723

Yesterday passed and I still don't have my bed frame. Plus, I didn't receive a phone call from IExpress so I'll definitely harass them again. The only good thing about yesterday was I got my DSL up and running. It was a very simple setup process which is fairly idiot proof since the CD that comes with it walks you through every step with nice detailed pictures.

Our free cable went out Tuesday night. I really hoped the cable company forgot to disconnect the service but it looks like we'll be in the market for a new cable provider. Right now I'm leaning towards DirecTV but I'm just worried the high winds will affect the signal. I had to confirm with the HOA that it was ok to mount a satellite dish on my balcony railing. They said it was acceptable but I couldn't drill holes on the property. So I'm thinking, how the hell I'm I gonna route the wire from the dish to the receiver.

Last night, I passed by my parent's house to pick up more stuff. Everytime I go there, I become more and more home-sick. People always ask me how it feels to be a home-owner and honestly, I think it hasn't hit me yet. I feel like a part of me still lives in San Francisco with my parents. Whenever I see how they arranged my room or what they've done with the extra garage space that my junk used to occupy, I get this empty feeling inside. I know I should be happy that I moved out but the simple fact is, I was babied all my life and now I'm just getting used to life on my own. I used to come home from work with food on the table, eat and lock myself in my room downstairs listening to music, browsing the web or watching TV without a care about mortgages or utility bills. Now everything is so different and I'm trying to adjust to the change but I miss how life used to be. I have the best parents in the world and because of them, I have this nice condo that I'm trying to accept as my home. After I left 26th Ave, I pretty much cried all the way back to 723. =(

I'M SO FUCKING PISSED!!! Delay after delay after delay.

I called up the Scandinavian Designs warehouse. I was hoping the guy that helped me on Monday would answer the phone but it was another Hispanic person. I mentioned that a worker told me I could swing by and pick up my bed frame on Wednesday even though the warehouse was closed. Well, the guy on the other side of the phone was pretty adamant at telling me no... come back tomorrow. Ugh. Ok, that wasn't what pissed me off.

We were expecting to hear from IExpress today because we still haven't received our dining table. Keep in mind this item was supposed to have arrived 2 weeks ago. But due to some problems with customs and portugal and containers and blah blah blah.. it never happened. I decided to give them a call today checking on the status. He then said he would call me back but he didn't. Instead, someone from the actual manufacturer of the table called me up to explain the problem. She told me what I knew all along about customs, the container and blah blah blah. I then asked if we'd have the item shipped to us free of charge and she said that she never agreed to it. WHAT THE FUCK!?!? We were told by the IExpress people that this would happen so hearing this got me heated. She went on and on how she spoke to my wife about what problems they were running into. I really didn't want to hear that sob story. All that really mattered was getting that dining table in my dining room. I asked what IExpress does when they order stuff from them and she said they usually pick up the goods from their warehouse in Oakland. And that's what she said that I could do. NO WAY. I aint going to Oakland. After hanging up, I immediately, called up IExpress and asked if they were going to pick up the table from Oakland. He said yes and told me that once it's in their hands, he'd give me a call right away to schedule a delivery date which will most likely be either Friday or Saturday. He then insisted that he call me and that I stop calling him. I'm sure he hates me by now. I can totally see him hanging up the phone cursing me out. Anyway, that's where it stands

I'm going back to Lowes today (that makes it 3 days in a row) to exchange a furnace filter. Maybe I'll pick up that plunger I've been meaning to buy. I really prefer Lowes over Home Depot. For some reason, I think they have a better selection. Yesterday, I bought some weatherstripping for the windows. I also went to the Bayview district to pick-up a hard-to-find window lock. Plus, I bought a can-opener and some tongs from Albertson's .. woo hoo.

# posted by JJ : 1:03 PM

Where to begin. It's been about a week since we moved in and there's so much to say. I guess I'll start with the projects I'm working or worked on.

