasonably priced and contains most of the features described above, if its only "flaw" is that it has two floors :-)

One of the things I like about our apartment complex is our proximity to other neighbors. I feel safer knowing that there are other people nearby. Living in an isolated area, or away from the view of most of my neighbors, can be a bit creepy. So I wouldn't want to live in a home that was too isolated from the rest of the neighborhood.

So, there you have it. My own preferences in what I'd like in a home, summed up in a not-so-small nutshell ;-)

What about you? What do you like in a home?

Day 30 of NaBloPoMo! (a look back)

Well! I wasn't sure if I'd make it this far, but I did! I managed to post every single day for an entire month as part of NaBloPoMo. My very first effort at it. Given that November is probably not a very good month to do it (with the holidays-- I imagine only December would be worst), I'm actually quite pleased that I was able to keep it up every day.

Now, I will admit that there were a couple of days when I had to pre-write a post the day before, and then schedule it to be posted the next day, simply because I knew I would not be anywhere with Internet access all day long. That was fraught with its own frustrations, as apparently Wordpress does not actually post your blog entry at the time you specify. No, it waits until someone visits your blog before it kicks off the cron job that posts the scheduled entry!

Still, posting every single day (sometimes even twice a day, as explained above), proved to be quite a challenge. I found myself becoming more alert to things around me-- from things people posted online to things that happened in the offline world (I don't like using the term "in real life", or "IRL", as the popular acronym goes. That implies that the people I interact with online are somehow not "real". And that's simply not true!) I found myself keeping my eyes and ears peeled for any interesting tidbit, and then expanding it in my mind to see if I could dedicate a whole blog post to it. It's happened a few times. Like a visit to Todd's pediatrician. Or when I saw links to NUD or to Costco's funeral section on FB. Or coming away from a particularly frustrating interview session. It was amazing to me how ordinary, mundane little things that I would ordinarily forget within the hour could develop into topics that I could craft into a post.

So, I'm pleased that there was rarely a shortage of topics, even if inspiration sometimes didn't hit until about 11:00pm, with only an hour to spare ;-)

I'm pleased that there were really only 2 times when I resorted to an "I can't think of anything to post, and I'm pressed for time so I'll just throw in some stuff" post, and even though they were both diary-like in nature (a weekend recap, and some random tidbits), at least there was something unique to tell. Like my first venture into cutting my own hair! O.O

I'm especially pleased that I was able to throw in some deeper, more meaningful posts-- a departure from my usual blatherings or rants about less important things like Paypal's sucky user experience ;-)
I had not intended to create a mini-series of sorts, but my posts on loving thy neighbor in the context of "Christian" views on homosexuality (and yes, those quotation marks are intentional) evolved from a variety of sources that all seemed to happen simultaneously: the link to the post on the little boy dressed as Daphne, a friend decrying passive discrimination, and an interesting lunchtime conversation with a friend from church. I am sure that this won't be the last time I'll be writing on such a topic.

In short, I had a great time with NaBloPoMo. It was a lot of work, but it is exhilarating to make it to the finish line. I am not sure if I will be doing it again in future years. Work and family keep me too busy to even *think* about posting, most days, and I've sacrificed what little personal time I have in the evenings, to do this. It's not really worth it when hardly anyone reads the posts regularly, anyway. But it was nice to get the creative juices flowing and keep them flowing for an extended period. I hope to be able to continue this trend on a smaller scale-- certainly not every day, but maybe a couple times a week. And I hope I continue to be able to keep an eye out for interesting tidbits that I can transform into blog posts.

In the meantime... Happy end of November! Here's to a wonderful holiday season and continued fruitfulness in the blogging world!

Better to have loved and lost, or...?

There's the age-old adage: "Better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all". Some people agree with it, some people disagree with it. I personally think it all depends on the context.

First, there are a number of ways this "loss of love" could have occurred. Perhaps one partner died. And even then, perhaps he/she died of old age after many years of being together. Or perhaps the surviving spouse is left a young widow(er). Perhaps one was unceremoniously dumped. Perhaps they just grew up, grew apart, and went amicably on their separate ways.

