Phases of Life - My Phase 3

Oh man I really haven't posted since February of this year?? Now I'm super duper bummed out.....not. It's not that I don't value you few readers out there, but it seems like this year has been flying by at breakneck speed. Without further adieu though, I'll grace you with my newest entry below.

I've been traveling a lot this year. And when I mean "a lot", I do really mean it's been a lot lot of traveling. Think of somewhere internationally at least once every 2 months. Strictly for fun and no work. So during my last trip to the Southern Hemisphere, I had a new thought about the modern life and how it can be divided into distinct phases. Thus the title of this blog post.

The so-called "Phases of Life" are inherently subjective and unique to each individual. Yet at the same time, it's a useful tool to categorize individuals since there's no phenotype-defining or mathematically-formulaic features like hair color, race, and age. For example, I could be in the same phase of life as someone much older, of a completely different ethnicity, background or even gender. It's probably easier to understand if I first define what these phases could look like.

Phase 1 - Post-College, First Job, Master's degree
Rather than start all the way from childhood, I'll define my Phase 1 as my post-college self. Coincidentally it was that person who started this blog. This version of me was quite unsure of himself, but excited at being finally independent and having moved to a new city. I remember these years as thrilling yet uncertain - thrilling because of all the potential to be and do, but uncertain due to inexperience and fear of failure.

Phase 2 - Career Progression, Homeownership, Wanderlust
In my mind, there was a clear delineation between the first and second phases due to my job change. But it was much more than a job change. Over a span of 3 months, not only did I change jobs and make more money, but I also became a homeowner. I thought about back then how that would change my mindset....and it did happen. This was followed by a totally unplanned period of wanderlust, of prolific traveling across the world. It was addicting, enthralling, but also introduced a sense of nomadic living and unable to live a "normal/typical" city life. Therefore my goal is to make this the last year of this.

Phase 3 - Marriage, Houseownership, Dogownership, Entrepreneurial Success
This is the phase on the horizon and what a massive phase it is. I'm not sure how long it'll span (3-4 years) but certainly a lot of things packed in here. In contrast to the previous phases of singlehood, this one is punctuated by becoming married in addition to buying an actual house. I've always wanted to have a dog so why not lump it into this phase too? And last but not least, this is likely the last phase I'll have to really strive to be an entrepreneur so it's time to make it or break it.

Phase 4 - Fatherhood, Financial Independence, ???
The post-future phase if you will, since it's the one after the next one. I can only imagine what it'll look like, though assuming it'll be punctuated by another major life event: becoming a father. That'll certainly profoundly change my life. Hopefully I'll be financially independent by the time that happens?

So as you can see above, these are my interpretations of my own life and where I am currently - also where I'm headed. What about yours?

The Prime Years

For a few years now, I've been contemplative of the term "prime years" that generally refer to the "best years" of one's life. My encounters with this term has oftentimes been in the arena of professional sports, such as sports announcers or commentators talking about an athlete's prime. Prime, in the case of professional sports, refers to the the physical prime. 

But to me "prime years" is a reference that encompasses the psychological aspect as much as the physical - in short, it represents the point at which the sense of possibility is highest, the maximum potential. You can become whatever you wish to become. This isn't to say that life thereafter will all be downhill, only that one aspect or another will be diminished. If this seems a grandiose thought, then it could be be reduced to helping to view the world and one's life in a fresh perspective.

More recently, I came across this term "prime years" in the show Master of None on Netflix. The occasion was the climax of the show's first season, where the girl angrily stormed out of the boy's apartment after having lived together for 1-2 years. She accused him of wasting her prime years which, at first sounds weird, but upon reflection is very much true. The female character was in her very late twenties and probably crossed the 30-year age mark during the time she was with him. 

Not to ignite a debate about gender inequality, I do think we can all agree that for better or for worse, men have a slightly longer horizon than women when it comes to their "prime years". For example, a woman's optimal childbearing age is believed to be from her early to late twenties while a man's may extend into the early thirties. Our social norms reflect this as it is much more common to see a older man with a younger woman than the reverse. 

So how do I relate to all this? This year I'll be turning 28 and technically can no longer refer to myself as in my mid-twenties but rather in the "late twenties". It's not a huge difference on the surface, but it does mean that I'll be edging closer and closer to 30. And the number 30 conjures up this excellent TED talk I watched a while back: Meg Jay on why 30 is not the new 20. In short, I agree as much with Meg the speaker now as I did back then...if not more so. I'm a huge proponent that every age bring about something unique and the twenties is the defining decade where many decisions and habits are made and built that will reverberate across the rest of one's life. Borrowing a few of Meg's examples, most of life's major decisions such as choosing a career, a spouse, and a home are made in the decade of the twenties. The average human life expectancy may still be rising, but that we make our major life decisions in between the 20th and 30th years of our lives does not.

And boy do I have major plans for this year. Dating woes and wife-hunting uncertainties aside, I intend to start at least one business with a deeper sense of conviction that my first attempt back in 2012. I see it as an opportunity to potentially retire at the age of 40 if the business becomes successful and I'm able to grow it properly. The other side of this coin will be what to do with regards to my current employment - I'll likely be leaving to the private sector and hopefully working with a major tech company since, well, I am admittedly a huge nerd and sucker for new gadgetry. Along with both these things will come the decision on whether I'd like to move elsewhere or stay here in the DC area. I'm forever inspired by a good friend's past decision to challenger herself by moving to DC temporarily, as otherwise life back in California would been too "comfortable" and "easy".

I'd also like to build some good habits such as getting into optimal shape and having good sleep patterns. Funny-mixed-with-alarm, I have been feeling more tired as of late - at least not recovering as quickly from exhaustion or physical strain as in the past. This also aligns with a more pronounced commitment to giving back to society, not just becoming a consumer of its infinite offerings. 

Personal Life Maxims

I've been pondering on this for a while and figured I'd finally jot down (and share) on the "maxims" I strive to live by. Sometimes I fall short but try to live by the following as much as possible. In my opinion, "maxims" are the foundations or a set of rules one aspires to uphold all the time and in every situation.

In no particular order:

1. "Dance with the one who brought you."
Keyword - loyalty

This is an expression I read in Randy Pausch's famous "Last Lecture" book, and speaks beyond just the phenomenon of attending a dance (e.g. prom, gala, etc.) with a partner. It should be applied to all areas of life, including work relations, friends, and even family. While it may be tempting to jump ship for whatever benefits a new opportunity holds, it means more to stay the course and standby the people who gave you the initial opportunity. Not only is it about loyalty, but also being thankful to those who helped you in the past.

A personal example happened last year, shortly after I started work as a federal employee. Deloitte made me a generous offer that I ultimately declined. The backstory is they had tried to recruit me months prior but couldn't make an offer due to hiring freeze at the time. Overall it was an agonizing decision because it seemed like a perfect fit for my background in finance/economics but also mixed in IT project management. I pondered, spoke to my boss, and in the end decided to stay the course. The main reason was understanding the effort my boss had put it to bring me onboard, and his plans to help me develop. That's not to say I will forever remain in this position, but for now that is the case.

2. "I have no special talent; I'm only passionately curious about everything."
Keyword - humility

This is a quotation from Albert Einstein, who I presume was speaking about the perception that he was a supremely talented and a natural-born genius. The lesson to learn here is that opportunities come and go, oftentimes completely independent of our actions or abilities. Again, it's about the people who helped us get somewhere and perhaps of a higher power that granted us the opportunity. It's not about self-deprecation but acknowledging that we're not omnipotent and should never be fully comfortable with where we are. This should especially translate to our interactions with those around us, regardless of their position compared to our own. We're in this together.

