Day 25 - Flip Project - Cedar Grove

cedargrove01
Originally uploaded by jinlee.

$ spent since last update - $3813.13

Total $ spent - $6462.78

Budget $20,000
Target Finish Date - 2/5/2006

Today, 2 things were accomplished; the paint is done and the garbage is gone.

I paid the painters $3700 ($200 for wall repair, $2000 for painting the walls, $1500 for cabinet painting), spent $49.52 on a Uhaul, and spent $63.61 throwing away over 1/2 a ton of garbage at the transfer station.

I actually woke up early this morning and took my truck to the site expecting to make 2 trips to the dump. However, after loading up my truck once, I noticed that I hardly made a dent in the pile of carpet and other waste that had been in the garage. So I went to Uhaul and rented their $19.95 van. Luckily, I only ended up driving about 30 miles total, so my total bill was $49.52 (they charge $19.95 per day, plus 79 cents per mile... but they tend to charge more on weekends).

The morning trip to the dump in Factoria (when I took my truck) only cost me $15.50. However, that was just 160 pounds of garbage.

The afternoon trip, using the Uhaul, cost me $48.11. And during that trip, I threw away 1080 pounds of waste.

So here is the first "before" and "after" pic of the kitchen. We still need to do something about the countertops, and also get the appliances in. More on that stuff another day.

Day 23 - Flip Project - Cedar Grove

$ spent since last update - $329.47

Total $ spent - $2649.65

Budget $20,000
Target Finish Date - 2/5/2006

Things to note, we upped the budget and moved the target date out. Why? Just because. We ordered the millwork a little late, so it'll take an extra week or two to arrive. Also, when I first thought about setting a budget, I forgot to include the monthly payments for the mortgage. So the $20,000 is ALL INCLUSIVE. When I last posted, I assumed we had over a month before the deadline, but the end of the year snuck up on me faster than I realized. And lastly, the painters were delayed by 5 days (at least) because of the power outage. Since it's a pretty dark house to begin with, they didn't do much during that week.

Still, things are moving along and none of the people involved have really gotten into panic mode yet. I'd imagine it'll be a while before that happens.

The $329.47 was what I spent at Home Depot on door handles, which is weird because we don't have doors yet. But when I usually go to the Depot, they're sold out (of the Schlage Satin Silver french door handle models), so I thought I'd snag them while they were in-stock.

Day 16 - Flip Project - Cedar Grove

$ spent since last update - $0.00

Total $ spent - $2320.18

Budget $10,000
Target Finish Date - 1/5/2006

This picture has nothing to do with the remodeling project specifically, but it explains a problem we're running into... NO POWER!!

Ever since I wrote that last blog post, seems like we've been out of power on the Eastside. On Thursday night, we had a terrible windstorm which seemed to knock down at least 1 tree on every block. The picture shown here is my girlfriend's neighbor's house near Crossroads / Lake Hills in Bellevue. Her house finally got power and internet back today, but none of my other friends have been so lucky.

But regarding the actual flipping project, we're doing what we can while we have daylight. Which pretty much means painting and ripping stuff out. Since we'll be waiting another 10 days or so for the millwork (doors and base molding) to come in, the painting can take a little longer than originally planned (although I hope the painters aren't reading this).

To be honest, I'm already looking for the next project. More on that later.

Day 13 - Flip Project - Cedar Grove

$ spent since last update - $1826.18

Total $ spent - $2320.18

Budget $10,000
Target Finish Date - 1/5/2006

I realized the hardest part about a remodel is the old saying "If it ain't broke, don't fix it." Well, that just doesn't work anymore. Old light fixtures, old faucets, kitchen countertops... technically, that stuff can last a lifetime. But we're still going to replace them. They look nasty. So I guess I'm going to go with, "If it needs to be updated, then update it." Dark brown wall paint with dark blue carpet not only makes the house look dark (this is probably the darkest home I've ever been in), it also makes the home look cheap. Gold plated bath fixtures mixed in with wood trim towel bars and vanity mirror... was that hot in the 80s? Too bad this house was built in 1997. It looks like the builder cut a couple corners. It feels like it's our job to set things right.

Sorry, I don't have any pictures right now. None that I want to show anyway. Yet. At least not until the "after" pics are ready. And I know I've forgotten a receipt for this house somewhere in this pile on my desk, but I don't think the exact numbers are that important.

I got a sweet deal on stainless steel appliances. A 4-piece set for $1800, tax included... all brand new. None of that refurbished or scratch-and-dent stuff. So I couldn't pass that up. It includes a side-by-side fridge, electric flat-top range, over the range microwave, and dishwasher. The only problem is that an electrician will come in the next week to change over the 110 outlet to a 220 volt (the difference between gas and electric range hookups), and he'll also be adding a hookup for the microwave. Another $500 or so, but not sure about that yet, since I haven't paid the guy.

I spent $26.18 to throw away 580 pounds of base trim, interior doors, and about 15 gallons of paint. So that's a relative bargain. A wall was also removed from downstairs, but hasn't been thrown away yet. I still have about 2 truckloads to throw away, plus the old carpet once we get that ripped up. But I think it's still going to be much cheaper than renting a dumpster (for $300 minimum).

We've finally got a crew going on there this weekend. I think I've done about as much as one person can physically handle. It's taken a little while longer to get started, but I took that into account when I estimated our goal date.

Painters and the electrician will come this weekend. Millwork and flooring for the entire home has been measured and ordered. 2 weeks for that to get in. Garage door installation on January 5th. As long as the little things are taken care of along the way (light fixtures, touchups, and so on), looks like we're set.

Another Junk Caller to add to my list

I keep getting junk phone calls from Discover Card. The Caller ID says the name is "unknown" but the phone number is listed as 888-322-2785. They're trying to sell me some account protection plan. Seems like no matter how many times I to have my name removed, the calls continue (Although this time, they asked for another member of my family that also has a Discover Card).

What sucks is that whether I pickup the phone or not, the calls just continue to come in and they NEVER leave a message.

RIP James Kim

Over the last few days, I've been following a story about a missing San Francisco family in southern Oregon. As someone who drives in the snow a lot, and sometimes gets stuck in the woods while snowboarding, I just worried how long this family could possibly survive in the cold.

Some stories, for whatever reason, just stick with you. Maybe because I fear getting stuck in the snow. Maybe because the husband is Korean. Maybe because I felt like I would have done the same thing (left my family to go look for help). Maybe because the husband has a resemblance to Bruce Lee. But whatever the reason was, I was rooting for this family.

Yesterday, I happily learned that the mother / wife and 2 daughters were found safe and are in good condition. I figured this would be another "Hollywood" style happy ending, and that the father would be found soon after.

So all day yesterday, I kept an eye out on CNET.com and MSN.com headlines, just to see if there were any updates. Just now, when I got onto MSN.com, I noticed a new headline regarding this family. I clicked, excited to see a reunited family and read about how the husband survived.

Unfortunately, the father did not make it. I felt heartbroken and disappointed. Maybe I could have done something, driven 10 hours to Oregon and done... SOMETHING.

But what happened next was even more disappointing. I went onto some of the other websites for this family, where people were giving their condolences, and I'd say about 98% of the people were great. A lot of well wishers and people who were just like me, rooting for a happy ending, and feeling like maybe we didn't do enough. Unfortunately, the other 2% were some of the most offensive, adolescent, bottom-of-the-barrel type people... one poster who said "It was his fault. If the husband had just stayed in the vehicle, he would have survived with the rest of the family."

What the husband did was noble. Who knew if a rescue team would EVER come? What was the husband supposed to do? Wait there and watch his family die? He HAD to do something. I have the utmost respect for him. But this wasn't the worst post.

A couple pages later, there was a post that read, "This accident could have been prevented. My GMC Yukon would have made it. You guys can all laugh at my 13 MPG but I'd still be alive."

Pathetic. This post makes me sick. Anyone who has been to a ski resort would know that any car, truck or SUV can be accident prone. This family was driving an all-wheel-drive Saab. I'd take an AWD small-car over a 4WD SUV / truck anyday. I remember one afternoon at Mount Baker, a lady couldn't get her Jeep Grand Cherokee out of her snow covered parking space. She kept flooring the gas, spinning in place, and no matter how many people were helping her push, it didn't seem to matter. Then, someone noticed that only the back wheels were spinning and the back of the SUV said "4WD." So he said, "Hey, put this thing in four wheel drive!"

"I can't! I don't know how!"

