our signing appointment by.cristina
thu.jun.29

peter and i had our signing appointment in kirkland this morning, where we were met by our agent, connie, and jenny, our escrow officer. we had all sorts of paperwork to sign (bank documents, warranty deed, etc.) and a hefty(!) check to hand over. when we were done, jenny joked whether we wanted one last hold of the check, but, like a bandaid, peter and i wanted it taken away quickly hehe. this appointment was followed by a final walkthrough of our condo, with connie present. this was to ensure that the condition of the home was still in the original state it was when we purchased it. i can't believe it's only been 19 days from when peter and i first saw the condo to the day we get the keys to it!! how incredibly fast is their process over here!?! i love it!!

peter and i have quite a few things on our "to buy" list ... like a mattress, tv, dvd player, iron, etc., so i'm hoping the fourth of july sales will be as good as i've been told. all our furniture that was shipped over from sydney is being delieverd to our condo next friday, so we'll have some time to 'prep' the place. i'm expecting our house warming won't happen for a couple weeks yet (i need time!), but i'm sure peter will want to invite the guys over soon, even in its raw, unfurnished state. ah well, there's always the floor and home-delivered pizza right? :-)

we watched "superman returns" last night! it was a pretty lengthy movie but i soooo won't complain, because i could've watched brandon routh all night! raaaaawr! hahaha ... ok i'll stop now. :-P

... *softly hums the superman theme* (lol)

 

good company by.cristina
mon.jun.26

friday (june 23)
» alice and i get together for lunch and do some shopping in bellevue.
» our mortgage lender confirms that peter and i have fulfilled all their conditions and our homeloan is officially approved (yay!).
» after work, peter, sam and brendan meet up with alice and i for dinner.
» all hang out at our place afterwards.

now peter's always poked fun at how filipinos take forever to say goodbye to each other ... and ok, i admit we do ... maybe averaging about 15 to 30 minutes or so. but on this night, we're saying goodbye to brendan at the door (it's around midnight) and after peter and him saying at least 5 "ok, so i'll see you tomorrow"s to each other, they finally part ways at 2am! haha ... those two just didn't stop talking! mind you, i was standing by the door with them the whole time very amused at the whole thing hehe. i suspect peter will lay off taunting "filipino goodbyes" from now on ;-).

saturday (june 24)
» at brendan's request, peter accompanies him to some car dealerships to be his "shark" hehe.
» after almost 5 hours of car-hunting, brendan purchases the mazda3.
» peter suggests he and i go for a late night scenic drive.
» we find out the trip from microsoft to our place in sammamish takes 15minutes (when hardly any other cars are on the road hehe).

sunday (june 25)
» peter and i do some shopping in bellevue and kirkland.
» my eyes light up at the sight of a shop called "beadworld" in kirkland. peter lets me loose inside ;-) ...

*grin*

» in the afternoon, we head over to sam and alice's new place that they're renting in kirkland.
» introduced to victoria (also an ms employee) and her bf, and the six of us head out for dinner.

today
» peter and i have been informed that our signing appointment for our condo purchase is on thursday and closing and possession will take place on friday!! so basically, we get the keys to our condo in four days!!
» the flood gates have opened and there's no holding back my excitement now ...
» summer's really here! the weather's been sunny all weekend and we're actually reaching a top of 33 degrees (celsius) today. now i never anticipated that happening here!
» i should probably start packing. ciao! ... which reminds me, how painful was the way the aussies lost to italy in today's soccer game eh?!? grr ... blind ref!!

i love suprises by.cristina
wed.jun.21

so the doorbell rings this afternoon and i look out the window to see a delivery guy standing outside our door, holding a large box. my first thought is "hmm, probably another computer-related contraption that peter's ordered online" hehe. so i open the door, sign, say my thanks and realise the package is addressed to both peter and i, and has come from my aunt and uncle from kansas city! oooo ... what could it be?

i msg peter online to let him know about the package and he tells me to go ahead and open it without him :). i think he knew it would've been hard for me to wait until he got home haha ... kinda like waiting to open christmas gifts that have been sitting under the tree weeks before christmas. torture!!! ... so anyway, i open it and this is what i find inside ...

yuuuummmyy!!

the card attached read that it was a "welcome to the US" gift from my dad's younger sister and her husband :-D. thanks so much tita vicky and tito rod! now i've promised peter i'd wait for him to get home so we can enjoy it together hehe ... i have less than 3 hours to go ;-).