My personal example is constantly reminding myself that despite of my position as a manager, I'm not much better than anyone else from the streets. I'm where I am and do what I do because of my team, boss, organization, friends, family, and God. This helps keeps things in perspective.

3. "Count your blessings."
Keyword - thankfulness

As a so-called "go-getter", I find myself sometimes unhappy because something didn't happen or work out that would have improved my life considerably or even marginally. In my striving towards things like career development and romantic relationships, I take the things and people I have for granted. I suspect I'm not the only one who does this, but it's a flawed person trait I try to right. It's almost an incessant questioning of what we lack that, if held unchecked, can cause us to be depressed when we ought to be experiencing the complete opposite.

I don't have a concrete example to share, other than being mindful of things like how I have gainful employment, live in a war-free zone, and am essentially the master of my own destiny. I'm not even hindered by any allergies or physical abnormalities. Most of the world can't even come close to that. In the end it's about finding a balance between striving towards goals yet being cognizant of the present situation, being grateful for the countless good things we have.

4. "If you have the power to make a difference, you should put it to good use."
Keyword - generosity

I like to combine this one with another lesson from Randy Pausch's book, called "enabling the dreams of others." This expression itself comes from an anime show I used to watch long ago, about young pilot trying to protect his friends during a massive war. While this sounds like the common phrase of "paying it forward" and is generally in the same spirit, in my opinion it's bigger picture. Making a difference isn't easy and the hardest part is recognizing those opportunities to make an impact, for someone or a specific cause. Oftentimes it involves going out of your way for someone else, group of people, or organization, to help them achieve their dream.

In many ways, the lesson is being unselfish and recognizing that we are altogether instead of living in our own paneled homes. So why shouldn't we help out our fellow man, woman, or child? There's again an undertone of being grateful for what we have and wanting to share our perceived successes. Another take on this is that I owe it to not myself but to others to take action, to fight off the inclination to be apathetic and defer to someone else to do something greater. We each have more power to make a difference than we first think.

5. "Cherish your loved ones."
Keyword - priority

This one is a no-brainer but it's funny how quickly we can forget about this and instead be devoted to other things like our hobbies and careers. Workaholic-ism is an openly admired trait in our society, especially for private companies where there is no extraneous benefits like overtime. But when we take a step back and think about it, no one wishes they had worked more in their deathbeds. We'd always wish that we had more time to spend with our families, friends, and other loved ones (e.g. pets). In a way, it's recognizing and remembering the fragility of life and how we may live differently if we knew today was our last. I suspect our priorities would change dramatically shift if that was the case.

6. "Understand your Detroit and accepting that you can't go."
Keyword - peace

This maxim derives from a book by Jack Welch I read and comes from the example of a GE employee that was offered a terrific position by another company, that happened to be located in Detroit rather than the city he was working in. The decision should have been a no-brainer except for the fact that the employee had a family to take care of, whom were well planted in their existing location. In the end, he chose not to take the position. The lesson is that many opportunities will come up throughout our lives, sometimes amazing opportunities that we eventually have to turn down for one reason or another. In the example given, it was family but could be almost anything. The import thing is to accept the reasons why we can't take up those opportunities and thus be willing to let them go.

This is different from Maxim #1 because the emphasis isn't so much on loyalty as on circumstances and the potential adverse impact of our actions on others around us. Ultimately it's about being at peace with our decisions and moving on, rather than frequently looking back and wondering the "what could've been". Life is too short to be burdened down with regret and if you're optimistic, then you'll realize that other amazing opportunities will come along. Maybe not today but probably tomorrow. One door closing now doesn't mean it won't be open again in the future, or another door be opened for you.

7. "Be so good they can't ignore you."
Keyword - dedication

This is word-for-word the title of a book by Cal Newport, who preached his belief there's an overglorification in our society today on pursuing our so-called passions. He argues instead that it should be the other way around: passion for our work comes second to our skills; the more we practice our skills, the more enjoyment we get from doing our work and the benefits of career progress (e.g. salary increase, position growth) follow. I found the book to be incredibly well-written and influential to challenging my former ideas about work. Aside from dedication, the other lesson here is about commitment to a specific craft and the hidden benefits that would come from that.

In this sense, this maxim applies to a lot of other areas of life and not just about careers. The obvious implication is in personal relationships, about being committed to a certain friendship, familial relations, or a special someone. This is especially true when we're first starting out on the last one. As a personal example, I've been dipping into the world of online dating the past few months and was immediately hit by the sheer number of potential partners. At first I approach each date purposely, but eventually took a more casual approach. This is something I saw in some of the dates I saw too, particularly those who admitted they had a lot of online dates. Slowly I changed and came into each date with a diminished sense of commitment, a little more impatient and more ready to jump ship at the first sign of incompatibility. The results spoke for themselves (e.g. nothing). Having realized this, I'm now trying to approach one in a more committed manner and try harder...if there aren't any potential dealbreakers.

Cuisine Fix: Pork & Squash Stir Fry

[Let me preface this post by noting that I cooked this dish before the "Eggs & Tomatoes" dish. This one is a little complicated, has more photographs, and therefore I waited until now to post.]

Most of the dishes I will be blogging about are stir fry dishes, namely because they are quick, easy, and healthy. This one is no exception: a stir fry of pork meat with squash and mushrooms. Total preparation time is about 10 minutes (twice as long as the previous stir fry).

As shown by the photograph above (see, I remembered to document this time), this dish consists of only 4 ingredients. The beauty of stir fry is that you do not need many ingredients to cook up a good dish -- and the only equipment needed is a wok and a stove. There is no messing with the oven, or with any other pots and pans. The ingredients shown are as follows: sliced onions, sliced mushrooms, diced pork meat (that I had previously marinated in soy sauce and frozen), and sliced squash. Squash isn't my ingredient of choice to be honest; my parents grow squash and insisted I take one.

And once again, the ratio of ingredients is not terribly important: there's a lot of squash and little meat simply because I wanted to cook all the squash. [Maybe it's also to compensate for the hot dogs I had been chowing down prior.] Onions are used as the saute base and mushrooms were there because I found them in the fridge. All in all, maybe I did not think things through while preparing this dish -- it's more of being forced to cook because some ingredients were going bad, rather than cooking with a passionate desire...

Instead of the usual white rice, I elected to also make pasta to go with this stir fry. Pasta-making has to be one of the easiest things to cook: all you do is boil water, put in the pasta, cook it, and then add some pasta sauce. I personally am not a huge fan of pasta but, hey, sometimes you need a little variety in the staple food.

The steps I took to prepare this dish (strictly the stir fry) are:

1. Add a few (4/5?) tablespoons of cooking oil to the wok
2. Once the oil is heated, add in the sliced onions and begin sauteing them
3. After onions start to bronze, add in the meat (to avoid any undercooking)
4. Add some salt and soy sauce and cook until the meat is ready
5. Add in the mushrooms and squash together
6. Put the lid on, lower the heat, and let it simmer for 3 minutes. The key here is to have the squash soften and become tender
7. Stir, remove from heat, and serve

If you followed the instructions, your dish should look something like this:

I am a huge fan of boiled corn, so I added half a cob to my dish as a side. As you can see, I like to keep things simple and just have the pasta with the stir fry. It was pretty good!

Automobile: Insurance (Part 2)

And here we are, the final part of the mini-series on the woes of automobile transfer to the state of Virginia. I think the issues I have discussed reflects the norm, rather than the exception, of dealing with the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) in any state. But that is now the past and now I move on to examining the nuances of obtaining auto insurance.

