Friday, January 30, 2004
I added another montly expense to our household yesterday. I've been sick of hearing all the static from Aileen watching TV with a crappy antenna. I don't understand how she can put up with all that noise. Anyway, 2 days ago I started researching sites on where to purchase my DirecTV setup. I had a couple questions so fortunately, there was a site that had a Live Chat service. I asked for the differences between the regular elliptical dishes as opposed to the oval ones. The oval ones can support HD. That's all I need to know to decide on purchasing one of those. Although, I don't have HDTV right now, I'm sure it'll fit into my budget waaaaaaaaay down the line. I decided to call up a company called ValueElectronics.com I spoke to a very friendly and knowledgable person by the name of graham who told me more about the setup I need. Basically, I wanted DirecTV with Tivo plus the HD capable dish. I was contemplating setting up DirecTV in all the rooms but when I found out there was a 4.99/month charge PER receiver, I voted against that idea. We don't have any TV's in the bedrooms but I was thinking of having them DirecTV ready just in case. After all was said and done, the total cost with shipping came out to 79.99. I saved about $20 if I was to go through DirecTV's own website PLUS, I'm getting the HDTV dish; I'm not sure DirecTV's site would've forked that one over without an extra fee. The whole process has been smooth so far. The guy at ValueElectronics has kept me up to date on the status and just today, I received the tracking number and the phone number of the installer. Hopefully by Wednesday of next week, we'll have static free television PLUS Tivo. Say goodbye to my VCR.
I'm still trying to find that sweet spot setting for our new space heater. It works really well but too well. I just hope the usage is going to lower our PG&E bill.
I'm still trying to find that sweet spot setting for our new space heater. It works really well but too well. I just hope the usage is going to lower our PG&E bill.
Thursday, January 29, 2004
On Tuesday, we went to Lowes to pick up a space heater. It cost us $34 for a Delonghi oil filler radiant heater with 3 settings and a cheap thermostat. The heater does a great job since we now wake up and take a shower in a nice warm temperature. Of course, the minute we walk out of the room, we're greeted with a freezing living room and kitchen.
I received some energy saving bulbs in the mail yesterday. These bulbs replaced all the 60W bulbs in our living room lamps. So now, instead of using up 240W with all the lights on, we're only using 36W. That should lower our electric bill quite nicely.
I received some energy saving bulbs in the mail yesterday. These bulbs replaced all the 60W bulbs in our living room lamps. So now, instead of using up 240W with all the lights on, we're only using 36W. That should lower our electric bill quite nicely.
Monday, January 26, 2004
The PG&E bill came this weekend. It was a great welcome home treat after a fun day of snowboarding. This was our first full month of service from PG&E and I didn't know what to expect. Well, here are the numbers. $26 for electricity and $46 for Natural Gas. It appears gas is more expensive these days contrary to popular belief. The only appliances that use gas in our home are the water heater and our furnace. Our stove is electric and after seeing the gas prices, I'm somewhat thankful it is. I'm a bit surprised our electricity bill is so low since we cook a lot, we use the dryer about 3 times a week and I haven't switched all the bulbs to energy star ones. Anyway, seeing how gas is more expensive, I started searching for ways to keep the bill down. I've been looking into a space heater for our room since all we really care about is how warm it is when we wake up in the morning. I've also searched for water heaters that operate more efficiently. Replacing the water heater could run me upwards of $400 so I'm not sure if the initial cost will pay itself out in the long run.
