The time has come. I am in the process of finally leaving the comfort of my parents' auto insurance to embark on a policy of my own. I never realized how expensive it would be. I would move to the only state where EVERYTHING is expensive. The latest quote I received for just me and my car was $1544/yr! that's almost as much as my parents pay for 3 drivers and 3 cars!!! Talk about crazy.
Alas, now that I'm a grown up, it is time to wean myself off of my parents support. First car insurance..then cell phone! Wish it was the other way around. I am itching to get a new phone, the iPhone to be precise and cannot wait until December when my contract is over. Okay back to topic.
Everyone says I should get auto insurance from the same person I have homeowner's insurance from. But I'm not so sure, I know that I get a discount but I feel like some insurance companie are better than other in regards to specific things. Don't want to name any names but I think I'll have to shop around a bit to get the coverage I want for the price I want. Our bills have definitely increased while our paychecks haven't. It's a bummer to not have as much disposable income as we're used to. But it's something we'll work on, we don't necessarily need to go shopping every weekend or out to dinner 2-3 nights a week.
Friday, March 30, 2012
Wednesday, March 21, 2012
March Madness
I remember when I was celebrating my 16th birthday, all the guys wanted to sit around and watch March Madness games instead of hang out with me. Needless to say, I threw a fit but it didn't work. Learned then that I could never get between guys and their sports. Because of this, I took an interest in sports, followed basketball, baseball, even golf for a while. I didn't understand football until this past season but now that I know what's going on, I can honestly say that I do enjoy watching it.
Anyways, back to March Madness. I did not appreciate all that March Madness stood for until senior year of high school. I had just committed to attending UNC-Chapel Hill and the basketball team was on fire. Everyone was pumped so naturally, I followed the games, the ACC tournament (we lost), the NCAA tournament, right up until UNC defeated Illinois and all the news coverage showed Franklin Street and the mass crowd that gathered, the bonfires that started, the arrests that ensued. That was when it hit me, I was going to one of the greatest basketball schools in the nation, and that year, THE best basketball school in the nation. There was many ups and downs through my college years for the basketball team, more ups than downs though. We beat the Dookies in their house ALL four years, which was awesome. There was injuries which sucked. I ran from the Dean Dome to Franklin Street, jumped over fires, the works. It was amazing. I couldn't imagine going to a school where we weren't amazing at a sport. It instills such a sense of school pride that is irreplaceable.
Of course the one memory that will live on and on forever is the moment we KNEW we were going to be the NCAA champs my senior year. What better graduation present than a National Championship. It's beyond words being able to say I was there when we won in 2009. I still get all nostalgic thinking about it. President Obama even has us as winners! Go Heels, go America!
This year, the madness ensues and it's even better because NC State is also in the Sweet16. Kunal and I basically plan our social plans around the games. It sucks being in the North because people here just don't understand all that March Madness is. No one understands what Dook losing to Lehigh means, or the significance of NC State making it to the Sweet 16, or the fact that one of UNC's best players has a broken wrist! Thankfully we have each other to obsess over games with. Otherwise March would be maddening for other reasons.
Go tarheels, go wolfpack. Yes, I am now from a house divided.
This year, the madness ensues and it's even better because NC State is also in the Sweet16. Kunal and I basically plan our social plans around the games. It sucks being in the North because people here just don't understand all that March Madness is. No one understands what Dook losing to Lehigh means, or the significance of NC State making it to the Sweet 16, or the fact that one of UNC's best players has a broken wrist! Thankfully we have each other to obsess over games with. Otherwise March would be maddening for other reasons.
Go tarheels, go wolfpack. Yes, I am now from a house divided.
Wednesday, March 14, 2012
Home Improvement Month
One month since we signed our closing papers. We don't really have much to show. Still haven't painted, still haven't bought furniture, and still haven't unpacked all the boxes! I guess I'll just have to make "slow and stead wins the race" my motto. Granted, we have been busy all weekends so far, but there are FIVE weekends in March! We need to take a hiatus from our friends so we can focus on our house. With that being said, I'm dedicating all of April to home improvement. We're painting the dining room/kitchen one color, and then the bedrooms upstairs. Not too much of an undertaking but good enough. This place doesn't really feel like "home" just yet. Mainly because we don't have pictures hanging up, little knick-knacks around. I don't want to fully unpack until we paint and get new furniture in here.