Until yesterday, my auto insurance has been together with my parents with the insurance company Liberty Mutual. We have been with this company for many years and their rates were very good in the state of Maryland. But upon inquiry of their rates in Virginia --which turned out to be quite high-- I opted to shop around with other insurance companies. I applied an economic methodology (or just logical) of getting as many quotes as possible, and then selecting the best one in terms of price and coverage.

The Background/Vehicle Profile

I drive a 2008 Honda Civic, an LX-model with 4 doors. I first received my driver's license since the age of 16 and have a spotless record. The only blip could be a speeding ticket (caught by a camera) received last year. I also am considered a good student, with at least a 3.0 GPA from college. But I am not yet 25 years old, an age gap that commands high premiums from insurance companies.

The Playing Field

I looked into a wide range of insurance companies, from the big names to the no-named ones. I tried to select two choices with each company: one at minimum coverage possible (which allowed a straight, skeleton comparison of premiums) and one at the desired coverage. Desired coverage includes a 50/100/50 liability ratio (explained in detail later) for insured and non-insured, in addition to a $500 collision as well as comprehensive deductible. I tried to apply as many discounts as possible, given my background. Minimum coverage is 25/50/25 liability ratio and no other coverage. My cost-per-month results for the Honda Civic are as follows in Arlington, Virginia:

• Geico -- $86.35 for desired, and $42.84 for minimum
• AllState -- $73.83 for desired, and $27.5 for minimum
• State Farm -- $63.6 for desired (did not bother to get a minimum quote)
• Liberty Mutual -- $150 for desired
• Progressive -- $85.35 for desired, and $40.01 for minimum
• Nationwide -- $77.60 for desired, $40.63 for minimum
• 21st Century -- $105.78 for desired, $91/23 for minimum
• Esurance -- $74.14 for desired
• Costco -- $120 for desired

The Decision

From the results above, AllState and StateFarm appeared to be my best options in terms of cost-to-price. AllState had the best priced (by far) of the barebones insurance. However, you should never opt for the barebones package unless finances are really tight or another exceptional reason. My explanation is a no-brainer, with the current rates of medical expenses and car repair costs, you will likely be bankrupt if you get into any accident. Period. $25,000 sounds like a lot of money, but it's a drop in the bucket if either you get insured or someone else is.

Ultimately, I picked StateFarm and loaded up on the coverage. My final premium is about $77 per month, which includes: 100/300/100 liability ratio, $0 deducible for comprehensive damage, $500 deductible for collision, $1000 medical expense, and towing reimbursement of up to $100. This price also included renter's insurance (for my apartment) as StateFarm offers a sizeable discount -- which turned out to be only an extra $2 per month. I was very satisfied with how things worked out. It also helps StateFarm has an office closeby!

The Policy Jargon

After talking with multiple agents and reading on this topic, I feel that I have a pretty good command of the definitions for each coverage topic. You can read about each topic on any insurance company's website (e.g. State Farm's), or you can read my interpretation of each:

• Automobile liability. This is divided into two categories, property damage and bodily injury damage. Both categories are normally the same. To illustrate, my 100/300/100 liability ratio is $100,000 per person for bodily injury ($300,000 total per incidence) and $100,000 for property damage. This topic comprises the bulk of the insurance premium.
• Medical expenses. Think of this as specialized coverage for any medical expenses. $1000 may seem little, but it's specific for medical-related costs and hence easier to file claim on.
• Underinsured motorist. As its name implies, this is when you get into accidents with those without sufficient coverage or no auto insurance at all. By law, liability ratio for this is the same as the automobile liability. But the premium is much less.
• Collision. When you get into a collision with a moving or non-moving object (God forbid!) and your car is damaged, this is what you'd use. Normally there is a deductible, which comes out of your pocket before the insurance company starts paying. After "Automobile Liability", this it typically the second most expensive premium.
• Comprehensive. Any other damage than collision, be it theft, fire, etc. This is actually one of the most affordable premiums and I strongly recommend decreasing your deductible to $0. The different in cost is about $20 from $500 deductible, and the peace of mind is worth it in my book.
• Towing and Labor. Used when your vehicle is disabled and needs to be towed. Insurance covers the first portion of the costs, and you are responsible for the rest. This thing costs only a couple of bucks, so you should definitely have it.
• Miscellaneous (e.g. rental coverage). I do not regard these as necessary, as is the case of reimbursement for rental cars. To each his/her own though...

Automobile: Transferring States (Part 1.5)

[I did not plan to have a "Part 1.5" but, after some craziness at the DMV, decided it would be worthwhile to write a new post about the experience.]

This morning I left before 8am to drive to the Virginia DMV Center in Arlington. My boss had graciously okay-ed my late arrival and the DMV opens at 8am. So I thought I would be the first person in line and be able to get my affairs taken care of quickly... Wrong! By the time I arrived at 8:10am, there was a line of 7-10 people gathered outside. (Surprisingly, there was also people waiting inside.)

After waiting for about 30 minutes, my turn came up and I presented all the documents I listed before to the DMV agent. She was neither talkative nor particularly kind. But she was efficient and took titled and registered vehicle in about 15 minutes. However, she hit me with two unexpected/nasty surprises.

The first (and the nastiest) was the 3% vehicle sales tax. I thought I had been waived from it with the notarized "Purchaser's Statement of Tax Exemption" form, but was levied a $35 fee anyway. The reason? My parents had written "$1" as the selling cost in the vehicle title. Against logic and common sense, this made the transaction a sale and not a gift. Therefore I was forced to pay the tax.

The second surprise was that I have to change my driver's license to a Virginia one. The cost of this is $32 and the explanation given is that "You can chose not to, but the cops will penalize you since you have Virginia plates now". Not wanting to return to the DMV again nor trouble with the police, I acquiesced and opted to get one before leaving. This turned out to be a bad decision.

Why was changing my driver's license a bad decision? Because the Arlington DMV Center had a systems shutdown for more than 30 minutes! This meant that agents were not able to process my application until about 10am. When the system came back up, it took less than 5 minutes to run everything. So in hindsight, I should have left after getting what I went there for: titling and registration. But I stayed and had to endure a prolonged wait time. I suck.

Automobile: Transferring States (Part 1)

[This is the first of a two-part series on automobile-related topics, like getting car insurance and what to do when moving between states.]

Over the past few days (I seem to use this expression a lot, huh?), I have been figuring out the best means of legally moving my vehicle from the state of Maryland to the state of Virginia. I should have already done this by now but external forces have forced my procrastinating hand. This post comes in the midst of the process --an ordeal I hope to end by Wednesday this week.

The background is a simple one: my parents gifted me a car during college, but they did not title nor register the vehicle in my name. Because I had been driving it exclusively in Maryland, there has not been issues with formally transferring the vehicle to Virginia. Now I have to do it because I will otherwise lose parking privileges in my apartment complex's parking lot. Transferring the vehicle means I have to title and register the vehicle with the Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV).

