David Sedaris

If you haven't read anything by David Sedaris, do so now! I've never read an author that actually made me laugh out loud like he does. His stories are semi-autobiographical and revel is in his delusional quirkiness. Reading requires a quick wit and intense concentration because each and every line is crafted so cleverly. His show was primarily readings of several short stories followed by a Q&A session that illicited laughter from the sold out house every minute. He's one of the few writers that once you read one of his books, you want to pass it on and read all of his other works.

Total spent Wednesday:
$0 lunch and dinner at conference
$90 2 tickets for reading/show by David Sedaris
$12 David Sedaris book for signing
$5 parking

Total spent Thursday:
$1 burger from Burger King
$42 gas

Total spent today:
$13 lunch at South Coast Plaza (accompanied co-worker who bought two ugly votive candle holders from Tiffany as wedding gifts for $40 each)
$86 lumber and materials for gate project
$10 dinner for 2 at Carl's Jr.

Gimme my $2 cookie!

Participating in our company's conference that we're hosting for our customers in Huntington Beach this week. Our CEO, who isn't as involved in the operations much anymore has absolutely no idea how much this is costing the company because our VP and Marketing Director have completely hidden the costs to him. Most the of events and meals are being sponsored by our corporate partners but it's shocking nonetheless how much a hotel venue charges for catering. $28 per person for American breakfast buffet, $45 per gallon of coffee, $10 per person snack break, $70 per person clambake dinner (albeit including lobster, chicken and clams). $2 per cookie???!!! I'm in the wrong business!!

Total spent Wednesday:
$12 lunch (dim sum in Westminster)

Total spent Thursday:
$0 brought lunch and read at the park
$21 dinner for 2 (Mexican food, saved $9 with Entertainment card)

Total spent Friday:
$48 gas
$4 fastfood lunch
$26 dinner, Thai takeout for 3

Total spent Saturday:
$15,500 tile and carpet upgrades for new home in Corona
$4 lunch at Carl's Jr.
$18 dinner for 2 at Souplantation

Total spent Sunday:
$8 Starbucks for 2
$22 supermarket (saved $6 in coupons)
$133 sewing machine and sewing accessories at Target (a girlfriend is showing me how to sew simple curtains)
$36 fabrics and other sewing stuff
$34 dinner for 3 at Chinese restaurant

Total spent Monday:
$0 breakfast, lunch and dinner at company conference

Total spent Tuesday:
$2 canned beverage at convenience store (addicted to caffeine)
$0 breakfast, lunch and very nice seafood and lobster dinner at company conference

Simply Fabulous

We had dinner with two friends that live in the neighborhood this evening. One of them is a talented architect and designer and the other is a retired school teacher who also has a flair for decorating. They live together as long time friends and co-investors. Their home (which they completely remodeled) and decor is simply stunning and was featured in one of the recent annual home tours. I'm sure their home would sell for no less than $2 million.

They are always entertaining in short doses but it can be draining to spend too much time with them. Their world is seen in black and white with everything falling under the following categories: fabulous, to-die-for, unreal or dreadful, hideous and ghastly. If it's not fabulous, then it must be thrown out or torn down. I cringe at the thought of having them critique anything of ours. Just the same, we enjoy hearing about their experiences of living the high life, usually paid for by filthy rich clients.

The architect is currently commissioned to furnish an extremely wealthy client's home in the most exclusive area of Newport Beach. He actually designed the client's house which was built just a few years ago. After completion of the house, they parted ways because they were both too strong willed to have a healthy client relationship. The client recently contacted our friend to convince him to come back to do the interior design. Our friend agreed on the condition that the client would have zero input on the selection and that he would have carte blanche to buy every single item from every piece of furniture down to the linens and table settings. Everything currently in the house, expensive and designer stuff as they are, would have to literally tossed out. I'm aghast that anyone can just get rid of a $15k couch. It's even more appalling that the client agreed completely to the terms.