We haven't received our water bill yet but Rita said that comes every 2 months. Not sure if I mentioned this in a previous post but I'm thinking of switching out the toilets to ones that use less water per flush. I've had an interesting habit of looking at the numbers on public toilets as of late. 1.6gpf seems to be the standard for most bathrooms. =)
We haven't received our water bill yet but Rita said that comes every 2 months. Not sure if I mentioned this in a previous post but I'm thinking of switching out the toilets to ones that use less water per flush. I've had an interesting habit of looking at the numbers on public toilets as of late. 1.6gpf seems to be the standard for most bathrooms. =)
Friday, January 23, 2004
We had more guests on Wednesday after work. Actually, it was Hsi and Rita AGAIN plus Lance. The original 311 crew was at 723. It was then Ai and I realized that we need to get more guest snacks. Lance was feeling the munchies so all we had to offer him were some semi-stale Tortilla chips and salsa. He didn't the freshness (or lack) of the chips cuz he killed it... with my and Ai's help of course. Hsi and Rita refrained from snacking since they were going to eat Japanese food later. Anyway, I think Lance really liked the place. He said to me numerous times, "I like what you did to this place" Also the all too familiar words of, "This place is hella spacious.." was spoken by him. Hsi and Rita saw the ceiling lights I put up and they thought it had a slight Japanese look to it. They do but they were a big improvement over our previous lights. The topic of guest parking arose during their stay. They mentioned how there were a ton of guest spots along one street but the bad thing is to get to our place from that street you have to walk up a long steep hill. Guest parking is very scarce in our area so the thought of throwing a party is kinda far fetched.
Wednesday, January 21, 2004
Where to begin. The lamps are in place; the bulbs came but they were too big so we bought some cheap 60 Watters at Home Depot. I got new ceiling lamps to replace the gold/wood lamps of the 80's. Now all I need to do is replace the chandeliers in the Dining Room and Kitchen.
This past Monday, we had our first dinner guests. They were Hsi and Rita who also happened to be the first of our friends to see the place since they helped me move. They were quite shocked how different the place looked with all the furniture but they approved our choices. We cooked soft tacos and they brought 2 2-liters of Soda. Afterwards, we played a round of scrabble and then some Texas Holdem. All of this took place on our dining table which I was worried about most of the night since this was the most traffic it's been exposed to since we got it. We had place mats from Pier 1 that protected most of the surface but I was still ancy. Aileen put a sheet over the table once dinner was over and before the games begun. All in all it was a good evening of food and festivities.
We finally bit the bullet on some very simple kitchen chairs from IKEA. We had to get cushions for them since they were white and they didn't really match the beech colored table but it gave some good contrast. Plus, the flat wood seat could be rough on some thin-boned asses.
I think our home has all the essential furniture it needs. Now, we're looking at items that'll make it look better.
This past Monday, we had our first dinner guests. They were Hsi and Rita who also happened to be the first of our friends to see the place since they helped me move. They were quite shocked how different the place looked with all the furniture but they approved our choices. We cooked soft tacos and they brought 2 2-liters of Soda. Afterwards, we played a round of scrabble and then some Texas Holdem. All of this took place on our dining table which I was worried about most of the night since this was the most traffic it's been exposed to since we got it. We had place mats from Pier 1 that protected most of the surface but I was still ancy. Aileen put a sheet over the table once dinner was over and before the games begun. All in all it was a good evening of food and festivities.
We finally bit the bullet on some very simple kitchen chairs from IKEA. We had to get cushions for them since they were white and they didn't really match the beech colored table but it gave some good contrast. Plus, the flat wood seat could be rough on some thin-boned asses.
I think our home has all the essential furniture it needs. Now, we're looking at items that'll make it look better.
Thursday, January 15, 2004
FINALLY!! I got tracking numbers for both lamps and their scheduled delivery date is TODAY!! YES... but we won't get the bulbs until next Wednesday... CRAP!! Nothing new to report except for the purchase of a vase, throw, ironing board, iron and food basket.
My DSL connection stinks. Back when I was living with my parents, I'd get download speeds averaging 150K/s. At the condo, I only get half that. One night, my DSL connection went down completely. I called up their support line to get some scripted first level support from some Indian guy. After about 45 minutes of worthless troubleshooting, he transferred me to their next tier support. I was probably on the phone with this guy for about 20 minutes but he was a lot more productive than the first person. He still couldn't fix my problem but he escalated my trouble ticket to the "big" guys. The next morning I got a call from "ASI" asking me to try out my DSL connection. It worked so I was asked to monitor the connection for 24hours and call them back if there were any more problems.