There are a number of documents one must have to successfully transfer a vehicle, some of which are specific to the state of Virginia:

• Safety Inspection Sticker -- this must be renewed annually and can be obtained at any authorized garage. The cost is $16. This is also required prior to titling the vehicle.
• Vehicle Emissions Test -- the vehicle must pass this test every few years and the cost is generally around $30. I am able to skip this step as I have a current (within the past 12 months) vehicle emissions certificate from the state of Maryland. Also required before titling the vehicle.
• Signed "Power of Attorney" Form -- can be obtained directly from Virginia DMV website and required if you do not hold the title to the vehicle.
• Notarized "Purchaser's Statement of Tax Exemption" if the vehicle titling falls within certain criteria, such as between family members. Otherwise you'd have to pay a 3% tax of at least $35.
• Signed "Odometer Statement" between buyer and seller (or transferees)
• Completed Application for Title and Registration (VSA 17A)
• Proof of Address
• Title or Registration Card from previous state and/or by previous owner
• County Tax Sticker -- I was told this should be completed before titling the vehicle, the cost for Arlington county is $33
• Current Insurance (discussed more in part 2)

It's a mind-boggling list of documentation to title and register the vehicle. After speaking with multiple DMV agents, I am told that both the titling and the registration can be performed on the same day -- provided all the necessary documentation is there. Some of the items listed are straightforward, but others are not so much. A few are specific to my case of transferring a vehicle not currently titled to me.

In my case, my parents (owners of the vehicle) must sign the "Power of Attorney" form that effectively cedes authority to me on the vehicle. This grants the ability to title the car in my name without them being present. An "Odometer Statement" also appears to be required, unless you fall one of the rare exemptions. A third item also needs to be completed -- if you do not wish to pay the $35 minimum vehicle sales tax-- called the "Purchaser's Statement of Tax Exemption". This document (only a single page) needs to be notarized.

Although titling and registering the vehicle can occur on the same day, this need not be the case. It makes sense to do both on the same day though. Titling involves the least of the documents listed, with only the (1) proof of address, (2) completed aforementioned forms, and (completed Application for Titling and Registration. Registering a vehicle requires the rest on the list, such as the insurance and county tax sticker. Total cost for the whole thing from beginning to end should be around $100 ($10 for title, $40 for registration, $16 for safety inspection, and $30 for emissions test) plus insurance -- which is very expensive in Virginia.

I'd say the process can be completed within a few (2-5 business days) if all the documents can be readily found. I just completed the Safety Inspection and tomorrow plan to finalize all matters related to insurance. On Wednesday morning, I will be going to the DMV to title and register my vehicle. Hope to not hit any snags...

End of the Year (Performance) Review

A couple of days ago, I had my year end review with the company I work for. This is part of the standard procedure for working professionals in the United States (and the rest of the world?), regardless of private or public affiliation. As a recent joinee to this spectacle, I thought it would be useful/helpful to share my experiences on this matter.

In most cases (depending on the size and industry), there are two of these so-called "performance reviews" in any given year. Sometimes there can be even more than two if the position/industry requires it, such as an account executive position. Private companies tend to have these scheduled midway through the fiscal year and at the end of the fiscal year. A fiscal year is different from a calendar as it is unique to each company: some companies can stick with the calendar year (January to December), or others (like mine) have a July to June schedule. For example, fiscal year 2011 just ended for my company and we are currently on fiscal year 2012.

I actually had a performance review back in mid-March. But because I had just joined the company, there was not much to discuss about. My manager and I had a brief, 10-minute conversation of what lies ahead and what I needed to learn. This time around, however, the review process was more thorough and involved a lengthier exchange. The process itself begins at my company when you complete a self-assessment and ask designated others (by your manager) to complete peer reviews for you. I had three peer reviewers and submitted one peer review for someone else (my manager of all people). After the preliminary assessment is done, my manager schedules a time to sit down and talk about my performance one-on-one.

The discussion process was surprisingly light my performance and heavy on the future goals. I suppose this is because we are goal-setting for the next fiscal year. It started with my manager taking the lead and discussing what others said of my work -- which was very positive. Then he gave me a brief overview of the process from there: his vision for my role on the team and how this relates to my own. I recall talking mostly about technical skills to acquire and better familiarizing with the business. My questions were mainly on the subject of having more work to do -- admittedly I do not much responsibilities at the moment. We ended the performance review by making plans for another meeting in a few weeks. The reason for latter is that we did not discuss compensation (e.g. promotion, salary increases, bonus) in this round, because of changes in the performance review structure.

As it is often the case, I have a few words of advice on the process of being reviewed:

1. Do not be nervous. Unless you screwed up royally and your company is not "under water" (financial trouble), then you have no reason to be worried about. I was kind of nervous during my performance review, which turned out to be unfounded upon. The key is to have the work to show for what you have done.
2. Focus on the future. While the words "performance review" suggests a recap of the last year, the main point is actually begin plans for the next year. Think about what you want to accomplish in the next year, particularly in terms of how it will help your team and your manager. It would good to visualize your role in the company in a longer period (2-4 years?).
3. Speak kindly for others. This may seem like a no-brainer, but the urge to write negatively of those who wronged you can be very strong. You have to resist the urge at all times. You must realize that the position of strength (e.g. write a review for someone else) is only temporary, and there could be a major fallout if someone finds out you've reviewed them negatively. Oftentimes everyone receives a copy of their peer reviews. It's a time to forgive any misgivings and portray the other person in positive light.

Budget Discussion -- Part 4 "Savings Rate"

It's been a while since I discussed anything related to personal finance. Part of the reason is that my own budget management has been in flux, with all the moving expenses and everything. For instance, I will have to be changing the license plates on my car soon (which will cost a pretty penny). But I thought I'd share an important topic in this post related to personal finance: savings and savings rate.

At a time where unemployment rates is increasing and government support programs like Social Security and Medicare are facing cuts, personal savings is extremely important to have financial stability. This is particularly relevant for young professionals, who are nowhere near the age nor the particular situation that warrant applying for government assistance. Nor should you consider government assistance programs such as food stamps as anything but the last resort -- when all other venues for financial support have been exhausted. It is incredibly damaging to own's self-esteem and psyche to receive government aid.

So where do we begin? I am not going to espouse anything along the lines of a recommended amount you should be saving per month. Savings are highly subjective: depending on your spending patterns and any situations that might arise. Therefore, throwing a number out there isn't helpful -- more so as everyone likely has different income levels. But for starters, saving something is better than saving nothing. I have a difficult understanding people who insist on spending every last dollar they earn in the form of end-of-the-month splurges. One should not live a life rife with worries over finances, yet it does not make sense to save nothing.

Working with the premise that we ought to save something, I believe the next step to sound fiscal management is to consider your paycheck (as opposed to the wage rate) in percentages. In other words, start to think your spending as percentages of your paycheck. Case in point: if you earn $2,000 per month and pay $500 for rent, then rent is 25% of your personal revenue. This way, it is much easier to practice budget management by limiting a certain category (e.g. food) to a particular percentage. We can also better establish gauge the amount of every paycheck we can be saving -- by transforming into a percentage.

To better illustrate my point, I will provide a mock example of the revenues vs expenses for an individual on a monthly basis:

• Income (in-your-pocket) -- $2,000 per month
• Housing -- $500 per month (or 25% of income)
• Food -- $400 per month (or 20% of income)
• Transportation -- $100 per month (or 5% of income)
• Entertainment-- $400 per month (or 20% of income)

From the above example, one can see that if the planned budget holds, then this individual will have $600 left to spend. Percentage-wise, this is 30% (100-25-20-5-20), which is a phenomenal savings rate. More realistically, a savings rate would probably be between 10-20% due to individual preferences (e.g. housing probably is 30-40% of income). This is still very good if you can hold to it. The best part of thinking expenses as percentages of income is the leeway it provides for future tinkering. It allows someone to take a look at where income is being spent on and adjust if a certain category is taking up too high a percentage.

Personally, I have an abnormal savings rate of (considerably) more than 30%. This may be shocking but it's less surprising if you consider the spending patterns and quirks (e.g. shopping on Craigslist) discussed before. Cooking and packing lunches are also very helpful to bring down the percentage allocated to food costs.

