eugenechang.com

Save 8% On Ebay With Microsoft Bing Search

2009-06-19T23:52:00.000-07:00

You can save 8% on almost all Ebay items right now by using Microsoft's new search engine, Bing.com. To do this, all you have to do is the following:

- Create/Use a Microsoft Live (Hotmail) account and enable the Cashback feature
- Use Paypal to pay for Ebay item
- Must select a "Buy It Now" item on Ebay

First, open up a browser window and navigate to http://www.bing.com (Microsoft's new search engine...formerly called live.com). The below screenshots will differ since Bing used to be called Microsoft Live.

Search for the product name that you're looking to buy...i.e., "Ipod". In the search results, look at the sponsored links at the top of the page and look for the link to ebay.com. The link should have a "Bing cashback" logo next to the link.

Click on the link and you'll be taken to Ebay. Here, you can change your search if you want to anything you want.

Make sure you only select items with the "Buy It Now" feature.

Make sure, also, that you use Paypal to pay for the item.

Towards the end of your purchase, you should see a Bing Cashback link to claim your rebate.

The above screenshots may differ, but make sure you select the Bing Cashback link once you're done with your Ebay/Paypal purchase. If you don't already have a Microsoft Live account, you will have the opportunity to join first. If you already have an account, make sure that you have Cashback enabled.

Once you've completed the purchase, your Cashback account should be updated with the rebate information. Rebates will post directly back to your paypal account. For more information, read the Bing Cashback FAQ.

First Smiles

2009-05-29T17:17:00.000-07:00

Allie has been smiling, laughing and cooing for a few weeks now. But she's now smiling often enough where I can actually capture her smile on camera.

Occasionally people will mention how alert or developed Allie is for her age. But to be honest, I have no clue how Allie's progressing since this is my first baby and have nothing to reference against. I suppose I can read up on baby development on websites like www.babycenter.com. But a part of me just wants to experience these things along the way and be surprised when she does something new.

Before I became a parent, I wondered why parents took an excessive number of photos of their kids. But now I'm beginning to understand that there's this fear inside of me that worries that Allie is growing too fast and that I'll forget what she was like when she was smaller.

Allie and Calvin

2009-05-27T18:37:00.000-07:00

Allie was able to visit one of her cousins for the first time when Calvin, Renee and Dennis made a visit to LA this past weekend. Although Allie and Calvin weren't able to interact too much, it was still fun to see them together. Calvin thought Hogan was annoying though, and didn't like it when Hogan persisted in invading his fort.

Calvin and the gang were only in town for two nights, so we had a compact schedule which included visiting the La Brea tar pits, BCAM museum, Malibu beach and H&M. This visit definitely had a different "vibe" compared to when my sister visited. We definitely ate much less this time around.

I'm so scared!

LA Valet Parking Exposed

2009-05-16T02:10:00.000-07:00

Oh hell yeah. NBC LA recently did an investigation story on all of the shady things LA valet companies are doing. This includes taking up parking meters they're not allowed to occupy, getting in accidents and allowing cars to get parking tickets and not informing the car owners.

This means next time I go out, I'm pulling up to a valet stand, leaving my car on the street and walking away...hahahaha.

View more news videos at: http://www.nbclosangeles.com/video.

Allie and Unwanted Visitors

2009-05-14T15:04:00.000-07:00

Allie will be two months old tomorrow, and she seems to be growing at a rapid rate before our eyes. No longer do we have our small, cute bundle of joy we brought home the hospital. Instead, we have a big milk consuming machine occupying our crib.

Judy and I are pretty much getting used to the routine of Allie eating, sleeping and playing during the day...and then getting up once during the night for a feeding. Allie sleeps pretty well whether she's in a crib, car seat, swing or on the floor. She also takes up some peculiar sleeping positions like the iron cross pose below.

Judy is able to enjoy the increasing amount of sleep as well. But last night, Hogan started barking furiously around 3am. We've recently discovered that there's a family of possums living in our front yard trees. I often run into the baby possum when I'm sitting on my front steps...the baby possum is only 6 inches long and looks like a rat. Judy doesn't want Hogan going near them, but I'm curious as to whether Hogan can give them a decent fight...