Still to do: Laundry shelving, more possible garage shelving and DirecTV
My DSL connection stinks. Back when I was living with my parents, I'd get download speeds averaging 150K/s. At the condo, I only get half that. One night, my DSL connection went down completely. I called up their support line to get some scripted first level support from some Indian guy. After about 45 minutes of worthless troubleshooting, he transferred me to their next tier support. I was probably on the phone with this guy for about 20 minutes but he was a lot more productive than the first person. He still couldn't fix my problem but he escalated my trouble ticket to the "big" guys. The next morning I got a call from "ASI" asking me to try out my DSL connection. It worked so I was asked to monitor the connection for 24hours and call them back if there were any more problems.
Still to do: Laundry shelving, more possible garage shelving and DirecTV
Wednesday, January 14, 2004
Small delays again. We had ordered our living room lamps on November 30th but we still have not received them. All last week, I was talking to the online company with my deep sexy sick voice asking "WHERE THE HELL ARE MY LAMPS?!?" The table lamp was in their warehouse ready to ship but the floor lamp was back ordered. I wonder how long they were going to wait to tell us this information. I ended up talking to the company who manufactures the lamp and they said their in-stock quantity of the floor lamp was really low. Everything eventually got squared away and today I have to call up the manufacturer to get a tracking number.
Another problem is our light bulbs. I had ordered special energy saving bulbs for these lamps but apparently that's been delayed too. So what will happen is we'll get the lamps before the bulbs come in. Ugh.
I went to Home Depot yesterday and bought a new bathtub diverter spout since the one I had was making a whistling noise everytime I switched the water from the spout to the showerhead. The intall was somewhat painless although the spout didn't fit flush with the wall. I added some caulk to fill in the gaps. I also bought 4 9Watt Globe light bulbs for my bathroom. The current bulbs that I bought from Lowes emitted a really harsh white light. These ones emit a more softer warmer amber light that's comparable to standard incandescent light bulbs. Aileen wasn't too pleased when she found out my bulbs were softer than hers so I switched 2 of hers with mine. Our lighting fixtures both use 4 bulbs each. Right now, we have 2 installed and the rest should be coming with our living room lamp bulbs. I might go to Home Depot or Lowes again to look for some ceiling lamps or replacement light switches.
I'll probably start planning the layout of some Elfa shelving in our Laundry room. It can use a poll to hang clothes on plus some other hooks to hold our future ironing board and iron. Also, our Garage Elfa shelving ROCKS!!
Another problem is our light bulbs. I had ordered special energy saving bulbs for these lamps but apparently that's been delayed too. So what will happen is we'll get the lamps before the bulbs come in. Ugh.
I went to Home Depot yesterday and bought a new bathtub diverter spout since the one I had was making a whistling noise everytime I switched the water from the spout to the showerhead. The intall was somewhat painless although the spout didn't fit flush with the wall. I added some caulk to fill in the gaps. I also bought 4 9Watt Globe light bulbs for my bathroom. The current bulbs that I bought from Lowes emitted a really harsh white light. These ones emit a more softer warmer amber light that's comparable to standard incandescent light bulbs. Aileen wasn't too pleased when she found out my bulbs were softer than hers so I switched 2 of hers with mine. Our lighting fixtures both use 4 bulbs each. Right now, we have 2 installed and the rest should be coming with our living room lamp bulbs. I might go to Home Depot or Lowes again to look for some ceiling lamps or replacement light switches.
I'll probably start planning the layout of some Elfa shelving in our Laundry room. It can use a poll to hang clothes on plus some other hooks to hold our future ironing board and iron. Also, our Garage Elfa shelving ROCKS!!
Monday, January 12, 2004
This weekend was a doozy. We finally got our Sofa and Ottoman. The delivery people called on Friday to confirm the scheduled time slot of Saturday between 930A and 1230A. Well, they must've left right at 930A because around 950A, they called us up saying they were at the gate. The sofa is pretty big so I was hoping they wouldn't have any problems getting it past the front door. The delivery went on without a hitch. They removed the protective plastic and cardboard to reveal a very slight yellow sofa and ottoman. Let me backtrack for a second. When we went to Zgallerie to purchase the sofa, one thing we both definitely wanted was the microfiber material. Unfortunately, the color we wanted was a lot more expensive than we thought so it boiled down to 2 really bright colors. One looked more tan and one looked more yellow. The tan material appeared to have a pattern on it so we decided on the yellow one. It was very hard to choose since we were only given a 1 square foot swatch to make our decision. When we got the sofa, it took us a while to get used to the color. In the end we both agreed that it provided the much needed contrast to the rest of our espresso brown furniture.