Overuse of Apologies and "Sorry"

A couple of months ago, I read an article in Men’s Health magazine on the topic of being prepared for “Master[ing] Any Disaster”. The article overall was not every impressive, but I remember one specific subtopic as being very much to the point. That subtopic was titled “Don’t Apologize for Anything – Ever” and, as its title suggests, was about how our culture has become overly apologetic – to the point of throwing out apologies with little meaning attached. Although the author is a little extreme in his viewpoint of advocating that we never offer apologies, I think there nonetheless is merit in what he is advising.

We hear the words “I’m sorry” or “I apologize” being thrown out in everyday situations. Some of us probably are even guilty of such behavior – I think I apologize more for than the average individual. And that is the simple truth: we are a nation of apologizers. There are no perfect people but, perhaps in our quest to attain perfection, we compensate for our shortcoming or screw ups by apologizing for them. For one, apologizing often does make the culprit feel better by creating a sense of exhuming virtuous behavior (e.g. the “I am being the better person” attitude). But the act of apologizing rarely results in eliciting the desired effect of being forgiven for that shortcoming or screw up – at least via the casual utterance of “sorry”. Instead, I will argue that the act of apologizing has the unintended effect on the audience.

How can apologizing have the opposite effect than we intend? Well, there are three main reasons for this. First and foremost, no apology is ever considered sufficient for the mistake committed. Examples include Tiger Wood’s constant apologies for his misdeeds, or the frequent homophobic slurs uttered by athletes and politicians alike. How can words ever bring wholeness to something broken? What we care to see is action, or a decisive commitment to act in the future – and not repeated acts of hosting press conferences to apologize. The second reason tacks onto the first reason: the delivery process and the number of times we apologize. If we are always apologizing, then those we are apologizing to will quickly grow tired of hearing us. In addition, people often do not take apologizing seriously – it takes more than just “I’m sorry about ___”. One should offer an apology with sincerity and reason for it, and be unwilling to walk away without an acknowledgement (not necessarily a resolution) from the audience. The third reason is that apologies generate demand for future punishment. Unfortunately, we tend to be vengeful individuals; we given others a chance to extract revenge on us.

On a personal level, I have been reflecting on this lately. At the workplace, for example, I sometimes apologize for screw ups but often do not hear back about them. Inasmuch as I desire to be seen as responsible, I fear the apologies become a reflection of my incompetence to coworkers. Hence this presents a dilemma: how do you project an image of responsibility and accountability, without being remembered negatively for the screw ups? I think the first step is reducing the number of times I apologize; the second step is to be serious (pretty much what I advocated in the previous paragraph). And in my last email to Mandy, I definitely apologized a bit too much – a lot of self-blame and expressions of guilt. In addition, a couple of days ago I heard a string of “I’m sorry” from Comcast customer representatives about scheduling errors.

The author of the article I read brought up an interesting example of model behavior on the issue of apologizing: George Bush. The former president was ridiculed throughout his presidency for the mistakes he made but, true to the author’s claim, he never (or lately very rarely) admitted failure.

Group Housing

Now that I am happily living in a 2 bedroom apartment, I would like to reflect on my housing experiences over the past 6 months – mainly on the phenomenon known as “group housing”. It’s a fairly common means of housing, yet specific to the Washington D.C. metropolitan area.

Before I came to live in the Washington D.C. area, I had no idea what a “group house” was. The term refers to a setup where different individuals enter into an agreement to live together; these individuals are often complete strangers at first. (Roommates may not be strangers to begin with, but I find this is rarely the case.) For recent college graduates (like myself), an accurate analogy would be living in a college dorm: everyone has their own private room, but share common areas such as the kitchen, bathroom, living area, and laundry facilities (if any). A “group house” also doesn’t have to be exclusive to individual houses – large apartments can also be used to accommodate similar living arrangements.

The main incentive for strangers to live together is to save on rent. In expensive areas such as Arlington county in Virginia, renting a house can be significantly cheaper than an apartment. Sure, the upfront cost of rent may be higher (e.g. $2100 a month for a 3 bedroom house), but individual rent would be much lower (e.g. $700 per month). The key is finding the right individuals to live together with. I’d consider group housing to be an excellent example of what happens when free market economics prevails: voluntary entry into housing agreements with others. The prevalence of group housing could also be due to the basic economics of supply and demand – in older areas like Arlington county, there are many more houses than apartment complexes.

A “group house” can vary significantly in size, location, and demographic. In terms of size, they can range from only 3 individuals to upwards of 7 and more. The basic rule of thumb is, the more people, the cheaper the rent (more heads to spread costs). Although you may think that group houses would theoretically only exist in expensive locales, in practice, they exist almost anywhere. I believe the reason for this is the sheer range of individual incomes levels: sometimes one cannot afford to live close to a metro station, nevertheless alone. In terms of demographic, while group houses tend to be single gender and center around a specific age group, they can be a mixture of individuals of different ages and genders. Once again, sometimes the reality of tight budget forces us to seek housing opportunities outside of our ideals.

So what are the pros and cons of group housing? I think there is one and only one advantage: cheaper rent. This being said, there is also one and only disadvantage: lack of privacy. Yet I think we can all understand the latter as layers of issues, rather than a single one. Having lived myself in group houses, I will say the biggest challenges have been maintaining cleanliness and noise levels. There is definitely an inverse correlation between the cleanliness and the number of people living together – the more people, the less clean and more noisy. This is what is known as the “tragedy of the commons” in economic speak: the incentive to upkeep decreases as the responsibility of upkeeping expands. Fortunately, a significant percentage of group houses (try to) resolve the cleanliness problem by scheduling a cleaning maid on a weekly or bi-weekly basis.

Overall, group housing is born out of economic necessity –rather than personal preference. I think they are easier to adapt to, the younger a potential roommate is.

Moving Apartments -- Part Deux

To follow up on a previous blog post about moving apartments, I would like to share some post-moving experiences with everyone. The previous post was written at the conclusion of finding an apartment and signing the actual lease -- whereas this one will be on the process of moving (e.g. physical transportation of objects) itself.

Succinctly, the process moving was a ridiculously horrible affair: it took about 11 hours to complete, measured from the time I started to move until I went to bed, and absolutely exhausting. The moving itself is made more ridiculous by the fact that our new apartment was approximately 1/2 mile away from our current one. I started moving around 5:30pm on Thursday and was not able to fall asleep until past 4:30am (yes, 4:30am) on Friday. All this was made worse by the fact that it was a Friday, which meant I had to go to work at 9am the next morning. Work on Friday was neither fun nor energetic.

Here are some highlights (more like "lowlights") of the moving experience itself:

• Walking about 50 yards and climbing a set of stairs to reach my new apartment. This may not seem like much but, when you are making multiple trips, it takes up much time and energy. This is made worse when moving large objects such as...
• ...a 32 inch HDTV. I made the foolish mistake to try pickup a free television on the same night as we moved. The TV itself was very nice: a like-new Sony Trititron, and a matching television stand. But both my roommate and I were pretty tired by the time we got to the television and, to make matters worse, our transportation vehicle (a Toyota Corolla) was too small for the task. We were extremely blessed that the listing person was kind enough to drive us.
• My roommate cut his ankle while moving the television stand (above bullet). And dragging the TV itself up the stairs was extremely exhausting.
• A friend of mine renting out a pickup truck for 3 hours, yet only making a single run for us. He arrived 1.5 hours late and refused to make another run, even though it was only .5 miles away. The important thing is we moved my gigantic mattress but I was very pissed off about how this turned out.
• Attempting to take an air conditioning unit from the apartment, but changing heart halfway out of pity. I intended to sell the thing to recoup some of the extra rent I had paid to the leasing guy.

