The latest internet craze is purchasing in groups. There are quite a few websites out there that offer location-based deals in bulk. To name a few, Joffer, Groupon, TownHog, LivingSocial. I could go on since they seem to be popping up everywhere.

Anyway, the latest offer I “took advantage” of was with LivingSocial. $10 for $20 of desserts at Creations, a Hong Kong-style dessert place. Unfortunately, the fine print is that the entire value must be used in one visit. While the desserts at Creations tend to be on the pricier side, they are not $20 pricey. To fully take advantage of this deal, I need to sit there and eat four or five desserts.

*grumble*

Considering that I’ve been on a liquid diet for so long, perhaps I could actually sit there and consume all those in one sitting. But to be realistic, I can invite also invite a few friends and have a night out to enjoy desserts.

Lesson learned – Read the fine print.

So who’s in for dessert night?

Not too long ago, a friend sent out this article on luck. It’s a pretty awesome read. Basically, it says that luck can be learned. Dr. Richard Wiseman’s research reveals that lucky people generate good fortune via four basic principles:

* Creating and noticing chance opportunities.
* Making lucky decisions by listening to intuition.
* Creating self-fulfilling prophesies via positive expectations.
* Adopting a resilient attitude that transforms bad luck into good.

I totally agree. It’s a matter of perspective. Rather than playing the victim when something happens, one should take things into their own hands. LIVE, rather than let life happen to you. His research is actually pretty interesting, so read the article! But in case you don’t, it ends with three techniques that can help to maximize one’s fortune:

* Unlucky people often fail to follow their intuition when making a choice, whereas lucky people tend to respect hunches. Lucky people are interested in how they both think and feel about the various options, rather than simply looking at the rational side of the situation.

* Unlucky people tend to be creatures of routine. They tend to take the same route to and from work and talk to the same types of people at parties. In contrast, many lucky people try to introduce variety into their lives. For example, one person described how he thought of a color before arriving at a party and then introduced himself to people wearing that color. This kind of behavior boosts the likelihood of chance opportunities by introducing variety.

* Lucky people tend to see the positive side of their ill fortune. They imagine how things could have been worse.

The splint is out! What a relief. That piece of plastic was getting pretty gnarly from seven weeks of just sitting in my mouth. Yuck and definitely TMI! So now I’m splint-free, but sadly still on the liquid diet. I’m in a much better mood though now that the surgeon has had the chance to see me. It was just not knowing how everything was healing up that was bothering me and adding to my overall impatience.

PLUS, I can talk again!

On Friday night, we went to the Chabot Space Center to see Festizio [@festizioband] perform in the planetarium. YES, IN the planetarium. How cool is that? The sound was fine from where I was standing, but I think the dome didn’t help carry the sound properly to the rest of the space. No matter – it was still a great time! AND for the first time in a long time, I could actually introduce myself to people and roam around without keeping RV or Keane or the sister by my side. Those three were my interpreters for the longest time – poor things!

It was a good show overall. They played some new songs, one of which I am a huge fan of. I found myself humming along to the recording Keane did for me the next morning. Listen to it here!

In July 2008, I wrote the following:

True love is an idea. A dynamic idea that changes over time and as one’s perception is influenced by those one encounters.

And I think that once one’s accepted this, falling in love or meeting someone doesn’t seem as impossible or as distant. I meet a person. I don’t seek perfection. It’s more of finding someone I can trust, want to trust, and want to be trusted by. It’s someone I want loyal to me and I want to be loyal to. It’s a mutual understanding that hey, we’re not perfect, but we get along, and we want to live and grow old together. Mutual tolerance of flaws and differences, while at the same time, learning and growing together, one not allowing the other to remain stagnant.

I still believe it to be true.

And while we did not specifically celebrate Valentine’s Day with a romantically planned evening [we laid floor tile and had Chinese New Year dinner with my family], I think my sentiment on the day is the same that I have for Thanksgiving: It doesn’t matter what the designated day is; you should express love and good thoughts to family, friends, and lovers as often as you’re comfortable with.

When it comes to purchasing a major appliance, I had no idea. Most people are on that very same page until they make their first purchase.