And whether or not I agree with that statement really depends on those factors, on the circumstances of the separation.

Death? Perhaps I would agree. Especially in old age. At some point it is inevitable, and even if it happened unexpectedly at a younger age, it's one of those things that just happens in life (or end of life, as the case may be) that you can't really predict, and that you have to be prepared for. Just as you have to be prepared for the ups and downs that make up a normal marriage. So, as heartbreaking as a partner's death may be, this adage does paint a picture of the brighter times together and the love shared in life.

A bad breakup? I would probably disagree. It sounds so cliche, and if those words were offered to me as comfort, I doubt I'd find much solace in them. I mean, I just got dumped, I really don't need pithy philosophical sayings to heal the hurt. And maybe, just maybe, a bad breakup is indicative of the fact that I'm just better off without him, in which case the adage is false-- it's better to be rid of him, and not having known him at all might have spared me this heartache.

Then there are relationships that dissolve amicably. I'm a pretty firm believer that only in rare cases can a pair of exes remain friends. Unless the breakup was 100% mutual and due largely to *both* partners growing up/apart mutually, one party is always going to have more emotional baggage than the other, and that isn't conduce to a healthy friendship. Maybe one secretly wants more (usually the dumped one) than friendship. Or maybe there's underlying feelings of hostility over the breakup that always linger. In any event, since this separation is less emotionally-charged, the adage becomes something of a practical viewpoint: what have I gained in that relationship? What have I learned, and how have I grown? And if the answer is "nothing", then it evidently made no difference at all if I even knew the other person or not. And if it's something positive, then yes, maybe it was better to have loved and "lost", though I don't really think you could call it a "lost" love, could you?

So yeah. That old saying is one of those that I generally don't agree with, except in certain circumstances. But maybe that's because I'm not an overly emotional person myself, and so I don't really get the whole emotional scene that accompanies relationships and their inevitable roller coasters, or the fallout when they end.

Of course, given how often I try to sell my husband, who knows what tune I'd be singing once I found a serious buyer and the transaction was finalized ;-)

Why me, God?

Today's "One Big Happy" cartoon really seemed to fit in well with the season of thanksgiving and being grateful for what you have. Insane Black Friday (weekend) crowds notwithstanding, of course ;-)

Here's little Ruthie spouting off another of her funny "the things kids say!" type of nuggets that makes the comic endearing:



Really makes you think, doesn't it? Too often people turn to God only when things are going wrong with their lives. Sometimes they seek his help because they have nowhere else to turn. Sometimes they realize they can't get comfort through anything else in this material world. And sometimes they simply lash out in anger, cursing God or blaming him for the troubles in their lives. No matter the reaction, it seems like they only think of him when they need something. Frankly, sometimes it takes a catastrophic event to turn an otherwise stoic's heart toward God to gain a little perspective.

Much rarer, however, is turning to God with a grateful heart the rest of the time. Taking inventory of your life and, as Ruthie does in the comic above, realizing how fortunate you are compared to a lot of other people in this world. And thanking God when things go *well* with your life-- not just when you achieve a big milestone (such as passing an important exam, or getting a much-coveted job, or finding out you're pregnant when you've been trying for years), but when things are otherwise humming along smoothly in your life.

The Thanksgiving holiday is, these days, often a time for people to reflect on what they have to be thankful for. I will fully admit that most days, I don't really stop to think about all that's going well for me, because I just take it for granted. The Thanksgiving-themed list I outlined earlier this week contains a lot of things that are just part of my day-to-day existence, and therefore easy to simply take for granted.

How much more perspective we would gain on our lives, the next time we're commiserating about little things, if we would just pause and think about our life the way Ruthie does. And then, when we're asking "Why me, God?" it's not with a tone of anguish, but with a tone of reverence and awe.

Why me, God? Why me, indeed...

Happy Birthday, G-Man!

Okay, so it's one day late. I haven't blogged about our karaoke exploits lately, because-- eh, what's there to write about? We came, we sang, we had fun.