After getting over the color, we had to choose how to setup the ottoman with respect to the sofa. We experimented many ways: Ottoman directly to the side of the sofa (extending the sofa); Ottoman directly in front of the sofa (acting as a foot rest; a chaise); Ottoman detached to the sofa in a far corner; Ottoman detached from the sofa to the side of the coffee table. We also setup the furniture at a slight angle facing the TV. In the end, we decided to have the ottoman on the side of the coffee table. Plus, we added enough space between the sofa and the coffee table so that the ottoman can slide in between and provide us with a nice foot rest.
The next item on our Saturday agenda was to look for a console table/shelf to place right behind the sofa. We needed a place to store all our DVDs (sans porn) and having mounted a solitary shelf on the back wall, adding another shelf over there was out of the question. We had one place in mind but decided to walk most of 9th st looking for any alternatives. We ended up purchasing a very simple 20" tall by 71" wide shelf from EQ3. The color was espresso but I was still iffy about the finish. I set it up right when we got home but since it was dark outside, it was hard to see if it truly matched the rest of our venge tables. The next morning, the sun came out and revealed a dark brown shelf with a slight hint of burgundy. It was acceptable but we plan on putting a runner over it to protect the finish.
This past Sunday, I also purchased some Elfa shelving for our garage. I didn't think I'd want to install the components that day due to my sickened energy depleted state but the hole drilling, screw-driving masculine side of me took over. The installation took longer than expected due to having 2 top tracks. Around 6PM the task was complete. I cleaned up, showed Ai my new creation and started to fill the two 8ft long shelves I had setup. I also got four 4ft shelves for our shoes and two 16" brackets to hold up our snowboards. We now have stuff literally piled up to our ceiling on our back wall. I have yet to plan what I'm going to do with the side walls but I really want to do something about our THREE bikes. In our one car garage, space is extremely limited so I want to free up as much floor space as possible.
We still need kitchen chairs but as far as other furnishings, I think all we need now are accents.
After getting over the color, we had to choose how to setup the ottoman with respect to the sofa. We experimented many ways: Ottoman directly to the side of the sofa (extending the sofa); Ottoman directly in front of the sofa (acting as a foot rest; a chaise); Ottoman detached to the sofa in a far corner; Ottoman detached from the sofa to the side of the coffee table. We also setup the furniture at a slight angle facing the TV. In the end, we decided to have the ottoman on the side of the coffee table. Plus, we added enough space between the sofa and the coffee table so that the ottoman can slide in between and provide us with a nice foot rest.
The next item on our Saturday agenda was to look for a console table/shelf to place right behind the sofa. We needed a place to store all our DVDs (sans porn) and having mounted a solitary shelf on the back wall, adding another shelf over there was out of the question. We had one place in mind but decided to walk most of 9th st looking for any alternatives. We ended up purchasing a very simple 20" tall by 71" wide shelf from EQ3. The color was espresso but I was still iffy about the finish. I set it up right when we got home but since it was dark outside, it was hard to see if it truly matched the rest of our venge tables. The next morning, the sun came out and revealed a dark brown shelf with a slight hint of burgundy. It was acceptable but we plan on putting a runner over it to protect the finish.
This past Sunday, I also purchased some Elfa shelving for our garage. I didn't think I'd want to install the components that day due to my sickened energy depleted state but the hole drilling, screw-driving masculine side of me took over. The installation took longer than expected due to having 2 top tracks. Around 6PM the task was complete. I cleaned up, showed Ai my new creation and started to fill the two 8ft long shelves I had setup. I also got four 4ft shelves for our shoes and two 16" brackets to hold up our snowboards. We now have stuff literally piled up to our ceiling on our back wall. I have yet to plan what I'm going to do with the side walls but I really want to do something about our THREE bikes. In our one car garage, space is extremely limited so I want to free up as much floor space as possible.