My brother and his family will be visiting us next week. We're looking forward to seeing my nephew, Calvin, interact with his new cousin Allie. BTW, I was referring to the possums as being the unwanted visitors and not my brother and his family.

One of Allie's favorite positions is to hold her fist up to her chin.

UEFA Champions League - Park Ji Sung Goal

2009-05-07T14:17:00.000-07:00

Manchester United 3 - Arsenal 1

Ji Sung Park scores the first goal in this UEFA Champions League semi-final match. For those of you who are unfamiliar with soccer, the UEFA Champions League is like the NBA/NFL/MLB playoffs.

House hunting? It's not a buyer's market everywhere

2009-05-06T20:55:00.000-07:00

Los Angeles Times
By Chip Jacobs
6:15 PM PDT, May 2, 2009

The confident smile Sam Rivero wore as he hunted for his first house had a lot to do with the buzz thumping in his ears. Ever since home values began sinking, pundits have touted the juicy opportunities for aspiring buyers priced out of the market before, and the young business-development executive heard that cue like a sonic boom.

Out he ventured into Mount Washington, Glassell Park, Eagle Rock, Montecito Heights and other desirable middle-class communities northeast of downtown Los Angeles, searching for a bargain in the $400,000 range. Candidates came and went, and Rivero, who is getting married, was upbeat. Considering the pulverized housing values, with the median price of a Southland home today -- $250,000 -- at half of its 2007 level, the properties should come gift-wrapped, right?

More...

Six Weeks - Fussiness I Can Live With

2009-05-04T12:43:00.000-07:00

Six weeks is supposed to be the pinnacle of when babies become the most fussy and are unable to sleep. Allie just passed the six week mark this past Friday, but her fussiness and sleep are pretty tolerable. She still gets up around twice during the night for feedings. And she does seem to cry when she wants to be held occasionally. But overall, we feel fortunate that Allie has been pretty good and is not making our lives difficult.

We usually swaddle Allie when she's sleeping, but she'll occasionally break out and loves to sleep with her arms raised above her head. She also likes to place her fist on her chin like she's thinking.

My sister, Alice, flew in from Chicago to visit her new niece. We spent the weekend playing with Allie and eating. We also ate, went to a lot of different restaurants, and ate.

Allie outside the Redondo Beach crab house with dungeness crabs in a tank.

Allie sleeping with Redondo Beach shoreline in the background.

Extended Paternal Leave

2009-04-08T23:02:00.000-07:00

For nine months prior to the birth of Allie, I was flying out every week to Phoenix for work. Judy did a great job handling the pregnancy pretty much on her own without my support for more than half of every week.

Since the baby has arrived, I've been able to negotiate to work the remainder of my contract (til July) remotely from home. This is AWESOME. I told Goo the other day, there's nothing better than being able to step out onto your porch in your underwear to drink coffee at 11am on a weekday.

Judy's worst fear: Hogan eating Allie's hand.

Needless to say, I'm enjoying every minute of spending time with Allie. Right now, she's pretty much continuing to eat, sleep and pooh. But she is more active these days and tends to stay up for the whole afternoon.

One challenge I've faced with having a baby is being able to play Warcraft (computer game). If Judy is out, I obviously have to tend to the baby if she needs something. But Warcraft requires 100% of your concentration...if you leave the computer for a second, you're dead. Rest assured, I am leaving my game to tend to Allie...but when I get back to the computer, I'll end up typing some message to the opponent like, "you're lucky that I had to go get my baby". I'm pretty sure the 12-year old opponent on the other end has no idea what to say.

We're looking forward to a bunch of visitors in the next few months. Judy's sister is coming down from SF this weekend to see her new niece. My sister will come in from Chicago towards the end of the month. And we'll get to see Ryan (Mel and Adam's daughter) in two weeks when they come out to LA for a wedding.

