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Beijing Rock Comes to DC

This weekend we were treated to a rare and special performance by some Beijing rockers. Beijing punk rock is known for its creative, aggressive, gritty, and down to earth sound. A group of bands are currently on tour in the US. The concert stop in Washington DC was a show with Xiao He and PK14 at the Velvet Lounge. Coincidentally, my own band performed at the Velvet Lounge some 10 years prior to just a small audience of friends on a quiet Sunday night. This night was different as the Velvet Loun...

Introducing GCH World LLC

Its my pleasure to introduce my latest venture, GCH World LLC. My recently formed company based in Virginia is a trading company offering import-export agent services. As a trade agency, we aim to help US companies source products from overseas as well as sell "Made in the USA" products abroad. We also provide services to Asian buyers and sellers by assisting in sourcing US made products or by selling products made in Asia here in the USA. My interest in world trade originated from my many tra...

Lost Cockatiel “Squeak”

On Sunday, August 2, 2009, my beautiful pearl cockatiel was lost off the back deck of my townhouse. If anybody has seen her please respond with information to this post. Here is a description and photo. Name: Squeak Last seen: Fairfax, Virgina zip code 22031 just south of the Vienna metro station. Species: Pearl Cockatiel Description: Stands about 6 inches tall. Yellow and grey pearl pattern on wings and tail. Has bright orange spots on both cheeks. Very friendly and may actually app...

Getting It Staged

Here are my tips for getting a home staged. Understandably, everybody's home is different but these are some things I focused on to get my home sold. Keep It Clean After the renovations were done, it was time to make the house stand out. All throughout the renovation stage, we had moved out of the house. I figured that paint fumes and saw dust would make it unlivable. After the renovations were complete, I decided that during the staging phase it would be good for the home to remain vacant. ...

Choosing My Renovations

My Arlington duplex was built in the 1940s. You have to expect that a home that age will need significant work to get updated to today's lifestyle. Luckily, my duplex had some updates and provided a good base for me to work with. First, I had to figure out who my buyers are. A two bedroom, 1 bath duplex in a transitioning neighborhood just a stone's throw away from downtown Washington DC is the perfect home for either a single working professional or couple. I gave a lot of thought to my own sit...

Stage Your Home, Sell Your Home

The last few months have been extremely busy as I had been in the middle of preparing my home for sale. We've all heard about the down real estate market and I understood that it would not be easy. Therefore, I decided that in order to get it sold fast and for top dollar, I would need to make it stand out. I had spent a little over two months to get the home ready for sale. Once listed, it sold in 1 week! The final sale price was my asking price with a $5k subsidy. In this market, that by far ex...

Introducing GmanFishing.com

Ok, its obvious that this blog is heavily tilted towards my number one pastime: fishing. Since I've been getting a significant number of hits from Google searches and word of mouth on that topic, I'm discontinuing the fishing thread and moving it to a brand spankin' new blog devoted to the "weekend angler." Check out http://www.gmanfishing.com for the latest posts about my weekend fishing adventures. I'd like to get some feedback from the Northern Virginia fishing community on the site so it'd b...

Tahoe-Yosemite-Reno

After our wedding, we were just exhausted. Nevertheless, we were on our way to California for our honeymoon so we needed to gather up whatever energy we had. Here's the recap: Day 1: Tahoe Vista, CA We flew into Reno, Nevada and rented a car. We then drove from Reno to the North Lake Tahoe area. The drive was scenic because the route takes you over some steep mountains. As we were crossing the mountains, I could tell the temperature was dropping. When we arrived, we checked into the Red Wo...

Mission Accomplished!

Ok, our wedding day has come and gone now. Everything went without any major hitches. The only one worth mentioning is that rings don't just slide onto fingers easily when your heart is racing and your hands are slightly sweaty. (I had to help get mine on in order to save the bride from exerting too much force and embarrassment during the ceremony). The ceremony was gorgeous and our thanks go out to Arlington Arts Center for hosting us in their Tiffany Gallery. We took many photos prior to th...

Tour de Arlington: Part II

Here's the second part of my description of all things Arlington for out of town guests. I will provide some info on nightlife this time. Dancing: For those who like to dance the night away, here are my suggestions: Cecilia's Club Cecilia's is a great place to dance salsa and merengue. Be sure to dress appropriately. That means no jeans. I actually had a friend get turned away from the door because he was wearing jeans. Also, remember that the salsa crowd likes to arrive late. So if you ...