Painting and furniture is an entirely different topic that has caused many headaches and arguments. Like I said in a previous post, Kunal and I have extremely different decorating tastes. This doesn't help our decorating endeavor at all. We've decided to do the living room and guest room Kunal's way and have the master room and kitchen/dining room done my way. The kitchen is my "woman cave" after all, according to Kunal.
I've given Kunal free reign to turn our garage into his personal "man cave" since the rest of the house is basically my domain. I don't really know what all he can do in there..but if that means I can watch TV in peace, I'm all for it! We're giving ourselves a deadline of April's end in order to really turn this place around and get it together. We really want throw a housewarming for our friends to come see the place and celebrate this huge achievement with us. We're planning for early May so we have a goal to work towards. Wish us luck!
Painting and furniture is an entirely different topic that has caused many headaches and arguments. Like I said in a previous post, Kunal and I have extremely different decorating tastes. This doesn't help our decorating endeavor at all. We've decided to do the living room and guest room Kunal's way and have the master room and kitchen/dining room done my way. The kitchen is my "woman cave" after all, according to Kunal.
I've given Kunal free reign to turn our garage into his personal "man cave" since the rest of the house is basically my domain. I don't really know what all he can do in there..but if that means I can watch TV in peace, I'm all for it! We're giving ourselves a deadline of April's end in order to really turn this place around and get it together. We really want throw a housewarming for our friends to come see the place and celebrate this huge achievement with us. We're planning for early May so we have a goal to work towards. Wish us luck!
Wednesday, March 7, 2012
Crossing the t's
Slowly but surely, grown up life is coming together. I admit, I definitely didn't go by the list that most people typically use. You know, "meet, someone, get engaged, get married, move in together". I met someone, moved in , and then got engaged.
The only thing I have left to complete is the actually wedding. Granted I am legally married, but that's more for my own benefit than anything else. I still want my big fat Indian wedding which I'm planning currently. After that, I can finally lean back and relax. The major moments of my early adulthood will be complete. Thank goodness I have an older sister so no one will bother me about children until she has them first. =)
I didn't realize how hard it would be to plan a wedding 8 hours away. Last year, we made trips to NC fairly often. This year, the earliest I see us going south is in July! That's only 6 months before my wedding! That's the time when everyone books everything and so I'll be left with people I don't want. There really isn't any free time to schedule time to visit Raleigh to meet with caterers, decorators, and the people at the venue. I feel the best thing is to take a week off in July, we're supposed to be there 2 consecutive weekends anyways. This way we can see our families, meet with people, and squeeze in an engagement shoot. I know we don't technically need one, but I really one. What other time will I have to go on location and have a professional take pretty pictures? If only some talent agency would discover me at the next greatest model. Then I would for sure pass on the engagement shoot.
The problem with our week long vacations starts with the time we are taking off in June for my cousin's wedding and the time we are taking off in August for Kunal's cousin's wedding. Could we really ask for ANOTHER week off in the middle of summer and it not seem like we are being greedy?
The only thing I have left to complete is the actually wedding. Granted I am legally married, but that's more for my own benefit than anything else. I still want my big fat Indian wedding which I'm planning currently. After that, I can finally lean back and relax. The major moments of my early adulthood will be complete. Thank goodness I have an older sister so no one will bother me about children until she has them first. =)
I didn't realize how hard it would be to plan a wedding 8 hours away. Last year, we made trips to NC fairly often. This year, the earliest I see us going south is in July! That's only 6 months before my wedding! That's the time when everyone books everything and so I'll be left with people I don't want. There really isn't any free time to schedule time to visit Raleigh to meet with caterers, decorators, and the people at the venue. I feel the best thing is to take a week off in July, we're supposed to be there 2 consecutive weekends anyways. This way we can see our families, meet with people, and squeeze in an engagement shoot. I know we don't technically need one, but I really one. What other time will I have to go on location and have a professional take pretty pictures? If only some talent agency would discover me at the next greatest model. Then I would for sure pass on the engagement shoot.
The problem with our week long vacations starts with the time we are taking off in June for my cousin's wedding and the time we are taking off in August for Kunal's cousin's wedding. Could we really ask for ANOTHER week off in the middle of summer and it not seem like we are being greedy?
Friday, March 2, 2012
Routines
After 2 weeks of living in our new home, we've got a routine down. It's nice although I feel like it definitely turns us into that full-fledged "old boring couple" that we were trying to avoid. But what can you do? It's nice to just hang out at home now that we have one. Watch TV together, unpack, brainstorm paint colors, look for furniture online, etc. On the weekends, we are not such homebodies, I promise!