Last night at Old Town Tavern was special, in a couple of different ways.

First off, it was the DJ's birthday! His name is Gary, aka G-Man, and he was featured in one of Tabitha's Project 365 photos the last time we went out for karaoke:



Gary is pretty awesome all around. He has a huge selection of songs, is very encouraging to everyone, and even chimes in in accompaniment while someone is singing. He's very friendly and treats everyone, especially the regulars, like a personal friend.

In honor of his birthday, they served yummy chocolate cake and small appetizers. The whole bar chimed in to sing Happy Birthday to him at one point in the evening. And every so often, he'd get birthday shout-outs from whomever was on stage, at the end of their songs. I thought it was pretty admirable of him to be working 1) the day after Thanksgiving and 2) on his own birthday! Which, of course, falls on Thanksgiving every several years. Better than being on Christmas, I suppose?

I thought I overheard him tell someone he was born in 1951, and if that is true-- wow. He definitely doesn't look that old.

The evening was notable for a second reason: I finally dragged our friend Kartik up on stage. Ever since we started going to OTT for karaoke regularly, he's been hooked on country music, as Tabitha and I sing quite a bit of it. A volunteer day with Habitat for Humanity, where the redneck foreman blasted country music as they worked, helped too. So, he's been wanting to perform Craig Morgan's "A Little Bit of Life" for quite some time. I wanted to get him on stage for at least one song last night, especially since his best friend was visiting from the Bay Area. Unfortunately, we discovered very little overlap between our musical tastes. He didn't know any Beatles, Elvis, ABBA or even Christmas tunes! I didn't know Pink Floyd or Michael Jackson. I wasn't sure I knew the Craig Morgan song well enough, but at least it was familiar enough to me, and we listened to it on his phone a couple of times, and basically "crammed" for it. We got called up sooner than we expected, and Kartik did great! He wasn't as nervous as expected, and now that he's broken his karaoke cherry, the prospect of doing other songs later on will be a lot less daunting.

All in all, a fun-filled evening. Celebrating G-Man's birthday, enjoying cake and listening to some of the other regulars (like Jenny and Cathy-- both very good!) and finally getting Kartik on stage, opening the way to more of his singing in the future! :-)

Black Friday... at home!

While hoards of crazy shoppers duke it out in the wee, ungodly hours of the morning to catch Black Friday sales, I opted to sleep in. And sleep in I did! I went to bed relatively late (nearly 2:00am), and didn't get up until about 10:45 this morning. I opened up today's and yesterday's copies of the LA Times and browsed through the fat pile of sales fliers in the Thursday edition, all advertising their Black Friday sales, start times (Wal-Mart at midnight, most other stores at 4:00am) and coupons. There were a few interesting items that caught my fancy, I'll admit. But honestly? Nothing worth the hassle of waking up at ungodly hours and braving traffic and horrendous, self-absorbed crowds. There's nothing I need so badly that I'd be willing to do that for a few pieces of discounted merchandise. Besides, stores have sales all the time, I can be sure to catch good prices on things I need/want anytime during the year.

Some of the best times to shop incredible bargains and avoid crowds? The days immediately following a holiday. I picked up my costume for Halloween next year, at 75% off, a few days after Halloween this year. The days following Christmas are the best time to pick up needed items such as decorations and giftwrap, and store them for use next year. Great bargains on candy can be had the day after Valentine's Day and Halloween. As evidenced by my purchase of Twilight-themed Sweethearts, who cares if there are hearts or ghosts and ghouls on the packaging? Candy and chocolate are all the same inside! And more everyday stuff like clothing? End of the season. I get the nicest sweaters for a couple of dollars apiece just before summer begins, and the cutest shorts, skirts and tank-tops as the weather begins to turn nippy and winter arrives. Even Black Friday can't beat some of those off-season bargains! :-D

So, I've been enjoying a quiet Friday at home. Did a little cleaning, washed the bedding, and settled down on my chaise to do some reading. Figured I'd do a quick post before I got comfortable. Then tonight is dinner with friends at Red Pepper (a terrific, hole-in-the-wall restaurant that serves some of the best Chinese food in all of Santa Barbara-- their onion pancakes are a must-have!) followed by a trip to Old Town Tavern down the street. With any luck, the normal Friday-night crowds will be greatly reduced in number tonight, given that it's the middle of the Thanksgiving holiday.