You can have the greatest vehicle for snow, but you still have to know how to drive in snow.

To the Kim family, I'm sorry for your loss. My thoughts are with your family.

Burger King partners with Microsoft?

I just bought, on a whim, 3 Xbox 360 games on eBay. These aren't just any Xbox games. They're the 3 limited edition games only available at Burger King with the purchase of an Extra Value Meal. The games are titled Sneak King, Pocketbike Racer, and Big Bumpin'.

I thought about actually going to Burger King to buy these games, since they're only $3.99... but that's with the purchase of a value meal. So because of that, the games are probably actually more like $8.50 each, plus tax.

There was a guy on eBay about 15 miles from Issaquah, in Mill Creek, selling his set of 3 brand new shrinkwrapped games for $22.99 shipped. So it made sense to me. Seeing how other Xbox 360 games are at least $40 brand new, this seemed like a relatively good deal, especially since I get 3 games for the price of 1/2 of one.

Day 4 - Flip Project - Cedar Grove

Day 4 - Flip Project - Cedar Grove

$ spent since last update - $494

Total $ spent - $494

Budget $10,000
Target Finish Date - 1/5/2006

So, I spent almost $500 buying 2 garage door openers and the service to get them installed. Not a bad deal going on at Lowe's. Garage door opener installation for only $59 per door.

Other than that though, I went snowboarding on Sunday so my back and body were too sore and limited me to minor painting and mostly cleaning up on Monday. Plus, the dark dark brown walls are going to need at least 2 (maybe 3) coats of the cream colored paint that I've chosen.

I have a gadget problem

I remember learning about "universal remotes" when Dan got one almost 5 years ago. In theory, they should control all your devices. But I figured "Heck, I bet there's a couple brands that won't work with the remote." So I never considered buying one. Especially at their prices of over $100, some for over $200!!

But after moving into my new house (a year ago now), losing 1 remote, and realizing that the media room has 5 remotes, along with 2 more in my bedroom, I started searching for a solution. The solution was to get a Logitech Harmony Xbox 360 universal remote.

The great thing about this remote (and what really sold me on it) is that the software that it comes with connects to the internet, and is constantly being updated with newer hardware and devices. So the number of devices that it controls grows each day.

So far, it controls my bedroom TV, the LCD outside my room, the projector, DVD player, the Media Center on my PC, the Xbox 360, the Oppo DVD player, the Sony sound system, two Comcast cable boxes... and best of all, it controls the lighting in the theater room (a Lutron dimmer).

In one case (with the Sony sound system), the software wasn't familiar with the model number, so I was able to program the buttons by using the "learning port" on the Harmony (although later, I realized the model number was in the system, just without the "dash").

The rest of my remotes are now being stored away. For any gadget lover, this would be a pretty cool Christmas gift. Don't go to your local retail store, they'll ask $129.99 plus tax. Get it online for $90 shipped, brand new.

Legacy Roofing project in Bellevue

Okay, so up until 2 weeks ago, I thought all roofing companies sucked. Especially the ones around here that charged over $20K for your typical 2-story, 2,000 square foot house. I won't name company names here, but the typical homeowner has a tough decision to make when it comes to choosing a roofer. You can either go with a no-name, no warranty guy, or go all out and spend "a lot" extra on a well known company that advertises a lot. On the low-end, the estimates tended to be in the $8K to $9K range. On the high-end, over $20K.

Now, if you ever walk through Home Depot, of if you've ever done your own roof, you'd know that 30-year Architectural Composition roofing material is only about $20 per case, and each case covers 40 square feet. For your average roof (lets say it's 3,000 square feet of space needed), that's only 75 cases, or about $1500 in shingles.

But add to that labor, disposal of old roof, nails, equipment, moisture barrier, and bam, you get the prices you are quoted. To me, it never made any sense, but admittedly, that's a ton of work required.

But then there was Legacy Roofing who did a roof at the Wong house. They're a company with a pretty good reputation, but their estimate wasn't ridiculous either. It was right about $14K. And they stuck to that estimate, didn't charge any extra or anything like that. They placed a dumpster in the driveway on the first day, and they never inconvenienced the homeowners. The garbage and yard was cleaned up every evening, and not a single worker bothered the residents, even for drinks or bathroom use. That's what impressed me. Because I've heard of stories where workers asked to use a restroom every 30 minutes for weeks straight.

They installed Elk brand "Prestique High Definition 40 year roofing material" and it looks great. The old roof was barely holding up (with the cedar shingles curling up and falling off), and with the snow that came soon after, the roof was done just in time.

Day 0 - Flip Project - Cedar Grove

$ spent since last update - $0

Total $ spent - $0

Budget $10,000
Target Finish Date - 1/5/2006

Well, just got keys to another home flipping project. This one's got good bones, just needs a little updated. Zillow says it's worth just under $470K, we'll try to make it worth a little more than that.

I'll keep you updated with plenty of "before / after" pics, as well as tracking the budget for this project.

It's all in the software

I rescind my previous praise of the Microsoft Zune portable music and video player.

On paper, it's a great device. Plays music in various formats, and plays video in WMV format (and I was able to find at least 3 programs that encoded files to WMV format, 2 of them were free). The Zune even did a good job of storing and showing my photos.

However, my fear that the Zune had inferior software compared to iTunes is completely true.

First off, the Zune software and the device itself keep crashing. The Zune software crashed during installation on one computer. And consistently crashes when attempting to synchronize with the device. And since "synchronizing" takes so freaking long (long, meaning overnight), sometimes the Zune device itself crashes. FYI, if you're reading this and your Zune has crashed, hold the "back" and "up" buttons together and you'll force it to reset (kind of like CTRL, ALT, DEL to reset your computer). Because sometimes, even the power button doesn't respond if it crashes.

But I told myself that I could live with the crashes, since the video looked good and the display was so much larger than the iPod. That didn't matter however, because...

After converting all my video files into what I thought was the proper WMV format for the Zune (320 x 240 with CD quality audio)... the Zune software decides that it must "RECONVERT" that file before it uploads it!!! So pretty much, it's converting each file twice. What's annoying about this is that Zune.net explains how to convert video to a specific format, so that it will instantly sync with the Zune device, instead of converting a second time. And the problem is that converting them a first time only took 5 minutes for a 30 minute video / show. But when the Zune software converts that same file, it takes 20 to 30 minutes. Meaning that synchronizing all my videos would take hours. I tried various screen sizes, output settings, sound quality, changing every little detail to see if something would work, but nothing did.

Sorry Microsoft, I guess I'll have to stick with the Apple iPod. I wanted to like the Zune. I reallllly did. This was the ONLY time I've ever called Microsoft tech support, and I'll never call again. I was hung up on twice, and was given no answers. I was told, "Oh, if you want video, you should buy them on Marketplace to ensure they're compatible."

"But Marketplace doesn't offer videos yet. Only music."

"Oh, that's right. Nevermind then."

Even when I was returning my device to Costco (two of them actually, since I had bought one for my girlfriend), TWO employees were like, "Oh, is that the Zune?"

"Yeah," I replied.

"You're returning it already? I was thinking of getting one."

"You know, I really think it has a lot of potential, but you might want to wait for 2.0 and a firmware update. Because the software really sucks and the device keeps crashing."

I could tell they were disappointed, as am I.

Actually, the Zune that I got from Costco had already been returned by someone else, and then sold to me. I could tell because the preloaded content was already deleted, and the device was given the name "sayplease" by the previous user.

And seeing how many threads I've seen on the internet regarding the Zune, I won't be surprised if more of them get returned before Christmas.

Quick Summary
Good : I love the screen size. And how you have to turn the device to the side to watch videos. It just seems more natural that way and utilizes the size / shape of the device to show videos in landscape mode. I like the feel of the case. Some people on other sites don't like the controls and buttons, but I like the "click" wheel more than the iPod's wheel. Just personal preference. And others have also complained about the larger size of the Zune (compared to iPods), but I didn't mind that either. For me, I wanted to use it as a portable video player, so I'd rather have the larger screen.

Bad : The software is BAD. Worse yet, the website doesn't offer any kind of update... yet. Technical support was just as BAD. I didn't get to test the battery life, since I could barely get all the files uploaded to the device, I never really tried out the Zune for more than an hour or two at a time. Before trying out the Zune, one of my pet peeves about the iTunes software was that they were constantly releasing a newer version of software. However, now that I've tried the Zune, I don't mind that Apple is constantly revising their software. I wish Zune would do the same.