Sorry Allie, The Baby Monitor Doesn't Work

2009-03-28T21:05:00.000-07:00

Eat, Pooh, Sleep. That pretty much sums up the first week at home for Allie. I guess it should be no surprise since that is what babies do. Allie will sleep like a rock for a few hours. Then she'll wake up, I'll change her diapers, Judy will feed her and then she'll stare around at the ceiling for awhile before falling back asleep again.

I have to admit that I feel a bit guilty because this first week has gone by so smoothly. I'm sleeping 7-8 hours at night since I'm a heavy sleeper and don't wake when Judy wakes up to feed the baby.

Last night, Judy went to bed early...but she tells me to wake her up at 2am so that she can feed the baby. I'm sitting on the couch watching TV, and I'm like "ok, no problem". I have the baby monitor next to me so that I can keep an eye out on Allie. I eventually fall asleep on the couch. Next thing I know, Judy's waking me up saying, "what are you doing?!?" As I slowly wake up, I hear this loud crying coming from the baby monitor..."WAHHHHHH!!!!!". Hahahaha...I guess I sleep so heavily, that I can't even hear the baby monitor when it's next to my ear. I felt so bad...

Being the pessimist that I am, I'm thinking that I'm going to get it bad later since things are going so well right now. Either Allie will turn into the worst colicky baby of all time, or else she'll be this rebellious meechuhn kid when she grows up later. Please Lord...let her be an angel!

Allie Comes Home

2009-03-25T09:47:00.000-07:00

Allie and Judy were finally discharged from the hospital yesterday after being there for almost six days. It was good to leave the hospital after being there for so long.

The first day home proved to be pretty smooth. Hogan welcomed Allie with his usual curious sniffing, and they were able to sleep together under the sun in the baby room.

The first night turned out to be not as difficult as I had expected. I went to bed around 1:30am, Judy got up to feed the baby once around 2:30am, and then Allie slept all the way until 7am. I'm keeping my fingers crossed and hope that every night turns out to be this easy.

My parents have been here all week, and they had a fun time being able to spend time with their first granddaughter.

Hospital - First Visitors

2009-03-21T18:11:00.001-07:00

Allie has had her first visitors in her short 36-hour life up to this point. Allie's family on her mother's side (Judy's brother/wife, mom and dad) stopped by yesterday and friends (Sue, Janet, Steve/Jen, Dan/Caroline, Albert, Song/Jerry) trickled in today.

My parents will be flying in from Chicago tomorrow. I've been trying to shuttle back and forth from home and the hospital so that I can walk Hogan, clean up around the house, and download pictures.

I'm getting worried because I like to play with Allie all the time...even when she's sleeping. I learned this trick from my mom where she would spread open the eye lids of my nephew when he was sleeping...my sister would get so mad when she did that.

I'm also getting worried because Allie isn't as quiet today as she was yesterday. Yesterday, she sounded like a little chicken when she cried. It was so cute. Today she sounds like a freaking hawk. Oh well...I guess we should be happy that she has a healthy cry.

Hospital - Allie Jinju Chang

2009-03-20T12:04:00.000-07:00

Allie Jinju Chang arrived early this morning at 3:10am, coming in at 7lb 15oz and 22 inches. Late last night/early morning, we had a feeling that the baby would not be induced into a natural labor and we finally had to go for a c-section. Mom is recovering well and the baby is now healthy.

I wasn't that worried going into the c-section operating room. Judy was a bit anxious and the anesthesiologist knocked her out with some gas. Everything seemed to be going well until I heard a gasp from the doctors and everybody started to scramble around.

Two doctors and a nurse rushed the baby out of Judy to the baby stand and were furiously working over her. I watched the timer and saw that three and a half minutes went by before hearing a sound from the baby. Finally, the baby let out a healthy cry. Apparently, the baby's thick fecal matter had gotten into its mouth and there was a danger of the baby inhaling and swallowing the fecal matter. But they were able to suction everything out and the baby is now fine.

I've already had five nurses comment how long the baby is (over 22 inches). I have to admit that the only thought going through my head was how the height was going to help her generate clubhead speed for her golf swing (Michelle Wie)...hahaha.