We still need kitchen chairs but as far as other furnishings, I think all we need now are accents.
Wednesday, January 07, 2004
On Monay, I received a call from someone scheduling the delivery of our sofa. YES!! The lady tried to schedule delivery for this Thursday but no one would be home then so I rescheduled for Saturday. She said I'd receive a call after 2PM on Friday for confirmation. If I recall correctly, the salesperson at Zgallerie said the delivery people are going to have me provide them with measurements like width of the stairs and doors. I just might call in sick on Friday just in case they do need that info; besides, I'm sick.
Another recent addition to our living room was a wall mounted shelf purchased at IKEA. It's our first piece of "accent" furniture and it does the job quite nicely.
I switched out the vanity lights in my master bathroom. Prior to switching, my bathroom was lit by 10 lights controlled by a dimmer. Each bulb was 40W. THATS 400 WATTS!!! I bought a 4 bulb replacement light from Lowes and installed it. Right now I have 2 Compact Fluorescent bulbs screwed in using a measly 22W of energy but as bright as 2 60WATT incandescent bulbs. Plus, I changed the dimmer to a standard on off switch.
I installed Ai's closet system last Friday. The setup was pretty painless and I now have fallen in love with my drill. I plan on installing the same kind of shelving in the garage as well. I want to free up as much floorspace as possible to keep my garage easy to manuever around.
Another recent addition to our living room was a wall mounted shelf purchased at IKEA. It's our first piece of "accent" furniture and it does the job quite nicely.
I switched out the vanity lights in my master bathroom. Prior to switching, my bathroom was lit by 10 lights controlled by a dimmer. Each bulb was 40W. THATS 400 WATTS!!! I bought a 4 bulb replacement light from Lowes and installed it. Right now I have 2 Compact Fluorescent bulbs screwed in using a measly 22W of energy but as bright as 2 60WATT incandescent bulbs. Plus, I changed the dimmer to a standard on off switch.
I installed Ai's closet system last Friday. The setup was pretty painless and I now have fallen in love with my drill. I plan on installing the same kind of shelving in the garage as well. I want to free up as much floorspace as possible to keep my garage easy to manuever around.
Friday, January 02, 2004
Happy New Year!! My resolution is to save money more efficiently. It's a hard task to do when you want to make so many improvements to your home.
A lot has happened since my last entry so I'll try to be brief. I purchased a mobile file cabinet and keyboard drawer and chair for my desk. I finally got my bed last month and it was a major pain in the ass to assemble. We got our dining table from IExpress which looks lovely. We bought a kitchen table from IKEA and our currently in the market for kitchen chairs. I changed out the light switches in my kitchen and Ai's bathroom. I plan on changing out the switch to my bathroom lights soon. I finally got a shower curtain in my bathroom so I took my first shower in there a couple days ago. I plan on switching out the showerhead today. Ai bought a new closet system from The Container Store. We'll probably install it next week. I bought my first drill and can't wait to use it.
Yesterday was sooooo windy. I seriously thought our windows were going to break due to the high winds. I still can feel some air coming through the seams so I'll have to get better weatherstripping.
A lot has happened since my last entry so I'll try to be brief. I purchased a mobile file cabinet and keyboard drawer and chair for my desk. I finally got my bed last month and it was a major pain in the ass to assemble. We got our dining table from IExpress which looks lovely. We bought a kitchen table from IKEA and our currently in the market for kitchen chairs. I changed out the light switches in my kitchen and Ai's bathroom. I plan on changing out the switch to my bathroom lights soon. I finally got a shower curtain in my bathroom so I took my first shower in there a couple days ago. I plan on switching out the showerhead today. Ai bought a new closet system from The Container Store. We'll probably install it next week. I bought my first drill and can't wait to use it.
Yesterday was sooooo windy. I seriously thought our windows were going to break due to the high winds. I still can feel some air coming through the seams so I'll have to get better weatherstripping.