Mario Lopez was robbed!!

Just kidding. I didn't even watch the Dancing With the Stars finale. However, I did think it was funny that the results and summary were covered by ESPN Sportscenter. What a great idea... Mario Lopez is able to draw all the current twenty-somethings who watched Saved By the Bell as they were growing up, while Emmitt Smith could draw all the older men who watched football in the 90s. And most of my female friends already watch the show so I'm not surprised everyone is talking about it.

To be honest though, I was kinda pulling for AC Slater. He had some rough years in college.

Zune has iPod video beat....

For a techie, this might be a rough holiday season on the wallet.

There's the Playstation 3 coming out, not to mention the Nintendo Wii as well. In addition to all the stuff that's already out there like shiny new LCDs, Xbox 360s, MP3 players and so on.

But there's one thing I think that people are overlooking. It's the Microsoft Zune. Well, people aren't really overlooking it, especially since everywhere I go, it's sold out, whether it's Target, Walmart, Circuit City, or Office Depot. However, I've played with the display models at almost all those retailers and I want one more than ever now.

I really didn't think anyone would take notice when this thing was released on November 14, 2006, but apparently they have. This thing is sweet. Who knows, it might overtake Apple in sales this holiday season. I'm still shocked to see how many iPods are in stock everywhere while the Zune's are flying off the shelves. Maybe the hype will go away and iPod will continue it's dominance, but if the past 2 days are any indication, things aren't looking good for the iPod Video.

For the same price as a 30 gig Apple iPod Video, the 30 gig Microsoft Zune gives you a bigger screen, FM radio, and the ability to share music, videos, and other files wirelessly with other Zune users.

But to be honest, those aren't the reasons why I want one. There are 2 main reasons I would prefer a Zune over an iPod Video.

1. iTunes sucks. It seems like at least once a week, I'm asked to update, or upgrade, my version of iTunes. And the software is buggy. It slows down my computer, it won't burn my songs (says my burner is incompatible), it won't play some of my songs because it says I don't own them (even though I bought them fair and square). And I seem to have similar problems on multiple computers, so I don't think it's a hardware issue. I think it's an issue with iTunes. If you don't believe me, Google "iTunes sucks" and you'll find I'm not alone.

However, with all that said, who knows if Zune Marketplace is any better.

2. The great thing about the Zune however, is that it plays WMV video files. Which means all those DVR-MS files that I have (when Windows Media Center records TV shows, they record in DVR-MS file format) can be converted / shrunken to WMV (the free program that does this is "DVR 2 WMV") and then loaded on to the Zune, for free portable video and hours of entertainment while I'm bored or working. No more paying for iTunes shows that fail to play after a few months.

Now if I could just locate one.

By the way, Target has the best deal on Zune's, offering a $25 gift card when you purchase a Zune. At first that's why I thought the Zune had sold out, but then realized it was sold out at places that didn't offer any incentive. If you have any hands-on feedback, please let me know!

Dust off your snowboards and skis!

Mt Baker might be opening this Thursday, November 16, 2006!!! Keep an eye out. Be careful though, a couple trips to Mt Baker and all of a sudden you'll need an oil change. Make sure your friend drives.

Other events going on...

Newport High School Ski Swap - www.skiswap.info - This is by far the biggest high school ski swap I have EVER seen. They usually surpass $200,000 in sales over 2 days. Other schools have tried to imitate, but no one has come close. One ski swap I used to be a part of had nobody show up one year (it was at Lake Washington High School). Newport usually has people lined up. And you get good deals there too. Check it out if you need cheap new gear or even cheaper second hand gear.

Warren Miller - I guess they're playing their new movie "Off The Grid" (correct me if I'm wrong) at Meydenbauer Center in Bellevue this weekend... but I gotta be honest with you, I can no longer stand watching Warren Miller movies. Nothing has changed in 10 years. It's the same formula, and watching the newest trailer reinforced that.

I've noticed that a 25 minute ski or snowboard freestyle video (that I can buy for $25 - $30 at a ski or snowboard shop) usually has a lot more action than Warren Miller's 1.5 hour movies (which cost as much as a regular movie per person).

Take Afterbang by Robotfood (a snowboard video) versus Warren Miller's Fifty. The action in Warren Miller is BAD in comparison. It usually shows riders NOT landing a single jump (it just shows them falling into deeeep powder) and features boring narration of how really really wealthy people live.

I feel bad saying any of this, as I used to look forward to these movies, and I used to treat my friends and customers by buying 20 to 30 tickets to go see Warren Miller at the Fifth Avenue Theater in Downtown Seattle. But his movies have let me down big time. Especially because the last time I went, most of the good footage was from OTHER videos I had already bought and watched earlier in the fall. To make matters worse, they took a DVD, stuck it in a projector, and projected the image onto a movie theater sized screen. The quality was BAD (very pixelated). I was apalled.

24 Hour Fitness

Just got a soliciting phone call from 24 Hour Fitness in Bellevue, AGAIN. The number on my caller ID was 425-467-6420. Don't know how they got my number, but this is at least the third time they've called me now. I finally told them, "Hey... take me off your call list," although I could swear I've already said that twice before. I was a litte more irritated than usual since I just got home and wanted to relax, and I've been hearing the phone ring all day.

I really don't mind calls from strangers. Being in real estate and owning my own company, I get random calls all the time and I'm used to getting them. But it seems like each time 24 Hour Fitness calls, it's right around 5 PM or later. One time they called right as I was sitting down to dinner.

In reality though, I've thought about joining a gym. But it won't be 24 Hour Fitness. There are at least 5 other gyms closer to my home than 24 Hour Fitness (Sammamish Club, Bally's, Pine Lake Club, Columbia Fitness are ones off the top of my head). If I get another phone call from them, I wonder if I could report it.

You've Come a Long Way, Baby

Before I get into the reason for this blog post, I just want to say that "You've come a long way, baby" is one of my favorite names for a record album (Fatboy Slim's 1998 release). I don't know much about the man behind Fatboy Slim, Norman Cook, but he was probably reflecting on his career, and thought to himself, "You've come a long way, Norman." Hence the name for his release.

And hence, the name for my blog entry as well.

Today, I was going through some files that I keep track of on a regular basis (since I was paying bills). One has been tracking my bank account balances since my college years... more specifically, since the day I had started Reaction Snowboards, Incorporated.

Now, I've heard stories about celebrities, and how far they've come; Jewel lived in a car and was homeless, The Rock had $150 in his pocket and the clothes on his back, others like Charlize Theron were discovered while out doing their daily errands.

Granted, I've never had it THAT difficult. I come from a middle class family in a suburban neighborhood. However, the day I told my mom I was going to start a snowboard company, she told me she was totally against it. She wanted a stable career for me and for me to focus on school.

But I started it anyway, and in July of 2001, Reaction Snowboards became a Corporation in the State of Washington. At that time, I didn't have my own credit card. All I had was a basic checking / savings account at Bank of America, a Paypal account online, and an eBay account to go along with it. That was pretty much it.

It was pretty tough trying to get anything started. I think I had saved up $1500 by selling everything I own, except for what was necessary (a computer, camera, and snowboard gear). But I spent all that excess cash on getting products made.

If you look at my account balances from December 17, 2001, it states the following...

$336.14 - Paypal
$105.34 - Bank of America Checking
$8.45 - Bank of America Savings

That was smack in the middle of our first winter. Just over 3 months after September 11. It felt like 9/11 was on everybody's minds, and the economy as a whole was struggling. Business was tough and I never thought I would even break even. That day, I had less than $450 to my name.

And those who know me best know that money doesn't make life easier. I felt like I had only 3 sets of bills to pay; suppliers, manufacturers and eBay. Back then, it was a HUGE deal to buy a $200 - 2 megapixel digital camera. But I needed it to take pictures of products we planned on carrying. And then we needed a $600 JVC miniDV camcorder to record our riders in action. And forget LCDs, new game systems, and new cars... what I had was good enough and got the job done.

These days, I justify buying those things by telling myself, "I think I've worked hard enough to have the finer things." It's definitely frustrating though, when I take a step back and think to myself, "Man, HOW much did I pay for that? Do I really need that?" And realize that I have a ton of things I could do without. I mean, all I REALLY need as a real estate agent these days is a car, computer with internet connection and a printer / fax machine. Maybe some business cards too.

