I am enjoying Mad Men.  Don Draper is such a gorgeous hunky fictional character man.  He is the epitome of a manly guy, from the 50’s.  Suffice to say, working in the city, you do see alot decent looking gentlemen.  Not so much when I was in Silicon Valley.  Not sure why the concentration is higher in the city but must be because it’s precisely that, “the city”.

I haven’t enoyed a show so much in such a long time.  Unfortunately I am slowly getting my Mad Men fix through the Netflix queue.  The slow unraveling of who the characters are and then the actual unraveling of a man internally.  The psychology of men and the divide of private and public persona, thoughts, is fascinating.  Men were so not in touch with themselves back then.

I am Korean American is a project where you can submit a pic and paragraph about who you are as a korean-american.  If someone wanted me to put into words, one paragraph of who I am or who I am in the context of being a korean-american, I don’t know what I’d say…there is a mommy blogger on this project I follow and like.  She grew up pentecostal christian, no longer is practicing and is very liberal.  I find her hilarious to say the least.  She is the programmer, mommy blogger if you want to look her up.

I am thinking about submitting and it seems you submit and they put you on here.  No selection criteria.  Interesting….

My mister started working at his company he is currently at straight out of grad school.  He’s been there quite a long time.  Meanwhile I’ve been at five different companies during roughly the same time span.  However, my mister did have an opportunity to leave the company years ago.  A manager left the company to start his own networking company.  He asked my mister to come join him on the venture.  The hitch was he was moving to Sacramento and that required my mister to move as well.  He declined and ran into this manager a few years back.  Suffice to say my mister did catch up with him and they chatted about how things were going.  He was still living in Sacramento but he commuted down to silicon valley.  My mister said, “Wow, that’s quite a haul and commute in a car.  Ever think about moving back?”  The gentleman replied that he did not think about moving back and his commute only took one hour.  My mister asked how that was possible.  Apparently this guy flies his own plane in.  How does that work you say?  Oh, a certain company that rhymes with snoogle bought his company years ago and he is now a multi-millionaire folks.  That’s right, my mister could have also been a multi-millionaire had he taken up this guy on his offer and followed him to Sacramento and his business venture.  I asked my mister if he regretted not following this guy.  He said, “No, because then I wouldn’t have met you.”

Cue in – Awwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww

Good article posted by a friend on facebook.

http://finance.yahoo.com/banking-budgeting/article/108239/fICO-reveals-how-common-credit-mistakes-affect-scores?mod=bb-creditreports

FICO Reveals How Common Credit Mistakes Affect Scores

by Jeremy M. Simon
Sunday, November 29, 2009

provided by

Disclosed for the 1st time, ‘damage points’ taken off for late payments

Borrowers already knew that late payments hurt their credit scores, but for the first time, they now know the extent of that damage.

More from CreditCards.com: • Retail Credit Cards Boost Rates, Cut Rewards • Card Issuers Sweeten Deals for Those With Great Credit • Gift Cards: Practicality is In for ‘09

Did you max out your credit card? Expect a credit score drop of 10 to 45 points. Declare bankruptcy? Your score will plummet by up to 240 points, and your odds of getting credit will nosedive with it.

The “damage points” data, unveiled recently by FICO, are part of the most revealing glimpse into the firm’s once-secret — and still mysterious — credit scoring model. The new information discloses how many points borrowers’ scores will drop when they make the most-common mistakes.

‘Help People Understand’ Scores

“I hope this information will help people to better understand FICO scores and the value for them of avoiding credit missteps. It illustrates key points such as the higher your score, the farther it can fall if you stumble,” says FICO spokesman Craig Watts. “Getting and maintaining a good score isn’t complicated. We all just need to pay our bills on time, keep credit card balances low and take on new debt sparingly. “

The greater transparency about FICO scores is important because American consumers’ ability to get credit rises and falls with the number. FICO, the company that pioneered credit scoring, assigns consumers a three-digit number from 300 to 850, depending on how well they handle credit. Other companies also offer scores, but FICO’s version is the most widely used by lenders in determining whether a consumer can borrow, and at what rate.

