eugenechang.com

New Era of the Evil Dictator

2010-02-04T01:08:00.000-08:00

Her name is Allie, and she rules with an iron fist. Her most trivial of desires must be attended to with haste from all of her subjects.

Commission Junction Scam & Lawsuit

2010-01-04T21:41:00.001-08:00

If you're in affiliate marketing, don't ever use Commission Junction (cj.com). I've generated hundreds of leads for their sales, but never saw a single sale go through. I was a bit suspicious, so I decided to make a purchase myself. Turns out that sale never went through as well.

There's currently a class action lawsuit against Commission Junction. You can get more information at www.cjsettlement.com.

Barbados Christmas

2009-12-26T11:02:00.000-08:00

Allie, Judy and I were fortunate to have the opportunity to head out to Barbados for a few days before meeting with my family in Atlanta for Christmas.

Judy nor I had never been to the Caribbean, so we felt that this would be the best time for us to go since Allie is still relatively small and since we would be halfway there already.

We really didn't do much other than hang out at the pool and beach. The Caribbean waters were amazing...warm with a nice azure, greenish hue. It's funny how much you change after having a kid. Judy's like, "don't you want to try jet skiing?" I was like, "nah, I'm kinda scared...I'll just hang out with Allie in the kiddie pool."

We left for Atlanta after a few days in Barbados. We met up with my parents, siblings, nephews and grandmother. This was the first time my grandma had a chance to meet her new great granddaughter (Allie).

At The Grove

2009-12-10T21:18:00.000-08:00

Allie had a couple of visitors from out-of-town, including Ryan, Mel, Adam and Jim Han. We spent the day together walking around the Grove.

Since it was a little cold outside, Allie and I tried to find some warmth staying inside Barney's. Allie hung out while Mel and Ryan were trying on some shoes.

Uncle Richie joined as well. I had a good time watching Rich and Leslie struggling to carry Allie around the Grove. I guess they didn't realize that babies can weigh 25 lbs and get heavy after awhile.

Touchdown! Allie was watching Jim Han and I watch NFL football games, and started to mimic us by signaling for touchdowns.

Allie Playing Warcraft

2009-12-01T00:38:00.000-08:00

Allie loves sitting with me at the computer. So I thought I'd take some pics of her sitting there by herself. She obviously didn't need me there to keep herself preoccupied.

Allie getting PWNED!

Allie - 8 Months

2009-11-20T23:12:00.000-08:00

Facebook - Too Much Info

2009-11-20T19:23:00.000-08:00

Korean Football's Next Generation

2009-10-26T21:36:00.000-07:00

A new crop of emerging South Korean soccer (football) players have followed in the footsteps of Manchester United's Park Ji-Sung and have broken into top flight European football clubs.

Chu-Young Park has been a regular starter for the French Ligue club AS Monaco for the past two years. Park has a tally of eight goals and eight assists on a team that's competing for the top spot in the league. At the age of 24, it's likely that Park will be pursued by other top European clubs as he continues to play well.

In the English Premier League, the Bolton Wanderer's had signed Chung-Yong Lee at the age of 21. Like Park, Lee plays either striker or wing midfielder and has already scored two goals in five appearances for his club.

Marc's Bday

2009-10-12T11:29:00.000-07:00

Went out and celebrated Marc Kim's birthday last night at some Korean BBQ joint in the industrial part of K-town.

I have to make a note that this is the first time that I've seen Marc with a girlfriend in the 9 years I've hung out with him in LA. He looked like a little kid with a new toy...very happy.

More pics here.

Allie & Facebook Withdrawal

2009-10-09T23:42:00.000-07:00

I recently went back to work at the office working on a project for Bank of the West. It's been a abrupt change of pace from the last six months when I was working from home and enjoying unemployed time w/ Allie.

One of the drawbacks with my current project is that I have restricted access to the internet. That means no Facebook. And worse, I can't even look at pictures of Allie on Facebook or Picasa. Hence, this is why I'm updating www.eugenechang.com...so that I can check back here once in awhile and stare at pictures of Allie.

It seems like Allie's been growing a lot in this past month. She's six and a half months old now and it seems like an eternity (or a fleeting moment?) since we first brought her home from the hospital.

Allie is actually acting like a normal baby and cries on a daily basis. I'm not sure whether it's because she's cutting her first teeth. This week was the first time that I can remember where Judy and I eagerly ran out the door for work cause Allie was crying all morning. "Let's get out of here!"