I guess this is just a lesson to anyone who happens to be reading this. I have a passion for a lot of things in life, but the passion I had for snowboarding at that time, just being outdoors, away from everything, with friends or without, being close to nature and natural beauty, has yet to be matched. But if I ever feel that passion again, you can bet I won't be sitting here at my computer. All I needed back then was enough money to continue snowboarding. Nothing else was really necessary.

Okay, so...

Okay, so I haven't written a post in about 8 days. But I can explain. I have this short list of things I've been wanting to write about, but haven't had time. You see, last Sunday, I took a bunch of friends to experience "beginner's" salsa classes with me at Jim Chow's Belltown Dance Studio salsa class. And by "bunch", I mean Jim, Annie, Jeff, Greg, Tin, Cheryle, Michelle, and myself (and hopefully Leah, Mitch, and Bethany this upcoming week). But what ended up happening was that a "bunch" of other people showed up as well. I think we're going to have at least 50 people in a class that's used to seeing maybe 20 to 25 students.

But that's not the only thing that happened. Over that same weekend, I also went "clubbing" for the first time in about 3 years. Pioneer Square of all places. But it turned out to be a ton of fun. Who knew I could dance like such an idiot, for hours, without any alcohol in me. A friend of mine was drinking some Coke, it looked good so I went up to the bar and asked for a regular Coke for myself. He actually didn't charge me for it. It made me think, "Okay, a Coke is free, but add some rum in there, and all of a sudden it's $7 plus tip."

Oh, here's one thing I noticed at the clubs. Dark room, lots of lights, good looking people everywhere, loud music playing. You look up to the front of the dance floor and there's a station where the DJ is doing his thing. But you can't see the DJ, nor anything else. All you can see is a glowing, Apple icon on a Powerbook laptop. Talk about free marketing.

Besides that. I also saw a movie in the theater for the first time in a long time. Of all movies, I saw Sofia Coppola's Marie Antoinette. But here's the real surprise, I actually really enjoyed it!! (But must warn you, not everyone in our group enjoyed it) It was such a different experience at a movie theater. The pace of the movie was slower, but the style of the movie, scenery, cinematography, colors and costumes used in the movie were so beautiful and unique that I thought it of more as a "theater show" than a typical "movie." Now, I've read about some historical inaccuracies in this movie and so on, but hey, this wasn't the History Channel. It was Hollywood.

And so far this week, it's been the same pattern of working all day and hanging out with friends, acquaintances, and clients all evening. At least I'm not worn out yet.

Armen's Condo After...

IMG_5612,
originally uploaded by jinlee.

So about 3 good days of painting later, and a couple days for the carpet guys to finish carpeting... here is what we're left with.

Again, this is at the Victorian condo complex in Northgate. I didn't take too many "after" pictures, just because I didn't want to intrude on Armen's privacy. I just wanted to get an idea of what was accomplished during the remodel.

The difference is astonishing. It looks like it's straight out of a brand new condominium complex in downtown Bellevue or Kirkland.

A couple things to note. The 1,000 square foot condo with about 8 foot ceilings took roughly 5 gallons of paint to cover the entire place (we had about 4 gallons of "flat" for all the main living areas, while the bathroom and kitchen were completed with a gallon of semi-gloss paint).

The flooring, interior painting and light fixtures were replaced and I would estimate that well under $3,000 was spent overall. Not bad considering they probably added (at the very least) $30,000 in value. And we saved a considerable amount of money by painting the place ourselves.

Eventually, some of the little things such as bathroom and kitchen fixtures, light switches, and interior door handles may be replaced, but the major things are out of the way now.

After the deal the Khachatourian's got on their condo, I'm pretty envious now. Hope you guys enjoy your new place!

Armen's Condo Before....

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originally uploaded by jinlee.

Here's of shot of Armen Khachatourian's new condo at the Victorian in Northgate BEFORE we did a bunch of work on it.

The walls throughout the condo were inconsistent in color. Some were white, some were gray, some were beige. And the green carpeting was dirty, stained and throughout the entire unit.

If you click on the image, you can see some of the other "before" shots at my FlickR account.

As soon as the place closed and belonged to Armen and Gaguik, we got to work....

Another shot from SEE Sound Lounge

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originally uploaded by jinlee.

Here's Jay Lee showing off his deep hypnotic salsa dancing abilities. Eventually a crowd gathered around him as the dance floor started to resemble a scene from West Side Story. Then we made a circle around Jay as he performed some moves from "You Got Served."

Actually, this was all in my mind. But this evening was a LOT of fun, unlike any other I've had in Belltown since there was no alcohol involved, no "trying to pickup chicks" and just dancing like fools with nobody to laugh at you. I did accidentally kick a girl named Ally in her shin. But neither her, nor her partner Greg Ward (what's up buddy), seemed to mind too much. Sorry!

Salsa Dancing Lessons in Belltown

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originally uploaded by jinlee.

Here's Jim Chow, the salsa dancing instructor, showing off his moves at SEE Sound Lounge in Belltown. It was difficult to take pictures because of the low light conditions but it was fun to get to dance with people of different abilities.

Me? I'm just a beginner. I found a perfect place to practice in the corner where no one was watching.

And hey, if you're looking to join a group of beginners, check out Jim's website at www.dancesalsaon1.com

Xbox 360 - Look me up!

Ironically, I write this right after expressing my desire to get in shape. Maybe video games are the reason I'm out of shape now, although I've had various video game consoles ever since the original Nintendo came out, and I've never really been "addicted" to any games, nor spent a whole lot of time playing them.

If you happen to have an Xbox Live account on Xbox 360, feel free to look me up. Username "jin411". The 360 so far is pretty impressive. The graphics are great. It can even pull music off my main computer and play them during games. And I can even hook my Xbox 360 up to a Windows Media Center Edition computer and watch recorded TV from the Xbox.

Anyway, other than that, I'm sure the Xbox 360 does more. I just haven't really explored yet. Some of the games have been giving me terrible motion sickness and headaches. Especially any game that involves a character walking around on various levels (like Perfect Dark Zero or Kameo).

One thing to note on the Xbox 360, the guys at Gamestop have warned me about the game discs getting ruined because of people moving their consoles around with the discs inside (a circular pattern gets scratched onto the surface, they call it the Ring of Death). This most often happens when a horizontally placed unit is moved into the verticle position DURING a game. The best thing to do would be to just keep your Xbox 360 stationary. And if you do take your console from place to place, just remember to remove the discs during transport. There's a lot regarding this topic on Google.

At age 26....

... I'm in the worst shape of my life. And it's not really a matter of "gaining weight", it's how I physically feel and how "soft" I've been getting. The 2-pack I had in high school and early college has been long gone.

I eat out too much (fast food and sit-down restaurants) and drink too much beer. It's tough when it's the most convenient way to meet up with clients and friends.

My weight has gone from 145 (high school) to 156 pounds. It doesn't sound like a whole lot, but percentage-wise, it's pretty significant. At 5'6", my BMI (body mass index) is 25.2 according to the NHLBI website. That puts me in the "Overweight" category, which is any score between 25 to 29.9 (anything 30 and over is considered "Obese". That was quite an eye-opener to realize that I'm in this category.

My goal is to get back down to 145 pounds, which would give me a BMI score of 23.4. And unlike most other people, who want to trim down for the summer months, I really want to do this so I'm in good shape to go snowboarding and to do other winter sports.

What I really should do is track what I eat and write down calories like I did in high school, but that would take a lot more time than I have lately. I will, however, make a commitment to work out more. And by that, I don't just mean going to the gym. I'll try to play more basketball, tennis and rock climb more often.

Wilsonart Flooring Project - After

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originally uploaded by jinlee.

.... and here's a picture of the Wong family room AFTER we were all finished. Tin Nguyen and I took about 3 overall days of work to get this done (which we did mostly on evenings and weekends). I did most of the floors, while Tin did all the baseboard trim and the difficult step (it's a sunken family room).

The TV stand is the only piece of furniture that was purchased, and it fits right into the space next to the fireplace.

Again, the floors are Wilsonart brand and were pretty easy to work with. I don't think we wasted a single piece due to cracking or a defect (usually, I get a few pieces that just don't fit correctly, and a couple more that crack under the pressure of the hammer). And even with 3 dogs running on them all day long, I haven't seen a single scratch.

The hardest part of the room actually had nothing to do with flooring. It was trying to hide ALL the wires that come out of that little corner.