For the past two weeks, our two friends have been traveling all over southern California and the east coast snapping up furnishings to fill the home. The client didn't even know they were in North Carolina last week (on a trip they had already planned) and had bought stuff there. He found out because his credit card company alerted him that large purchases were being charged to his account! They plan on spending over $150k to furnish the 3500 sq foot home. (Homes in this small waterfront area are not grotesquely huge due to the cost of the land but homes average many millions.) I'm looking forward to seeing the place when they've finished furnishing it. I'm sure that it will truly be fabulous.

Total spent Sunday:
$54 supermarket (saved $21 with double coupons)
$75 massage with tip
$42 dinner for 2 with friends (saved $20 with Entertainment card)

Total spent Monday:
$0 working lunch on the company
$4 Starbucks

Total spent today:
$0 brought lunch
$19 dinner for 2 (saved $9 with Entertainment card)

Makeover or Muckover?

I've been watching an especially many home improvement shows on HGTV the last few weeks. It's pretty amazing how they can stretch a couple grand with some creativity. Some of the projects sound (and end up looking) pretty tacky but for the most part they look pretty good (at least on tv). Several years ago, I tried a project that I saw on a show that involved turning a piece of metal air conditioning duct into a pedastal. An uplight was place in the duct with a colored glass plate on top. You could place a plant or any knicknack on it and it would have some lighting on it. Now that I think back, that was one damn tacky display. I can't believe that I had not one, but two, in our living room!

Today, we started a project to give the wood fence that surrounds the pool pump and filter a makeover. The fence is almost 25 feet because it also hides a huge, but defunct electrical box. So far we've spent about 6 manhours painting trim and straightening up the existing boards and I hope we can finish tomorrow in about 3 hours.

Total spent Wednesday:
$5 quick lunch for 2 at Costco with colleague
$154 Costco ($70 Oral B toothbrush and misc food)
$20 appetizer and drinks for 2 at Habana in Costa Mesa (discussed business plan)

Total spent Thursday:
$11 workout gloves at Sportmart
$7 lunch

Total spent Friday:
$5 lunch with 2 colleagues (we recently started getting take out from a Viet place and eating at Mile Square Park in Fountain Valley)
$238 Lowe's (paint, lumber and supplies for fence project)
$18 quick dinner for 2 at ramen noodle shop

Total spent today:
$19 lunch for 2 at Lonestar Steakhouse
$12 drycleaning
$34 dinner for 2 at Indian restaurant in Belmont Shores (saved $11 with Entertainment card)

Non-existent Business Plan

It's kind of exciting to be planning a business venture. My colleague and I will sometimes have whispered conversations and people might wonder what we are being so secretive about. A few times we've had to sneak out for lunch by ourselves and exclude others that we normally would invite. That makes us feel kind of crappy though to exclude others.

The amount of planning to launch a business is truly daunting. You really just want to dive right in and start doing something rather than do the months of careful planning and budgeting. So many things that you take for granted as an employee can be so complicated when you're the employer. I've bought a business plan development software but have only spent an hour on it. Have also done some preliminary research on marketing costs such as a website, ads, seminars and mailers. But I'm practically ready to quit my job so that I can devote more time to planning and launching. My colleague is taking a more conservative route of wanting to do a test market first while we are still employed. While a test market is obviously a good idea, my thoughts on that is that we wouldn't be putting 100% into it if we didn't have everything to lose. Well, not everything but a lot to lose anyway. If it fails, we can get jobs again. If we handicap the chances of our success by not devoting 100% of our time, then we failed for the wrong reason. And we would have let an great idea die.

We're thinking that we can launch in 2-3 months but there's no firm deadline. But the saner side of me tells me to take it a step at a time as well. My job isn't so awful and it actually pays modestly well with decent benefits. As long as I do something everyday, no matter how little, toward the business venture, I'll be satisfied and will be able to see the light at the end of the tunnel.

