We’ve been renting out our 2 other bedrooms since May of 2014 (bought house in Jan 2014). We include, all utilities, wifi, paper towels, toilet paper, dishwashing/laundry detergent, and hand soap. We’ve mostly been renting out to friends of friends from church, but we are now branching out to people on Craigslist…of course, must interview them to make sure it’ll be a good fit. Seems like our pricing is still very competitive even though we are increasing the rent, since we had seven inquiries within a few hours. Had to adjust the post though since our other renter is more comfortable with another female in the house instead of male. Newest renter moving in tomorrow! Hope it’ll be a good experience!

Sarah
May 18 – Aug 9
Law student, internship at Yahoo…free meals!
$400/month in smaller room since need to pay for double housing at Davis

John
May 18 – May 31
Law grad, lawyer working in Oakland, 2 hour commute, moved out in two weeks
$750/month for bigger room, very clean, actually irons

Stephanie
July 30 – Jan 15
Acquaintance of Janette, works at Boston Scientific, now attends RBF
$750 for bigger room, moved to smaller room after Sarah moved out in Aug-14 for $600/month

Jo-Ann
Aug 31 – Present
Friend of Christine O., Speech Therapist, church in Hayward, currently looking for jobs in schools
$750 for bigger room, moved to smaller room after Stephanie moved out in Jan-15 for $600/month

Hongla
April 28 – Present
Found on Craigslist…within almost 24 hours, commutes to SF for work, likes board games, anime
$800 for bigger room

as customary, anson and i went down to LA for the Christmas holiday. we left early morning on 12/25, thursday and came back monday morning since i still had to work. it was short, but a good time of being with family and friends

on thursday night, the pang and wong families ate dinner at the wong house. my parents bought a duck, chow mein and made some veggies, and the wongs weren’t supposed to make food, but auntie esther mom ended up making soup, two fish dishes, and baked egg rolls. aaron made curry corners (not sure the English name). lauren (aaron’s gf) did not make it since she was traveling with friends. we first suggested that we eat out for dinner, but uncle ken dad had surgery recently, and we didn’t want to put too much strain on his body.

on friday, raymond came over after taking his car to the shop. we had sushi at a restaurant in the same shopping plaza where bcd tofu house is located on saticoy and lindley called “sushi for you”. yellowtail sashimi totally melts in your mouth. we then went hiking at san vicente mountain park. it was sooo cold!

on saturday, the wong family went to forest lawn to visit the burial place of auntie esther mom’s parents. forest lawn houses this massive painting of the crucifixion. it was in a church and they have a showing every hour with a narrative of what is going on in the painting. we also saw a stained glass production of the last supper. i was surprised at how the narrations for both works were very blatantly gospel…pleasantly surprised =) for lunch, we went to hk kitchen (bleh), and for dinner, anson and i ate hot pot with my parents.

on sunday, we went to ccac. they’ve revamped their lights and it feels like a concert there now. tim lin was the guest speaker. for lunch, we ate with gavin, webber, cres, and raymond at pieology. i have discovered a new favorite. pieology is like a subway or chipotle version for pizza. you can customize your own personal pan pizza with whatever ingredients for only $7.95. it is medium sized, but i could only finish half. we then went to boba my tea where they have the cool fat cups (that probably hold the same amount as the older cups…and they’re less practical since they don’t fit in a car cup holder, but i like them nonetheless! for dinner, i ate yummy steamed fish with my parents, and wrote up my 29 predictions for next year and the highlights for the year of 2014 (which will be my next blog entry…enjoy!

at 5pm, we arrived at rohnert park and met the group after their ride. alex and daniel had fallen while on the ride, the girls were the best in their group, but it seems that anson was holding back. go sexy cow! they were provided dinner, different souvenirs (mist spray, t-shirts, etc). all in all, a great saturday for the bike party and our girl’s wine party =) we both enjoyed in our own ways! let’s do it again!