 

a G(rea)T weekend by.peter
sun.jun.18

After checking out all the Subaru dealers on the eastside and much bargaining, I finally got a good deal on the car I’ve had my eye on for quite some time now. In the process, I learned how to deal with car salesmen, how car dealerships operate in Washington state and how to get really good deals on new cars.

The first thing to do before visiting a dealership is to work out what price range you are looking at, what type of car you want and then use the internet to research all the makes and models that match that criteria. I did exactly this and created a spreadsheet of several cars to compare the price, features and performance. By a process of elimination I ended with a shortlist of 3 cars:

1. Subaru Legacy GT Limited (Liberty in Australia)
2. Acura TSX (Accord Euro in Australia)
3. Mazda Speed6 (MPS in Australia)

All three are great cars in their own right but in the end I knew only the Legacy would do it for me. Considering the same vehicle in Australia cost 70% more (based on today’s exchange rate) – if I was ever to enjoy such a car, now would be the time :).

Once you have decided on the car, research on the internet to find the invoice price and see if there are any manufacturer rebates currently available. The quoted price you generally see is MSRP (manufacturer’s suggested retail price) which means the same as RRP (recommended retail price). Never ever pay MSRP. The most you should pay is invoice price, the price the dealer supposedly paid for the car, which may be 10% below MSRP. You should ask to see the invoice price at the start of negotiations. The reason dealers can sell at invoice price is because there is often a hidden “holdback” cash amount that manufacturers pay to dealers once the car is sold, kind of like a hidden commission. There’s also cash rewards to dealers who meet certain volume quotas. Knowing this allows you to bargain hard with the dealers.

With the above knowledge, Cristina and I visited a number of Subaru dealers. When you turn up at the dealership you need to let them know that you know exactly what car you want, that you will be purchasing within days and that you are shopping around for the best possible deal. This tells them you are a serious buyer and if they don’t work hard to win you on this visit then there’s no other opportunity. We visited one in Renton who was extremely reluctant to go below MSRP. He refused to show us the invoice and after some discounting I suspected we were still above invoice. We visited another place in Kirkland. The sales guy here was genuinely nice and readily showed us the books and promised to give us the best deal possible. He brought the price down to invoice. The last place we visited was a dealer in Bellevue. We told them we already had an offer at invoice and if they don’t beat it then we’d be purchasing from the other dealer tomorrow. This put them in a very tight spot. They could lose the deal completely or win the deal, increase their volume and maybe make a few dollars for their trouble. Towards the end of negotiations they folded and gave us a reasonable discount below invoice. Cristina and I were very pleased with ourselves :).

So on Saturday our car finally arrived and we picked up our new Subaru Legacy GT from "Chaplin’s Subaru" in Bellevue....

A slight upgrade from the Civic ;)

After picking up the car, Cristina and I quickly made our way up to the Irish Pub in Kirkland to meet with Sam, Alice and Brendan. We discovered minutes after getting there that it was in fact Sam’s birthday. There was footy (I think it was union) playing on the TVs and a duo playing Irish music on stage. But we were constantly reminded that we were still in the USA when our American-accented waitress came to serve us. I’m glad they didn’t have American waitresses attempting Irish accents. Don’t want to spoil the food.

After dinner we moved to a billiard parlour that was around the corner to play some pool. They had R‘n’B music playing in the background, a dance floor and the pool tables were free to use, as long as you bought drinks from their bar. The others ordered beer and I ordered a “lemon, lime and bitters”, at which point I got a fazed look from the bartender. No, not because he thought it was a "girly drink", but because he had no idea what I was talking about. After consulting for half a minute with a fellow bartender, he came back and asked “Do you mean 7up and bitters?”. Yes, give me the hard stuff. The remainder of the night was spent playing pool, chatting and getting to know these new friends of ours.

This morning, Cristina and I had to get up early (by early I mean anytime before 1pm on a weekend :P) to meet up with the owner and the selling agent at the condo we're purchasing in Sammamish. They were there to show us how to use various things in the condo, like the heating system and the appliances (all of which stay). They answered additional questions that we had, and also gave us a tour of the facilities in the complex (pool, spa, exercise room, rec/games room, clubhouse). The selling agent told us that we were very lucky to have had our offer accepted by the owners that Sunday because he had received another two offers on the property on Monday. The credit goes to Connie for that, who was very insistent that the owners either accept or decline our offer that Sunday :).

