Whoa--this is trippy. Check this out--it's a non-animated gif...just an optical illusion. A friend of mine just sent this over.



Last night, I went salsa dancing for the first time in MONTHS. It was great! I can't wait to start up classes again next week. It was pretty eventful---around midnight, some girl's nose got broken. A crowd started forming in the corner and next thing I know, there's a girl lying on the floor with blood all over her white pants. She was likely doing some insane spin and got elbowed in the face. She was kinda small and short--so vulnerable. Ugh...I felt so bad for her. What a shock. I'm not surprised though--it gets so crowded there and I've had so many close calls...spinning around, almost running into someone. Lord knows how many times my feet have been stepped on and vice versa.

Wow, my life's been eventful lately. After the craziness of all the family during the month of September, I finally got my life back together....and *finally*---bought a condo! I am now officially a homeowner. I LOVE my new place---moving in 2 weeks. It can't get any better than this: loft, deep tub, great kitchen, Capital Hill, hardwood floors...I'm absolutely ecstatic and scared at the same time. It's been crazy dealing with all the financing and the papers that I have to sign---the numbers are mind-boggling. Locking in a rate was like a big gamble: "Should I do it now? or should I bet it'll be better tomorrow?" I ended up with a 5.375% rate--not bad...still low..could've been better had I tried earlier. Ah well. Now on to the exciting world of furniture shopping--my current furniture isn't quite "hip" enough for this new place--not that I'm selling everything..but I definitely need new furniture for the extra 700 sq ft that I'm not accustomed to living in.







Vancouver was sad but wonderful at the same time. I really didn't know how I'd react at the funeral---but it was sadder than I expected. Everyone was crying...it was just so heartbreaking. The wake was the most difficult---seeing him there in that open coffin was too much. He looked nothing like the last time I saw him, full of energy and all smiles. The wonderful part of Vancouver was meeting all these relatives I'd never met--especially a first cousin, Anthony. We hung out a lot for those 2 days and it was just so nice to catch up with someone that I'm so close to in lineage yet never knew. I also met many of the "sons of the oldest brother of my grandmother--but had a different mother than my grandmother"--way complicated once you go back a few generations.......

My entire life, I've been fortunate enough to not really know anyone to pass away---either a friend or family relative that is remotely close. This past Monday, my great uncle Season in Vancouver passed away after battling cancer for months. So sad. He was such an active, healthy man for his age, running the marathon as often as he could. But this cancer hit him hard. I'm only happy that he's no longer suffering. He's one of the few relatives I have that actually spoke English...making it easier for me to converse with him and talk about things that I never have the ability to talk about with my other non-English-speaking relatives. My parents flew up here immediately, thinking that the funeral would be sooner than later...but it's not til Tuesday morning. I'll be attending the wake and funeral...both being the first of such events for me. It'll be interesting...I'm not sure how sad I may be...it may surprise me.

i'm so sick. i've been sick for the last 4 days and haven't been able to go to work at all this week. blegh. what bad timing too---i feel bad that my manager has had to deal with the very last minuteness of the craziness of my 2 projects. all i've been doing has been sleeping or sitting on my couch, drinking tea and taking sudafed. this cold just won't go away. a visit to the doctor yesterday didn't help much either...he just told me to just continue drinking fluids and taking sudafed. ugh. i actually haven't been sick for awhile. i was in fairly good health all year long. funny how i got sick just as the weather took a turn for the cold here in seattle. well...it's not that coincidental. doesn't surprise me. my body doesn't take the changing of the seasons very well.



this last week has been hard in regards to my condo-hunt. i finally found another place that i really like...as did pierre! we both put out an offer on the same day. mine was a bit tough because it was already sold contingent...but it'd been like that since april. apparently, the first buyers have had a hard time selling their house. strangely--they sold their house the same day i put out my offer! now, i have to sit through their inspection...but if all goes well, i lose the place. ugh. but pierre got his condo--i'm happy for him. it's a great unit.



all in all, i've put out 3 offers and they've all fallen through. i'm so tired of all of this. buying a place is tiring.

Unfortunately, I didn't get that place I put an offer on...er...well, they countered with a price I wasn't willing to pay. So back to the drawing table. With parents in town, we've been zipping from condo to condo...mind boggling. I'm so tired of all of this. I just want to find a place to call home. We've found some nice ones...it's just a matter of deciding on neighborhoods.



I forgot to mention that one of my very first friends in Seattle--Jon Pak--moved back to Philly to start med school. Wow. I spent so much time with Jon back in the early days of Seattle, going to Ikea together, getting drinks at the Baltic Room or dancing at I-Spy, finding our first apartments only blocks from each other. At his going away party, Jon reminded me that I gave him a ride back to his corporate housing at Harbor Steps on his first day at work. He's such a good man and will always be surrounded by love and good friends no matter where he goes. Best of luck in med school, Jon. Keep in touch.

One week later and I'm still battling jet lag. I can't sleep at night for the life of me. Well, I can sleep but I'm falling asleep super late...making it incredibly hard to wake up in the mornings. Argh.



Crazy week--catching up with work, actively looking at condos.



I found a place that I just love--put an offer out there today. Ah---the nervousness of it all. My parents are flying out tomorrow to go up to Vancouver to visit my sick uncle. They're stepping with all this condo business and getting my mind racing. It's killing me. The stress of it all. I'm really excited about this place---should find out tomorrow what the story is with it. It's so different than all the other places I looked at. My parents are trying to convince me otherwise...[sigh]



Anyhow, I don't know why I'm working so late. It's 10pm and I need to eat dinner.

it's really late (4:41am) and i can't sleep for the life of me. i tried so hard to readjust myself during my entire trip back...sleeping when it was night time in seattle, staying awake when it was daytime. it was so easy for me to adjust and sleep when i first got to bangkok...not much luck coming back i guess. poor misha--he keeps trying to sleep and cuddle up next to me..but i keep tossing and turning. i may have to pop in a dvd and see if that puts me to sleep. argh--i don't want to be all groggy at work tomorrow.