The total cost of upgrading this room from carpet to laminate wood flooring was well under $1,000 (maybe even under $900). It's an average sized room at about 300 square feet (about 15 feet by 20 feet), but this was the more expensive laminate wood floor ($2.54 per square foot) and to top it off, buying the matching baseboard trim was more expensive than buying generic stuff.

If we had gone with a cheaper laminate floor and baseboard trim, this remodel would easily be under $500 in the end. However, it was very important to match the kitchen and entry areas that had already been done in Wilsonart.

Wilsonart Flooring Project - Before

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originally uploaded by jinlee.

Here's a shot of the Wong family room before we started putting down laminate wood flooring....

The other side of the game room

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originally uploaded by jinlee.

Here's another view of the game room that shows the little pool cue rack and TV stand that I made from scratch. Actually, I didn't want a TV in that room but I had an extra 15 inch LCD TV that fit perfectly on the top shelf so now I can watch football or something while shooting some pool with friends.

Finally, my game room is done

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originally uploaded by jinlee.

Here's my "Game Room on a Budget"

Pool Table - The 8 foot pool table is a 3 piece slate Olhausen that I bought off Craigslist a couple months ago. It's the nicest I've ever played on and FYI, takes 3 guys to just lift one end of it. I'm pretty sure this table weighs at, or over, 1000 pounds. Retail / brand new, I have no idea what these would go for, but I happily picked it up for $1400, and paid a professional billiards moving company $300 to set it up for me (ABC Billiards in Lynnwood if you're interested, they did a GREAT job).

Wine Rack - This piece might look familiar if you have recently walked through the Self Serve section at IKEA. Yes, it's from IKEA (for those of you who are IKEA bashers), but I reinforced all the corners and screws so it's more sturdy than your average IKEA shelving unit (although we'll see if that makes any difference in the long run). Paid $90 for this (which includes all the wine shelves, regular shelves, and side pieces). And I paid $20 for the Martini Bar sign (from Costco Home Store) that's currently on top. Not too bad since I see similar wine racks for 5 times the price at other furniture stores.

Rug - I was walking through Costco Home Store and decided I needed a new rug. I wanted an 8 foot by 11 footer to go under the pool table (the one I had on there before was an $80 rug from Home Depot). The salesman there tried to convince me to get a $1300 handmade, one of a kind rug. But I couldn't justify spending that much when it's just going to sit under the pool table. I decided to think about it for a little bit. Then I walked through Costco's bar stool section and noticed a rug on display that I thought looked great (and nearly identical to the hand made one). The same salesman told me that it was a machine made rug and that he had a bunch of them in stock. Total cost, $239 plus tax. I didn't hesitate to say "I'll take it."

Pub Table and Chairs - These are also from Costco Home Store. Thomas Aaron Billiards is the maker. I saw similar ones, although not as nice, at American Games and Billiards. And although I love that store, I felt like I was paying $1200 for the table and $500 for each chair only because it was a brand name (Brunswick). At Costco Home, the Thomas Aaron pub table was $250, and the spectator chairs were $270 each. And despite being cheaper than buying Brunswick, I would say this is where I splurged a little bit. I've seen pub tables and chairs at places like Fred Meyer and IKEA for $200 for a 3-piece set. But I didn't want it to look cheap either. So I feel like I found the perfect middle ground with the Thomas Aaron furniture.

Also, not picture yet because I just hung it up this morning. I bought a cool poster of Elvis Presley, James Dean, Marilyn Monroe and Humphrey Bogart playing pool that I hung right over the pub table. That only cost $70 framed. Not too bad.

Total cost of everything mentioned above is under $3,000. Well under my original budget.

Duvall, WA - I will miss you guys

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originally uploaded by jinlee.

Hey y'alls.

Well, I'm writing today about a friend's house in Duvall that's about to go up for sale (although I'm tempted to use their names, I won't). It's amazing how much love they put into the house and transformed it into something that's truly unique and beautiful.

This picture specifically is one that was taken of their family room. It looks like something out of a Home and Garden magazine.

It's definitely bittersweet, in that I'll miss having them so relatively close by, while on the other hand, I can understand their reasons for moving.

And not to use a tired real estate marketing term, but the "pride in ownership" at this house really does show. Everything that was done to this home was done right, right down to the paint, deck, and high end appliances.

I love watching average homes get transformed by creative owners to become special ones. This one doesn't disappoint.

You know what I want to see?

It's sad to see how far Michael Jackson has fallen. I remember growing up, listening to his albums and thinking of him as the King of Pop. Remember when the phrase "MJ" could be referring to either Michael Jordan OR Michael Jackson? Seems like nobody remembers Jackson anymore.

And it's hard to imagine that he'll be making a comeback anytime soon.

Unless...

I think Michael Jackson needs to team up with Timbaland. Seems like everything Timbaland touches is turning into hit singles. Like when he teamed up with Missy Elliot for "Get Ur Freak On" (long time ago), Nelly Furtado for "Promiscuous Girl", Justin Timberlake's "SexyBack"... seems like he helped these artists make a comeback or helped them cement their popularity.

And according to the Wiki, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timbaland, he's worked with more artists than I can count on one hand.

Yeah, MJ needs his help. Bad.

2006 Lake Sammamish Aerobattle

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originally uploaded by jinlee.

If you were in Issaquah over the weekend, you probably saw the Seattle Aerobattle going on over Lake Sammamish. I don't know who won, but it was pretty cool to see the manuevers some people were doing over the lake.

Here's a Youtube video from the 2003 Aerobattle, although I didn't get to see it in person.

Wilsonart Flooring - A Work in Progress

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originally uploaded by jinlee.

For more pics, see the FlickR set regarding flooring

We needed to get rid of the carpet in the Wong's family room. It was probably the original carpet from the 80's when the home was built and it got some of the most traffic in the home (especially from 3 dogs).

The toughest thing about working on a home with current residents is trying not to disrupt everyday tasks, keeping everything clean, and most importantly, moving everything out of the room we plan on working on.

This home was no different. We had to move everything into the living room. And since they've been here for quite a while, they gathered a lot of junk in the family room. We had to move couches, bookcases, a TV armoire, computer desk, 2 printers and all the other random things that were on the desks, bookcases and the armoire.

When pulling up the old carpet, a lot of dust was kicked up. Thankfully, it wasn't close to meal-time, otherwise that dust would have gone into the kitchen nearby.

The Wilsonart brand laminate flooring (which we picked up for $2.65 per square foot at www.ifloor.com) was BY FAR the easiest laminate floor I have ever had the privelege of working with. Of course it was also the most expensive (locally, it was available at Great Floors for over $4.50 per square foot but we bought it at iFloor and picked it up in Kent, Washington). We didn't really choose it, since we were required to use it to match the Wilsonart that was already in other parts of the home. The color is Golden Oak in case you're wondering.

I have worked with the Costco brand laminate floors, Dream Home brand (from Lumber Liquidators) and the cheaper (non-Pergo) brand from Home Depot (all 3 of these were right around $1.00 per square foot). With Wilsonart, I never wasted any pieces due to them breaking, I could tap as hard as I needed to in order to get the pieces together. With cheaper brands, you always have to be aware of how hard you're tapping.

At the current moment, we're waiting for the base trim to come in. As soon as that is finished, I'll post more pictures.

Brokeback Jin

Okay, so the title is misleading. I'm not coming out of the closet or anything like that. For the first time in my life, at age 26, I strained my back while trying to lift my dad's luggage at the airport. And today, 2 days later, it's still sore.

What happened was that I picked up his heavy bag and got on the escalator. While on the escalator, I set it down on the steps. As we got near the top, I bent over (didn't use my knees) to try and pick it up with my back. As I popped up, my back instantly tensed up and I've had shooting pains in it ever since.

I'll have to cut back on heavy lifting, and really need to start exercising my whole body (instead of just running a couple times each week). I miss the high school days when I ran track, played tennis, golf, and led the football team to state (although that last one only happened in my head).

So I've been moving a bit more slowly and taking things a little bit easier lately. I may decide to go see a chiropractor soon, although I'm not looking forward to that.

The Anatomy of a Flip - Personal Experience

Here are numbers from a recent personal house fixing up experience...

** To protect the new owners, I won't be giving out the details of the location of the property.

Purchase Price - $206,000
Amount of fees I had to pay when I bought it - $6,436.52
Amount of commission I got when I bought it - $6,180.00

The cost of new siding (hardiplank), paint, Pergo flooring, carpet, door hardware, front door repair, 4 mortgage payments, 2 new garage doors and garage door openers and utility bills came out to $25,754.91.