After the meeting, Cristina and I grabbed something to eat in the area, explored the nearby shops a bit more, and then decided to attend mass at the local Catholic Church. The Catholic community in the area seems quite big looking at the numbers that turned up to the mass. We were pleasantly surprised to find that the pews were actually cushioned (including the back rests) and extremely comfortable. The mass was carried out well and the choir and song choices were great! I think that will be the church we attend regularly. Cristina and I truly have a lot to be thankful for :).

 

we're getting there ... by.cristina
tue.jun.13

i'm trying (unsuccessfully) to refrain from getting my hopes up too high ... at least until our homeloan has officially come through and the deal on the condo closes. we have our corporate housing and storage extended until july 7, but our mortgage consultant says he should be able to get us into our new condo by the end of this month ... if all goes according to plan of course. wow, what would normally be a 2-month-long process in australia is a 3 to 4 week (possibly shorter) one here. that's great news for impatient people ... *points at myself*.

our long wait for peter's ssn has finally(!) ended, so peter made a visit to his chosen car dealership today :-). the purchase/financing application process has begun and if everything goes ok, we're told the car could be ready for pick up by friday (peter's opted for some added options lol). peter hasn't been able to stop smiling since he got home ... and he's been doing this strange move that i suspect must be his version of a *happy dance* ... hahaha ... oh it's priceless i tell ya!! i must catch it on video one day! :-P

 

an aussie dinner & much more by.peter
sun.jun.11

I got in contact recently with a number of new Aussies at Microsoft who work in the buildings near mine. We caught up for lunch a few times and shared stories about our experiences. It was like a support group – Aussies Anonymous :P. Among the group is a guy named Sam, a new graduate from Perth, who joined MS about 3 weeks after I did. Like Cristina, Sam's wife, Alice, is also waiting on her EAD work authorization. Seeing as Cristina & Alice were both currently spending their weekdays trying to find things to keep themselves occupied, Sam and I thought it might be a good idea to introduce the two. We hoped they would find some common interest, or at the very least, find a shopping buddy…err…wait…a…minute….doh! :P

So we organised dinner in Bellevue on Friday for the four of us. We picked out a Thai restaurant from the list of restaurants that accepted Microsoft’s Prime discount card. With the card we get a free main with any main ordered. Dinner went really well with the four of us really clicking. We had so much in common. For example, Sam loves programming - what a coincidence! I love programming too! Now that’s freaky! Oh, and Alice and Cristina both love animals – more freakiness! :P

In fact, we all got along so well we decided to head to Starbucks after dinner for some more chatting. From the centre of Bellevue, you could blindly pick a direction, start walking and guarantee to run into Starbucks within a block or two. We hung out in Starbucks until the staff gave a subtle sign that the store was closing ... they turned the lights off. We headed back to our cars, exchanged numbers and headed home. On the way home I got a nod from Cristina - I knew this was a sign she feels a connection with the new friends :).

A few days ago I heard back from Wells Fargo, one of Microsoft’s preferred lenders, telling me that Cristina and I had been pre-approved for a home loan. It seems that having a decent downpayment speeds up the process considerably! This was an important signal that we could seriously start looking for a property and actually make offers. We immediately made arrangements with Connie to inspect more properties on Saturday at noon. On Saturday morning, Cristina and I had doctors appointments - a post-operative check-up for Cristina, and a general physical and blood tests for the both of us. Luckily, Microsoft fully covers both of us for health insurance, otherwise the appointments would have been pretty expensive. We overheard a guy who had come into the clinic tell the receptionist that he had the flu, and wanted to see the doctor. He was told that the fee would range from about $140-$180(US), and possibly more depending on what happened during the appointment. He opted to leave without seeing the doctor....and I noticed he had driven off in a porsche! Hmm, funny that.

We rushed home to meet Connie at our place. Connie arrived, picked us up in her BMW SUV and took us to visit a number of properties in Bellevue, Redmond and Sammamish. There is one thing I noticed about Connie’s driving and I think it has something to do with the fact she’s driving a SUV – I don’t think she realises that there is a ‘speed’ in front of ‘humps’.

