Meet Jen

I wrote a blurb for Jen's match.com profile. Below is the unedited version. Together we frolic the planet and contemplate life.

Jennifer has beautiful hair and the best sense of humor. She isn't afraid to laugh at herself and at life. But don't mistake that to mean she isn't serious. There is a depth to her that is honest and genuine. She will always give you a straight answer. Jen is grounded and believes strongly in working hard to create a good life for herself. She has a true understanding of herself, but is still exploring. She loves to travel and see the amazing wonders of the world (even if they end up to be kinda disappointing in real life). Jen seeks challenges and growth, but won't hesitate to savor smaller beautiful moments like sunshine in the Sunset, a killer gimlet, nailing a balance pose in yoga class, or frolicking on the beach.

Jen needs someone who doesn't take life too seriously and can laugh at her jokes. Someone who has patience to help her through the hard parts of life, but isn't afraid to challenge her either. A guy who is laid back, but not lazy (that is the worst). She is herself financially independent, so expects the same from a partner. A healthy sense of exploration and career changes are fine, but don't expect this lady to be a sugar mama!

Hydration

San Francisco is known for...

• The Golden Gate Bridge
• Fog
• AT&T Park
• Tap water

San Franciscan tap water is crisp and deliciously clean, even if it does flow through 60 year old pipes. Hetch Hetchy, may you forever be full. But I still find myself still reaching for a plastic bottle of water out of convenience. It's usually one of those flimsy Crystal Spring or Kirkland bottles that once used to be sturdy, but in recent years have been "environmentally-friendly" with thinner plastic and smaller caps. I at least try to reuse them once or twice, filled with that fresh flow from the tap. But my mom was the first to point out that reusing those bottles were bad for you (high BPA and bacteria).

There are so many options for drinking water. Klean Kanteen, Camelbak, Nalgene, Clean Bottle, Fred Water, Boxed Water. Is it a trend, or just that I'm noticing it now? Whatever it is, this is the way to go. Safe, reusable (or more recyclable), and replenishing. Hydrate before you dominate.

Pack for a Purpose

http://packforapurpose.org/blog/2014/09/sarah-chois-story

We are three friends in our mid-20s who love exploring this magnificent world. We feel very fortunate and blessed to have that kind of luxury, so for our trip to Kenya, we wanted to see if there was more we could do with our travels. We knew we wanted to donate school supplies, but we weren’t sure what to bring or who to contact. On Pack for a Purpose, we found Village Life Safaris, which funds Joy House in the Mukuru slum in Nairobi.

Before we left, we took a trip to Target (in the US) to take advantage of their buy one, give one campaign - double win! We went bananas in the back to school section, loading up our carts with notebooks, pencils, pens, crayons, and first aid kits. After a few quick email exchanges with Isaac at Village Life Safaris, we had arranged an afternoon school visit to drop off our supplies. We weren’t prepared to see the conditions of the Mukuru slum.

Seeing the number of children in this community unable to attend school, we were grateful that Joy House serves as much as they possibly can. Despite the living standards in Mukuru, the students are just like any other kids -- from joyous and cheerful kindergarteners to too-cool-for-school tweens. We were impressed to see the kids learning high school level science, and humbled by the teachers’ dedication and positivity.

A big thank you to Isaac, who not only helped us arrange this visit and donation, but also gave us insight into the educational and economic situation in Kenya. We hope that many more visitors take the time to visit this beautiful country and support its growth.

NYC eats: restaurant list from my last visit

Wed: Totto Ramen (newer, bigger location 2 blocks away from original) w/ Minna and Jen
Thu: Jack's Sliders and Sushi, then The Cellar (Seattle Beecher's spinoff) w/ Helen and Sharon
Fri: Buddakan for drinks, Jacob's Pickles for dinner w/ Minna, Jen Chiang, Helen, Sharon, Veronica, Nikki
Sat: Murray's Cheese Shop and Joe's Coffee w/ Jonna; Magnolia's, Milk Bar, and Macaron Parlour w/ Jen and Bryan; Green Table for dinner and Tiny Fork for party time w/ Veronica, Helen, Sharon, Nikki, Minna
Sun: Beygl w/ Helen before church, then Bogota lunch w/ Helen, Sharon, Veronica; 121 Fulton St for a beer w/ Neeshmaster, and Cafe Havana in Hoboken w/ Hyun-Jin
Mon: Corcoron w/ Wilken, Jen & Jen
Tue: Noodle Bar w/ Parilee;

For Grandma

When I came home yesterday, I found flowers on my coffee table sent from my team at work for condolences. Then, at work this morning, they sent me the attached slideshow. They chipped in to make a donation to one of my favorite charities in Grandma's honor (thank you Nate, for telling them about Watsi.org). 5 kids will get special medical attention in her name.

Then I came home today and found a package with this wreath, from another team at work, also for our loss. It's 4 herbs that will last for a year. I'm so grateful and overwhelmed with how much support I've received at work and from friends and family all around.

I have been thinking about this weekend a lot the last couple days. It was stressful and extremely sad, but I think everything turned out for the best. Sam was right - it was the universe's way of giving her memorial justice. If a pastor came, we would not have shared those personal stories and read the Bible passages that she loved. I can't think of a better way to honor Grandma and say goodbye than by each of us sharing our memories. Before I was upset that we didn't get to see her in person one last time, but now I feel at peace.

I shared this picture with my team to say thank you for the generous donation. They said Grandpa looks like a Korean James Dean.

The hidden things in life

Often times, I move too quickly through life and miss the little things that would help me figure things out faster. Ironic? Yes. Here are a few of the simple intuitive things I never noticed, until a good friend pointed them out to me.