FICO’s credit score has been around for decades, but only within the past decade have consumers gradually gained access to theirs. Though the raw numbers can be purchased, how they’re figured remains a FICO secret, as closely guarded as the formula for Coca-Cola. Until Thursday, FICO revealed only broad categories of factors influencing the score, but not the number of points at stake for consumers who fail to pay as agreed. The “damage points” information, revealed in a report by personal finance writer Liz Pulliam Weston, will be made available through its myFICO.com Web site starting this weekend.

FICO’s information shows that bankruptcy does the most serious damage to a credit score (up to 240 points), followed by foreclosure (up to 160 points) while maxing out a credit card has the least numerical impact (as few as 10 points).

Those with good or excellent credit — so-called prime borrowers — put more points at risk with each mistake. For example, someone with an average credit score of 680 who pays a bill 30 days late will see a drop of 60 to 80 points. But for someone with an excellent credit score — 780 — that same delinquency can send a FICO score tumbling by 90 to 100 points.

The Cost in Dollars

In order to show just how badly a drop in your FICO score can hurt your wallet, we spoke with members of the home mortgage, auto and credit card lending industries. We presented hypothetical scenarios of a consumer who decided to apply for a $200,000, 30-year mortgage; a $20,000, five-year auto loan and a credit card. While all the industry insiders stressed that a FICO score isn’t the only factor in determining who gets credit and at what cost (other factors they cited include the borrower’s debt-to-income ratio and whether they have already established a relationship with the lender), they were able to provide an idea of what a borrower who had the following credit scores could expect.

For a Consumer Who Started With a FICO Score of 780:

• Following a 30-day late payment, the consumer’s car loan rate would jump nearly 3 percent, costing the borrower $26 more each month.
• Following a debt settlement, the consumer would pay as much as $109 more each month on a home mortgage.

For a Consumer Who Started With a FICO Score of 680:

• Following a 30-day late payment, the consumer would pay $41 more each month for a car loan.
• Following a 30-day late payment, the consumer would pay as much as $95 more each month on a home mortgage.
• Following a debt settlement, the consumer would no longer qualify for a credit card.

Some Surprised By the Details

Consumer advocates say it’s important for borrowers to know what can damage their FICO scores. “If they know it in advance, they won’t go out and step in a pile of doo-doo. They won’t go out and do some of these things,” says Linda Sherry, director of national priorities with advocacy group Consumer Action. Even experts found some surprises in today’s news. “FICO imposes bigger hits than I would have thought for being maxed out or 30-days late just once, reinforcing my view that it is a cruder, blunter instrument than they like to claim. Nevertheless, it is a powerful, widely used crude blunt instrument,” says Ed Mierzwinski, consumer program director for the U.S. PIRG consumer advocacy group.

Of course, knowing the impact on a FICO score and actually avoiding these mistakes are two separate things: Amid rising unemployment and other daily financial struggles, paying bills and staying on-track financially becomes a much bigger challenge for many borrowers.

“Some of these things are out of their control,” Sherry says of consumers.

Additionally, as Weston points out, consumers with identical FICO scores can have different credit histories. That means the same slip-up — such as maxing out a credit card — could have different impacts on consumers who have the same FICO score. In the examples they provided, FICO assumed each borrower had several active major credit cards, a mortgage, car loan and student loans.

Sherry acknowledges the benefit of putting a number to a financial blunder. “I don’t think we necessarily knew the numbers that a bankruptcy could apply to a credit score,” Sherry says.

Helping You Make Better Decisions

While knowing the numbers may not keep you filing for bankruptcy if given no other choice, the information may help you make the best decision when faced with a bad situation.

FICO scores — and the access to credit they provide — are a valuable asset to consumers and supply a safety net when incomes are stretched. It’s an asset that needs to be protected, Sherry says, even if job loss or catastrophic illness makes bill paying problematic.

“In that period of time, paying down debt is the last thing on your mind. Paying the minimum payment may also be the last thing on your mind, but you’ll be doing yourself a big favor if you do,” Sherry says.

