聖誕節快樂！

聖誕節快樂！　新年快樂！

我希望2008年生活快樂！

I finally did it..................

I finally called Oppenheimer to open a new fund so that I can diversify. I've been meaning to, but I was a little lazy and never got around to calling them. I finally did it this morning and I'm proud of myself. I told the guy on the phone that I talked to my financial advisor and since I just graduated college and I'm making more money, I should open a new fund. I told him that I wanted to take $500 from my Capital Appreciation Fund and use it to open the International Diversified fund; then I want to increase my monthly payment of $50 to $100 and split it $50/$50 to Capital Appreciation and International Diversified. He was like, "Oh, congratulations on graduating. And wow, that sounds like a really good idea!" He said he couldn't do the transaction because it was an IRA account so he'll transfer me to someone who could help me. The lady who came on saw the notes and reconfirmed what I wanted to do. It took like 30 seconds and that was it.

Next, I want to increase my student loan payments, but I think I'll keep it where it is for now.... and increase it once I build up some more capital in the next few months.

Friends Without a Border

I promised myself that the older I got and the more money I made, I was going to donate it to those less fortunate. I am one to keep my promises and I always make good on them. I promised myself in college that I would donate blood more often after I graduate. I only dated blood once a year, but I wanted to donate more, but I was too busy and lazy... However, I made myself promise that I would do it more often! And as promised, I donated blood after graduation. I still have to wait awhile before giving blood again.

But anyway, I just donated some money to Friends Without a Border http://www.fwab.org/. I can't believe that it took Jim's death to remind me of my promise to donate to charitable foundations. So for whoever is reading this... if you have an extra dollar to spare, consider donating it. Sure, the American dollar is not as strong as the Euro, but an American dollar still goes a long way in foreign countries. Even then, there are those within the US who need help as well. We have a homeless problem that I am embarrassed and ashamed of. We still have people who live without electricity and running water. There are children who need a role model to look up to. There are schools in need of basic supplies. There are people who live in abusive homes and are in abusive relationships. There are public broadcasting stations (like PBS) that produce phenomenal shows every year, but need public support to keep the lights on.

My Grandma

So it's almost the 2nd anniversary of my grandmother's death. I can't believe it's almost 2 years! In some ways it felt so long ago and in some ways it felt like yesterday.

It felt so long ago because I felt like a kid and I had never experienced death before. I've never been to a funeral or knew anyone close who died, but I came to terms of what happened. I accepted death and I am not mad or upset by it anymore.

It felt like yesterday because I still remember the feeling of confusion, that first week of the semester where I had to tough it out while in the back of my mind I knew that my grandmother just died. How could I get through the semester? I cried so hard that week. I just got back from China in December and it was my first semester back to school in the US. And she just had to die my first week back at school. I just felt so lost. I had so many emotions going on. There was the confusion of being back in the US, going back to American classes (what they call re-entry shock), and most of my close friends chose to study abroad the semester I came back so most of them were not there, then my grandmother passed away the first week of school, and then I missed one week of class because I didn't know what to do with myself. I originally planned on taking 4 classes and one PE class (squash), but after missing one week of school and knowing that the semester was going to be a crappy semester, I ended up only taking 3 classes and I dropped 1 class and the PE class.

That semester was probably the hardest semester ever. The pain, the grief, the suffering. 2 of the 3 classes were super difficult and I cried while doing homework for syntax because it was just so hard. Maybe it was a combination of many things, but I felt useless and dumb. I spent 10 hours on one homework and I got a C and I felt like that Linkin Park song, "In the End" because I tried so hard, but in the end, it doesn't even matter. I pulled through though and on the next homework I ended up getting an A+ (she gave me extra credit for being so thorough). I learned that maybe I suck at certain parts of syntax and other parts are just easier for me. I learned that it's ok to be bad at something and it's ok to hate syntax. My other difficult class was with my anthropology advisor and he's just brutal when it comes to learning, reading, and grading. The only thing I looked forward to were the fresh baked cookie's we'd eat during class. We had class at this small coffee house on campus... and there were just 4 of us in the class so the pressure of speaking up and knowing your shit was very high. Just thinking about that class makes me shake with fear.