Now this was an actual "house", not a townhouse nor a condo. This one involved a moderate amount of work. I outsourced ALL of the work except for the garage doors (Dan and I hooked those up).

That means in order to break even, I had to sell it for $232,011.43.

The actual selling price... $294,500.
Here are the fees I had to pay at closing... $8,835 to the selling real estate agent, $605 in taxes (that I owed for that 4 month period), $5,242.10 (1.78% excise tax), approx $1400 for title and escrow.

After fees, the total I got to keep was over $46,000 in just over 4 months. Pretty decent return especially since I didn't do any of the work except for spending one weekend putting up garage doors.

The Anatomy of a Flip - Don't believe what TV tells you

I've had it with these "Home Flip" TV shows. The ones that tell you,

"John spent $850,000 on his home. After spending $65,000 on fixing it up, he plans on selling it for $990,000. That means he will make $75,000!!!"

Eh, WRONG. At least in Washington State, we have this little 1.78% fee called an "excise tax", to be paid whenever a home is sold. That's over $17K right there!

Not to mention spending about $3,500 on Title and Escrow and between $40K to $60K on real estate commissions (between 4% to 6%). If you're lucky, you're left with $10K after paying capital gains tax.

** All these amounts are based on the home actually selling for $990,000 **

I actually saw one the other day called "Property Ladder"... it's just like all the other Home Flip shows, except this one tells you how much the people made AFTER all the fees.

One group of 4 made $37K TOTAL after 4 months. Hardly worth the effort.

I miss my popcorn ceilings

Okay, so every homebuyer these days seems to cringe at the sight of popcorn ceilings. Now, if you don't know what popcorn ceilings look like, they're the textured things that builders used to put on ceilings inside homes (none of the newer homes I've seen have them). They're also referred to as "cottage cheese ceilings". The main reason for these was that they apparently hid defects in the walls, although I don't buy that reason (I've had to remove popcorn ceilings twice and neither time there were defects underneath). I think the main reason they were used is because it was applied using a massive spray technique, so it was fast, quick and cheap. Maybe they have soundproofing abilities as well.

I lived in a home for 20+ years that had popcorn ceilings, and now I kinda miss them. I remember a couple of times I would swing a baseball bat, or golf club, inside the home and accidentally scrape the ceiling, only to have little flakes come off the ceiling and into my hair or into my eyes.

Being in the real estate industry, you see trends come and go. And when some trends "go", you get nostalgic about never seeing them again. Maybe one day these trends will make a comeback (like aluminum windows and berber carpets are doing these days). But I have a feeling popcorn ceilings will go the way of lead-paint, never to make a comeback.

Although I do have to admit, popcorn ceilings can be pretty ugly.

Funny Japanese Prank Video

This is about the funniest video I've seen in a LONG time.

Too bad our nation is so sue happy, it would be nice to be able to get away with some pranks like this around here. I don't know about you, but I started thinking words like lawsuit, liability, emotional damage, public humiliation and other similar words when watching this video.

It reminds me of some of the game shows I saw in Korea when I was much younger, over 10 years ago.

In any case, enjoy! This is currently the 4th most watched video of all time on Youtube.

The Wedding

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originally uploaded by jinlee.

What can I say about the Scurlock wedding? It was a blast. To me, the evening flew by because I was having so much fun.

It took a few hours to help setup, but before I even realized the ceremony had started, I was walking down the aisle with Jim's younger sister on my arm. It was 5 o'clock already!

Annie soon followed, looking beautiful. And Jim looked great. Everything had gone as planned. I didn't do anything stupid to draw attention to myself.

I even got to see old friends from high school (Jeff, Josh, Megan and a couple of the guys I saw at the bachelor party) and talked to a lot of cool people (Chris and his girlfriend). Then Megan made me realize, I'm totally cynical about relationships these days. I feel like career / money is what's driving me, and family is a close 2nd. And it's not really a secret to anyone that knows me. And on my list, I'd probably put things like friends and hobbies next on that list. That leaves relationships clinging on to the top 5 (maybe).

It was kind of a shock to realize it at that moment. A feeling that got worse as I saw the attempts people made to try and hook up with the opposite sex at weddings.

But I guess that's what makes Jim's wedding so special. They've been together 7 years!! Ever since Jim and I were sophomores at the University of Washington. I know some marriages that haven't lasted that long.

So Jim, best of luck to you and have a great honeymoon. Not to sound like a "toast" speech, but I can only hope to find the type of happiness that you and Annie have. Congratulations.

My First Attempt at Carpentry

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originally uploaded by jinlee.

My mind is so fried right now. It's 1 AM and I'm trying to write something clever about Jim and Annie's wedding but I can't. It's not because it wasn't a great wedding. The wedding was a blast. I saw so many old friends that I didn't plan on seeing, and it really just felt like high school all over again (which was kinda weird too).

All I've been able to muster so far regarding the wedding is a short little blog about Chris' nipple.

But while I mull over the topic of weddings and relationships, here's something I've been working on for a couple days. I had this design idea in my head so I went to Home Depot, picked up these pieces, http://www.flickr.com/photos/jin411/191521807/, for about $30, and put it together to make this pool cue rack to go along with my pool table.

I didn't realize starting from scratch was so much work. There were a lot of screws, drilling, trim moulding, stain, sanding, and finish work to do. The first set of wood cost me about $30, but in the end everything ended up costing about $65 total.

The reason I did it on my own is because A. pool cue racks at American Games in Bellevue had racks for $599 and up!! and B. I haven't been able to find a design that I liked at all.

So with that said, I present to you my new cue rack. Not the prettiest nor the greatest design, but it works for me. For now.

Chris Walcker, this is your nipple

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originally uploaded by jinlee.

Here's a shot of Jim behind the scenes as him and his best man prepare for Jim's wedding day!!

Congrats Jim and Annie Scurlock. More on that later... but for now, Chris Walcker, I had to show your fans a shot of your nipple.

Koreans Supporting VCR Sales

"This article has no scientific fact other than my own meandering thoughts" - I wrote this after having to spend $40 plus tax on a new VCR for my mom after she broke her old one. $40 for something I probably should have picked up for free somewhere, but my mom HAD to watch her Korean dramas tonight... -Jin


Koreans Support VCR Sales

VCR manufacturers have Korean dramas to thank for the fact that people still use their VCRs. VCRs, no longer working more than 20 hours before malfunctioning and making strange noises, tend to be higher maintenance than their DVD counterparts. VCRs have numerous repair, head cleaning, and other maintenance kits that cost almost as much as buying a new VCR. Therefore, more people will buy more VCRs instead of repairing them. Especially after viewing some of the new seasons and releases of Korean dramas, which my mom and her friends pick up in loads of 30 to 40 tapes, with each tape consisting of 2 hours of material (at least).

To nobody's surprise, Samsung and other Korean manufacturers have taken advantage of this trend by offering items such as this one, at Amazon.com, Samsung VCR for $59. Please excuse me Samsung, but what a rip off.

Movie Mania - Summer 2006

I've been watching a lot of movies in the theater lately, which is uncharacteristic of me because I'm usually willing to wait for the videos. I think I may have mentioned in a previous blog that I enjoyed X3 : X-Men United, but here are my thoughts on some other movies I have seen since then...

Superman Returns

I loved the original Superman movies, although I never saw Superman 3 nor 4. I heard those last 2 were terrible. There was a scene in this new movie, Superman Returns, where I started feeling emotional. It was when the plane starts to go down and Superman returns from a several year absense to save it. I remember thinking several things... "Chris Reeve and Dana Reeve would be proud" is what I remember most though.

The special effects were sweet, but what I love about Superman is that it does wonders for a child's imagination.


Cars by Pixar

I wasn't as excited to see Cars, but I'm glad I did. As Mitch put it, Pixar does it right, by appealing to kids, adults, and everyone in between. There was a point in the movie where I thought it was a tad slow, and I remember thinking, "I wonder where they're going with this story."

In most cases, that's a bad thing, but in this movie, I liked the unpredictability of it. And the end result had a touching message that was tastefully done... that you don't always have to come first to win.


Disney's Eight Below - Rented

Is it just me, or is Disney dominating this summer? They've got Cars doing great in theaters, Eight Below doing great in rental stores, and the new Pirates of the Caribbean coming out tonight. Eight Below was a fun movie. Not what I was expecting (which was more of a documentary March of the Penguins type of movie), but I always enjoy animal movies. Especially ones that involve dogs (but not dogs that talk).