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We have a friend who I will call “P” for anonymity purposes.  He is vietnamese and never knew who his father was.  He was raised by a man who acted like his father, was not very good to him but was his father figure.  They were estranged since he didn’t treat P well.  Several years ago he moved down to San Diego because his wife who is of Mexican heritage had family down there.  They moved down and both got work there and bought a house.  Flash forward to about a year ago.  He was laid off and so was his coworker in HR.  She mentioned an internship at a company she got a job at or knew about (can’t recall which it is).  P decided to stay in school and finish his MBA at the time so he welcomed the opportunity.  He applies, meets another vietnamese girl there who, after getting to talking, realize they both may know his father.  She said she’d ask her mom if perhaps his father served in the army with P’s father.  She goes home, asks his mom questions about whether her father was stationed at that location and he had been.  She also asked if her father happened to have fathered a child out of wedlock because apparently P looked enough like someone in her family to raise suspicion.  Her mother confirmed that her father had indeed had a child out of wedlock.  She asked if she knew the name and it was P’s name.  She keeps this information to herself.  She now believes P is her half brother.  She and her husband have dinner with P a week later but she still does not reveal what she knows or suspects.  She has her husband meet P and her husband confirms that P does look like her grandmother.  Finally she reveals what she knows.  They take a paternity test and it confirms he is related to this girl and now her father.  P found his biological father.  Isn’t this an amazing story?  P’s mother had died during their passage here on a refugee boat at the hands of a pirate who was trying to get money or valuables from them.  This story was told to my chinese cute momma friend who P is friends with from college.  This is basically how we all got to know P, through my cute chinese friend.  I couldn’t believe the story.  You couldn’t make this up.

At the end, P’s biological father wants to have a relationship with P.  P seemed open to it from the gist of the story.  Amazing.

What I commented on to my cute chinese mommy friend was that P would never have run into his half sister had he never moved down to San Diego.  She points out that P would never had moved down to San Diego had he not married his wife.  Which is very true.  Had he not gotten laid off, he would never had applied for this internship.  Had he never applied to this internship, he never would have run into his half sister.  Amazing how the series of events, most of which could have been classified as negative for some brought him to his biological father.  It sometimes shows you that an event that could seem negative lead to something positive.

My korean friend who I call supermom, who is married to a Japanese American, is a tough cookie.  Not in the sense of she’s tough like adults think of tough, cordial, but firm, but more in the sense of highschool tough where she would have taken off her jewelry to beat you down.  Of course she’s toned it down in the adult sense.  Last week she facebooked (is that a word even?) about an incident where she was driving her brand spanking new Toyota Sienna minivan and a group of teenagers on the sidewalk threw pine cones at her car!  Well she pulled over, got out of her car, took pictures with her iphone and called the police.  One boy ran but the rest who were girls stayed since I suppose they didn’t know to run or that their pictures were taken.  A parent came and the police came and the girls cried.  They initially lied about it and then fessed up.  All I know is you can’t mess with her.  I love that about my friend.  She’s one bad mutha (literally, haha).  Ok that was a bad joke.

My mister decided to put his foot down and have me stick to a budget.  Suffice to say I was looking for keys.  Basically keys that are adorned with diamonds and can hang on a necklace.

See Tiffany’s keys for an example.  I ended up with a 2.25 inch 14 karat white gold key, with some diamonds, on an italian gold chain.  My mister said 300 bucks only as the upward-bound budget.  Which by the way is the first time he ever has set a budget on me.  I had it upped from 200.  I ended up spending 424, 124 over my budget.  This gift is now worth a Christmas gift, anniversary and birthday.  I think that’s overdoing it so just right now I told my mister that was a bit much and a bit chintzy.  Come on, having my gift account for all three.  He said he knew I would do that and it was a bit much.  So the gift will be basically accounting for Xmas and Birthday but not the anniversary.  He needs to put thought into the anniversary.

I had gone with my good korean friend married to a japanese american and Money Hotness.  Two of my favorite people.  Money Hotness cuz she is my best buddy and korean friend cuz she’s so relaxed, and a good friend at that.  I’m lucky to have such friends.  I really am.  They actually know each other and go way back.  I met korean friend who is supermom, way after Money Hotness but they knew each other before me.  It has to do with an ex boyfriend of Money Hotness’.  I have to say, Money Hotness made out with some nice goods.  We had fun looking at diamonds and all sorts of indian jewelry, estate jewelry, none of which I could ever buy, and I found out today that what my  mister paid for my diamond earrings were about 50% more than what I could have bought them for today and for bigger, oh well.  It’s ok, it’s not that we knew about Michael Goldmuntz, who I call our diamond guy.