things have changed =) i think i left off with you when i was at Cupertino Healthcare and Wellness Center as an AP/Payroll Coordinator. the job was a contract position from october 2013 until around february 2014 to fill in for jeniffer until she came back from maternity leave. she had all the intention to come back to work, so being the responsible person i was, i searched around for a new job. i interviewed at a couple places, and there was one place i especially liked since i’d have better pay, better benefits when made permanent, and it was only 2.2 miles away from our house (Cupertino Healthcare was 7 miles away). the manager seemed like she liked me and even showed me around the office. i came in again for a 2nd interview with the controller, but i don’t think i did as well in that interview, so they went with another person…i was sad since i liked the environment, the position, and i thought that God was leading me to this job…He had a plan though =)

while i was interviewing, jeniffer resigned! i guess she wanted to stay with her baby girl. because of this, i was able to become permanent staff at cupertino with benefits and accrued vacation and received a 12.5% raise. it was busy and sometimes stressful since i was responsible for 180 some odd people’s paychecks, but i had my own office, a permanent, stable position, and i even made a snack bar for my coworkers =) fast forward 1 month 1/2 later…the place i interviewed for contacted me, said the other person did not work out, and if i was still interested in the job.

i was confused. i thought that this door had been closed to me, and it was opened again? do i want to be their 2nd choice? why did it happen this way? well, i found out why…since i was in a permanent full time position with a raise, i now had leverage. at the time of my interview, i was still contracted, no benefits, with less pay, but now i had a bargaining chip, so i went all in…i told them my situation, that the job was a temp-to-hire, which was not as ideal, and negotiated for another +10% raise…and they accepted, and then i accepted! since mid-April, I have been at Bill Wilson Center as support staff working in their accounting department. this was what was in God’s plan all along. it was the job that i wanted, but he told me to wait, made me be a better worker in the position that i held and Cupertino, and then gave me the job with an increased salary!

so let me tell you a little bit about the new place. Bill Wilson Center is a non-profit organization that helps children, teens, and families with various services including transitional housing, counseling, food support, etc. they are located in santa clara and service the whole county with their various sites and case managers (whom we at the accounting department mainly encounter since the case managers need gift cards, bus passes, and checks from us). i work in their main office and we pay alllll the bills. there are usually around 100+ bills per week which is the most i’ve had at a company in AP. (NTS had about 150 per month!). I focus mainly on Accounts Payable. Mon, Wed, and Fri, I do the deposit in the morning which includes checks for donations, payments for invoices, client fees for counseling. mondays and fridays are more my slow days that i can use to catch up with advances, filing ap, check receipts, gift card receipts, etc, but they can also be busy during certain events like the building dreams luncheon in which i had to process about 200 credit cards. tuesday and wednesday is mainly receiving and coding all invoices (yes, it takes that long). coding at a non-profit is much more complicated since it is not just coding to the specific expense, but also to the program and the grant that pays for it. chrissy is my manager, lien is another accountant, janet is the controller, and david is the cfo…that is our whole accounting department =)

i am still quiet compared to everyone else. they are nice though. they brought me out for my birthday and gave me an orchid…which i have killed unintentionally 🙁 i’m getting better at coding and making fewer mistakes. and i just became full time as of two weeks ago! it’s been a journey: vp discount, unitone, nts, maxreal, cupertino healthcare and wellness center, and now bill wilson center. it wasn’t always easy…it took three months to find the job at unitone which wasn’t even in my field, and i cried every week when i was there. i broke down and quit maxreal because i couldn’t handle the pressures of being a loan processor, but there has also been many good things: my four year stint at nts because an in-house recruiter found my resume on the now defunct hotjobs site, getting good experience as a payroll coordinator and them even willing to hire me after not being in the accounting field for a year, and now this job…each step of the way, i have learned more and more. i thank God for his provisions and his trials and his blessings.

today, saturday, april 26th, anson and i went to half moon bay in order to celebrate our two year anniversary. last year, we celebrated our anniversary and stayed overnight in monterey. this year, we had a day trip to the closer half moon bay. it took about 45 minutes to get there, and we had a blast!

we left around 10:30am, and made a stop at a place called Dinosaurs of Spanish Town. there were many things like fountains, pots, etc made of stone…and the coolest thing was the lifesized steel versions of dinosaurs making those coming and going out of half moon bay make a stop for some quick pictures with the prehistoric creatures. afterward, we paid $10 for parking at Half Moon Bay State Beach. it was a good investment since it was so close to the beach and in the mid point of the Waterfront Coastside Trail (trail above the cliffs that overlook all the beaches in Half Moon Bay). we ate our lunch (homemade sandwiches with turkey breast, tomatoes, and avacadoes). after lunch, we went south for about 2 to 3 miles, passing Poplar Beach and ending up in Redondo Beach where there was nice soft sand and “roman ruins”underneath a fancy country club.