The Reef and the Cockroach

So last night was the Christmas dinner at The Reef with my buddies. It was a very nice, fancy restaurant with great food... although while we were waiting for our food a cockroach just appeared out of nowhere in front of Kenneth. Then it walked around the table and walked onto my glass. We called a waiter over and he was like, "OMG, I'm so sorry" and took my glass away. He later came back and apologized again. It wasn't a big deal to me. I was like, "Oh, it's ok" because I knew he was genuinely sorry for what happened. And it was a clean restaurant so I wasn't worried about the quality of the food at all. It had a great view of the waterfront and we all had a great time.

Let's see... our conversations ranged from conjoined twins who die in the womb, but are still attached to the living twin (like the girl from India whose conjoined/parasitic twin died and she ended up having 4 arms and 4 legs). Then there was this guy who was made fun of all his life for possibly being pregnant because he had a big belly, and once they did surgery they did find a fetus human inside... turns out it was his dead twin brother! We also talked about rollercoasters and getting decapitated if you don't sit in your seat correctly and I told them about the girl at Six Flags Kentucky Kingdom whose feet were cut at the ankle when a loose wire whipped through her ankles while she was on a ride. That just makes me cringe and I like living life on the edge by riding rollercoasters. Oh yeah and Kenneth's friend Summer talked about how Tom Brady was NOT ATTRACTIVE AT ALL. Like, she saw him for the first time and was not impressed. I was shocked at first... how can anyone say that?

Summer: Yeah, and he's known for dating a lot of hot women.
Me: Yeah, he is dating Gisele Bundchen right now.
Summer: What? I thought he was dating Jessica Simpson.
Me: OH NO! You're thinking of Tony Romo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! YES, TONY ROMO IS SOOOOOOO NOT CUTE. THAT'S WHO YOU'RE THINKING OF. TOM BRADY IS THE HOT ONE. Yeah, Tony Romo has dated Carrie Underwood, Britney Spears (for like a weekend), and now he's dating Jessica Simpson.
Summer: OHHHHHHHHHHHH! His ears stick out, right?
Me: YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS! That's Tony Romo!

I think the highlight of the evening was when Parle and I busted out laughing when Ludy was buttering her bread. Oh, Ludy... the way you butter bread while you talk is just hilarious.

The quote of the night came from Kenneth after Parle kept asking him about his friend Renzo. She kept going on and on about how she liked his style, and how cute he was and Kenneth doesn't really talk to him anymore so while he was eating, he said, "I think I just threw up little."

Fantasy Castle

What I've been up to lately:

- Working, solving cases... a case where a dude fell down an elevator shaft (because there was no elevator there); a woman who got severe bed bug bites at Buffalo Bills in Primm, NV (dude, I stayed there once back in 2002); an 18 year old girl who died in a car accident; doing backgrounds on assholes who like to steal people's money; telling a lawyer that they're client is a sex offender after doing a background check on him:

Me: So... uh, your client, Steve, is a sex offender.
Assistant to lawyer: OMG! What did he do?
Me: Well, under 'offenses' it says 'rape - not specified' and 'rape by force'.
Assistant to lawyer: OMG! OMG! OMG!

- Telling people their favorite teams suck... like the Avs... how can anyone put trust in a team that is named after a natural disaster? "There is no point in seeing the Avs because they will lose to the Ducks! They will crumble and fall like avalanches do. Sure, they will try to "bury" those in their way, but the Ducks are too swift to get caught in one."

- Going to the gym with Ludy, playing the Name Game and laughing at the word "Balnut," laughing at my high school English teacher at the gym (she has a personal trainer who took weights away from her, "Give that to me! You're not supposed to have that!), having Ludy yell at me every time we pass by the Fantasy Castle because I tell her I'm going to work at the Fantasy Castle

So I'm sort of thinking of getting another job to supplement my income so that I can have more money and possibly move out and find my own place. There's this strip club that's sort of near my house called the Fantasy Castle, and seriously... it is in the shape of a castle. It looks like a lot of good clean fun! There's always a big fat bouncer at the entrance and I keep telling Ludy to pull up so that I can roll down the windows and ask if they're hiring! Ludy gets so mad at the thought of me working there... and at the thought of driving into their parking lot! It seriously disgusts her. "Why don't you become a waitress?"

I saw pics of the girls who work there (there is a MySpace page for the place) and the girls are alright looking... I know that if I really make an effort to look nice (like brushing my hair and wearing skanky clothes), I am 100 times hotter than most of the girls working there.