Each place we saw had its pros and cons. There was a property a block away from the Microsoft campus but considering its location we were expecting to pay a premium for something that was a little older and smaller. Sammamish on the other hand, required a little commute but we could expect to receive greater value for money on the actual property. In five hours, we inspected about 10 properties – all of which were two bedders. In the end, there was one property in Sammamish that caught our fancy. It was very reasonably priced and Cristina and I both loved the layout of the apartment, especially its high ceilings. We went back to the property for a second look, and we both decided it was the one for us! So now that we had our pre-approval letter and we found the property we wanted, the next step was for Connie to put together an offer letter to submit to the sellers.

This morning we headed over to Connie’s office at Coldwell Banker Bain in Bellevue and we went through all the paperwork that was required in an offer letter. There was a pile of forms that needed to be explained and signed. I’m so glad Microsoft assigned Connie to us because this process would have been extremely stressful and confusing, but Connie walked us through everything. Despite it being a Sunday, Connie pushed the sellers and got back a response on the offer a few hours ago. It helps to have a former New-Yorker on your side! ;) The sellers accepted our offer and Cristina and I are thrilled! Now if all the steps in the process go smoothly, we could be moving into our new condominium as early as 3 weeks from now :). I know Cristina's fingers are itching to decorate!

Here's the layout of the condominium....

Everything seems to be falling into place. On Friday I got a receipt letter in the mail saying that my Social Security Card will be arriving in the mail within two weeks. From what I understand, when this letter is sent out it means that they already have your SSN in their systems. So I intend to visit the Bellevue Social Security office first thing tomorrow morning to see if I can get a hold of that all important number. This number has special powers, a lot like that number from the TV show ‘Lost’. With this number you can get all sorts of things, including car financing. So we should be able to purchase our own car very soon!

 

"the break up" by.cristina
wed.jun.7

warning: if you have an aversion to "mushy" subjects, don't read any further. :-P

peter and i went to see "the break-up" at the cinemas tonight. and wow ... it really hit home. i found myself experiencing so many different emotions in that one sitting. certain scenes in the movie would trigger flashbacks to my past and the feelings i felt at those exact moments. it really got me thinking about my relationship with peter ... about how far we go back. i thought about our rough patches along the way ... some of which caused our relationship to take steps backward, and sometimes even caused us to take steps apart. but mostly, i thought about, and am still amazed at, how these difficult times have actually managed to make us better ourselves ... and become better partners to each other. but of course if you were to sit me down right during those trying times, i'd be telling you that i wished none of it was happening. but in hindsight, i know, without a doubt, that these were trials that peter and i needed. it was the most painful moments that have actually been of most benefit to our relationship. it is the reason why we are where we are today.

peter and i were just kids when we got together ... we were each other's first love, both equally idealistic, overwhelmed by the emotions we were feeling for each other, blinded by our naivity and inexperience. peter put me up on a pedastal for so long, and i entered the relationship with such high (unrealistic) expectations. i've come to aknowledge (i've heard it enough lol) that i have in fact had an "easy" life, that things have come easily to me. ok, yes, i was a pampered child ... and to this day, a pampered daughter and wife. but i think the difference now is that i no longer see it as an entitlement, but rather, as a blessing that i should be thankful for each day.

i've become a firm believer that you really don't know what you've got until it's gone. and most people don't ever get back what they've lost ... they don't get that second chance ... but peter and i did.

our relationship ... our marriage ... our underlying friendship, has never been better than it is today. i could even go as far as to say that my feelings for him have never been so strong ... or as apparent to me. we've both come a long way from being those two immature love-struck teenagers, to being a husband and wife that understand, accept and are willing to do, what is needed (and more) to ensure each other always feels heard, appreciated and fulfilled.

but (of course) peter and i realise there will still be bumps in the road, moments that will test our character and dedication to each other. i've learnt that no relationship is invincible, no matter how much you think you love each other. and i'll go on living with this in mind, because it is in accepting that relationships do need constant "watering" and constant "effort", that will ensure i never take for granted what i have again.

so, go see "the break-up". it just might make you appreciate what you have without you having to lose it first ...