we then explored downtown half moon bay and looked at all the small shops. kinda funny that most places closed early (5pm) on a saturday. we stopped by a coffee shop where there was free wifi and i was able to update friends/parents of our fun day. we then explored a nearby park, the rest of downtown, and an old jailhouse. the downtown in half moon bay is unique in the way that many shops resided in residential houses. very quaint…for dinner, our trusty friend (yelp) recommended an italian restaurant called mezza luna. we splurged for our anniversary dinner ordering a bloody cosmo cocktail ($8), mussels for appetizers ($11), 2 orders of bread (free), fettuccine alfredo with chicken for me ($16.50), veggie stuffed chicken for anson ($17.50), chocolate ice cream with cheesecake base ($6), and mango ice cream ($5). our bill including tax and gratuities was around $80 (wow!), but compared to some fancy restaurants, this wasn’t a bad price…and hey, we can do this once in a while =) our total for this day trip was under $100 which is more than the price of the comfort inn hotel (coughmotelcough) for $120 in monterey last year.

all in all, it was a fun trip. we were able to see dinosaurs, do some exercise, enjoy nature, have romantic walks on the beach and downtown, visit jail, and have a nice romantic dinner. the hubby normally does not like traveling, but he actually liked this trip. probably won’t go back for our bdays since i’ve already reserved dinner and a movie (the new xmen movie =) for me, and anson wants to have a day of just writing yelp reviews (my funny guy) for his day. we might go back in july and bike the coastside trail. can’t wait!

we got the keys to the house on jan 8, wed. we moved a few boxes worth throughout the week. we got the house grounded which cost almost 2 grand. anson also bought a stainless steel side by side fridge from best buy. it was the only one we found that was a side by side fridge that could fit the smaller area of our kitchen, but it looks real nice. i have to get use to putting food in it though since it has less area than what i’m use to.

the actual moving day was saturday, jan 18th. kevin leong, jacob chang, and christine ouyang helped us move. props to the guys for all the heavy lifting! too bad the guys didn’t stay for lunch. i made sloppy joes for anson and christine…well, it might have been better that it was a small setting since i couldn’t find some of my utensils and whatnot =)

i bought some house hold items including new bathmats, showerhead, and curtains.  we have all our furniture in our room set up, both the computers, and the bookshelf. i’ve been unpacking many of the boxes and we just need to unpack a couple more, put some things in the closet storage, the garage, or the shed. 

tomorrow (sat the 25th), we’ll need to drain the water heater since it’s been making some noise. we’ll probably have to buy a sofa and an area rug since our parents will be coming up in two weeks. if we buy the sofa from costco, we might need to ask tim uy for help and use his van. we’ll also be receiving the washer and dryer from home depot and set those up too.  so busy this month.

6. I switched to a new bookclub and am trying to be a more active participant. I’m finally making more closer friends at RBF like Nathan and Andrea, Cindy, and Christine. We watch movies and hung out at Nathan and Andrea’s. I watch Rockets games with Cindy. C, C, and i are in the same bookclub, so that relationship can further grow.

The 2014 New Year is coming up soon (2 1/2 hours). Pretty sure we’re gonna have some fun moving and buying new stuff for the house, hosting people at the house, see if we’ll rent out rooms. Anson will battle himself to find time to sleep, I’ll also have to find another job, and I’m hoping that we’ll finally visit Oregon even though we won’t be living there for the short/long run. Excited for what 2014 will bring!

For my bookclub, we are getting to know one another. This is what I wrote:

I was born and raised in SFV. I lived in the same house for 26 years except when there was the Northridge earthquake in 1994 where we were temporarily located to another house to repair the current one. I am an only child.