I think after today, I realized I really should have become a gemologist and designed and look at jewelry all day.  The only problem is I’m not sure how recession proof that line of work really is.  I looked up courses to become a certified gemologist and it takes some chemistry and time and some moolah to get certified.  Sigh.

Tomorrow my cute chinese friend is coming over with Money Hotness.  I already gave Money Hotness some pumpkin pie.  I’m enjoying the Thanksgiving food and can’t really get sick of anything but the turkey.  Just not a huge fan of turkey all the time.  Just the stuffing, mashed potatoes, gravy, but turkey, meh.  Not so much.  My favorite white meat is pork.

I will have to say, between 2 keys I was looking at, Money Hotness has good taste.  She picked up on the one that kinda looked like the one at Tiffany’s!

Well, Thanksgiving was very low key this year.  It was kinda nice, kinda miss having a huge crowd of folks too.  Taiwanese buddy was off to Wisconsin with her baby daddy to visit that side of the fam.  I can’t believe they are traveling already with their little boy being 1 month old…but it’s easier now than when they get older, mobile, active, louder, haha.

My mister stuck the turkey we brined with Alton Brown’s brining recipe in the oven at about 7am at my insistence.  The turkey was done by 10:30 ish.  We didn’t get all the food on the table until 12:45ish.

However, having done the stuffing last night, the pumpkin pies last night, the cranberry sauce, the pecan bourbon pie (paula dean’s recipe), we only had corn, brussel sprouts, mashed potatoes left to really do.  Gosh I love it when we’re ahead of schedule.

My folks came over, my dad left midday to go fishing.  Apparently he belongs to a last name association (our korean last name), and the men all went fishing on Angel Island or Tiburon.  He didn’t catch anything but 2 small crabs.  I wonder if he heard about the oil spill and how that affects what you fish.  No matter, since he didn’t bring anything home.  My brother came and brought his girlfriend’s brother.  His girlfriend is in Korea but her brother is studying here abroad.  He came over, both ate a ton and they opened the wine he brought.  It knocked out both my bro and the girlfriend’s brother, or was it the food?  All I know is after the meal it was nap time for everyone.

So with some contemplation, I was thinking about this year, what I’m thankful for and wanted to write it down for posterity.  Or is prosperity.  haha ( booty versus forever?).

I am thankful for….

my health

my children

a safe delivery for my 2nd born

my hubby

a God who gives peace, love, forgiveness, despite our shortcomings, our sins and is for good in a world that isn’t sometimes

my parents who are always there for me despite the normal grievances one may have about and with their folks

my in laws who raised a good man, despite our past friction, and present and i’m sure future friction to come

my brother who is a good brother to me and a wonderful uncle

for my brother in law and his wonderful relationship with my mister

my wonderful friends, all who run a gamut and a spectrum of awesomeness

i have the most wonderful friends

for material comforts (home, food, clothing, income, security, cars)

After staying home and seeing the depressing news daily, I am deeply thankful for my life right now.
It reminds me to give back.  When the kids get older, we will institute a day before Thanksgiving where we volunteer together as a family.  We want to teach giving back and model that.  Parenting is all about what you do, not what you say.  Not what you want to be but more of who you are and what you do in the present.  Children see the here and now.  As adults we are more preoccupied by the future and what should have been.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

We are ahead.  I finished my stuffing today.  All it needs is a bird to stuff it in.  Turkey is brining thanks to my awesome mister.  He baked 4 pumpkin pies (minimum batch loadage), tried his hand at a bourbon pecan pie.  He makes pecan pies every year but tried Paula Dean’s bourbon pecan pie.  He’ll make another one without bourbon for the rest of us children and breastfeeding women.  We started the gravy, finished the cranberry sauce from scratch.  All that’s left is  mashed potatoes, throw the turkey in the oven, finish off the gravy and we’re ready to eat.