- I want to replace the 15 year old window locks because I accidentally broke one off while pulling too hard. This occured during a storm too. Luckily, there are 2 locks that keep the window shut so the situation wasn't that bad.
- I wanna put weather stripping on the windows that face the wind. Gosh, during windy days, you can hear the wind howl. Good thing our bedrooms are not exposed to the windy side. I also bought some caulk to close up any space between the glass and the frame.
- I want to replace the shower heads because I just do.
- I changed out the washing machine hoses from rubber to steel for better durabilty (recommended by the property inspector).
- I switched out some lights to the energy saving ones.
- I need to get a shower curtain for my bathroom; I've been using Aileen's shower so far.
- I need to install some shelves in the garage for all our junk.
- I want to change the locks on the front door and the door that leads to the garage
- The shower knob in Ai's bathroom broke off when she accidentally hit it. I guess old age got to that as well. I had to super glue it back on and so far it's been holding on.
- I finally setup what I feel is half of my home theater. I have no rear speakers right now because we don't have an aesthetically pleasing spot to put them. I'm just happy I was able to find a place for the fronts. Keep in mind, I have floor standing tower speakers; not those compact mini speakers like Bose.

Our place is still pretty empty. The only things we have are the coffee table and dining chairs. I was supposed to have my bed but due to some mix-up, I don't. Supposedly tomorrow, I'll be able to pick it up. The dining table was supposed to arrive with the coffee table but that didn't happen as well. I was going to pick it up from them but we worked out a deal where they would deliver it for free due to all the delays. I purchased a computer desk yesterday and I must say, it's a monster. It takes up a good chunk of my room measuring at 30 inches deep by 60 inches wide. In a 12x14 room, it looks gigantic. I'm still searching for a kitchen table so right now we continue to eat off the kitchen counter. Ai received her table lamps for her room so now we're just waiting on the dope-ass living room lights.

We have yet to use the washer and dryer but the darks are piling up so maybe this week, we'll give it it's inaugural run. =)

We went grocery shopping yesterday and I spent over $72. I never knew how expensive a decent slab of steak was. Maybe I'll become a vegetarian after all. YEAH RIGHT!!

WE FINALLY MOVED IN!!

Sunday, December 7th was the day the current tenants were supposed to have moved out. I called them up on Saturday just to get some information and see how things were going. They said they'd be there till Sunday at MIDNIGHT. I really didn't believe them but when I drove by there around 10PM, they were still there. The lady that lived there was the biggest clean freak I knew. She told me how she babied and maintained the condo which was why it was in such good condition. Anyway we drove back to the unit at Midnight and sure enough they were gone.

It was an eerie feeling walking into this empty condo without sunlight. Everytime I had been there, it was bright outside and fully furnished. I got rid of the emptiness quickly by bringing in my vacuum cleaner, some lysol wipes, 3 nightstands (2 for me, 1 for Ai) and one foot base for Ai's room. We briefly inspected the unit which the previous couple left in excellent condition. One thing we did notice right away were the indentations on the carpet from where there furniture had sat for the past 15 years. It appears these people never rearranged their condo; set it and forget it is a phrase that comes to mind. While there, we laid out an adhesive plastic on our carpet which paved a path for the SEARS delivery guys from our front door to the laundry room; it would be ridiculous to ask those guys to remove their shoes. We also assembled the pieces of furniture we brought in. Around 2AM we headed home to get some sleep which we didn't get much of anyway due to our anxious state.