Allie definitely goes through different stages every month. Her favorite past time right now is to walk around while perched on top of my shoulders. My traps do start to burn after about five minutes though.

Allie & Solid Foods

2009-08-28T12:39:00.000-07:00

I know it's been awhile since I've made updates here...getting less frequent since I use facebook more these days. Nway, here are some shots of Allie starting to eat solid food.

We started her off on rice cereal, and now she's eating different mashed vegetables and fruits. The orange stuff is sweet potatoes.

Allie wiping her own mouth and doing her "mad dogging" pose.

Save 8% On Ebay With Microsoft Bing Search

2009-06-19T23:52:00.000-07:00

You can save 8% on almost all Ebay items right now by using Microsoft's new search engine, Bing.com. To do this, all you have to do is the following:

- Create/Use a Microsoft Live (Hotmail) account and enable the Cashback feature
- Use Paypal to pay for Ebay item
- Must select a "Buy It Now" item on Ebay

First, open up a browser window and navigate to http://www.bing.com (Microsoft's new search engine...formerly called live.com). The below screenshots will differ since Bing used to be called Microsoft Live.

Search for the product name that you're looking to buy...i.e., "Ipod". In the search results, look at the sponsored links at the top of the page and look for the link to ebay.com. The link should have a "Bing cashback" logo next to the link.

Click on the link and you'll be taken to Ebay. Here, you can change your search if you want to anything you want.

Make sure you only select items with the "Buy It Now" feature.

Make sure, also, that you use Paypal to pay for the item.

Towards the end of your purchase, you should see a Bing Cashback link to claim your rebate.

The above screenshots may differ, but make sure you select the Bing Cashback link once you're done with your Ebay/Paypal purchase. If you don't already have a Microsoft Live account, you will have the opportunity to join first. If you already have an account, make sure that you have Cashback enabled.

Once you've completed the purchase, your Cashback account should be updated with the rebate information. Rebates will post directly back to your paypal account. For more information, read the Bing Cashback FAQ.

First Smiles

2009-05-29T17:17:00.000-07:00

Allie has been smiling, laughing and cooing for a few weeks now. But she's now smiling often enough where I can actually capture her smile on camera.

Occasionally people will mention how alert or developed Allie is for her age. But to be honest, I have no clue how Allie's progressing since this is my first baby and have nothing to reference against. I suppose I can read up on baby development on websites like www.babycenter.com. But a part of me just wants to experience these things along the way and be surprised when she does something new.

Before I became a parent, I wondered why parents took an excessive number of photos of their kids. But now I'm beginning to understand that there's this fear inside of me that worries that Allie is growing too fast and that I'll forget what she was like when she was smaller.

Allie and Calvin

2009-05-27T18:37:00.000-07:00

Allie was able to visit one of her cousins for the first time when Calvin, Renee and Dennis made a visit to LA this past weekend. Although Allie and Calvin weren't able to interact too much, it was still fun to see them together. Calvin thought Hogan was annoying though, and didn't like it when Hogan persisted in invading his fort.

Calvin and the gang were only in town for two nights, so we had a compact schedule which included visiting the La Brea tar pits, BCAM museum, Malibu beach and H&M. This visit definitely had a different "vibe" compared to when my sister visited. We definitely ate much less this time around.

I'm so scared!

LA Valet Parking Exposed

2009-05-16T02:10:00.000-07:00

Oh hell yeah. NBC LA recently did an investigation story on all of the shady things LA valet companies are doing. This includes taking up parking meters they're not allowed to occupy, getting in accidents and allowing cars to get parking tickets and not informing the car owners.

This means next time I go out, I'm pulling up to a valet stand, leaving my car on the street and walking away...hahahaha.

View more news videos at: http://www.nbclosangeles.com/video.

Allie and Unwanted Visitors

2009-05-14T15:04:00.000-07:00

Allie will be two months old tomorrow, and she seems to be growing at a rapid rate before our eyes. No longer do we have our small, cute bundle of joy we brought home the hospital. Instead, we have a big milk consuming machine occupying our crib.

Judy and I are pretty much getting used to the routine of Allie eating, sleeping and playing during the day...and then getting up once during the night for a feeding. Allie sleeps pretty well whether she's in a crib, car seat, swing or on the floor. She also takes up some peculiar sleeping positions like the iron cross pose below.