*sigh*

Maybe I should just be a phone sex operator like everyone tells me. I swear, so many people (mainly guy friends) tell me that I have a really nice voice and that I'd make a great phone sex operator. "I like your voice. You should be a phone sex operator." "Cheryl, whenever I hear your voice, I think 'phone sex operator'." I don't know where they're coming from, but if people keep telling me this then maybe it's true. Can I really see myself saying things like, "Hey, big boy. What's up?................. Nevermind, I know."? Possibly.

Shtuff

外婆，我不會忘記你！

On January 17, it will have been 2 years since my grandmother went to the other side, passed away, kicked the bucket, reached the big adios, etc. I kid only because I know that she lived a very fulfilling life and I have come to terms with her death. Please, grandma, do not burn down my house like you did a month ago when the incense burst into flames at Pam's house after she joked about you being unfashionable (true story!). I joke sometimes to cheer myself up... like I wrote this poem after she died:

If I could talk to death
and I would like to too
I would say things like
"You suck!" and "Fuck you!"
(there's more to it, like stealing his identity, and prank phone calls, and TPing his house, but you get the story)

And then when I calmed down a bit, I wrote a poem called "My Date with Death." In the poem, I went on a date with death and we're enjoying a meal at the restaurant. Yes, I went on a date with death and everything he touched died, like the waiter, plants, etc.!

But seriously (but, am I ever serious?), I wrote more heartfelt poems as well. Here's an excerpt of one poem:

Although her spirit has passed, her memory remains.
She lives inside my heart, her blood flows through my veins.
Time is irrevocable, life on earth fleeting.
But with her in my heart, my heart will keep on beating.

I remember my cousin Chris reading his poem at her funeral and later my other cousin Phok was like, "Nice poem, but uh... did I hear your poem correctly? Did you actually describe an hour glass ticking?!" And Chris was like, "Yeah, I realized it after I said it outloud!"

外婆你真好，我的好外婆，誰也比不了！

Money Management

So for those who know me, I'm really good with money. And when I say good, I mean great, phenomenal, wonderful, and amazing. I save money well and don't splurge on useless crap. Being a tomboy helps because I'm not into brand name clothing or make-up and stuff... sure I buy cosmetic stuff once in awhile, but not as much as the average "girl."

I think my parents had something to do with it even though they never really told me to save money. However, they did help by getting me a piggy bank and then my aunt helped by getting me an apple bank (it's in the shape of an apple). I actually remember the first days I got each of them. I was maybe 3 when my parents gave me the piggy bank. I remember asking them for coins to put in it. As for the apple bank story, I was maybe 3 as well (but I got the piggy bank first) and I remember my aunt telling me that she had something for me. I followed her and she led to to a chair. Under the chair was the apple bank. I was so excited!

Ever since I was 3, I had been putting money into those two piggy banks: coins, $1, $5, $10, $20, and even $100 bills. Anytime anyone gave me money, I would put it into those two piggy banks. My dad even told me that sometimes he'd put money in them periodically for me. You can imagine how heavy the piggy and apple bank were. So for the next 15 years, I would put money into them and never took any money out because I think they were made of porcelain and there was no hole to cheat myself to get money out. So all the money that I acquired throughout those 15 years were held within the piggy and the apple.

So fast forward to 2003. I was about to graduate from high school, I had my first real paycheck-giving job (working during the Stanley Cup playoffs), I just opened my first bank account at Washington Mutual, and I was about to go to college. It was an exciting time. I felt like an adult... but I still had the piggy and apple bank. Since I had opened a real bank account, I decided that I should break the piggy and the apple. Yes, it was a little emotional breaking the piggy and the apple, but I had to do it. My parents helped me count the cash and I took the coins to Ralphs to use their CoinStar machine. In all and for a kid, I made a pretty decent amount of money during those 15 years.

After using Washington Mutual for 4 years now, I've been saving money consistently and rarely bought things on impulse. That isn't to say that I never did... I did buy little gifts for myself on occasion.

I got my first credit card at 19. Until a month ago, it was my only credit card. I used it maybe once or twice a month to build my credit. I always paid off the balance at every month. I shudder at the thought of having to pay an interest rate. Almost all the times I use my credit card, I could have used my ATM card because I always had enough money in my bank account, but I used the credit card to help build my credit. Then a month ago, I got a second credit card which I never ever plan on using unless it is an emergency.