Freeway exit signs | Credit: Bro Choi
You've probably noticed the numbers on freeway exit signs before, but never really thought twice about it. Apparently, those numbers are mile markers from the start of the freeway. This is helpful when GPS lady tells me I need to exit in 5 miles. Pay even closer attention and you'll notice that in cities, you'll often have Exit 14A and 14B. That just means there are two exits in the same mile -- in order, of course. The exit numbers are the same for both directions on the freeway.

Price labels at the grocery store | Credit: maybe Helen or Allan, I don't remember
When you're at the grocery store looking at a product, you're often just looking for the big number that tells you the price. Lean in and look at all the other little numbers surrounding it. One of those tells you the value: price per ounce. You may save $2 per box, but end up spending $0.48 more per ounce. Tricksters! I'm always on the hunt for a bargain. Related, apparently Franzia (9 cents per ounce) is cheaper than Welches Grape Juice (13 cents per ounce). So if you're in a pinch, just drink box wine.

Pay-by-phone for parking meters | Credit: Aly Fried
Parking meters have loads of blinking lights, signs, stickers, and fine print. If you're lucky, it also has a paper bag over it, but if not, you're stuck fishing through your car for quarters. In SF, you now need 16+ quarters for one measly hour. In Philly, using your credit card in the machine will result in suspicious activity the next week (true story, happened to me in the Summer of '12). Several parking tickets later, Aly came home one day raving about this "Pay-by-phone" app. Sounds familiar... is it that blue sticker that I always ignored? Yes, that app charges you 25 cents to add money to a meter from anywhere -- a small price to pay for staying in the restaurant and not running out of the door. It also helps you find a free parking space. The cloud!

The life lesson here: look closer.

Buying happiness

Vanguard, which maintains my retirement fund, sends me regular newsletters. Most of it is the same old song: save more, invest more, retire better. But the most recent newsletter had a nice, simple article that talks about spending better, not just spending less. Turns out, money can buy you happiness... if you do it right. Read on for some sound advice. My favorite line:

"Spend to buy yourself experiences. Looking back on your life, you’ll be happier having spent a week in California touring vineyards than spending more on chairs for your living room."

Be happier living on less

01/18/2013

Buy fewer things. Spend less on what you do buy. Save as much as possible for retirement.

All sound pieces of advice.

But are there alternative ways to improve our finances and still lead enjoyable lives?

To find out, we talked with Laura Vanderkam, author of the personal finance book All the Money in the World: What the Happiest People Know About Getting and Spending.

Here are some thoughts Ms. Vanderkam, who also blogs* about personal financial issues, shared with us.

Question: You don’t think people are getting reasonable advice about how to save money, right?

Ms. Vanderkam: A lot of people writing financial literature focus on small things because they can be quickly changed. It isn’t a huge lifestyle change to clip coupons or eat at home instead of going out. 

The problem is that the savings from those strategies are very small. Some also take time, and time is a valuable resource.

Finally, they sometimes require sacrifices in happiness that are not worth the money you save.

If it makes your job more enjoyable to go out with a friend for lunch once a week, that may not be the first thing you should cut just because it costs you extra money.

Question: What changes in the way we manage our financial lives would be better?

Ms. Vanderkam: If you want to make big financial changes, you should look at the big things you can do.

In the long run, for example, you want to be in a house that does not consume all your income.

If [for example] you spend 20% of your income on housing instead of 35%, you can bank 10% and still have 5% to spend on fun stuff.

Question: But you do think it’s o.k. to spend money on fun?

Ms. Vanderkam: Many of us don’t actually spend that much on the things that truly make us happy.

There is a lot of room in our financial lives to be happier than we are and to make financial changes that can drastically boost happiness.

Question: Such as?

Ms. Vanderkam: We don’t think of $5,000 as a huge amount to spend on an engagement ring these days.

But as I mention in my book, you could spend $1,000 on the ring and spend the other $4,000 over several years for date nights, buying flowers for your spouse, even paying for a cleaning service. In other words, on all the things that can reduce friction in a marriage.

Question: What can you do to improve your finances if you think you’re saving about as much as you can?

Ms. Vanderkam: I think that many of us could make more money if we tried. But we are not used to thinking about it that way.

If you are a small business owner, or a freelancer, you may be able to find more money by working more hours, by finding new clients, and telling old clients that your rates have gone up.

Question: What can you do if you have a regular job?

Ms. Vanderkam: It’s less obvious how to increase income if you have a W-2 job.

However, you could position yourself for promotions and raises by volunteering for overtime.

If none of this is feasible, you can also look at starting a side business.

In the past, working a second job conjured up visions of having to do the night shift someplace after working at your first job. These days, you can do things like tutor online, which is less exhausting.

Question: What do you suggest about saving for retirement?

Ms. Vanderkam: It’s very important to save and invest for retirement, and the easiest way to do that is to live within your means.

There are two approaches to doing that.

You can cut your spending, or you can increase your earnings and keep your living expenses constant so that you have extra money that can be saved. I tend to think the latter choice is more pleasant, because humans don’t do well with deprivation long-term.

Question: What other lessons about money and happiness might we learn?

Ms. Vanderkam: I’ve realized that money is most likely to buy us happiness when we spend it in three ways.

First, spend to buy yourself experiences. Looking back on your life, you’ll be happier having spent a week in California touring vineyards than spending more on chairs for your living room.

Second, spend to nurture your social network. I mean your real one, not the Facebook kind.

Humans are social creatures, and strong relationships are closely tied to happiness.

Money spent getting together with friends and family is seldom wasted. Curiously, giving also fits in this category. Giving to your place of worship, for instance, creates a strong community that you become part of.

Finally, spend to buy yourself time. People tend to enjoy relaxing or socializing far more than running errands, so pay for shipping fees and get things delivered. It will be money well spent.