I also enjoy snowboarding and winter, so the scenery shots (even though it wasn't relaly show in Antarctica) turned out beautifully. It's a typical Disney type of movie so expect a happy ending and a good fuzzy feeling afterwards.


The new Pirates of the Caribbean

Okay, so my friend's bought tickets to this for tonight at 10:30 PM. Personally, I don't see what the hype is about, but I'll go to see Johnny Depp anyday. After watching Willy Wonka, I have no doubt that he's one of the great actor's of our generation. I'll try to give my opinion on the movie later.

All You Can Do is Smile

Dear Warren Buffett,

What an amazing thing you're doing. Giving away over $37 billion of your wealth. And here I was, thinking I was doing something spectacular by giving away my old Ford Ranger pickup truck. You have always helped me put things in perspective. I read that you still drive the same pickup truck and live in the same neighborhood as you did before you amassed your wealth. I'm impressed that you haven't given in to the social pressures to continually upgrade and adjust your lifestyle based on how much you make.

You're an inspiration and a great role model (at least to me, I don't know about what the rest of the world thinks).

- Jin

IMG_4708 - Ride for Ty - PNWRiders and Renton Motorcycles

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originally uploaded by jinlee.

Well, it's been a while since my last post, so here's a quick update.

I've personally chosen a winner for the Ford Ranger and plan on dropping it off on Wednesday. My original plan to let people vote on the blog changed for a few reasons. 1. I didn't want it to become a popularity contest because I thought this one entry stood out above the rest. And 2. To let you in on a little secret, I do make money from this blog due to the amount of traffic it receives (when people Google certain neighborhoods / communities, my blog tends to show up). But that day I posted the Free Ford Ranger, I set a new record for traffic to this site, which meant I made a little more money from ad revenue than I usually would have (not enough to pay for the truck itself, but I was afraid it would get there and that's not what I was trying to do in the first place). So my point is, I'm trying to keep things low-key.

In other news, after about 3 months experiencing life at an automobile dealership, I gave it up. I'm not usually one to give up that quickly, or admit failure, but working at a dealership is one of the toughest environments I've ever been in. A few of the negative things I've heard about dealerships are true, but in general, I feel that salespeople are just trying to make money to support their families. There's not as much money as people would have you think in auto sales. The profit margins on cars are dropping and salesmen don't make as much as they used to. Also, with websites such as Craigslist and eBay making it simple for a private party to sell to another private party, most people don't put up with dealerships anymore.

Also, my dad is in town from Korea, looking for a place down towards Thurston County (Olympia, Lacey, Yelm). Talk about sticker-shock! I expected single family homes to be about $150K to $200K there, brand new. It's looking more like $250K to $325K for something decent. Not much difference between there and Puyallup, and I think I'd rather be there (a closer to Seattle, albeit only by about 10-15 minutes). But it's my dad's call on this one.

I've had this urge to get a new motorcycle for the past few months, one of those shiny new sportbikes. But I've finally decided to just leave those funds in the stock market, where I have it all on Jones Soda (symbol JSDA).

And lastly, if you were on I-5 North or I-405 South yesterday (Sunday 6/25/06) around lunchtime and were annoyed with the amount of motorcycles out there (50+ bikes taking up at least a 1/4 mile of the carpool lane), that was a ride we did for a fellow rider who is currently at Harborview. Thanks to those who put up with it. It was pretty special to be a part of.

Crash movie : Best friend

If you have ever seen the movie Crash (I think it won the Oscar for Best Picture of 2005), there's a scene in the movie where Sandra Bullock's character realizes that the only friend she has in the world is her housekeeper, who puts up with her attitude, rudeness, and goes about her duties with no complaints. Everyone else around Bullock is only there because she's rich and famous.

As soon as I saw this scene, two things came to mind. My friends and family... then my dog.

I love the fact that my friends are so diverse. From blue collar, minimum wage earning family men to the jaw-droppingly wealthy, there's a lesson to be learned from everybody. People are friends with you because you're a good person, not because of what you do for a living or because of what things you own. Whether they're 15 years old going on to high school or about to retire, you can still find common ground with someone. In that sense, I'm lucky to have so many friends... but I still have a lot to learn about life.

Like, why my budget varies from someone who makes more money? Or less money? And why are my priorities different? Are my priorities wrong? One of the things I'm proudest of is the fact that my dad was able to teach me so much when I was young. Everything from how to ski, snowboard, golf, ride a dirt bike, and so much more. Then there's my mom who introduced me to music, piano, violins, and the more studious things.

It gave me a diverse background. But I've learned real quick that more isn't always better. Money will never equal happiness.

Then there's my dog, Brian. Because after every single day, no matter what I've done that day, or what my abilities are, or what toys I own, he's always there happy to see ME, and nothing else.

Dogs are so much more than just pets. He's a companion, sleeps by my side at night, and rides on my lap in the car. He keeps me fit with all the walking I do with him, and offers hours of entertainment with the help of a cheap, used tennis ball.

To steal a line from Mastercard, he's priceless.

And I guess what I'm trying to say is, go get a dog?

Taking a break from work - Zoolander time

I want to be a male model. I think it's time for another Zoolander movie night, followed by "Not Another Teen Movie." Those are probably the 2 cheesiest movies of all time.

At the dealership where I work, we have a used yellow Jeep Wrangler in stock. I've been wanting to take it for a test drive, pick up 3 guy friends, go to Old Navy for a change of wardrobe, and then download the Jitterbug MP3 and drive around Pioneer Square with that song blasting.

I'll pass on the gasoline fight though.

X-Men 3 - Or X3 - The Last Stand

It seems like when all superhero comic book movie trailers first come out, I think to myself, "I'll never see that."

But then the movie comes out and I can't wait. Like last years Batman Begins, and the last Spiderman movie, and this past weekend with the new X-Men movie, and even for next month's Superman movie (the new Superman trailer that was shown before X-Men was spectacular). However, I don't think I'm that excited about Ghost Rider with Nicholas Cage and never will be.

Going into the new X-Men movie, I was really skeptical. I read that MSN Movies gave it a 1.5 star out of 5. That's harsh. But most of the criticism I read was about the director (Brett Ratner) and how he can't do action movies. But wasn't he the guy that directed both Rush Hour movies?

With that said, I really enjoyed this movie. It felt a lot like the Rush Hour movies actually... a lot of action sequences mixed in with humor. As I was leaving the theater, I realized it was a pretty short movie, and I remember saying, "That was really efficient." There was a ton of action and not that much dialogue. There were some cheesy lines in there, but all of the X-Men movies have had that, so I don't blame this director.

I can see why hard core fans of the comic books would be upset. There are so many characters in the X-Men series that it's impossible to give every one of them a lot of face time. And forget character development. The only "new" character to really be given a back story was the guy with wings (Angel I think it was). And that was about 2 minutes worth.

Still, I was pleasantly surprised by this movie. I did NOT enjoy X2 - X-Men United when I saw that in the theater. I was soooo bored. I think most people just want a lot of action in their superhero movies, even if it doesn't make a lot of sense. So maybe a change of directors was necessary, at least from my perspective.

Childhood Home. Gone.

As of this Friday, my childhood home of 23+ years will belong to another family. Although I haven't been living there for a few years now, I will still miss going there. It'll be hard to imagine another group of people living there. I protested when my parents tried selling the home back in elementary and middle school. And now I've had another 15 years since then to call that place my home.

The best features of that home... privacy, the nice large yard, a creek running through the front yard... will all be missed. I remember playing in the creek, wanting to make a dam and wishing one day I could create hydroelectric energy with that creek so I could power my own house. That woulda been sweet. I remember traveling through the woods that surround that house, and having a treehouse in the woods where I had a rope swing. Oh, and the countless hours of basketball I played there trying to mimic the moves of Nate McMillan and Gary Payton with other friends, and then having to fetch the ball when it fell into the creek. And even more recently, I remember Brian (my dog) having a blast as he sprinted the entire 1/2+ acre lot.

I strongly believe that the home has as much to do with the way I am today as any other factor in my life. My parents wanted to move to Clyde Hill in Bellevue before I started going to Issaquah Middle School. I would have been living in a ritzy area and going to Bellevue schools. I'm pretty sure I would be different, but not sure in which way. Maybe I would be more booksmart (Bellevue schools are rated some of the best in the country), maybe I wouldn't be as interested in the outdoors, maybe I would want to live in a larger city since the Clyde Hill area of Bellevue feels more like a city, compared to Issaquah feeling more like a suburb.

