What a day!

I went to Tracy to meet my boss yesterday morning. It was nice to be out in the field sometimes, but it was super hot out there. It was a good meeting and we have established a good referral source. For lunch, I had the best ball tip steak sandwich @ Kinder’s. I’m not a beef lover…but the meat was so tender and I love it with just the meat and lots of mayo. Wow! It was perfect!
My day went from the top of the hill to the bottom of the sea after lunch. I rode on my boss’ car with my colleagues to Stockton for the next meeting. On the two-small lane freeway, a dark green Lexis driven by two flunky guys cut in front of us. It was such a dangerous move. My boss was pissed and he honked @ them and gave signal for them to pull over to the emergency lane. I can’t believe they both pulled over and my boss was about to get off the car. We told him just ignore them and let’s move on. What if they had a gun in their car? My boss calmed down and he started to get back on the freeway. The guys chased after us, he stirred his wheels and pulled toward us again, and we almost got hit by them. My boss was so mad; we were flying in his car and chasing after them. Oh my…the rest of us just told him to STOP, LET HIM GO! He then called the BMW service, connected to the highway patrol and reported that car. The two men drove so recklessly and it was so scary!\Our IMPORTANT meeting in Stockton was totally useless. I don’t even know why we had to be there. All I can say is some of the US government system is B_ _ _ S_ _ _! Well, we had done what we should…we will deal with it when the result comes.
It was over 107 degree in Tracy and by the time I drove back to Livermore, it was still 99. What a day!

Potluck

September doesn’t have the same meaning to us like it used to be when we were still in school. However, we still want to party in the last weekend in August. We had potluck @ Emily & Vho’s on Saturday night. 16 of us, and everyone brought something to the table. We had plenty of food. The eating took place from 6:30pm to 2am, non-stop. Yum! Yum!
Ah Shan - our Wii baseball 臺主. Marvin, Owen, Albert & Vincent were in line to challenge him. Unfortunately, only Vincent can win over the title. Stella, Patrick, Christina and Kristi participated in the first 4 round of MJ 友誼賽 and Emily, Owen, Shan & Tina followed with the real 血戰.
The rest of us decided to play an old game, Pictionary. Team #1: Albert, Vincent, Kristi, Stella and Neslie and Team #2: Patrick, Samsam, Chrisee, Marvin, Alex and myself. We had a blast during the game. I still can't understand how Vincent can come up with the answer "Sleepless in Seattle" when all I drew was a cross on three zzz. Afterall, we learned the #1 訣竅 in this game is “the louder you get, the more chance you can win”.
My biggest 收獲 was to download the Hong Kong theme photos into my phone as wallpaper from Ah Shan. Oh! Now I have something to comfort myself in the middle of the night when I can’t sleep.

晴晴

My family has added a new member. She's my 表姨生女, Gladys Lam (林悅晴). She's almost four-month old now. I can't stop laughing when looking at her hair style. She looks so funny & cute. Can't wait to KISS her when I'm back to Hong Kong in December.

極端分子

We attended a wedding banquet on Saturday. My daddy-in-law and his high school friend (Here I called him Mr. Anti-China) started a conversation.
Mr. Anti-China 說什麼大陸人都沒有人性沒有良心. 工作態度惡劣懶散. 他認為工人還是活在做有三十六, 不做也有三十六的思想年代.
我想: 人有分好壞, 這跟地區或種族…有關嗎?
他說: 離開了中國的, 不再是中國人, 僅是華人. 他道他從不是中國人. 在香港出生成長, 他是香港人, 移民後他變了美籍華人.
我想: 這是什麼哲理觀點? 我幾乎站起大聲疾呼 “無論在哪裡, 我永遠都是完完全全的中國人!” (我太激動啦! 我就快要爆樽啦!)
他說: 中國政府正在極權的管制和支配了人民. 人民應該可以決定自己的命運, 這麼才是自由與民主. 人民渴求自由, 就應給予獨立與自主.
我想: 可以做你一切想做的, 不算是得到自由, 而是放縱; 可以不做不應該做的, 才是真正的自由. 美國被稱為最自由的國家, 假如加州全民投票贊成獨立, 難道美國政府也會不管嗎?
後記 - 為反對而反對, 他絕對是極端分子. 也許為擁護而擁護的我, 也是彼此彼此.

中國貨恐慌論?

Recently there are so many “Made in China” products got recall. Without a completed investigation who should take the responsibility, a lot of people blamed China government for everything right away.
Before we jump to conclusion, let’s think about the following:
1) Does China government have regulation on exported goods?
2) Is the problem vendors privately owned or government owned?
3) Who design and place the order for production? Businesses here in foreign country or businesses in China?
4) How come there’s no QC or testing done by Businesses from foreign country to meet their safety and quality standards?
5) Did Businesses in foreign country neglect all the regulations and skip QC so they can keep the cost low for a bigger profit?
I have to admit that we somewhat had lost confidence in some of the products from China. Nevertheless, China is such a big country, and has grown so fast that government is trying to catch up in their systems and regulations as well. I still have so much faith in you that you can do it.