Tomorrow I head back down to LA to pick up the little man, who got to enjoy his long Thanksgiving break with my parents. Gonna stop by Walmart on the way, and hope that the post-Thanksgiving crowds will have subsided by then. This economy has apparently given rise to many stores extending their Black Friday sales through the rest of the weekend, and even longer, in the hopes of encouraging shoppers to continue to come in and spend!

Which reminds me, it's time I started thinking about Christmas shopping... thank goodness for online purchasing! ;-)

Happy Thanksgiving

This is going to be pretty cliche, as *everybody* writes "what are you thankful for?" types of posts on their blogs and on Facebook this time of year. But in the general spirit of things, I thought I might as well follow suit. Here are a few things I am thankful for:

1. Living in paradise. Year round mild weather that rarely ever gets too hot or too cold. Plenty of sunshine (June gloom aside), and close proximity to both beaches and mountains.

2. Having a good job that pays enough to be able to live in said paradise. I know that some jobs do not. I'm especially thankful that my job is flexible enough that I can work from home when Todd is sick, or bring him to the office with me after school some days.

3. A comfortable and sturdy roof over my head, hot and clean running water, and a warm bed to sleep in. When you hear of the plight of so many of the world's poor, it really puts things in perspective.

4. A husband who is my best friend. We get along in so many aspects of our lives, from our hobbies to our attitudes about the important things in life. And where we don't agree, the disagreement is actually complementary. Very harmonious :-)

5. A happy, healthy child. As with the roof over my head, when I hear of children suffering, whether it's due to starvation in a third world country or abuse/neglect in this country, it breaks my heart.

6. Having the fortune and privilege of living in a country where true freedom is known. Where gender and racial inequalities, while still not perfectly addressed, are not nearly as prevalent as in other countries. Where you are truly free to pursue your dreams and be what you wish to be.

7. The Internet! :-D What better, faster way to keep in touch with friends all over the country; all over the world!?

8. God. For all the blessings, some of which are listed above, I've received. Thank you.

How about you? What are you thankful for?

Accents

Accents are a fascinating thing. They are most apparent when non-native speakers learn a new language. Not having grown up with the nuances of pronunciation, their way of pronouncing things is inevitably different from that of native speakers.

More fascinating are the regional differences within one single country with one main language. Like the United States and its variations of English pronunciation according to various native residents' accents.

Then there is me. Like most Asian kids of my generation, our parents were born and raised in an Asian country, and we grew up in the US (whether we were born here or immigrated here at a very young age). As a result, households are often a mish-mash of accents, with the parents speaking accented English and the kids speaking perfect American English. I'm sure that's true of all immigrant families, not just Asians.

When I was about 8 years old, my school held a speech contest. My mother and I worked on my speech, and I spent countless hours practicing its delivery. I distinctly remember my mom emphasizing my pronunciation (and enunciation) during our practice sessions. Even though she herself couldn't speak with an American accent, she could detect it and note when something didn't sound right. Consequently, I adopted an American accent and since then, I've had 2 accents: the one I share with my parents, and the American one for everyone else. A bit of an oddity, to be sure, but I bounce between the two "worlds" with relative ease.

Here's where it gets interesting. This past summer, my cousin, his wife and their daughter (same age as Todd) came to visit us. Allan, Todd and I rented a van and took them to some of the sights like Sea World and Universal Studios. We had a great time, and they enjoyed meeting Todd and Allan (I had already met them 2 years earlier, when we went to Indonesia). After they returned home, my mom, somewhat amused, relayed something they had told her: they had an easier time understanding Allan than they did me! My mom even agreed with their assessment, telling me that she'd always noticed that I seemed to roll my "R"s more heavily than most Americans-- something she has mentioned occasionally before. I was puzzled, because I couldn't detect anything unusual with my own accent. And probably most Americans wouldn't either, but I guess to people for whom English is not their native language, it's more readily apparent.

