I am approaching 29 shortly, and I totally don’t like it…times flies!

Time seems to be slowing down these past few years once I started working, and nothing too exciting have happened except got engaged. My student talked about the “quarter life crisis” (I’ve never heard of it) with me today, and I think I am in the middle of it for sure. According to Wikipedia, these are some characteristics and I put down a % to show how much I feel true about the statement:

* feeling “not good enough” because one can’t find a job that is at one’s academic/intellectual level – 90%
* frustration with relationships, the working world, and finding a suitable job or career – 80%
* confusion of identity – 20%
* insecurity regarding the near future – 40%
* insecurity concerning long-term plans, life goals – 60%
* insecurity regarding present accomplishments – 80%
* re-evaluation of close interpersonal relationships – 50%
* disappointment with one’s job – 70%
* nostalgia for university, college, high school or elementary school life – college 80%, high school 0%, elementary school 70%
* tendency to hold stronger opinions – 60%
* boredom with social interactions – 70%
* loss of closeness to high school and college friends – 80%
* financially-rooted stress (overwhelming college loans, unanticipatedly high cost of living, etc.) – 30%
* loneliness – 50%
* desire to have children – 0%
* a sense that everyone is, somehow, doing better than you – 70%

Do you have the same feeling about your life?

I went to the film screening of the movie “I.O.U.S.A” a few nights ago with my fiance, where it talks about how much federal debt the U.S. has right now and how change is needed NOW so that the future generations will have a quality standard of living. After the movie, there was the 5 people panel that discuss and answer questions after the movie, including Warren Buffett and Dave Walker.

I am touched by what they are trying to do. The federal debt problem is big and will affect everyone who lives in this country, so regardless who is going to be the president next year, this problem will need be dealt with ASAP. I believe education is one of the best ways to get the message across, so I will do my best to help spread the message.

View the movie website here:
http://www.iousathemovie.com/

So I guess I should not have whined about feeling “stuck” anymore, because I just got engaged to QT on 08.08.08!

Well, I guess things will change a bit from now on.  There is not a firm date for wedding, but it will be a while for us to get things ready.  If you are reading this post, wants to get $25 for yourself and help us with the wedding budget, please contact me for an ING Direct Account Referral (see the information on the right pane).

In meantime, I am stuck – for good.

I had an interview in June that was somewhat hopeful, but since a follow up phone conversation, I haven’t heard anything back from them.  I guess I can cross them off my list for now.

We were trying to sell our house by ourselves for a while, but that isn’t really going anywhere.  Real agent’s 6% commission is looking pretty steep to us, especially the house is small and we basically would be getting nothing for the little equity we built up.  On the other hand, if we have to hang onto the house for another winter, then we are continuing to throw away our mortgage payments until whenever the house sells that can cost a lot also.

I really want a change of my current situation, but everything is in limbo.  Isn’t summer should be the season that things happen?  Why do I feel so ’stuck’??

QT and I took a roadtrip to the Badlands, which is quite a drive for us.  We did some hiking, sightseeting and wildlife viewing, and eventually pitched a tent on one of the bluffs (you can camp anywhere in the badlands with a few restrictions) and watched the fireworks from there.  At gas price @ $4 a gallon, I think we spent $300 just on gas for the whole trip.  I remember when I was on the road a few years ago, when the gas price was at $1.3x…I only spent $1,000 for a 3 week roadtrip that includes all expenses.  I am glad to see Badlands, and wish I have seen more, earlier and cheaper!

We went on a road trip over the July 4th weekend, and the weather was really great.  However, on the way home, we hit a heavy rainstorm and the car was basically swimming in the rain.  This spring + summer have been very wet — lots of thunderstorms and only a day or two sunshine here and there.  It makes me sad to think that climate change is making the weather unpredictable, and affect everyone’s life that lives on this planet.  There are people out there who thinks climate change affected by global warming is not real…I find that hard to believe.  Can’t you tell we have been hearing more and more stories about natural disasters?  Can’t you tell that the weather has been crazy everywhere?  The arctic ice is likely to completely disappear this year as they are getting very thin this summer – not 10 or 50 years later.

I hope the people who think global warming does not exist are correct.  I’ll be gladly admit that I am wrong.

I have family around the world and it has been nice that we traveled together to Japan, but most of the time, I communicate with them over the phone. Then, when VoIP appears, I tried Skype-to-Skype, the quality was OK, but it started to get worse and worse lately. I could hardly hear the conversation, and after a few times, I gave up.

I can’t remember when or how I found Rebtel, but a few months ago I started looking into this site. I was skeptical about the free calls, and how they work.  Not all calls are free, but the rates for other calls are fairly cheap and they are very helpful in instructing the user how to make the free calls.

Basically there are 30 – 40 countries that you can call for free (including many European countries), so you want to set up the phone numbers first and save them in your account (can be added later also).  Rebtel converts them into local numbers for you to call and can automatically send the numbers as SMS to your cell phone to store if you choose.  Then, email your friend that you will call at a certain time and ask the person to disconnect the call without picking up.  Your friend needs to have a phone that can see incoming phone number, and note that number (which will, magically, be a local number to your friend) then call back.   During this whole time, do NOT hang up the phone while your friend disconnects and calls back right away.  It should only take 10 seconds or so to talk to your friend again, and for free with no limits!!

As I said I was skeptical, but since Rebtel gives me 10 minutes free to try with no credit card number needed, there is really nothing to lose.  I signed up a while ago and have everything set but did not make any calls until today, when I need to call my boyfriend abroad as he is temporarily out of the country.  He is in one of the free Rebtel countries, so I gave him the instructions and tried this out.  The call was very clear, and I checked on my Rebtel account, it showed up as a ’smart call’ (what they call their ‘free call’) and $0 balance for the 16 minute conversation.  It will use the airtime and treated as a local call if you are using this on the cell phone, so it is better to do this on a landline.  They do let you register 5 different phones so that’s very convenient.

If you are interested in trying it out, please click on the button that says ‘Join Rebtel’ on the right so that you can get a 20 minute international call credit instead of 10 if you do not use the link.  Try it out and see it for yourself – I think this is going to be the next Skype!