Monday morning, it appears Mother Nature was on my side when she brought out a cloudless sunny sky to accompany me to my new home. Earlier in the month, I requested the day off from work so I could dedicate this day for the move. I asked Hsi if he could help me lift some stuff and he graciously said yes.. well maybe not graciously. I headed to the condo around 9AM with my parents where we dropped off some boxes of clothes, dvds ,cds and other goodies. We then headed back to my house for the more heavy duty stuff. Hsi showed up and we loaded, Ai's floor standing mirror, her 71" dresser/shelf, my 32" TV, my TV stand, my A/V equipment, all 5 of my speakers and more. We returned to Pointe Pacific rolling 3 cars deep (Hsi, my dad and I). Ai finally showed up to the unit where she was busy vacuuming. Hsi and I proceeded to unload our cars and carry all the heavy shit up the front steps. My mom and dad unloaded their car which contained plates, silverware, some cleaning supplies and more boxes of A/V stuff. They left shortly afterwards. Rita told us to hook up the cable connection to the TV to see if the cable still worked.. WHICH IT DID.. FREE CABLE BABY!!. We won't call the cable company until they shut it off. Around 1:30PM, the SEARS guys came to deliver the Washer & Dryer. We had our FIRST furniture delivery; it's really nothing to celebrate about but it was still a milestone. Hsi and I decided to head back to my house so we could pick up my futon frame and mattress; this will be headed to Ai's new room. So as it stood, Ai had a fully furnised room while my room was filled with boxes of clothes and 2 nightstands. Before heading back to Pointe, we stopped by a Chinese restaurant where we picked up a few dishes for our dinner. We had no chairs so here we were standing around our kitchen counter, eating off paper plates. Hsi and Rita left around 430PM.

After a couple of hours of living in the unit, I found some things that concern me: The windows are double-pained but the seals on some of them are broken allowing moisture to develop between the 2 windows. This was discovered during the property inspection months back but I never really saw it as a major problem. It just slightly distorts the view of the mountains and the city below as seen from our living room. The garage door opener(s) are old and inconsistent. They gave us 2 HUMUNGOUS remotes and one of them requires the button to be pressed a special way. Plus the button on the garage wall isn't very responsive. The drain in my bath tub doesn't drain as fast as I want it too. All good for now since there is no shower curtain yet and I still have Ai's shower to use.

My fingers are tired, more in a future post

Yesterday, I passed by EQ3 to buy a pair of table lamps for my nightstands. I went to Costco afterwards and bought an 8-pak of 60-watt energy conserving lightbulbs. Actually, they're only 13-watt bulbs but they emit the same or even more light as a 60-watter. I'm all about conserving energy to keep the bills low. Anyhow, the lamps look great!! I'm pretty much broke though. This past weekend drained my bank account.

Today, I got a call from SD saying my bed will be available for pick-up this weekend. I should be getting my mattress today too so by this weekend, I'll have an almost complete bedroom. I still need to get a computer desk and maybe a dresser.

WOW, this past weekend was a busy one in terms of purchases.

Friday, I picked up Aileen after work and we headed to SD to look for a kitchen table. We left empty handed although we did see a couple we liked but out of our price range. There is one that Aileen likes at SD but I wont agree to buy it unless we've exhausted all our resources. We then went to 9th St in the city. Walking the strip, we found some lights that would look good in our living room but the prices were outrageous. We then went to IExpress where we bought a coffee table. Since we had bought a dining table there a week before, the guy was kind enough to take 20% off the price. Sweet deal.

Saturday, I drove on my own to a bunch of stores looking for a vacuum. I ended up buying a Eureka Bagless vacuum that I put to the test that evening in my room. GOOD LORD, I never thought my carpet was that filthy. I went to SD again to check on some lamps I was interested in but didn't buy them due to cost. Anyway, on Saturday I also purchased a tool set, some plastic carpet protectant and another nightstand at Organized Living.

Sunday, sunday sunday. We didn't even leave our house when Aileen purchased our living room lights. She found some coupons which lowered the internet price so she got a good deal. We then left our house for The Futon Shop. I bought a queen sized futon which is 9 inch thick and consists of cotton, wool, foam and man-made latex. Pick up date is Tuesday. Afterwards, we headed to EQ3 where Aileen bought all her bedroom furnishings minus the bed: 1 nightstand, 1 drawer piece for the foot of her bed and a 71" cabinet that she'll put against the wall. I bought 4 dining chairs which come with matching slipcovers. After EQ3, we got some eatz at TGIF and then headed to Crate & Barrel in Hillsdale. Aileen purchased a huge floor standing mirror which I think is larger than her. So in the back of my car we had a nightstand, a 40" base with one drawer inside, and a 6' mirror. Things were pretty tight but they all made the trip back home safely.