Until now. What's changed now? Todd started talking more and more. Listening to him, I realized that he rolled his "R"s more strongly than most Americans. Clearly he picked that up from me. I now understood what my mom was talking about.

So I started wondering why I spoke the way I did. And I think it's a byproduct of my tongue overcompensating for not speaking with my parents' accent in public. I liken it to deep cuts-- when your body heals and generates new skin, it overcompensates and creates more skin than originally was there. And so, in an effort to "correct" my accent, I overcorrected. It makes even more sense when you think of it in the context of what makes my American accent distinct (and difficult for foreigners to follow, apparently): the "R". Asians are notorious for being unable to pronounce this letter. My parents less so because their native language does contain an "R" sound, but it's flatter. It's less trilling than the German "R" sound, and less rolling than the American "R" sound. So perhaps one of the ways I changed my accent was to attack the way I rolled my tongue to make the right "R" sound... only between German and English, I somehow attacked it with a little too much fervor ;-)

I had never thought of this before-- well, why would I, when I was never aware of what I was doing in the first place? But now I've got a little mimic to mirror the way I've been talking back at me.

Fascinating, isn't it-- the way people adapt and adjust and compensate. Sometimes it's not enough, sometimes it's too much, and sometimes... sometimes it's just right :-)

Know your own stuff

Interview processes vary from company to company, and even from department to department within a company. But no matter what the process, I honestly think the best way to prepare is to really know the stuff you've learned and claim to know on your resume. Oh sure, you can prep for behavioral interview questions such as "What do you perceive as your weakness", but by and large, I would figure that the interviewer is largely interested in your job-specific skills, experience and what you can bring to the job.

So where do they first get wind of your experience? From your resume, of course. Which means that no matter what sort of question an interviewer throws at you from their pool of potential questions, the one thing you can be solidly sure of is the material on your own resume. Which YOU wrote. Which speaks to YOUR experiences.

Let me backtrack a little. Our department's interview process is fairly straightforward-- start out with a phone screen, and if you make that cut, come on site for in-person interviews. Now obviously, since we're a tech group, we're really mainly interested in technical knowledge and look for proficiency in specific skills outlined in the job descriptions. Fairly straightforward, no? Either you know X programming language well or you don't. And if you don't, that becomes apparent in the interview, which runs the gamut from answering basic conceptual questions to outright writing coding examples. Nothing outside the norm from usual tech company practices.

Candidates come from a variety of backgrounds, and will thus respond in a variety of ways, depending on their experiences. Even an ideal candidate can miss a question or two on occasion, and still show enough potential to bring on-site, even hire. It's not a game of seeing how many questions they get right, it's a matter of evaluating their problem-solving approaches and their ability to pick up concepts unfamiliar to them (which happens. Nobody knows everything about everything).

Still, in my mind, there is one way a candidate can raise a red flag to me, that *does* have to do with answering questions right or wrong. As I mentioned earlier, your resume is the one tool you have complete control over-- you decide what goes into it, you craft the descriptions of your job responsibilities to convey what you intend to the recruiter, you know better than anyone else what you've learned and what your proficiencies are.

So why, oh why, when an interviewer asks you a simple question about something on your resume (sometimes just as an icebreaker), is it so difficult to answer? Why do you hem and haw when asked to provide details about a recent school project? Why do you make us practically pull teeth in order to get anything deeper than high-level details of a particular job responsibility? If you can't even speak to your own resume intelligently, if you can't even articulate what exact skills you gained/utilized in a particular project, that doesn't really bode well for the rest of your technical knowledge. Because if nothing else, if you can't answer a single question from our list, the least you should be able to do is know the stuff on your resume well. Right? Right!? It's YOUR resume!!

It's not that hard! The mind. It boggles...