As a result of the above experiences, I have a few other advice to add to my previous list:

• Do NOT try to pickup large items on your move-in night. As my encounter with the television showed, this is bad on two accounts. One, you will get really tired; two, it will take up a lot of time. It's tempting but your focus should be on completing the moving.
• Pack everything into boxes, especially things you may not think of. Although my own belongings were already packed into boxes, there were common kitchen items and bathroom items that I had ignored. This came back to bite me because it took a while to pack them too -- time that could have gone into moving.
• Eat plenty and stay hydrated throughout the process. Moving is physically demanding, especially if you are trying to do this yourself. I stayed hydrated due to the amount of left Gatorade I had, but food was another matter. I ate a small burger during moving -- and did not eat again until before going to bed.

Moving Apartments

The stress of the past couple of weeks was magnified by the fact that I could not find housing for July 1st move-in. For reasons better to recount at a later time, staying in my current apartment was not possible. I can for now that rooming with 3 others while sharing a single bathroom and a (very) thin wall is a less-than-desirable arrangement. I like to cut spending whenever possible, but sometimes you have to be reasonable with your cost-cutting. The aforementioned conditions are not reasonable.

So after much searching and cold-calling, my roommate and I finally signed the lease this morning for the new apartment. It is a 2 bedroom, 1 bathroom "dig" located around a mile south of the Clarendon metro station. The complex itself could be better but, for the price, it is an awesome deal. We will be paying less than $1300 per month, all utilities included. I am just really glad that this ordeal is (almost) over -- we have to move our things later tonight and hopefully the process will proceed without a hiccup.

In the midst of this event, I wanted to share some thoughts and offer advice derived from my experiences. Some of the advice will be important to save time and money, while others are just personal quirks that perhaps some of you may identify with:

• Craigslist is not always a reliable source of apartment hunting. I had really high hopes for the most part of this month that I could find somewhere ideal through Craigslist. My assumption that people would be moving out, especially in Arlington, and that I could take over whatever they were leaving behind. What I forgot was the number of scams and the erratic-ness of housing opportunity available through Craigslist. I have by now become pretty good about spotting scams, but it's annoying nonetheless. Days can go by without an opportunity showing up, which leads to the next point....
• July 1st is (apparently) one of the busiest times in the Washington D.C. area. You would think all comings and goings (e.g. interns) would have happened in May and June, right? That does not appear to be the case. Housing is very tight for the month of July and pretty competitive. I know this as good opportunities are snatched up very quickly.
• Have your social security card in your possession. I had to scramble to obtain a letter from the Social Security office in order to fulfill application requirements for the apartment. It's a pretty stupid rule as social security numbers are readily demonstrated by things like W-4 or W-2s, but the apartment managers were dogmatic.
• Know what you want (be satisfied). This seems like a no-brainer, but when things get desperate, we tend to not think properly. I almost signed with another friend for a 2 bedroom apartment in Rosslyn, only to realize before we submitted our application (and thereby wasting money) that neither of us were extremely happy with the place. We each gave preference ratios and both of ours were 60:40, that is, 60% for and the rest against. I recommend having preference ratios of at least 80:20 before making a commitment.
• Shooting for a weekend day to move. Sometimes you can't help it but move during the week. When you can though, try to schedule to move during the weekend. It allows for much greater flexibility and...
• Arrange moving arrangements ahead of time. Notify your friends ahead of time, especially those who have pickup trucks to move big furniture pieces. This is especially true for holds of Zipcar membership -- I am learning this lesson the hard way.

Overall, the housing market in the Washington D.C. area is crazy. This is particularly true for renters like myself. Good deals are really hard to comeby. Just stick to the basics: know what you want, know if you truly like it, and know if it meets your needs.

An Introduction to My Cuisine

After talking and talking about how this blog would incorporate some culinary topics (I even have a "Cuisine" page, for Pete's sake), the day has finally arrived. I will be posting on the food that I order or make. The follow is just an appetizer...

What you see above is one of my favorite things to make: fried rice. I made some earlier tonight actually, but forgot to photograph my progress until it was too late. My fried rice is much healthier than at restaurants because I use little oil and salt, lots of vegetables, and a good balance of protein. The above was a seafood attempt with carrots, lettuce (weird, I know), crab imitation, eggs, onions and rice (duh). It takes very little time to make fried rice, and you can use almost anything at hand. I will try to remember to document next time.

As a firm believer in the importance of a sizable breakfast, I like to prepare it when I have the chance. This is normally on weekends. What you see above is scrambled eggs, with blueberry waffles, fresh blueberries, and a glass of iced cranberry-apple juice. As you can see, I took this picture just as I was finishing (maybe I felt famished that morning...). The whole thing took about 5 minutes to prepare --waffles were frozen Eggo waffles-- and tasted good. A little high on the sugar perhaps.

So there you have it, a quick introduction to my culinary skills. They are not awesome (though I like to think so) but I can prepare a variety of different foods. Stay tuned for future posts on my cuisine -- which is very suitable for young professionals.

Personal Mantra and Dealing with Fears

So instead of catching up on blogging, I spent a good chunk of this afternoon reading the latest edition of Men's Health magazine. [For the record, I subscribe to only this and Atlantic magazine due to an online deal.] I remember coming across an article in which the author spoke about the importance of having a personal mantra -- funny thing is, I just spent quite a few minutes trying to find the article and unable to do so. In addition, I watched an excellent commencement speech given by cable talk show host Conan O'Brien to the graduating class of Dartmouth. Just want to take the time to expand on both topics.

First the personal mantra. You probably hear these a lot: many athletes profess to have a mantra they live by (e.g. NBA's Amare Stoudemire "Stand Tall and Talented"), as well as corporate mottos (e.g. Cisco's "Human Network"). The purpose of mantras is to sustain an individual's hopes and dreams; in other words, as an inner source of motivation, especially in difficult times. You may contend that a mantra is inherently different from a corporate motto, but I think we should view mottos as mantras because they serve the purpose of inspiring the company. We can similarly add the (cliched) Latin aphorisms -- since examples such as "Carpe Diem (Seize the Day!)" and "Succisa Virescit (What is cut down grows back stronger)" are used for the same intent.

In the article I came across, the author stated that his personal mantra is "This is is fantastic!" He uses this expression on any dark clouds that come into his daily life. The intention is not to fool oneself but, instead, to re-frame the situation from a negative into a positive. Instead of sulking or complaining about an issue, one constructs the issue into an exciting challenge to be tackled. For example, the author describes that when bad weather happens (e.g. rain, snow), he says "this is fantastic" and proceeds to enjoy the bad weather. The implied understanding is that most things are well outside our control and we should adapt accordingly.

I really like this idea of formulating a personal mantra, as an inner source of motivation/compass for most situations. Among the numerous issues I am dealing with right now (e.g. procrastination, finding housing, and even Mandy), I'd say procrastination tops the list as the most "self-destructive". The obvious remedy to procrastination is improving my work ethic -- stop wasting time and focus on tasks at hand. This includes the realm of "surfing" the internet without doing anything constructive. Yet at the same time, I think it is very important to recognize that there will be cases where work ethic is not the solution. Like the author of the article, one has to recognize these instances and be able to adapt as best as possible. Personally, being a Christian means always giving thanks to God for everything in my life.