Also at the age of 19, I opened an IRA account with Oppenheimer Funds. My aunt introduced me to her financial advisor, Claude, at a Denny's (the meal was on him) and he talked to me about investing. Now, I had been thinking about investing in the stock market, mutual funds, bonds, CD's, money market accounts, etc. for awhile (or at least once I graduated high school), but I never knew how to start. Should I get a broker? Which company should I go with? Luckily, I got someone my aunt trusted with her money so I learned to trust him too. My aunt knows how good I am with money so that is why she figured I'd be interested. Claude was a very nice man and since I was young and thinking very long term, he put me in a technology fund. I own a teeny, tiny percentage of technological companies like Google, Apple, and Ebay. Sure it's volatile, but in the long run (if you start out early and are patient) you will have a considerable gain (think 20-30 years down the line). When filling out my paperwork, there was an age bracket field and Claude said, "You're so young you're age isn't even on here!" I looked and the youngest age bracket for him to choose from was "21-29." The technology fund has merged with another fund so not only do I own stocks in technologies, but I also own stocks in health care, Costco, petroleum companies, etc. Recently, I've been making money with my new job... more money than I need since I don't spend THAT much money. I talked to Claude and he told me that I should open a few fund, an international fund. I'm really excited about doing this, but I gotta remember that instead of $50 coming out of my bank account for Oppenheimer, it will not be $100 a month. I tend not to put too much money in my checking account so that I'll have a lot of money in my savings to earn more interest. I need to be aware of when money is being electronically withdrawn from my account (Oppenheimer is around the 20th of the month, my gym membership the 15th, my student loans the 5th, and my automatic saving plan [where $25 from my checking is put into savings to remind me to save money] is around the 1st). So on Monday I will call Oppenheimer and tell them to move $500 from my fund into the International Diversified Fund and to increase my monthly payment from $50 to $100, and to split that $50/$50 among both funds.

When I was 20, I decided to open a CD because I had all this extra money lying around. I might as well put it into a CD since I don't plan on using it and earn a little interest. It was a one year CD, but it's been renewed twice so far. I think I'm getting 5% APY on it.

Today, I did a few things...

1. I signed up for a few websites to keep track of my money. I want to see visually where my money is going. I like looking at charts and graphs, especially when those charts and graphs deal with me! www.wesabe.com, www.geezeo.com, and www.mint.com are three sites that I signed up with. I uploaded my bank accounts and credit accounts so that I can keep track of my transactions better. Sure, I can look at my bank and credit card websites, but it's all gibberish. With these site, I can change "MCSUBWAY 23432 RIDGE ROUTE-LAKE FOREST" to "Subway." Then, I can tag each transaction depending on what it is. I can tag my Subway transaction as "food," "lunch," "restaurant." I can then look at how much I spend per month, per year, etc. on "lunch." Let's say I go grocery shopping... that transaction will be labeled "food" and "groceries." Then I can see how much I spend on "food" overall (both Subway and grocery shopping) and then I can see individually how much I spend at restaurants vs. how much I spend on groceries. I signed up and uploaded my bank transactions and credit cards onto all three of those sites because I wanted to test all three out.

Each one has pros and cons. Mint is the most aesthetically pleasing to the eye, but the tagging isn't very great. Wesabe is my favorite one because of it's advanced tagging and ease of use, but Geezeo is the only one of the three that lets me add my Oppenheimer account so it let's me know that I have a lot more money than what's just in my bank account! Geezeo is also going to let me add my student loans onto there as well, but it is coming soon.

I think this will definitely help me keep track of my money and save more. If I know how much I need for gas and if I know I'm spending way too much on lunch (and should find cheaper lunch or bring my own lunch), I'll be able to spend my money wisely.

2. The second thing I did today was open a new savings account. Washington Mutual has an Online Savings account that gives you 4.75 APY... that is a lot better than my current Statement Savings which gives me 0.25% APY. Both savings accounts are pretty much the same except that with the Online Savings account, I have to open it online. This saves the bank money on printing application forms and not having to pay bank tellers to talk to me about it. I can still withdraw money from an ATM or any bank, and deposit money at a branch if I want. It took me about 5 minutes to fill out the online form, tell them how much money to take from my bank account to put into this new account, and I was done. Because I linked it to my checking account, I don't have to pay a $4 fee if my account goes below a certain amount (I think it's $10,000). I'm going to think about this for awhile because I don't know if I want to keep my Statement Savings account or whether I want to close it and just use the new Online Savings account. Maybe I'll save it so that I can use it as an emergency/rainy day fund while my Online Savings is for long-term goals (like buying a house, retirement, money for my future newborn babies, college money for my future children, etc.).