Anyway... I'm going to have a weird feeling when I have to hand my keys over.

In a Motivated State

Thanks to my iPod, I feel like I'm a secret agent spy everytime I get on the computer and start typing something, with music like Crystal Method or the Mission Impossible Theme song playing in my headphones. Even if I'm just writing an email or posting something on eBay.

But I think in addition to that, I've just been extremely motivated lately. Everything I've been doing lately has been in a rush. Even when I went for a motorcycle ride with Michael a few nights ago, he said I was real figgity (not while I was riding thank God). I can't sit still for more than 30 minutes. I'm probably just trying to do too much, but it sure is keeping me focused.

On the agenda for this week... sell some cars, drive up business at Evergreen Ford, close a few real estate deals, help some friends write up some real estate offers, finish up a couple websites, get my dog washed and also take him to the park, clean up my mom's old house one final time, and wash my cars.

Back to work for me.

"Look at these crow's feet" -Stewie

The other morning I woke up and was surprised when I looked in the mirror (yes, I looked that bad). But it was the crow's feet that I noticed most. I knew I've been busy lately, but had been in denial about being tired, until I saw the crow's feet.

Luckily, Thursday and Friday are my days off from the autos and finance world. Unfortunately, those are usually the days I focus on real estate, investments (go Jones Soda! Up 10%+ so far today!!), catching up with friends, and taking my dogs out to parks. So no immediate rest in site.

I may be getting additional duties at Evergreen Ford to go on top of my duties with Auto Loans NW, which I welcome because it'll give me a chance to see how well I can market vehicles. I seem to have marketed everything from sporting goods, homes, and everything in between, except for cars and trucks.

So with that said, I'm going to go enjoy the outdoors on my day off before it starts raining.

Wow....

Hey everyone,

I really appreciate the interest in the truck. But please, no offers to buy the truck. If I were "selling" it, I would have put a pricetag on it to begin with.

To answer some people's questions, there's nothing "wrong" with the truck. It runs fine. I just put gas in it and go. The only time I have trouble is if I don't let it warm up in the morning, it might stall a block down the street.

And please, don't leave your number in public places like the "Comments" section. Just for your own privacy.

And lastly, I don't have a ton of free time so if I don't get back to you, please don't fret.

Thanks!

Giving Away My Ford Ranger... FREE

IMG_2242,
originally uploaded by jinlee.

Having recently become a part of Auto Loans NW, a company that offers auto loans packages (but specializes in loans for people with bad credit and first time buyers) and seeing the level of contrast between rich and poor in the real estate world... I've learned first hand the hardships many people have to go through in everyday life. Just in balancing finances, with home, auto, food, and all the other necessities. When I see people that have been taken to collections for bouncing a Girl Scouts Cookies check, I don't find it funny. I wish I could help somehow.

I've seen so many people come through who need a car, but they just can't afford one, can't get financing for one, and have friends and family who can't help them out. Some can't even come up with $50 for a down payment. I've met people who want to get in on the real estate boom, but don't have the resources to do so.

I wish I could buy a car for every person the banks can't help out, but I can't.

I mean, I see shows like Oprah and read about people with hardships on the news. But I've always been a hopeless bystander. Then I hear about people like Tila Nguyen (aka Tila Tequila) on Myspace taping currency to her walls to show off her newfound wealth, I kinda wish she would do something more with that money, you know? But on the other hand, this is America, so more power to her.

So it's time for me to do something.

Now, I'm not by any means a "rich" guy. I'm no Oprah, but I aspire to be like her. I can't give away hundreds of free Pontiacs in a TV show titled "Jin's Favorite Things" or "Jin's Wildest Dreams". But here's something I can do to make a difference...

I wrote a few days ago about my pickup truck. I love it. I know that my friends always wonder, "Why does he drive that so much? He's got a nicer car in his garage!"

Here's why. It's because when I drive it, my stress goes away. I don't worry about what people think of me, I don't try to race people, I don't care about where I park it, if people dent my doors in, or how expensive insurance is, or my next car payment. It takes me back to when my dad, sister and I used to ride around in a single cab Mazda truck. We would all sit so close together. I could barely see over the hood. I remember I would sit in the middle of the bench and the gear shift knob would almost touch my legs when my dad shifted (they're still short, but not as short as back then). Those were good times.

Now that my dad is sick, I treasure those days more than ever.

But it's time to give up the truck. Free. No catches, no hidden fees. Someone else needs it more than I do. Now's the hard part. Who do I give it to? Just email me at jinlee411 [at] hotmail [dot] com with 200 words or less why you deserve this 1992 Ford Ranger White Standard Cab 2 wheel drive long bed 5 speed manual with about 150K miles and I'll choose the 3 responses that are the most moving, deserving, creative, funny, and most importantly, in need of a car.

The rest is up to the readers to vote here on the blog. Your identity will remain private to the readers of this blog. I have a feeling that I'll receive maybe 10 to 20 entries, so your chances of winning should be good, should you choose to enter.

Here's the Carfax on the car in PDF format. And here's the Mileage Log and all service performed on the truck since I bought it (yes, I'm meticulous about it).

Despite what I said about the truck in a previous post, it runs great as long as I warm it up for 30 seconds. But I'll toss in some extras for peace of mind.

I'll toss in a 6 month / 6,000 mile warranty through One Stop Autobody in Lynnwood, a major service tune-up (right before delivery) through Express Tune in Issaquah, and an auto detail through All Star Auto Detail in Issaquah.

I know I'm not doing much, but I'm glad it will go to someone who needs it more than I do.

Oh, and the deadline. I'll review all the posts as of Thursday, June 15th, 2006 at noon. That's over a month from now. I'll give myself a little day off that day to review entries. Oh, and good luck!

Credit Score Advice?... Well, I'm not an expert but...

Since I'm part of the real estate and auto loans industry, I've met quite a few people who are clueless about credit.

So here's my two cents. Call it "Credit for Dummies".

I'm always happy to help answer any credit related questions, free of charge of course. Or go to Homes in Issaquah Forum and post your anonymous questions in the Credit Related Questions section.

Credit Score Range : Credit scores range from 300 to 850, with 850 being the best score you can get. Anything over 700 is generally "very good". Having a score of over 700 generally qualifies you for "prime" interest rates when applying for an auto loan or mortgage.

What's a Prime Rate? : Prime rates are the low interest rates shown at banks. As many people know, if a bank is advertising 6% interest rates on a loan, they probably only qualify for 8% or so, depending on their credit score. Of course, the higher your credit score, the lower your interest rate. If you have a bad score, your interest rate can be 2 or 3 times the prime rate.

Average Credit Score : The national average is 676 according to MSN Money.

What's a bad score? : Anything below 550 is considered awful according to CreditScoring.com.

What are my options? : If you have a terrible credit score, there are other ways to get a loan. You can use sub-prime lenders who usually charge a higher interest rate than typical walk-in banks. You can find cosigners (but I don't recommend this except in rare instances). However, if you have a bankruptcy and a lot of charge-offs on your credit report, using a sub-prime lender may be your only option (they specialize in first-time and bankruptcy clients).

What does my credit report show? : There are 4 categories on your credit report. Real Estate / Mortgage, Installment Accounts, Revolving Accounts, and Other Accounts. Having a little bit of each type of account, keeping your balances low, being on time with your payments, and showing a strong history of paying on time will all improve your credit score.

What doesn't my credit report show? : Your credit report does not reveal your nationality, income, amount of money in your bank account, level of education, or sex. It is merely to paint a picture about your financial responsibility.

Ask more questions at the Homes in Issaquah Forum


I've seen more than my share of sub-550 credit scores. Now, you may ask, how does your credit score get this low? Usually via multiple bankruptcies, pages of collections, spending more than your credit limit on your credit cards, and having multiple cars repossessed.

This isn't to poke fun at those people however. Think of the family of 4 that is being supported by a $10 / hour job. After rent, car payments, food, there isn't much left. With that said, I've seen people in similar situations with vastly different credit scores.

Many people just aren't educated about credit. There is no shame in this. Just keep in mind that help is free (even credit reports are free) and you shouldn't have to pay a fee to have your credit repaired. People in difficult situations may feel vulnerable (bankruptcies, divorces, illnesses, injuries), and if you find yourself in a similar situation, watch out for people who are ready to take advantage of you. They could make a bad situation even worse.