Officially 25

I haven't written in xanga for a long time, since nothing really exciting has happened since August. I've just been busting my butt at work, getting owned at school, and trying to get sleep when I can. I took two days off work to spend time with my sister who is in town, which couldn't have been at a better time. I needed to get away from work, away from all the office drama and the client stress. I wanted to have a quiet, low-key birthday, so i specifically told people that I didn't want to have a party.

Annie went against my wishes and planned out an elaborate birthday for me. I had no idea she was going to do that, but it turned out to be a pleasant surprise. Now that I think back, there were so many hints and signs that something was wrong.

The day started with me, annie, joe, joanna, and my sister's friend molly. I planned out the day to take them around Los Angeles. I wanted to get the day's worth, so the whole day was packed. Hollywood, Getty Center, Santa Monica, and dinner at either korean bbq or boiling crab. Annie said it was going to be too much to do in one day, so we decided to cut out Santa Monica. She also said that she wanted to wait until Jenny arrived to try boiling crab with us. I suggested that we eat in Los Angeles instead of driving back to OC, but Annie insisted on that the food was better and we should eat there instead.

okay, so i went thru the day, not suspecting anything. We spent less than 30 minutes at hollywood. saw the stars, admired the Mann theater. then headed over to Getty Center. i wasn't as impressive as i thought it would be. we looked around for about a couple hours and finally annie said we should go bc everyone was getting hungry.

I thought it was strange that everyone was hungry, since we ate dim sum pretty late that day. But it was okay, majority rules, so we headed back tolds OC. I was really tired anyways, since my sister's flight didn't come in until 1:30 am. I thought that it would be nice to head back, eat dinner, and go to sleep. As we were driving back, I called a handful of friends that i normally eat korean bbq with to see if they wanted to come.

I should have saw the signs. Ryan declined korean bbq, which is something he doesn't do. I texted ide to see if he wanted to come, but he didn't respond which was strange bc he's usually pretty responsive. Jessie said she needed to study... which got me really confused since jessie doesn't usually start studying for anything until 3-4 hours before an exam.

as we walked to the restaurant, annie jumped out and bolted. she said she had to use the bathroom really badly. i took my time and strolled in to the restaurant, but noticed a car with an "john hopkins alumni" license plate. I was convinced  that it was ryan's car, but my roommate kept trying to tell me there are a ton of hopkins alumni in the area.

I figured everything out and found my friends with balloons waiting at a table with the korean bbq already grilling.

The second part of the night, we were suppose to go to the beach and have a bond fire, but it was too cold and kind of windy. Annie had backup plans, so the next thing to do was to go over to my place and play rock band. it was great. even though i was so tired, just the company of my friends really made my night. i wasn't planning on drinking or getting trashed, but everything just fell into place.

I got some really cool presents from my friends... gift cards, funny t-shirts, b-ball shorts, rockband, cooking supplies and a new coffee table.  Stuff that I need or wanted, which was awesome.

Anyways, thank you to everyone who sent me text, left me facebook messages, and went along with the whole party plans. thank you to all of those who took incriminating pictures/videos and didn't post them on facebook. and espeically thank you annie for planning out everything out

Kids vs Dad Karate

Hilarious!!

Poor Guy

Poor Guy

New News

I put in a bid for a condo last Wednesday, and got it Thursday. I was really surprised that I got it considering the woman lowered it 30 g's from her original price and I asked for it 20's even lower. But she accepted it, so I will be moving yet again (3rd time in 1 year) to Irvine, CA. I'm pretty psyched about it, because it's right across the street from University of California, Irvine. It's a 2 bedroom 1 bath, so I am planning on renting out to students or other yuppies like me. It'll give me the opportunity to meet people my age and at the same time have someone help me pay for my mortgages.

I wish ya'll can come visit, but I will describe what it looks like (i'll put up picks later). It's a two story building and each person gets one floor. My condo is on the upper floor and it overlooks the community park, which is a b-ball court, pool, and playground. My condo is in the middle of the community. It's small, but pretty cozy. The condo has hardwood floors, but the bedrooms have carpeting. It's got it's own washer and dryer, A/C, and balcony. It's in a suburb setting. I'm 15 minutes from the beach (Laguna, Newport, and Huntington), 15 minutes from Irvine Spectrum (Large outdoor shopping area, better than The Block), and 10 minutes from John Wayne Airport.

For ya'll other newbie home buyers, here's what I learned:

1) Find out how long the previous owner lived there for. The longer they lived there, the more negotiation room you will have. for example, if they lived there for 8 years, the capitals gained is much greater than someone who lived there for 6 months.

2) Find out when and where the owner is moving to. People that are looking to sell ASAP will be more open to negotiations.

3) Bid, Loan, Inspect, ask seller to fix stuff, and final-walk thru/buy

4) Realtors make appox 6-7% commission, depending on if it is their property or not. My realtor sold the property for another realtor company so he'll make 3-4% commission. Ask the realtor to split some of the commission back, they usually will.

Overall, I think I made a good investment. I hope ya'll can find some time to visit me when I move

I love Family Guy... and Jeopardy