 

another extension ... with a twist by.cristina
mon.jun.5

we've yet to receive peter's social security number (it's been nearly 5 weeks since he applied for one) so ms has granted us another two week extension on our car rental. however, peter was instructed to return our current rental car to "avis" today and exchange it for another car, because the manufacturer was doing a recall on the model we were using. hmm, i'm curious to know why. now i'm really glad i convinced peter to delay our drive to vancouver until we bought our own car. he wanted to drive there last weekend ... and the news of the recall has me envisioning the brakes failing on the drive there! eek! so anyway, we returned the car with a full tank of gas (as required) and it was goodbye to a chevrolet malibu, and hello to a hyundai sonata. the sonata's look actually isn't half bad and peter says he's finding that it has better visibility and control than the chevy. so all's good!

after the car swap we headed to "circuit city" near southcenter mall as peter had some new computer speakers he'd bought to pick up. then, as we were, or so i thought, on our way home, peter pulls into "renton subaru". lol. peter headed straight for the legacy gt limited edition (sedan) and the sales guy insisted he take it for a test drive. so peter (of course) obliged and he told me that he took it for a real test drive, as apparently the sales guy was encouraging him to go "wild" with it haha. (oh, i was safely waiting in our parked rental car lol). then some negotiating was done and it was obvious from the look on peter's face that he was very pleased with himself haha. you could sooooo tell peter wanted to buy the car right then and there, but alas, we couldn't do so without a social security number. so unfortunately we had to leave gt-less and made our way home with another quote. now peter's always been a patient guy, but this car has him totally smitten...

ok, i must admit ... it does look kinda hunky ;-)

 

visiting relatives by.peter
sun.jun.4

On the day of our farewell party at my parent's place back in Sydney, I found out that we in fact had distant relatives living in Seattle. To be more precise, this relative's maternal grandmother is sisters with my paternal grandmother, which makes his mother my dad's cousin, which I guess then makes us second cousins. Did you get that? :-P

So I phoned this second cousin, named Hai, some time last week. We'd never met before but I know it was mentioned to him by his brother (who lives in Sydney) that we were moving to Seattle and would be contacting him. We chatted for awhile and I found out he was married with two kids, Tina and Daniel, and living in Everett. He mentioned his father was also living with him. He invited us over to their place this evening to catch up and meet the family. They live about 30 minutes drive north from Bellevue.

The journey from Bellevue to Everett
(try dragging the map around and using the mouse wheel or + and - to zoom in and out)

While we were there his two sisters also dropped by. One had just arrived from Vietnam two weeks ago and the other was married to an American and had two daughters. It was good to find out the family tree was healthy with plenty of foliage. We caught up on each side of the family and talked about the major differences between life in the US and Australia. As we were leaving, Hai told us we were welcome to drop by any time we wanted and that we should organise something to do in the near future. He also suggested we go fishing or crabbing with his family some time. Looking at the nice boat they had sitting in their driveway, Cristina and I couldn't refuse such an offer.

 

celebrating our anniversary by.cristina
fri.jun.2

it was 5 years ago today that peter and i were married! yes that's right, we chose to marry on the same day that my parents did 27 years before us. call it sentimentality i guess! :-). peter surprised me with an 8pm reservation at the seattle space needle's skycity restaurant! :-D. so we dressed up a little "nicer" than usual today, made our way to downtown seattle, opted for valet parking and then took the elevator ride up to skycity. peter couldn't have picked a better time for our reservation, because we arrived early enough to witness the view whilst the sun was still setting (we're in daylight savings at the moment), and our dinner lasted long enough to enjoy the view of the evening lights. needless to say, the views were spectacular! it was a revolving restaurant and we were told it takes 47 minutes to go full circle! which means peter and i must have gone around twice :-).

peter loves his seafood! he had just had lobster before this!

the sun's setting!

married for 5 years ... together for almost 11! :-D

after desserts (which were complimentary!), peter and i headed upstairs to the observation deck to take in more of the views. it was really cold and windy up there! we didn't stay outside for too long as my dress kept doing a "marilyn monroe" hahaha. i'll know to wear pants next time! but overall, the night was thrilling and all the thanks goes to peter for organising it! *muwah!*

here are some photos of the view...

seattle space needle (13 images)

 

still going string by.cristina
thu.jun.1 (jun.2 in aus)