Hospital - Judy's Sleeping

2009-03-19T21:06:00.000-07:00

It's 9:07pm PST, Judy is sleeping, and there's no baby yet. This is the first time Judy's been able to sleep since Tuesday night. I'm proud of Judy since she's been doing such a good job these past 24 hours and 9 months.

The above shot is the baby monitor hooked up to Judy's belly. The upper line is the baby's heart rate (around 150 bpm) and the lower line is her contractions (around once every two minutes).

I took the risk of slipping out of the hospital to go home and walk Hogan. I was tearing down the side streets between my house and the hospital, yelling at every slow driver that I crossed paths with.

On a more sad note, I'm not sure if Illinois is going to be able to pull out their game with Western Kentucky. Ugh...

Hospital - Italian Ice

2009-03-19T18:18:00.000-07:00

So the afternoon is just about over and the labor is progressing slowly but surely. Judy has made some nice progress in dialating from 2cm (in the morning) to 8cm (now). There are some concerns that the baby's head may not be in the *perfect* position...so the nurses just came in to do some "tossing" of judy to help jar the baby into the best position.

I talked to my Dad on the phone today and he asked how I was doing. He said that sometimes labor can be "laborious for the dad" as well. Well, I've been handling the stress pretty well by watching TV and eating italian ice popsicles.

Quote of the day comes from Adam Chae: "There's no return policy on the baby".

Hospital - Black Hawk Down

2009-03-19T17:50:00.000-07:00

So I wake up around 9:30am this morning, even though there have been nurses and doctors coming in and out of the room since 5am. Judy seems to be OK at this point...cervix slowly dialating. I decide to run back home to check on Hogan and grab some more stuff.

When I get home, I pack my soccer bag with a bunch of stuff that I didn't bring 10 hours ago: laptop computer, change of clothes, tooth brush, coffee. My bag feels like it weighs a ton as I go out the door.

I was reminded of that scene in Black Hawk Down where Eric Bana tells the younger guys that they don't need their night vision goggles and other equipment the first time they go out. But the second time they gear up, you see him packing his bag full of stuff. That's what I felt like...with the exception that I was packing my bag with toothpaste instead of night vision goggles.

Hospital - Day 1

2009-03-19T15:42:00.001-07:00

So after being one week overdue, Judy and I have finally made our way over to the hospital. I went to soccer practice last night and when I got home, Judy was having contractions every five minutes. She told me that we should go to the hospital, so I took my time and took a nice warm shower, took out the trash, fed and walked Hogan, and packed some more stuff into our overnight bag. After that, we did the following:

Day 1
11:00pm - Go to hospital
12:00am - Judy checked in and being monitored
1:30am - Judy in lots of pain due to contractions 3 minutes apart
2:00am - Judy dialated only 2cm
2:30am - Walk around the hospital to encourage baby to move down
4:00am - Eugene falls asleep
5:00am - Judy given medicine to induce labor

Stay tuned as I'll be giving updates here as more stuff goes on. The hospital room here at Cedars Sinai is pretty nice. Nice view of the Hollywood Hills, wireless internet, big room. I pretty much feel like I'm at home...surfing the internet and watching NCAA games. Judy said that all we need is to have Hogan here...hahaha.

Judy's swollen hands. She said that they look like Big Ed Lee's hands...HAHAHA.

View from our hospital room towards the Hollywood hills. Jerry's Deli is at the bottom left hand corner. Judy makes comments every half hour about how she wants to eat Jerry's Deli.

Shaving Cream Bomb Explodes Inside House!

2009-03-17T17:36:00.000-07:00

That's how I would describe my latest home repair project where I had to use foam insulation to fill in some gaps behind my exterior face boards. In my previous post for building my side porch, we had to take down the gutters in order to build the trellis.

I finally got around to putting the gutters back up. But before doing that, I had to use this aerosol self-expanding insulation foam to fill in the cracks. It was hard to determine how much to use and the pictures pretty much speak for themselves.

