To buy or to lease?

Not that anyone blogs these days or reads xanga but what the hell. (i don't understand all these new settings on xanga...what's going on?)

Our lease is ending at the end of October and so we are looking into buying a place in/around Little Tokyo if possible.

The matter of fact is, it's not that cheap to rent in Little Tokyo. So do we want to pay month by month? Do we want to sign for another year? We might be able to renegotiate for a cheaper rent, but if we renew the lease for a year, maybe a place within our budget might pop up. What to do????

New condos/lofts have 30-40% reduction and old units have dropped in value by 30-40% as well. I can't believe condos that used to go for close to 1 million is now less than 500K! But most of these old units are all selling as short sale or they are bank owned. The chance of getting a short sale/bank owned unit is slim. It seems like more owners will be unable to pay for their prime mortages in the up coming months, so maybe there will be more units available. But if they go into foreclosure, they will still be hard to snatch up. This whole situation is just lame. Dilemma dilemma. I just hope that an aweome unit will pop up and we will be able to get it...pray for us!

I am a weaksauce

playing wii fit has taken a toll on my body. my calves hurt and my body is seriously just exhausted. how am i gonna climb machu pichu one day? sigh! but since i rested yesterday, i can probably do it again today. def need to exercise more to lessen my cholesterol level.

the free steps game is great however. it allows you to workout while you watch tv! JI's friend lost almost 20 pounds in one month doing steps for 40 min/day. pretty crazy eh?

i should probably go to the gym also, but i can't make myself leave my apt once i get home (the gym is just downstairs).

I have one more week of school left. I can't wait!  

[gibberish for the day]

I don't like to admit that i work in the boonies, but reality tells me that I do. I've gone to most of the shopping plazas in Chino/Chino Hills to find the WSJ but to no avail. Maybe people that live in Chino/Chino HIills just read everything online. That must be it, right? What I find interesting is also that out of all the Albertsons I've gone to, they don't really have newspaper stands (is that what you call those?) in front of them. Tells you something about Albertsons shoppers. hahaha don't be offended, i shop at Albertsons too. And friends, don't tell me that I live in the boonies because there's WSJ infront of the DB Ralph. =P You like my justification? hahaha

School has started once again and I am taking two finance/accounting classes because I like to torture myself. I hope I will do okay.

Basically this summer, I've been pretty busy. Just going to weddings and related events such as engagement/bachelorette parties have taken up a lot of my weekends. High school friends and college friends, one by one have gotten/are getting hitched. I am so happy for them that they are venturing into another stage of life.  And there are more weddings to come next year. =)

On top of that, I also went to Asia twice. haha..pretty crazy huh?

Furthermore, JI and I started taking scuba diving classes. It's been fun. I went diving in the ocean by PV this past weekend. I saw a lobster, a sea urchin, fishes and many camouflaged seashells. We have one more class left and we will be certified. Can't wait for that to happen cuz I want to eat some freshly caught lobsters!

My cute and super smart niece finally left for Asia this past weekend. JI and I are pretty sad that she left although she likes to take my stuff and claim them as her own.  On Sunday, the day she left, she basically reenacted her preschool's daily events. She pretended she was the teacher and that my parents, my in laws, JI and I are students. She told us to eat, drink, nap, play in the sand, sing, and hug her when she said that class is over. She was so so adorable that day. what a bright 3 year old. I hope she will remember me!!!

Here are some pictures for your viewing pleasure:

Cid and Alexis' Wedding 05.12.2007 @ St. Lorenzo Ruiz Catholic Parish, Walnut  for ceremony & Prince Seafood Restaurant, Cerritos for reception

Sammy and Alice's Wedding 05.19.2007 @ St Regis, Laguna Hills

Alex and Grace's Wedding 07.01.2007 @ La Venta Inn, Palos Verdes

Nancy and Steve's Wedding 07.08.2007 @ Montage Resort, Laguna Hills

Billy and Jennifer's Wedding 08.18.2007 @ Asian Art Museum, San Francisco

shanghai w/ baby kylyne (she's my niece, not mine, k? haha)

shanghai 06.2007 volar

shanghai 07.2007 ehu's bday

girls' nite out

My cute little niece