Judy is able to enjoy the increasing amount of sleep as well. But last night, Hogan started barking furiously around 3am. We've recently discovered that there's a family of possums living in our front yard trees. I often run into the baby possum when I'm sitting on my front steps...the baby possum is only 6 inches long and looks like a rat. Judy doesn't want Hogan going near them, but I'm curious as to whether Hogan can give them a decent fight...

My brother and his family will be visiting us next week. We're looking forward to seeing my nephew, Calvin, interact with his new cousin Allie. BTW, I was referring to the possums as being the unwanted visitors and not my brother and his family.

One of Allie's favorite positions is to hold her fist up to her chin.

UEFA Champions League - Park Ji Sung Goal

2009-05-07T14:17:00.000-07:00

Manchester United 3 - Arsenal 1

Ji Sung Park scores the first goal in this UEFA Champions League semi-final match. For those of you who are unfamiliar with soccer, the UEFA Champions League is like the NBA/NFL/MLB playoffs.

House hunting? It's not a buyer's market everywhere

2009-05-06T20:55:00.000-07:00

Los Angeles Times
By Chip Jacobs
6:15 PM PDT, May 2, 2009

The confident smile Sam Rivero wore as he hunted for his first house had a lot to do with the buzz thumping in his ears. Ever since home values began sinking, pundits have touted the juicy opportunities for aspiring buyers priced out of the market before, and the young business-development executive heard that cue like a sonic boom.

Out he ventured into Mount Washington, Glassell Park, Eagle Rock, Montecito Heights and other desirable middle-class communities northeast of downtown Los Angeles, searching for a bargain in the $400,000 range. Candidates came and went, and Rivero, who is getting married, was upbeat. Considering the pulverized housing values, with the median price of a Southland home today -- $250,000 -- at half of its 2007 level, the properties should come gift-wrapped, right?

More...

Six Weeks - Fussiness I Can Live With

2009-05-04T12:43:00.000-07:00

Six weeks is supposed to be the pinnacle of when babies become the most fussy and are unable to sleep. Allie just passed the six week mark this past Friday, but her fussiness and sleep are pretty tolerable. She still gets up around twice during the night for feedings. And she does seem to cry when she wants to be held occasionally. But overall, we feel fortunate that Allie has been pretty good and is not making our lives difficult.

We usually swaddle Allie when she's sleeping, but she'll occasionally break out and loves to sleep with her arms raised above her head. She also likes to place her fist on her chin like she's thinking.

My sister, Alice, flew in from Chicago to visit her new niece. We spent the weekend playing with Allie and eating. We also ate, went to a lot of different restaurants, and ate.

Allie outside the Redondo Beach crab house with dungeness crabs in a tank.

Allie sleeping with Redondo Beach shoreline in the background.

Extended Paternal Leave

2009-04-08T23:02:00.000-07:00

For nine months prior to the birth of Allie, I was flying out every week to Phoenix for work. Judy did a great job handling the pregnancy pretty much on her own without my support for more than half of every week.

Since the baby has arrived, I've been able to negotiate to work the remainder of my contract (til July) remotely from home. This is AWESOME. I told Goo the other day, there's nothing better than being able to step out onto your porch in your underwear to drink coffee at 11am on a weekday.

Judy's worst fear: Hogan eating Allie's hand.

Needless to say, I'm enjoying every minute of spending time with Allie. Right now, she's pretty much continuing to eat, sleep and pooh. But she is more active these days and tends to stay up for the whole afternoon.

One challenge I've faced with having a baby is being able to play Warcraft (computer game). If Judy is out, I obviously have to tend to the baby if she needs something. But Warcraft requires 100% of your concentration...if you leave the computer for a second, you're dead. Rest assured, I am leaving my game to tend to Allie...but when I get back to the computer, I'll end up typing some message to the opponent like, "you're lucky that I had to go get my baby". I'm pretty sure the 12-year old opponent on the other end has no idea what to say.

We're looking forward to a bunch of visitors in the next few months. Judy's sister is coming down from SF this weekend to see her new niece. My sister will come in from Chicago towards the end of the month. And we'll get to see Ryan (Mel and Adam's daughter) in two weeks when they come out to LA for a wedding.

Sorry Allie, The Baby Monitor Doesn't Work

2009-03-28T21:05:00.000-07:00

Eat, Pooh, Sleep. That pretty much sums up the first week at home for Allie. I guess it should be no surprise since that is what babies do. Allie will sleep like a rock for a few hours. Then she'll wake up, I'll change her diapers, Judy will feed her and then she'll stare around at the ceiling for awhile before falling back asleep again.