No Baby Yet

2009-03-10T19:17:00.000-07:00

The question of the day for us has obviously been whether the baby has arrived yet. Well, we're just about at Judy's due date, but the baby has not yet come. In the meantime, here are some pictures of Hogan in the baby's crib:

More Hogan pics here

Frequent Flyer Miles

2009-02-25T13:00:00.000-08:00

This may be my last week flying out for my project for DHL in Scottsdale, AZ since the baby is set to arrive any day now. For kicks, I took at look back at my past Southwest Airlines flights...

The crazy thing is that I STILL didn't qualify for a companion pass this year. You have to fly something like 50 round trip flights in the course of a year.

Alligator Chases Dog

2009-02-24T12:55:00.000-08:00

OMG, this totally reminds me of Hogan. When Judy or I used to walk Hogan, sometimes we would accidentally drop the plastic leash handle. Hogan would get spooked and start running home with the plastic handle chasing him...hahahaha.

Own Your Own Business and Want to Incorporate?

2009-02-18T17:43:00.000-08:00

If you own your own business you will probably want to think about forming an LLC or S-Corporation for liability protection and tax savings. In certain cases, an LLC may make more sense if you have a complicated partnership and need flexibility with distribution of your earnings.

But for the rest of you, an S-Corporation is the way to go due to the savings you'll receive. As an S-Corporation, you're exempt from the double taxation from FICA (self-employment) taxes. If you work for a normal, big company, you pay 7.65% of your gross pay to FICA tax...which is basically taxes for Medicare and Social Security. While you pay 7.65% as an employee, your employer matches that 7.65% themselves.

If you're a business owner and are operating as a DBA (Doing Business As), then you're responsible for paying both the employee and employer portions. This amounts to 15.3% (up to around the first $100k) of your gross pay. That's a lot of money.

But if you incorporate your business, you can pay yourself a small fair-market salary. You can then distribute the rest of your company's earnings to yourself through the form of dividends. The dividend payouts are exempt from FICA tax, so you save 15.3% on that amount.

So, if you're shopping around for online incorporation services, check out www.S-Corp-Compare.com to find the best incorporation service. Prices range from about $250 to $600 to incorporate. But you'll easily recoup that cost in tax savings the first month you're incorporated.

Vroom Vroom Da Party Starter!

2009-02-12T08:58:00.000-08:00

I still think this Bud Light commercial with Conan O'Brien that first aired at the Super Bowl is hilarious.

Vroom vroom da party starter!

The Key to Becoming Powerful? Don't Pay Taxes.

2009-02-03T10:35:00.000-08:00

To date, Barack Obama has three political nominees who have all failed to pay taxes to some degree in the past: Tom Daschle, Nancy Killefer and Timothy Geithner.

Today, Senator Tom Daschle has withdrawn from his nomination to head the Health and Human Services and Nancy Killefer has withdrawn from her nomation to be the nation's first Chief Performance Officer...a new position created by President Barack Obama.

Timothy Geithner was confirmed as Treasury Secretary despite owing more than $34,000 in taxes that he paid. Tom Daschle has paid more than $140,000 in owed taxes and interest. Killefer had a $946.69 tax lien placed on her home after failing to pay for unemployment compensation tax on household help.

After seeing this pattern, I can't help but to wonder whether these high powered persons know a better way to work the system. Are they crunching the numbers and seeing that it's worthwhile to not pay taxes? Even if the interest paid on these taxes is high (over 20%), what if the chances of them being audited and caught is only 5%?

Tom Daschle withdraws LA Times article here.

Uh-Oh...Beckham Leaving LA?

2009-01-27T12:57:00.000-08:00

Reports are out that David Beckham may be leaving LA for Italy. Beckham is currently on loan from the LA Galaxy to AC Milan, an Italian soccer league powerhouse.

Beckham had made this temporary move so that he could convince the England national team coach that he could still play at the international level. It has been suggested that Beckham's spice-girl wife Victoria does not want to move to Italy and wants to stay in LA. More...