Even still, major appliances are supposed to last long enough, such that in your lifetime, you really only have to buy a few, if any at all. So noone ever really becomes an expert in buying these appliances. Fortunately, we have the internet. We can browse ahead of time, look up how to find the suitable appliance with a given price range. RV and I like walking into the store too, so that we can see AND feel the appliance. Whether we end up buying it in-store or just making a purchase online, we’re as informed as we can be. There are no surprises on the surface. Everything else, you can’t prevent. Ultimately, the appliance we end up getting may or may not be PERFECT, but we’ve come as far as we can.

Here are some tips that’ll help get you end up with a pretty good deal [with examples from our washing machine shopping experience last night]:

1) Competitive pricing – Keep your web-enabled phones handy. Even though the washer that we were eyeing was no longer in stock [let me rephrase - THANK GOODNESS it was not in stock], we ended up with a pretty good deal on a better washer because a competitor had the same one at a significantly lower price. Combined with rebates and no delivery fee, SCORE.

2) Free delivery – Some stores charge an arm and a leg to deliver major appliances. If you’ve got the lowest competitive price, pick the store with the free delivery! No matter how strong you think you and your friends are, you’d rather have the store do all the grunt work. For anyone who has ever moved before, if carrying a couch or mattress is a pain in the rear end, imagine that very heavy stove or fridge! Yeah, no thanks. If you have a broken appliance that you’re replacing, some places will even haul them away for free. SCORE.

3) Rebates – Energy efficient appliances are pulling in the $ for us too. The washer we were originally looking at did not qualify for the rebate. Thankfully, the salesperson told us. SCORE.

4) Warranties – In terms of determining which appliance is worth a look at, check the amount of warranties that comes with the appliance. Usually, a longer warranty included in the price indicates that the company is willing to back up its product. Good sign. The washer we originally wanted only had a one year warranty. The washer we ended up with had a much longer one. PLUS, our sales person threw in an extra few years because we were an “easy sale.” SCORE.

With all those working out for us [taxes/rebates included], we ended up spending $50 less than what we would have paid for the SMALLER basic washer we were originally looking at. Online, the lowest price listed is ~$628. After everything, it will be less than $450.

With the extra savings, I ended up splurging on the sink of my choice. *happy dance*

Throughout this entire process, one thing is certain: I am not alone.

It doesn’t matter that it is only my face that’s affected; everybody is wonderfully supportive. Rather than lock myself up at home, I go out quite a bit. By week three, I was not so swollen and had the energy to go out. I’d make sure to bring enough food to last me the duration of the outing. While everyone else is enjoying their food or booze, I down an Ensure Plus beforehand and hang out with my own beverage [non-alcoholic preferred]. Alcohol, like most everything else, just doesn’t taste the same with the splint in.

In doing so, I find out that many I encounter have known someone who has had jaw surgery or are going to have jaw surgery at some point. What I don’t understand is why I don’t see more of them out and about. Before this, I’d never run into those people?! Are they just locking themselves up during the healing process? Or perhaps they heal much quicker since their procedures may not be as dramatic as mine? One week out of the social loop compared to seven?

After many calls and emails, I was finally able to secure an appointment for next week. There’s no guarantee that the bands and splint are coming out, but at least I’ll have gotten checked up on. One of the bands from my braces fell out too, so the sooner I take care of the bands/splint, the sooner I can make an appointment to see the orthodontist to fix that. I’ll also be able to go to the dentist! I am in dire need of a cleaning, considering everything’s been SHUT for the last six weeks. Absolute grossness is all I can say.

Here’s another sneak peak at the house if you haven’t visited already.

One of the few “cons” to the house – an ugly kitchen.

Of course, it no longer looks like this. It functions as a kitchen, but I think it is also the source of a wiring problem in the house. We’ve had more than a handful of electrical trips over the last month. I’m hoping that gets resolved SOON. I LOVE gas stoves, so that was a saving grace, but we had to replace the one in the photo. For some reason, the digital part controlling the oven fell off, and you couldn’t tell what temperature or whether the oven was on or not. Not particularly safe. The fridge was a little on the small side, so we moved it downstairs for RV’s fishing supplies.