I have to admit that I feel a bit guilty because this first week has gone by so smoothly. I'm sleeping 7-8 hours at night since I'm a heavy sleeper and don't wake when Judy wakes up to feed the baby.

Last night, Judy went to bed early...but she tells me to wake her up at 2am so that she can feed the baby. I'm sitting on the couch watching TV, and I'm like "ok, no problem". I have the baby monitor next to me so that I can keep an eye out on Allie. I eventually fall asleep on the couch. Next thing I know, Judy's waking me up saying, "what are you doing?!?" As I slowly wake up, I hear this loud crying coming from the baby monitor..."WAHHHHHH!!!!!". Hahahaha...I guess I sleep so heavily, that I can't even hear the baby monitor when it's next to my ear. I felt so bad...

Being the pessimist that I am, I'm thinking that I'm going to get it bad later since things are going so well right now. Either Allie will turn into the worst colicky baby of all time, or else she'll be this rebellious meechuhn kid when she grows up later. Please Lord...let her be an angel!

Allie Comes Home

2009-03-25T09:47:00.000-07:00

Allie and Judy were finally discharged from the hospital yesterday after being there for almost six days. It was good to leave the hospital after being there for so long.

The first day home proved to be pretty smooth. Hogan welcomed Allie with his usual curious sniffing, and they were able to sleep together under the sun in the baby room.

The first night turned out to be not as difficult as I had expected. I went to bed around 1:30am, Judy got up to feed the baby once around 2:30am, and then Allie slept all the way until 7am. I'm keeping my fingers crossed and hope that every night turns out to be this easy.

My parents have been here all week, and they had a fun time being able to spend time with their first granddaughter.

Hospital - First Visitors

2009-03-21T18:11:00.001-07:00

Allie has had her first visitors in her short 36-hour life up to this point. Allie's family on her mother's side (Judy's brother/wife, mom and dad) stopped by yesterday and friends (Sue, Janet, Steve/Jen, Dan/Caroline, Albert, Song/Jerry) trickled in today.

My parents will be flying in from Chicago tomorrow. I've been trying to shuttle back and forth from home and the hospital so that I can walk Hogan, clean up around the house, and download pictures.

I'm getting worried because I like to play with Allie all the time...even when she's sleeping. I learned this trick from my mom where she would spread open the eye lids of my nephew when he was sleeping...my sister would get so mad when she did that.

I'm also getting worried because Allie isn't as quiet today as she was yesterday. Yesterday, she sounded like a little chicken when she cried. It was so cute. Today she sounds like a freaking hawk. Oh well...I guess we should be happy that she has a healthy cry.

Hospital - Allie Jinju Chang

2009-03-20T12:04:00.000-07:00

Allie Jinju Chang arrived early this morning at 3:10am, coming in at 7lb 15oz and 22 inches. Late last night/early morning, we had a feeling that the baby would not be induced into a natural labor and we finally had to go for a c-section. Mom is recovering well and the baby is now healthy.

I wasn't that worried going into the c-section operating room. Judy was a bit anxious and the anesthesiologist knocked her out with some gas. Everything seemed to be going well until I heard a gasp from the doctors and everybody started to scramble around.

Two doctors and a nurse rushed the baby out of Judy to the baby stand and were furiously working over her. I watched the timer and saw that three and a half minutes went by before hearing a sound from the baby. Finally, the baby let out a healthy cry. Apparently, the baby's thick fecal matter had gotten into its mouth and there was a danger of the baby inhaling and swallowing the fecal matter. But they were able to suction everything out and the baby is now fine.

I've already had five nurses comment how long the baby is (over 22 inches). I have to admit that the only thought going through my head was how the height was going to help her generate clubhead speed for her golf swing (Michelle Wie)...hahaha.

Hospital - Judy's Sleeping

2009-03-19T21:06:00.000-07:00

It's 9:07pm PST, Judy is sleeping, and there's no baby yet. This is the first time Judy's been able to sleep since Tuesday night. I'm proud of Judy since she's been doing such a good job these past 24 hours and 9 months.

The above shot is the baby monitor hooked up to Judy's belly. The upper line is the baby's heart rate (around 150 bpm) and the lower line is her contractions (around once every two minutes).

I took the risk of slipping out of the hospital to go home and walk Hogan. I was tearing down the side streets between my house and the hospital, yelling at every slow driver that I crossed paths with.

On a more sad note, I'm not sure if Illinois is going to be able to pull out their game with Western Kentucky. Ugh...