My parents had me when they were older and I was a happy surprise =) They met each other, dated, and married within 2-3 months, and then moved from Hong Kong to California right after. My mom was a computer operator and my dad was a printer specialist.  Both my parents are retired (they’re in their 70s), but they are very active in their church. My mom is their unofficial photographer. She records weddings, church events, funerals, etc. My dad makes dvd covers, and they distribute them all around the church. They consider this their ministry and try to serve the church in this capacity. I saw them for thanksgiving, and I am really learning to appreciate them and to not take for granted their love for me. Since I don’t live with them anymore and I don’t see them that often now, I now cherished the times more when I’m with them, and make an effort to do the things I didn’t do well for them like washing the dishes when I’m told, being patient when explaining things to my mom. My mom has been battling heart problems. Her heart was beating very rapidly during thanksgiving weekend, and they almost went to the ER. I’m sometimes worried about what will happen if one passes away and how we would take care of them.

Experiences that shaped you: I use to be very outgoing when I was younger. I would be the leader of the group and I’d blow out other people’s candles on their birthday cakes, but my parents said that after I messed up during a piano recital in front of a couple thousand people, I started being very closed off. I didn’t know how to deal with the failure. I quit piano. I became more quiet. I was afraid of rejection. Whenever my dad was playing the piano, I would go off and close the door of my room. My mom said that she should have used it as a teaching lesson and felt like she failed in parenting in that way, but i think that this experience has shaped me for better or for worse to be more sensitive to those who don’t always feel like they fit in.

I don’t have a defining moment of when I became a Christian. I was raised in a Christian household and I feel like I went to a couple different church retreats in which I asked Jesus in to my heart just to make sure if the last one didn’t take. My spiritual walk has it’s ups and downs. I have times in which I can gleam so much from God’s word and I know that He wanted me to read a certain passage at that time. There are also times when I feel kind of distant toward God. I feel that I’m right now so preoccupied with my work, with the husband, with wasting time, that reading God’s word is not always the priority in my life. I feel guilty and should rightfully so. I need to repent and honestly be more heavenly minded and not let the worries and cares of this world seem bigger than God. I know that God will forgive me, and for me to not despair in my current circumstances, that God doesn’t give me more than I can handle. Please pray for me and for Anson and for us to always strengthen our relationship with Christ and love him above all else.

Back to more about me: I went to RBS for elementary school, then PMS (hehe), THS, and then CSUN for college, majoring in Business Administration with the option of Finance. I worked for four years as a Corporate Accounting Assistant for National Technical System in LA. During that time, I was in a long distance relationship with Anson. We started dating the last year of college, and were long distance for four years. On our five year anniversary, he proposed at Catalina island halfway up a mountain cuz i couldn’t get all the way up and it was getting dark, so he had to do it before the last ferry off the island would leave. He handwrote a book with 100 things that he liked about me and on the last page, it asked if I would marry him. there were two boxes i could check: yes or of course. We got married April last year. I worked as a loan processor for one year, and couldn’t really handle it, so I now have a contract job as a AP/Payroll Coordinator for a nursing facility. Contract ends in March, but I’m thankful for the foot back in the door to do accounting again.

Things about me: I like to cook, sing in choirs, lazy with playing instruments, watch movies, tv shows, dramas, mindless entertainment. I like Joss Whedon tv shows and James Cameron movies. I love listening to commentary to learn the BTS of movies (for example: Leonardo DiCaprio in that scene where he had to draw Kate Winslet in Titanic? That was actually a shot of James Cameron’s hand, but Jim is left handed, so they had to have her pose reversed and had to flip the camera to make it look like he was drawing with his right hand since leo was right handed….so cool!), I root for the Houston Rockets…too bad Jeremy Lin’s out for two weeks. I like going out to eat, but usually don’t care for expensive restaurants..I like getting stuffed at buffets with Anson. My favorite food is sushi. my new favorite dessert is shaved snow, although chocolate silk pie with an oreo crust is catching up. I love travelling and visiting new places, but Anson hates it. Fun facts about me: I like the smell of fertiliser more than flowers. I have a weird ability to always notice when someone is left-handed (like in movies or just by watching people…that’s the first thing I notice about someone). Bad habit: I like fast food, sometimes I can’t stop the craving and I’d just make a quick trip to MacDonald’s even though I’m at home with healthy food on the shelf. The end =)