“發一世”

814 is our wedding anniversary. I woke up early to make a delicious breakfast 香腸煎雙蛋 for Owen. 讚! But I found out D 香腸已經臭左. 激死! 好彩有午餐肉補上. 更讚!
Because of my strong dedication to the hip hop dance class, we didn’t go out for dinner; instead Owen came to the class for visit. He is honored to watch us girls dancing hip hop. Free entertainment for him, and that’s my anniversary gift for him. I’m so thoughtful and this gift is so unique.
We went to TGI Fridays for dessert afterward. 哎呀! 成身大汗, 臭臭呀! I love their Brownie Obsession – a warm brownie covered in Ghirardelli chocolate-fudge sauce, vanilla ice cream and caramel sauce. 甜品真可以令人滿足!
I appreciated my hubby so much. He’s been such a great guy trying to accommodate with my will all the time. Oh no! I must be blogging under influence. The normal Maggie would never say that. 我一定黏左線啦!
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同一個世界 同一個夢想

北京奧運倒數一周年 "We are Ready" 作曲: 金培達 填詞: 陳少琪 制作: 金培達, 陳少琪 一年一年的等待 我們看見未來一起用汗水來灌溉 五種色彩 一天一天的等待 心情更加澎湃創造最大的舞臺 最豪邁的時代 這片土地已經準備好 打開夢想起飛的跑道 讓全世界的目光 降落在我們的懷抱 We Are Ready 把心和心都連在一起 We Are Ready 把天與地都連在一起 超越了自己 贏得一場光榮的勝利 用時間紀念夢想的神奇 We Are Ready We Are Ready We Are Ready 一分一秒的等待 這刻終於到來 漫天燦爛的煙花 在驕傲的盛開 這個民族已經準備好 帶著笑容來向你問好 讓全世界的目光 降落在我們的懷抱
首歌好澎湃呀! I AM READY TOO!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sq4oNqkZQbE

Our special date!

To pre-celebrate our 3rd wedding anniversary, Owen & I spent a night @ SF Hyatt. We took BART from Union City station to Embarcadero station, so we can save money on overnight parking in the City. We haven’t taken public transaction for so many years in the Bay Area. 真係大鄉里出城! It took us a while to figure our how to purchase tickets from the machine. We found out the Equinox (Roof-top restaurant) has been closed. Instead, we had dinner @ the Eclipse Café, 鋸左個排…好好味道啊!
The next morning we went to the farmer’s market around the Ferry Building. 哇! 樣樣野都好吸引呀! Everything is organic. It was so crowded in & out of the building. We tasted so many peaches, apples, grapes and some unknown fruits…so sweet! It’s even better when it’s free tasting. Yeah!
We walked all the way to Chinatown because Owen craved for 金門蛋-tart. Unfortunately, they were closed until 9/1. 真係Side曬我D腳骨力呀! Along with Owen's disappointment, we then went to downtown 行街街. Christina & Stella happened to be in the City for the art & craft show, so we met up for a late lunch.
Our date ended with great thanks to Christina for giving us a ride home. Double Yeah!

惡夢...比我醒啦!

Beginning couple weeks ago, I've rec'd so many emails from lenders stating guideline changes per day. I got so overwhelmed and can't really catch up with the updates. I just rec'd this notice this afternoon, it made me laugh finally @ the office for a while.
"Very important - Guideline changes effective 8/8/07
-All borrowers must have one blue eye and one brown eye to qualify.
-LTV>65% SIVA requires min credit score of 849.
-For all LTV>65%, 360 months of payment reserves now required.
-Borrowers must have no previous bankruptcies in their family history going back three generations.
-A min of 25 yrs self-employment history now required for all NIV Programs (at same location).
-Min credit score for subprime loans raised to 720.
-All non-arm's length transaction borrowers (mtg, RE prof., family members) will be required to provide full documentation, subject to criminal background checks, wire tapping, strip-searches , and a min of 12 hrs of interrogation by the Dept of Homeland Security.
Please note that these changes will go into effect in the next five minutes. So please lock you existing loan immediately. All existing loans in your pipeline must fund by noon tomorrow."
It is a joke and it made us laugh, but the real market changes is asking conditions as unreasonable as this. Unfortunately...that is NOT a JOKE!

Wii的魔力

Owen bought a Wii last week and bought another one yesterday.
Owen: I found another Wii for Michael today.
Maggie: But Christina wants one too.
Owen: Oh, let’s give it to Christina first.
Maggie: No problem, let’s give ours to Michael.
Owen: No. I really want this for us.
Maggie: Why? 一闊三大呀! You will have to spend much more to buy the accessories and games. 我唔會成日玩架!
Owen: We can practice tennis together. 組 team 呀嗎!
Maggie: No. Let’s sell it 啦!.
Owen: I want it, I want it, I want it!
How come Owen has such a strong will to keep this Wii. Hmmm…as long as he hasn’t opened the box, I still have hope.

Fremont Festival

This weekend was the wine & art street festival in Fremont. This was the first year we've been there. I was surprised that the street festival was so big and crowded. I've never spent time to get in line in any festival for free goodies, this was also our first time...and actually it's so much fun. I love the re-used bag we got so we can use it when we shop @ 99.
I met with my "mommy" friends on Saturday night. It's been a long time since the last time we gathered. Sammi, Sasa, and Salad have grown. Sammi was so hyper the whole night, running in & out of rooms and jumping up & down on the sofa. I was pretty exhausted after playing with her for awhile. The other two babies wandered around with their newly learned steps. Thanks to Canna for preparing the dinner for all of us, of course thanks to Gary too for helping Canna and washing all the dishes. The food was delicious! I even packed the leftover ribs home for snack. I sure enjoyed the night.

The storm is not going away anytime soon!

Since the end of 2006, so many people in the lending industry have gone out of business. Even the corporations like New Century, Fremont Investment, Own It, People's Choice, and most recent American Broker Conduit have closed their door. The atmosphere in the industry is pretty dead. Value is dropping, lenders tighten up guidelines, and investors pull out their funds. Subprime lending is over in these days. It's been a dramatic week in the industry this week. Many lenders are removing the Alt-A products as well and the remaining players have made significant rate increases.
Meetings after meetings, we came up with different strategies and marketing plans. I hate to give up and dissolve what we have built in the last couple years. Yet, all the experts are predicting this period will last at least 18 months. I know we should think positive, but we also need to be realistic. In this market, I can't help not to be in fear and panic if I can sustain.