With the above in mind, I'd set my personal mantra to be "Work Hard and Be Thankful". It's pretty straightforward, but I think it will be effective regardless. Some future revision may in the works though (I need something more creative/original).

Now on the topic of Conan O'Brien's commencement address to the graduating class of Dartmouth College, it was one of the best speeches I have watched. (Link to the speech and script here.) True to his character, Conan spent most of the speech roasting or satirizing Dartmouth --namely against its more famous counterparts in the Ivy League like Harvard and Princeton-- but offered some very good advice toward the end. The quality of his advice is compounded by the fact that he drew upon personal experiences about disappointment. Of course, his experience was parting ways last year with NBC's Tonight Show.

More specifically, Conan said that "there few things more liberating in this life than having your worst fear realized". Just take a moment to reflect on this statement. Yes it is cliched, but also truthful to the core. Have there ever been times when you feared about an outcome, yet when that outcome was realized, it wasn't as bad as you thought? Afterward you may think it's kind of silly to have feared so much in the first place. In other words, our fears for certain things is magnified through the element of fear itself. The lesson to be learned is not to succumb to our fears and instead go for things. Oftentimes, it is better to have tried and failed than having not done so at all. Disappointment strings (for sure!) but we can learn valuable things from these short-lived episodes. Almost makes you want to have your worst fears realized, huh?

Lastly, Conan ended his speech by quoting himself at the end of his tenure with NBC. On his last show, he told the viewers to "Work hard, be kind, and amazing things will happen". I think in retrospect I am going to plagiarize a portion of this saying and incorporate it into my personal mantra. It now reads "Work hard, be thankful, and amazing things will happen"

Procrastination (Workplace and in Life)

It's been a weird week this week. I think it's due to a combination of stress in finding housing (still searching...), lack of work, and pensiveness about my social life. Stress about finding housing in particular has been weighing on me lately. Last weekend was amazing, so I suppose this week's weirdness returns things to equilibrium.

And I've also been procrastinating big time, both in the workplace and outside of work. As evidence of this behavior, I have not been posting very much this week. I know sometimes I blame on the lack of interesting things to blog about but, deep down, I know better. I have lists of subjects I would like to share with everyone -- often I'm just too lazy to sit down and write about them. This post will be to address this issue of procrastination.

Let's first not condemn procrastination as one of the cardinal sins. Yes it is a bad habit, but I can think of many worse ones (e.g. murder, stealing, adultery). It is arguably more debilitating when we recognize procrastination for what it is: because then we can feel a sense of doom to this habit. Furthermore, it is simply not realistic to always be doing things and trying to fill our lives with tasks big and small. It's actually worse because then we would not have time to reflect on our experiences. Sometimes it is good to just take a break from things, lie down on the green grass outside (or just on your bed), and...relax. Contrary to Lenovo's most recent ad, we are not "do machines". We are not machines.

The above being said, procrastination can be a major issue that leads to negative consequences. The root of procrastination is, quite simply, delaying the execution of tasks. It can range from anything like taking out the garbage to buying a new car. My personal experience this week with procrastination has been with work more, and life less (though it is harder to gauge life).

Work-wise, I have been procrastinating badly this past couple of weeks with a project I am assigned to. The general gist of the project is that I have to test changes to our business system in order to see if changes have been correctly implemented. My procrastination on this project stems from two main sources: (1) this project is a hand-me-down from someone else, which means I do not understand as thoroughly, and (2) I have barely done testing at all thus far in my work assignments. The latter problem in particular made me uneasy, as it meant I had to ask for assistance from other co-workers. Perhaps out of a misplaced sense of pride, but I did not want to ask for help nor really understand the project as it was originally not my own. The result was most of the week spent consciously avoiding doing the work, before scrambling late Thursday and all of Friday. This is translated into the graph below (please excuse the language)...

This is terrible. Period. I finished the project now, but had this been a major project, I could have been in some trouble. One of the things I've come to understand better is that, unlike school, there is no place for any quality of work besides "A" level. You can turn in "C" level work, but you will either be asked to do it again, or be fired. More concisely, there is no place for anything below "A" quality work in the professional world. It's about taking things seriously, which includes asking for help if necessary. There is no shame in asking for help -- and it is a heck lot faster than trying to Google search the answers yourself.

On the personal level, procrastination has mainly been in the realm of working on this blog and learning to play guitar (among other personal projects). As a reader, you can readily see the results of procrastination: I have posted very little over the past week and absolutely fallen short of my self-created weekly targets for this blog. Learning to play the guitar has involved picking up the guitar, strumming it wildly for 20 minutes, before putting it down and forgetting about it. The culprit of these behaviors has been a combination of surfing the internet aimlessly too much (e.g. watching youtube videos) and perhaps the stress of finding housing. For the latter, I need to move out of my current place by next Thursday (less than 5 days away). Thankfully something turned up as of now.

To combat procrastination, I think it will be very important to set definite goals for oneself, create a personal mantra, and striving to hit those goals. It takes much diligence an self-control, especially refraining from things like surfing the internet aimlessly.

Macy's Credit Card Woes

I found out about a nasty surprise this morning -- I was levied a $27 penalty for failing to pay the $34 balance on my Macy's credit card account. More specific, I was levied $25 late charge penalty and $2 interest charge on my failure to pay up. This pretty much equals a 79.4% interest rate on a loan which is, to say the least, absolutely ridiculous.

Some background is necessary to understand my situation (admittedly, I am culprit for the late charge). Because there is a large Macy's store located near my work place, I often frequent the store during my lunch breaks. I am not a shopaholic, but I buy clothing items from time to time. When I purchased a nice jacket a few months ago, I signed up for a Macy's credit card (same as any department store credit card, e.g. Kohl's) to take advantage of the 15% discount they were offering. I paid off that initial charge since but, as I buy things very irregularly, looks like I forgot to pay off the $34 balance that had a deadline of May 20th. As a result, Macy's levied a $27 penalty on my account -- which I found out about when doing a spot check on that account.

After doing some searching online, it turns out that Macy's Credit department often offers customers a grace waiver on their first charge. So I decided to try my luck (per say) and see whether they'd be willing to take off the charge. If they did, I would become a more loyal customer and, if not, I would cancel my card.

First I tried calling the customer service hotline about the charge. This got me nowhere as I experienced a 5-minute wait before a respondent hung up due to a strange inability to hear me. To breakdown the 5 minutes: 3 minutes of waiting time, 1 minute of entering account information, and 1 minute of waiting to key the relevant directory. I did this twice before giving up. What I did find out (despite not being able to speak with the agent on the other side) is that Macy's Credit call centers are all located in India. Or at least somewhere where agents have a strong Indian accent.

After failing to speak on the phone, I decided to hike to the Macy's store to see whether a representative could do anything. I found someone who explained to me they do not handle anything to do with Macy's credit card -- except if I wanted to make a payment on my account. Initially I thought this person wasn't being forthright so I persisted. This led to the manager being called, who voiced the same point. Back to the phone I go.

After another two failed attempts at speaking with an agent, I decided to dial the number from my cell phone. Voila it worked! I was finally able to speak with an agent! However, the agent was a male who spoke with a very strong accent. To make matters worse, he heard me out and offered me a $15 credit if I paid off the account then and there. I persisted a bit by complaining (truthfully) about not receiving any reminders about my credit account. After a couple of minutes, he relented and offered to waive the entire penalty if I paid off the balance on the phone then and there. But I lucked out as I didn't have my checking account number handy (no idea why they do not take my debit card). Finally, he offered me a deal where he credit my account fo the penalty if I went to the store to pay off the $75 minimum balance. Note that the maths don't make sense because (late charge included), my current balance says $95 total (I purchased a couple more things last month). So I argued a bit and I think we ended up on the same page. I am going to monitor my account activities and then hop off to the store.

