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Lately, I've been trying to figure out how to rearrange the furniture I have in my bedroom and living room so that we wouldn't have to end up sitting in the floor close to the TV. You'll think that the easiest solution will be to move the seat closer to the TV. But it's actually the size of the rooms that's creating a problem. I'll have to put the couch or the TV in the middle of the room to create a good viewing distance. Anyway, I'm working on it. But, for my bedroom, I started looking for a comfortable, nice-looking chaise lounge and I think I found my dream chaise (shown in the picture). Yup!

I also started couple of after-work projects at home. I planted some old garlic, dyed my faded jeans, cleaned my ceiling fan, re-organized my storage and travel souvenirs, started a photobook, tried to figure out how to fix our central AC, and disassembled and tried to fix my broken Sony Cybershot digital camera. I didn't realize how messy it is to dye clothes in a washing machine. I read an article online about using 2 navy blue Rit dye + 1/2 black Rit dye powder to dye 2 faded jeans and get a dark denim color. You can add a cup of vinegar during wash cycle to make the color last. I tossed in another denim jacket with the two jeans. I soaked the fabrics in the dye solution for 30 minutes before starting a wash. Then, I have to run the machine again until the water runs clear to get the rest of the stain out. Overall, it turned okay but I thought that it's probably not worth the labor. I learned a lot from disassembling my digital camera. It's really a work of art and kind of intimidating at first. Everything is packed tightly and looks fragile that I keep on thinking how I can easily break a part or two. But, it's already broken to start with so what do I have to lose. I dropped my digital camera during a trip and now it's lens won't open or close completely and it just keeps on making this buzzing sound. I read online that to fix it, you have to find the motor and either turn it off so that your camera will stay open or fix it somehow to realign it. I've taken out so many tiny screws, which I taped together so that I won't lose them. I was able to manually open and close the lens once or twice but after couple of power on and off, it got stuck again. But, at least, there is still hope - unlike our central AC. Our AC stopped working last summer. I can hear and feel the blower but no cool air. I got couple of quotes to find and fix the refrigerant leak within the unit, which is probably in the condenser, and recharge the freon and it costs about $2500. I was told that I'm better off with a new unit since even after they fix it, there's a high chance for it to leak again. So, I decided to eye another option. I spoke with my roommates and we all agreed that it's better to just have an individual AC in each room. That way, we can save money by not having to cool the whole house. Besides, most of us are gone on the weekends. I started looking for portable AC with about 14000 BTU and they run from $300-$500, which is probably not that bad. I only need two and that will cost me less than half of the cost of fixing our central AC. Also, I cleaned my ceiling fan and it really helped a lot in making the air cooler! I can't imagine how dusts can actually affect how your fan works but they do. Anyway, I hope I'll make better progress with all these projects I started. I have several others on my list, like painting my porch and setting up a mahjong night at my place.

ApRiL Fools' horrifying tax season - no laughing matter

It's tax season again and it's been a learning experience for me. The last couple of years, I had our CPA prepare my tax forms because it was a little complicated with my home and mortgage, stocks, and real estate activities. This year, I decided to do it on my own since it's no difference from last year and I thought I'd use my last year's tax forms as a model. Besides, since I claim high exemptions (and get more monthly take-home salary that way), I know that I won't be getting a lot of refund, if there's any. So, I decided to save that hundred something dollars CPA fee and do it myself. You can deduct tax preparation fees along with your unreimbursed employment expenses (e.g. union fees) but it only helps when it adds up to more than 2% of your Adjusted Gross Income and ofcourse, the excess is the only thing that can help. Anyway, this year, due to the Paper Reduction Act, I did not receive any 1040 and 540 in the mail. I have to order them online. Unfortunately, I have to prepare my brother's tax forms too so I have to place an order twice since they only allow you to order one booklet/form per person. At first, I tried to print the forms I need from the IRS and Franchise Tax Board website. But, I find myself making several trips to the computer as I complete a form. The instruction packet wants me to fill out more forms (Schedule D-1, form 8863, etc.). It only took me 15 minutes to do a rough calculation on my federal and state tax and get an estimate of how much refund I'm getting (thank God!). But, it took me hours to actually gather up all the forms, carefully read and follow the flow chart-like instructions, and finally fill out the worksheets and forms. Whew!