Total spent Saturday:
$22 takeout at fantastic Vietnamese BBQ place in Westminster (enough for 6 people)
$20 dinner for 2 at Coco's

Total spent Sunday:
$30 2 books on Amazon.com
$52 groceries (save $43 with coupons)

Total spent Monday:
$43 gas (geez!!)
$3 takeout Italian at Maggiano's (had $25 gift certificate, excellent atmosphere that is New York style, always busy)

Total spent Tuesday:
$0 brought lunch
$13 carwash with tip
$215 educational material

I'm Glad I don't live in Utah

Salt Lake City has a few redeeming qualities:
1. proximity to world class ski resorts such as Park City
2. friendly, if not sterile, people
3. and the most amazing library building that I've ever visited

Unfortunately, they are negated by other qualities:
1. noticeable smog that ruins the view of the otherwise gorgeous surrounding mountains
2. endless sprawl of ugly housing
3. total lack of ethnic diversity

Total spent Tuesday:
$0 lunch (brought lunch)
$0 dinner (expensed, left for business trip to Salt Lake City this afternoon)

Total spent Wednesday:
$5 library giftstore
$0 meals (expensed)

Total spent yesterday:
$0 on meals (expensed everything)
$30 groceries

Total spent today:
$5 lunch at McDonald's
$10 drugstore

Bidness Trip

I'm sitting in my 3 star room at the Red Lion Hotel in downtown Salt Lake City. I've heard not so nice things about Red Lions but this one looks like it was recently remodeled (to 3 star standards at least) so it's bad at all. It's springtime and yet it's still cold here. Of the several cities that I travel to for work including Phoenix, San Diego, Albuquerque, Santa Fe and SLC, I have to admit that SLC is my least favorite (Albuquerque is a close second). However, SLC does have by far the most convenient car rentals because you just walk across the street to pick up your car. Why can't other airports follow this model??

Phoenix is amazing for its sheer size. How did the 5th largest city in the U.S. pop up in the middle of the desert? Many people from California are buying properties in Phoenix to cash out their equity from homes in CA. A new detached home in a Phoenix suburb runs about $160k. That same home, if it were in central Orange County, would cost approximately $600k. Of course you'd have to put up with 110 degree summers but really, it's not so bad (it's dry heat not humid heat).

There is a glaring peculiarity that I've noticed in the two markets however. In Orange County, an average, entry level house costs about $525k. That would get you a 30 year old home with 1400 sq feet that needs extensive updating. Even the ghettoist (is that a word) house in central Orange County (the type that Boo Radley would call home) would be $400k. A higher end home (but probably a tract home still although larger and newer) would run double the average so about $1 million. And of course true custom, luxury homes can be upwards of $5 million. In Phoenix, there are truly dumpy houses in awful neighborhoods that cost less than $75k. But the higher end luxury homes are just as extravagant and expensive as in Orange County. So the spread is much more pronounced. Now why is that??

Every homeowner in southern California is feeling rich. Some are spending their equity almost as quickly as it's growing which will get them in trouble. It's disturbing when people driving Toyota Corollas are using valet parking. They're either very foolish and/or very lazy. It never ceases to amaze me how people spend money out of proportion to how much they earn and have saved. Part of it is just me too. I realize that I need to be less of a miser. I've gotten better over the years but have a ways to go. More on how I inherited the miser gene some other time.

Total spent today:
Brought lunch
$1.50 Hot fudge sundae from McDonald's at John Wayne Airport (this must be the only item on the menu that doesn't cost more than at a regular store location)
$15 dinner but expensed it (mediocre dinner at The Spaghetti Factory in SLC)

Island Fever

Met my ex-boss for lunch today. We haven't worked together for almost 4 years but have developed a close friendship and feel comfortable confiding in each other. She was my first boss when I got my first real job in a corporate environment. I don't know why but she had faith in my capabilities just a few months later and took a big chance by promoting me. My career path would have been very different if I hadn't been given that opportunity so I am forever thankful. Unfortunately, when the company went through a management shake up a year later, she didn't make it through but has since bounced back.