The point of this blog is to document the tedious process of having penalty charges waived. It can be done, but takes a lot of patience and time. Furthermore, my situation illustrates a classic tactic of credit card companies: they do not send timely reminders (unlike my trusty public library) and probably count on me forgetting to pay off my account. For all the flashy perks they offer --for example, Discover's cashback program-- the penalty fees can be extremely high if you forget or are unable to pay off the balance. 79.4% is ridiculous! Just imagine what if my balance had been higher!

UPDATE 06-08-2011: Problem still not resolved! Looks like I was never credited back the late fee penalty charges. Just tried to call contact customer service again, but my phone calls are not getting through (either disconnected or unable to be heard). Pretty sure I will be canceling my Macy's credit card at this point.

UPDATE 06-15-2011: Hurray! After talking to customer service again a few days ago, I was told they would take off the penalty charges if I made what I owe for the payment. I did that and just saw that my balance has now cleared. Just glad to have this ordeal over with at this point.

Biking Incident This Morning

For the past couple of months, I have been biking regularly to work. The trip is about 3 miles in the morning and the same in the evening (I take the same route) --so cumulatively I bike 6 miles a day. On a weekly basis, the total miles biked ranges anywhere from 18 miles to 30 miles. Pretty impressive stuff, huh?

The main reason I bike is to enjoy the outdoors and avoid the traffic. Amongst the things that really displeases me is being stuck in traffic; another is paying for parking. So by biking to work, I am able to resolve both these grievances. The added benefit is saving on gas costs and getting a good workout. It has been a very good experience thus far -- so much so that I am determined that my next housing location should be within biking distance to work.

But alas I digress from the title of this blog post. After numerous close encounters with both moving and stationary traffic, I finally (not relieved in any way) fell from my bike this morning. It happened while I was waiting to cross an intersection, brake my bike, tried to tilt on my right foot (which couldn't really touch the ground), and so I fell sideways onto the pavement. Didn't sustain any injuries --just a small cut on my forearm-- but I laughed about it afterward. My main concern after falling was that my bike (Trek!) was somehow busted. Fortunately, it was not and I biked on.

I guess one thing to take away from this is that biking can be a very worthwhile endeavor to take on, especially in commuting instances. Of course it will depend on the availability of bike trails or amount of road traffic. For me, there are only upsides and no downsides.

House Hunting on Craigslist Redux

To make a long story short, I am planning to move out of my current place and into another starting July 1st. The main reason is that I feel the alleged $100 increase no longer justifies the housing situation. Thus I have started looking on Craigslist (where else?) for housing opportunities.

I currently live in a 4-bedroom, 1 bathroom apartment, without air conditioning and the place is somewhat noisy in the evenings. Whereas I am willing to tolerate minor issues such as the small room and the noise for $450 a month, $550 month to me is rather excessive. Furthermore, it appears we are have a roaches problem and the lack of air conditioning is pretty terrible in the summer months (aka NOW). I honestly would rather not move, but it is difficult to rationalize the $100 rent increase -- especially since due to its "shadiness".

The rent increase is "shady" due to the overall housing situation: me and the other two roommates sublease our rooms from another individual. Based on my estimates, this individual makes a considerable profit from our housing situation previously. But the situation changed because this individual moved back into the apartment. The interesting detail is that he has asked each of the current roommates for $100 more for rent in order to offset an alleged $500 rent increase from the landlord. I have taken issue with this but I think it's better to just take this opportunity to leave, instead of causing major conflicts.

So where am I going with this post? Well, it'll be an overview of the housing rentals process through Craigslist. I have been using Craigslist considerably over the past 6 months, so I feel like I have valuable insight to share with everyone. To make things easier to follow (and to write), I will simply use bullets:

• After selecting the desired Craigslist city, click on the main "housing" header instead of the specific options like "apts/housing". This makes it both quicker to search but also allows one to capture more opportunities.
• Know what you want and have a budget, but also be flexible. Sometimes you may have to tryout living situations foreign to you. For example, I never roomed before in a so-called "group house". Yet it has largely been a positive experience thus far -- maybe because it reminds me of college.
• Good housing deals require lots of patience and timely response to the listing. I have seen quite a few that have disappeared in less than an hour. That being said, some deals/listings can sound too good to be true. I have almost been scammed a few times: be very weary of respondents who demand a deposit before showing you the room...
• ...which means you should always view the room before making a financial commitment. A common example of a scam is that the owner is allegedly overseas but can have the key passed onto you within 2 days of the rent deposit being made. One giveaway is the use of Western Union banks to rout the money.
• Do not be afraid to ask questions about everything. While sometimes you should refrain from the really tough ones (especially if it is a great deal), it is better to not be surprised afterward.
• Last but not least, be 100% certain about the place before making a commitment. As my experience goes to show, it can be very difficult to back out.

Finding an ideal housing opportunity on Craigslist generally takes lots of effort and patience. I have been looking for the past couple of weeks now, and yet to find something really good. (I did found a tempting opportunity, but to realize the maintenance cost is very high.)

Work Environment: Dealing with the Boss

[It may seem rather odd that, despite the name of this blog, there have been very few posts on life as a young professional. Well, this is about to change now.]

In the consulting company I work, I am part of a 5-8 team responsible for managing systems data for our company's operations. My boss is the leader of the team and, naturally, we all look for him for guidance. It is admittedly a relationship of both respect and fear -- the former because he is the most experienced member of our team (and for newbies like myself, a mentor) but also the latter since he is...our boss.

The relationship between a supervisor and an employee is a very interesting one in corporate America. For both individuals, there are shared objections such as helping to grow the business and hitting objectives set by the higher-ups. Yet at the same time, there are tensions given the disparity in power in the workplace. This power is very significant, as stepping stones in career growth depend on positive evaluations by the supervisor on the employee. Bonuses and promotions are not likely be the rewards if the supervisor considers the employee "unworthy". It is for this reason, the employee fears the boss. On the other side, the supervisor also has a (albeit smaller) fear of the employee -- because an employee exceeding expectations may eventually surpass the supervisor in the corporate hierarchy.

Returning to my position, I am thankful to have the boss that I have: someone who practices a very laissez-faire means of supervising his team. I normally only communicate to him when I have questions concerning the system, my future projects, or personal requests like taking a day off. It appears odd sometimes because there have been days I have not spoken a word to him. All in all, this mode of supervision befits our workload; this stems in part due to the small-projects nature of our work.

A critical function of the boss is to be able to delegate tasks or, generally speaking, maximizing the human capital that he/she manages. This is the quintessential nature of management -- the good managers are able to foster a positive work environment where everyone is able to flourish which, in turn, reflects well on the boss. At the end of the day, the boss will not longer be the boss if the employees do not perform adequately. Hitting company objectives is therefore akin to a flowing river. It starts with the employee but doesn't end with the employee's immediate superior -- it goes up the chain of command (per say).

Work aside, socializing with the boss can be a daunting task. I admit that in my own relationship (with the boss), this normally does not go beyond exchanging pleasantries or briefly sharing about significant temporal events (aka the passing of one's weekend). We have talked about basketball when college basketball was still in season -- but sadly, this is now over. Nonetheless, one cannot ignore the importance of being able to connect with the boss outside of work settings. Not only would this bolster your own relationship with the boss, but allows you to create the impression that you are well-liked and trustworthy. This is especially true if you become on good terms with your boss' boss. Then things will get really interesting.