Anyway, RV’s having a blast, ripping it to shreds. In the meantime, we are either microwaving or eating at my parents’ house. All dishes are being done in the bathroom. The living room looks like the kitchen exploded all over it – dishes, pots, pans, appliances from the kitchen scattered about.

Spent night two here. The hum of the traffic is quite soothing. It keeps me in bed longer than I should be, but it’s so comfortable. If only I could sleep in more than once a week.

This is the living room that made me fall in love with this house. Seriously, the large sunny window and spacious living area [which is now FULL of stuff] made this house one to remember on my house hunting spree.

Tonight’s the first REAL night in the new house. We have stopped in every day to move stuff in, tear things out, or put stuff up. It’s an amazing learning experience – I found out that you can use a Lowes coupon at Home Depot and vice versa. SUPER USEFUL, considering we’ve made more trips to Home Depot and Lowes than I’ve ever made, and honestly, I’m sick of it.

We got an amazing deal on back splash tile, and we’re going to pick up some nice discounted floor tiles soon too. While I wanted to go for the bamboo floors, it was more than three times the price. This isn’t my dream home, so I don’t need to spend outrageous amounts on the floor. On my off day [thankfully granted by my supportive company], when I should be relaxing at home, I’ll be wading through cabinet styles and granite countertops while waiting for updates on potential appointments at the oral surgeon’s office. Surprisingly, the work we’re getting done will cost significantly less than originally estimated. We tell people we’re on a budget, but basically, the lowest possible $ amount is our budget.

All of RV’s stuff has been moved in. He’s got a lot, and we need to organize and throw stuff out. Mine will be slowly trickling in over the next few weeks. It’s funny how you can fill up an entire house with just a bedroom and a studio apartment as the starting point. MUST minimize! Even though the house is right off the freeway, the sounds are constant enough not to be noticed once asleep. It’s barely noticeable when you’re in the living room at the front of the house, and the doors to the bedrooms are shut.

Enjoying it so far. I’ll love it more when I’m all moved in, and everything is orderly and in its proper place. I’ll love it more when friends come over and celebrate!

The hospital enjoys toying with my mind. I’ve come to that conclusion.

After postponing my surgery for three months [and only after several false potential appointment alarms], they’re now messing with when I can get my bands/wire removed. So the surgeon got sick, but that doesn’t mean his residents can’t relieve me of this liquid diet of no foreseeable end. Seriously. We’re calling them every day, leaving messages, and getting no responses.

The earliest date they gave me for an appointment was March. That’s more than a month away, and it’s after all the Lunar New Year festivities that I’ve been anticipating for the last few weeks. It’s out of the schedulers’ scope, really, so I just need to get in touch with a resident or the doctor himself.

*shakes fist*

All we can do is keep calling.

In the meantime, I’ve got COBRA payments to make as it appears that this whole thing won’t be finished for a while longer. My supportive coworkers have been the saving grace. I can take time off as necessary to rest, which will also allow me time to sort things out with the new house. You know, things like picking out cabinets, counters, and floor tiles.

Oh, and RV made me the most delicious guacamole shake today – avocados, chicken broth [lots of it + water], cilantro, onion, and mild salsa [because the spicy stuff really kicks your throat when it goes straight back].

Ever since I downloaded a dream interpretation app to my phone [DreamBook - $2.99], I’ve been better about at least looking up the significance of objects/creatures that appear in my dreams. I still don’t remember everything in the dream to document it, but I remember bits and pieces.

The dream interpretation app seems to point at my hesitation on moving into the new house. I think the idea of it being my permanent residence is what brings about those feelings the most. I mean, I shouldn’t mind it so much. It’s close to the parents’ house, and my stuff will all be in one place. On the one hand, I am excited about all this. On the other, I am not certain why I would mind this at all. RV and I get to play house in a house that’s more convenient than my parents’. It’s right off the freeway, walking distance to the market, and definitely easy to get to in terms of public transportation.

It probably has to do with a fear of growing up and getting old. And when I get older, everyone around me does too – family included. It’s been several years since the passing of the last of my grandparents’ generation. As time goes by and as my generation grows up, the generation of the parents also continues to move forward. Not too long from now, my parents will reach retirement, and so on and so forth…

:/