Two years ago, her husband had an opportunity to transfer to Hawaii for a two year assignment and they jumped on the opportunity to live in paradise. The first year was tough for her because technology jobs are not plentiful in Hawaii. "Mainlanders" also face a bit of discrimination as they are seen as outsiders. The first year was tough to get adjusted to the slower pace. She's gone through several bouts of "island fever" so comes to visit family in California a couple of times a year. It's hard to imagine not just enjoying the island way of life but I've never been in her position so it's hard to walk in her shoes. Thankfully, they are coming up to the end of the two years. The options were: 1. commit to stay in Hawaii for a minimum of 3 additional years or 2. be transferred to a location in Northridge (NW Los Angeles) which isn't really ideal because their house is in Irvine. Things have happened quickly so within a week they've decided to pack up, sell the house in Hawaii and come home.

I presented my idea for our business to her to get her opinion and she was thought it was great. She thought the idea was unique and clever and that she would definitely use the service herself. She's only the second person I've told about the opportunity and am glad about the overwhelming positive feedback thus far, especially coming from a person that I respect and admire.

Total spent today:
$26 very nice lunch for 2 at The Clubhouse (saved $10 with Entertainment card)
$3.50 Starbucks
$35 Sav On Drugstore (heating pad)

Lookie Loos

Open houses are fun. I stop by an open house any time I come across one and have 5 minutes to stop in. We don't pretend to be actively in the market to buy but we would consider a house for either investment purposes or as a residence if we came across one. The chances that we'd just stumble across a good opportunity during an open house is rare but stranger things have happened. For example, the previous owners of our current residence was named Parker. Then, the owner of the rental home that we purchased was also named Parker. And now the real estate agent that is listing the neighbor's house is named Parker and she has an uncanny resemblance to the Parker that owned our house! Coincidence? I think not.

Today, we stopped by 4 houses. Some agents are new and it's often obvious. They're just so eager to introduce themselves and try to find out about our needs and offer their services. They can't take a hint that many people are just lookie loos and have no need for a random real estate agent. Do you own a house already? Yes (thinking: yes, several, thank you). Are you looking for a home? No, we live in the neighborhood and are just looking (thinking: not for this ridiculous price!). Would you like a notepad? No, thanks. (thinking: it would go directly into the trash). Would you sign my guestbook? Sure (thinking: uh, why?). I guess we do look younger than the average real estate investors. So when we go looking, I purposely dress up in more than just a t-shirt.

One of the agents that we met this afternoon was probably the cockiest we'd ever met. I'm easily turned off by people who flaunt their so called success. He made it a point to let us know that he'd put the house on the market only last night but had 11 calls for it already. Normally, he would offer it to his list of over 3000 private clients first but this time he just wanted to get it on the market. Then he went on about how irate he was with Fletcher Jones Mercedes Benz for not letting him know that the 2005 C230 didn't come with a maintenance plan. Oh lord. After escaping his clutches, we couldn't bear to stop in at anymore open houses for the day.

Total spent Friday:
$8 lunch with colleagues
$15 Cooked dinner but then splurged on dessert. Takeout dessert for 2 from Zov's in Tustin. They are pricey but have the most incredible Key Lime tart. www.zovs.com

Total spent Saturday:
$19 misc stuff for the house at Tuesday Morning
$9 dinner for 2 (saved $8 with Entertainment coupon)

Total spent Sunday:
$240 two modest paintings on canvas (From a great home decor warehouse on Taft/Collins in Orange. It is open to the public on Sundays only so they have things that you would never see at a retail store such as 15 foot high gazebos, ornate Louis XVI style furniture, bronze statuary befitting a Las Vegas fountain. )
$54 Supermarket (saved $38 with double coupons and Entertainment coupon)