Unfortunately, things are not going well with my roommates. They both have to foreclose on their houses. One of them did it in 2008 so she has to declare it in her tax forms this year. The other one did a short-sale last February so it will not affect her tax-wise until she has to do her tax next year. The one who did a foreclosure in 2008 got a 1099-A and a 1099-C (Cancellation of Debt) forms. She hired an IRS attorney to prepare her tax so she doesn't have to worry about it. Unfortunately, there are a lot of things that the lawyer was uncertain about after he prepared her tax forms. There are a lot of shady area with IRS forms and instructions as far as the foreclosure process. See IRS Publication 4681 for more information on Cancelled Debts, Foreclosure, Repossession and Abandonment. Fortunately, the Bush Bill that allows forgiveness on foreclosure (instead of having the debtor declare it as income) is in effect until 2010. However, the California 540 instructions are much worse! I went through the booklet instructions and the forms from beginning to the end and did not find any instructions as far as foreclosure. This is her biggest worry. The attorney did not take into account the 1099-A and C that she got this year when he filed her CA-540 form. So, she was able to get some refund. However, if she actually have to declare it in her CA-540 as an income, she will have to pay about $16,000 something dollars! I told her to get a second opinion from a CPA lawyer instead of an IRS attorney and to also check with the Franchise Tax Board office in Oakland. I checked out mymoneyblog.com but they don't have anything that's specific to California taxation. I really feel bad for my roommate and my other roommate is already stressed out with her next year's tax. I just pray to God that I wouldn't have to go through this myself in the future and that my roommate will finally get their forms figured out and not have to pay any ridiculous sum of money and if they do - I hope that the IRS/state won't go after their retirement savings.

Prayer T-shirt Project

Whenever I take Bart or any public transportation and whenever I see an interesting shirt, flyer, or billboard, I can't help but check out what it says. With the rapidly changing world and diminishing moral values and people losing spiritual meaning in their lives, I thought that for Lent, it will be great if I can make a Prayer T-shirt. When people read the prayer, they get to pray as well. And maybe, it will give them a chance to stop, think, and be thankful for what they have. Hopefully, it will bring them that light-hearted, warm feeling that we usually experience when we solemnly pray. No matter who you offer your prayers to, it will remind anyone to reflect. Either way, it's better than wearing a shirt that says "Mrs. Timberlake".

Right now, I'm trying to put together a good design for my prayer t-shirt. It's a shirt with the "Lord's Prayer" at the back and a Tagalog or Spanish version in front and on each side of the shirt is the name of the prayer "Padre Nuestro" or "Ama Namin". I hope I won't get in trouble with other religion / denomination. When I called a shirt screening / printing place, they quote me $105 for a shirt or $120 for 10 shirts. This is for just a basic white shirt with black font (sizes don't cost extra). Fortunately, I was able to find more people to buy the shirt with and also someone who may be able to make the shirts at a cheaper prize. They're devoted Catholics and they thought that the prayer templates will be great for future fund-raising events. That's great but at this point, I just really want my prayer shirt. So, I surveyed other options such as Kinkos, Walgreens, and other shirt-printing places that make company give-away shirts. The cheapest way that I've found so far is to find an iron-on decal. Now, I just really need to find a good graphic template to use.

The Rest of 2008 ...

It has been a while since my last blog entry and several wonderful things happened since then.

• I took a Cultural Anthropology class last Fall and it puts me more in the global mindset or perspective on the diseases of civiliation and effects of globalization in people's lifestyle and culture around the world. I started writing a paper in it and I'll post it in my blog soon.
  
• I joined Eastbay MUD Dragons' dragonboat team in April for the Annual Paddle for Life: http://bayareadragons.org/content/view/17/36/
• I was in Europe for three weeks in October and visited France, Spain, Italy, Turkey, and Greece. I'm still working on updating my Traveler's blog at http://jocel.travellerspoint.com/ Check it out for some cool tips and ideas on traveling.
• I spent Thanksgiving in Washington with my friends Grace, Arvin, Buenda, and her family. That was my first time to be in Seattle and it was one of my best Thanksgiving! At last, I finally get to see Chihuly's glass work in Tacoma's Museum of Glass. Dale Chihuly's The Laguna Murano Chandelier is really amazing. The glass bridge has a lot of his work displayed in a glass roof (section of the bridge) and in shelved glass display case.
  
• I finally learned to make a Parol (Filipino Christmas Lantern) from a workshop and joined the Parol Lantern Festival this year in San Francisco.
• I spent Christmas in San Francisco. It was a free day at the Jewish Art Museum and I joined the foreign film group to watch "A Christmas Tale" afterwards.
• I finally joined Facebook and migrated most of my Friendster 411 there. Also, I started taking Jiujitsu and started playing guitar again.
  
• 2008 is a big year in some places and for a lot of people. Olympics was held in Beijing. Manny Pacquiao won three times this year (against Marquez, Diaz, and De la Hoya). Arnel Pineda debuted as the new singer for Journey in February 2008. Eight is such a Feng-shui number that 08-08-2008 became a dream date for a lot of weddings last year. My best friend in the Philippines, Kathie Rose, got married in August and my cousin Marvilyn got married in December. My friend Ceijey had her first baby this year, too and he's sooo cute.
• Barack Obama defeated John McCain in November and became the first African American president of the United States.
• The sad and scariest part of 2008 is the ongoing recession - stock market crash, housing market bubble burst, rise of unemployment, and distress in global economy. Even at work, California state budget cuts is putting a lot of stress as far as dropping wages and furloughs. There was a mandatory 2-day furlough (unpaid time-off) each month for state employees that they'll start enforcing in February until June 2010. This ofcourse translates to about 10% wage reduction for me plus, no promotion or raise. Bummer!