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| A lot has happened this summer. I have to say this summer has been very expensive. In early August I took a trip to Las Vegas with my family. It was a lot of fun there and we got a crazy good deal. I was able to book 2 rooms for 3 nights for a total of $128. Expedia even had a promotion where they gave me a $50 gas card. This had to be one of the least expensive family vacations I've ever been on. My sister also won about $400 and I won $50. We ate well and found a good dim sum place called ping pang pong in the Gold Coast Casino. After Vegas we headed toward LA for a 2 night stay. This is where all the expenses added up. I drove to my apartment so that I can show my family and then when we left my car was not working. I was at a stop sign and pushed on the gas but nothing. My dad and I later pushed the car aside and had to get our car towed. I towed it to my mechanic near Ktown. Since we had no car, I took a taxi to LAX so that I can rent a car. In the end, this cost around $1700. I took another trip with friends mid-August to New York. NY was a lot of fun and we were able to do so much. On friday we flew in and took a taxi to our hotel (the marriot in the financial district). We then took the subway to Citi Field to watch the giants play the mets. After the game we went to serendipity for some frozen hot chocolate. On saturday we went to the famous Carnegie Deli where we ate the Woody Allen Sandwich consisting of huge amounts of pastrami and corned beef. This was huge and we split the sandwich. We couldn't even finish our half sandwich. Later we went to time square and macys. We bought tickets to the musical "toxic avenger" for half off ($42) at TKTS booth in times square. Before the show we went to the biggest TGIF in the world and the Nintendo store near rockafeller plaza. We also ate korean style chicken wings at Mad for chicken. After the musical we went to brooklyn to Juniors Restaurant. I had the cheesesteak and the apple crumb cheesecake. On sunday we went to Coony Island and had an authentic Nathan's hotdog. After that we went to Central Park. We had daisy may ribs for lunch. Later that night we saw ground zero and had dessert. On monday we ate blueberry pancakes, saw the statue of liberty and went to Lombardi's (a famous pizza place). Then.........we missed our flight because we were at the wrong gate. Long story short........we had to pay about $371 each to come home the next day. We also had to book a hotel for the night ($172). Like I said earlier this was an expensive but fun vacation. Oh yeah, almost forgot, I came back to LA with a nasty heat rash. I had to go to the emergency room to get help. Fortunately the medication helped a lot and now I'm pretty much 100%. School is starting in a week........gotta get ready. That's it for now.
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| So I am on day 3 of my apartment hunt and it has been quite interesting. Monday night I checked out an apartment that was pretty nice. The guy living there was super clean and was cool. The things I didn't like was having wood floors instead of carpet, no AC, and the neighborhood wasn't the best. On tuesday I went to visit a girl's apartment. This was the first time I considered living with a female but I was fine with it as long as I got my own room and bathroom. The place had to be the nicest place I've seen so far. Everything in the building was brand new because it had only been built 3 years ago. The apartment was really clean and well decorated. The girl was in her 30s and was really nice. I decide not to take it because of the price ($950/month). It is a very nice place but I could probably get a studio with that much money so I decided to pass on it. I walked down that same street and saw a sign about move-in deals. I met the manager and saw the studio they had. It was $890 which was reasonable and the place was nice. The studio was pretty big and very clean. The major dealbreaker though was not having a refrigerator.
The reason I felt compelled to blog was because of this one apartment ad. It was a 1 bedroom apartment for only $800 and included utilities. The guy said he was a missionary in South Africa and wanted to rent out his place. He kept emphasizing that the money wasn't the issue but it was keeping the place clean. He showed me pictures of the place and it was crazy nice. The furniture in the place was nice and it had a big screen TV. Everything about it was awesome. So.....I felt uncomfortable. They always say if it's too good to be true, it probably isn't true. The guy said he can't show me the place because he was out of the country and he had the keys/lease contract with him. He asked me if I can send him first and last months rent and he'd send me the keys and paperwork. I felt very uncomfortable doing that so I asked him that I wanted to talk over the phone. I went to checkout the place (sort of) by going to the apartment complex and asking to see rooms that are available. I found that the layout of that apartment looks nothing like the pictures he gave me. I asked the manager if the layout was the same for the whole building and she said yes. That was a major red flag. Lastly, I check the ad this morning and it had been flagged by craigslist viewers. That's when I knew I had to e-mail the guy and tell him I wasn't interested anymore. Be careful people!! It's a shame that this scam artists would say they are missionaries.
So today I am going to check out and apartment that I hope will work out. It's a 2 bed, 2 bath with a guy in his late 20s. The best part about this apartment is that it is on the same street I live on right now and it's only $695. The guy told me he lowered the price because he wanted to get the process over with. I really want to stay in the neighborhood and the price is excellent. Wish me luck!
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| It has been over a year since my last post and I was ready to leave xanga forever. That was until I was reminded why I started to blog in the first place. That reason was to remember the things that had happened in my life. It is especially important for me to remember God's goodness. We easily forget sometimes. After taking some time to think, these are the things I remember from the last year (june 2008-july 2009).
1) Trip to China (summer 2008)
This was a special trip because we have not seen my dad's side of the family for over 20 years. We first went on tour to beijing, shanghai, a cities neighboring shanghai. We then went down to Guangzhou to see our family. My initial mindset was that it would be a cool thing to see everyone even though I didn't remember them. It was truly an amazing time. I thought to myself how much I missed out on. There was family that I didn't even know and all of them loved us so much. Now that I'm older, I'd love to visit them every year.
2) First year of teaching
Probably one of the busiest years of my life but truly a blessed year. This year I had to teach full time, work on my masters and working on BTSA(beggining teacher support and assessment) to obtain my permanent credential. Teaching was a challenge at times but not dreadful. I feel like I had a pretty smooth year without any big issues. There was a lot that I learned and I can just see how much easier it will be from now on. As far as my masters, I am so glad I am done. It was tough having deadlines for my masters but having to teach full time. There were times when I felt like I would not be able to get it done but God really got me through it.
It has been a long time so I can't remember too much, haha. This summer has been good so far and I've been able to get a lot of rest. Last year I got sick more than normal and toward the end of the school year I was physically tired. Hopefully I'll be able to get some exercise and take a few trips. Aite, that's it for now.
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| So this past Sunday I sprained my left ankle while playing basketball. I had to be helped off the floor but I really wanted to get back in the game. Unfortunately, my ankle was incredibly swollen and I knew the game was over for me. On Monday I had to call my guiding teacher and tell him that I couldn't come in to teach. My ankle was still really swollen and I could barely walk. I ended up scheduling a doctor's appointment and fortunately the doctor said it's not too serious. I just need to stay off of it for about a week. Right now my whole body is sore because I started using crutches. I think it hurts more to use crutches than to walk. The ankle is still swollen right now and now the bruising has begun. Not fun guys.
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| From the movie, "Little Giants"
Junior Floyd:
You wanna learn how to kiss?
Becky O'Shea:
No. Why, do you?
Junior Floyd:
No. Eeww I just got that vomit taste in my mouth.
Becky O'Shea:
Come on, you gotta learn sometime. I mean if you wanna have kids and get a job.
Junior Floyd:
You can have kids without kissing!
Becky O'Shea:
But you can't get a job.
Junior Floyd:
Well, become a teacher then.
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