2007 Personal Year in ReviewIt's time for a little personal reflection. I know I'm usually an issues blogger but you can excuse a post or two about my life, right? Professional I had another great year at work. Last year, the processor I've been working on for so long was finally built and our debug tools are accomplishing their mission. Back in 2003/2004 the technical challenges involved in this project loomed large and no one was sure whether it was possible to do what we've done. Now, years of innovation and problem-solving later, we have proof in the lab. We don't stop often enough or long enough to contratulate ourselves on what we've achieved. We're so busy improving things for the current project and looking forward to the next projects that it's easy to lose perspective. But the view from here is awfully nice! We've done a great job and I'm proud of the work I've done and the team I've done it with. I know a lot of my co-workers read my blog, so I want to say: Thank you. We have done a great thing. Financial I stopped posting net worth updates about halfway through the year. I didn't want to spend the time writing those posts when I thought not many people cared about them in the first place. Additionally, I think they tilted my blog too far away from its roots. (I did keep posting on Networth IQ, though.) I'll continue to do personal finance articles from time to time but I don't want that to be the blog's theme. That said, 2007 was a very rich year for me, clearly the best ever — I was up about $150,000. (2006 also looked good, but artificially, because I wasn't valuing my house at its market value at the beginning of the year.) I've certainly felt the gyrations of the housing market this year, with my home's estimated value up $21,000 at peak only to finish down $5,000.
Personal In 2007, two close friends and co-workers had significant family events: A marriage, and a birth. These things finally overcame my inertia about the single life and I started dating. The curious can read my personal ad. (Those with too much time on their hands can contrast it with Micha Ghertner's.) I'm actually active on three online dating sites (eHarmony, Match.com, and Yahoo! Personals) but I think eHarmony's system is awful and the population is very small on Yahoo.
I don't want to dwell on failure here by recounting the details. But I can't resist offering one piece of salacious advice: Do not kiss a Thai woman on the second date. The most puzzling and remarkable thing I learned is that foreign-born asian women are dramatically more likely to be interested in me than any other demographic group. Of the women I met, 4 out of 6 fit that profile. Home I had a roommate for one month this year. It was actually the first time I've had a roommate since my first semester of college. My cousin moved to Portland and her living arrangements fell apart as soon as she got here… so she stayed with me until getting that mess straightened out. Despite being accustomed to living alone, I do miss having someone else around the house! And speaking of the house… I've been very relaxed about completing my decorating project, so we're still not finished. But we're close enough that I can share these shocking before-and-after pictures of my living room and downstairs bathroom. My tiny downstairs bathroom
My living room
The improvement is stunning! Sadly, the entire upper floor of my house still looks like the "before" pictures…
© Kyle Markley
— Posted 2008-01-04 06:18:08 UTC —
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Comments: 10
What, no comments? Not even an "ohmigod your living room is gorgeous!!!" ?
HI... I love what you did to the place...
Only one thing to add... the bathroom looks a lot smaller now, but maybe you need to be there to really get the feel of the color..:)
Anyway... good job..
Carol
As a straight man, I don't know much about living rooms, but ohmigod your medium-term account nearly doubled! Was that due to selling some stock options, or did you actually earn a 100% return?
I've noticed the same thing about foreign-born East Asian women. Truly they are a godsend to software engineers. My theory is that:
1. They often prefer white men to East Asian men, partly for physical reasons (we tend to be taller and have more muscle mass), and, I've heard, partly because foreign-born East Asian men have a reputation for sometimes not treating their wives well.
2. They come from cultures with more respect for educational and intellectual achievement.
3. Except for the Japanese, and to a lesser extent Koreans (were any of them Japanese or Korean?), they come from countries where making good money is very important. The difference in terms of standard of living between being at the 90th income percentile and the 50th is much greater in China than it is in the US.
What's wrong with kissing a Thai girl on a second date? I kissed one on a first date once and didn't have any problems (except for the fact that there was no third date, but I now attribute that to being too passive on the second date).
Regarding your ad (with the caveat that I'm by no means an expert):
1. It's too long. Leave more to the imagination.
2. It sounds like you're trying too hard to impress. It's understandable--if you don't shill for yourself, who will?--but women pick up on this, and it turns them off. Try to find a way to reveal your good qualities more subtly. For example, I have this conversation all the time:
Her: So what do you do?
Me: I'm a software engineer. (Actually, I usually make up something silly before I tell her the real answer.)
Her: Wow! You must be really smart!
They'll assume based on your job that you're highly intelligent. You don't need to spell it out.
3. I'd be careful with the comments about being a provider. They already know from the fact that you checked the 150k+ box that you're an exceptionally capable provider. Saying it explicitly may be a bit much, to the point of inviting women more interested in your money than in you.
4. If you're not doing it already, consider weight training. A little muscle mass can go a long way towards making up for a below-average height, and women love being picked up. Also, part of being a good provider is having the physical strength to defend a woman if necessary. Granted, this is largely symbolic in the modern world, but women still find it attractive.
OH MY YOUR LIVING ROOM IS LIKE FREAKIN BROTHEL GORGEOUS!!! :) you know i kind of miss having you as a flatmate... it was cheap and filled with lots of mac n cheese... good times cousin good times!
Kyle,
I liked what you have done so far to your place. If you didn't hire anyone to do it, I need you to come to KC and decorate my apartment too!! I am completely clueless when it comes to that stuff. As for the dating stuff, you will find the woman of your dreams, believe me. Just don't settle for someone. Be yourself! You will be on 2008's Hottest Eligible Bachelor's List soon enough. And if you want to "invest" any of your money in a pharmacy school scholarship, let me know. ;) Glad to hear things at work are going well! Yah! If you want some interaction with others outside your social network, I recently got a dog and was completely surprised how many people come up to me and compliment my dog. Also gets me out to go exploring the city. Think about it...
~Kim
Brandon,
The biggest chunk of that increase was new investment from current income, then (unrealized) gains from stock options and restricted units and new grants, then gains on precious metals. My conventional investments weren't exciting at all.
Regarding your notes about asian women: two were Japanese. Was the Thai woman you kissed on the first date fairly Westernized? In my case she had literally been in the U.S. for less than a month. In Thai culture, I subsequently learned, couples usually don't kiss until around the time they get engaged.
My profile is already pretty short compared to what I considered putting in there. I'd be surprised if the length turned people off, and besides, I want women to have a lot of information about me.
I made the comments about being a provider because that's seriously something I want in a relationship (although it sounds old-fashioned). I have yet to encounter anyone who seems like a gold digger.
I know I should gain weight, but that's a difficult thing for me, and I haven't overcome inertia there yet. Part of that is because women tell me they don't mind that I'm so thin. But it's hard to tell whether they really believe that themselves...
Before getting married I didn't like dating guys who were skinnier than me cuz then I felt that much fatter....most girls would say they're fat (even if they're not) and I think a lot feel even fatter when around people smaller than them...especially a guy they're dating...
Some people are just made differently though and can't do much about it. Our family has a lot of matabolism. (Hope that's spelled right..) I love that lil fact...you on the other hand...probably don't.
Maybe you should open up your options to include men.
#8, I'm afraid I don't have quite that much voluntary control over what I'm attracted to.
As for the weight comments, (nothing wrong with skinny folks) from a woman's point of view it's nice to have something to wrap your arms around in a hug where you don't worry that you're gonna break 'em if you hug too hard. I hope that makes sense and I'm not trying to be mean or rude or anything like that, but I've had other women say the same thing.
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