If you recall an earlier post, I wrote about how I cannot stand Kunal's snoring and it keeps me awake. Well, somehow it has ceased to be a problem! We have yet to have a night where one of us goes to another room to sleep. I don't know how this happened. It's baffling.
If you know me, I try to reason EVERYTHING so here are my top 3 reasons:
1. Kunal stopped snoring because the air is better. Our apartment was quite stuffy and probably not the most pure of all the air we'd breath in.
2. I am less stressed about finding a house, getting approved for a mortgage, locking in a good interest rate, closing on time, etc so my mind can fully rest at night.
3.I am too tired from being cold downstairs that once I'm comfy, cozy, and warm in the covers, I immediately fall asleep until morning.
If I had to chose, I would pick #3 because it truly is exhausting being cold. It's about 68 degrees in our home and while the upstairs is great, it is so cold downstairs. I've put away my tshirts and pj shorts. Now I wear sweatpants and hoodies. I am brainstorming ways to make the downstairs not so cold. First on my list is getting the curtains that block out light, heat, AND cold. We had them in our apartment and most days, we didn't even run the air. Granted we have double the space now..but I think they will definitely help.
Other than the cold, our life is slowing developing into something resembling normalcy. I cook, Kunal takes out the trash. Sometimes I can convince him to do the dishes.We have a morning routine that we've perfected for not being in the other's way. A nightly routine of watching tv in bed until we fall asleep, which is probably my favorite part of the day (wow, we do sound super old there). Sometimes I still cannot believe we've bought our own place but it sure is a nice revelation.
If you recall an earlier post, I wrote about how I cannot stand Kunal's snoring and it keeps me awake. Well, somehow it has ceased to be a problem! We have yet to have a night where one of us goes to another room to sleep. I don't know how this happened. It's baffling.
If you know me, I try to reason EVERYTHING so here are my top 3 reasons:
1. Kunal stopped snoring because the air is better. Our apartment was quite stuffy and probably not the most pure of all the air we'd breath in.
2. I am less stressed about finding a house, getting approved for a mortgage, locking in a good interest rate, closing on time, etc so my mind can fully rest at night.
3.I am too tired from being cold downstairs that once I'm comfy, cozy, and warm in the covers, I immediately fall asleep until morning.
If I had to chose, I would pick #3 because it truly is exhausting being cold. It's about 68 degrees in our home and while the upstairs is great, it is so cold downstairs. I've put away my tshirts and pj shorts. Now I wear sweatpants and hoodies. I am brainstorming ways to make the downstairs not so cold. First on my list is getting the curtains that block out light, heat, AND cold. We had them in our apartment and most days, we didn't even run the air. Granted we have double the space now..but I think they will definitely help.
Other than the cold, our life is slowing developing into something resembling normalcy. I cook, Kunal takes out the trash. Sometimes I can convince him to do the dishes.We have a morning routine that we've perfected for not being in the other's way. A nightly routine of watching tv in bed until we fall asleep, which is probably my favorite part of the day (wow, we do sound super old there). Sometimes I still cannot believe we've bought our own place but it sure is a nice revelation.
Thursday, March 1, 2012
February's End
"Those who have lived a good life do not fear death, but meet it calmly, and even long for it in the face of great suffering. But those who do not have a peaceful conscience, dread death as though life means nothing but physical torment. The challenge is to live our life so that we will be prepared for death when it comes."
~Unknown
I love this quote. This is exactly how I want to live my life, and this is exactly how my Dadaji lived his life.
I've only had to deal with death of a close one twice before in my life. Once when I was 6 or 7 and my aunt passed away. I was too young to fully comprehend what exactly was happening that day.
The second time was when my dear friend passed away. We were best friends in middle school, different high schools caused us to drift, but once we ended up at UNC together, freshmen year was just like middle school, except with no parental restrictions this time around. We were much closer our first year than when we graduated, but we still managed to keep in touch. Then came that summer day in 2010 when I heard she had passed away. I was in shock, someone so young couldn't just go. She was an amazing girl with the best intentions inside her heart. I was insanely scared of going to her funeral alone but I knew it was something I had to do or else, I'd regret it for the rest of my life. It hurt me so much to see her family deal with such a tragic loss. I looked through her albums and saw so many pictures of us together having fun and it just added fuel to the hurt inside. Every now and then, something happens and I think of her and hope she's at peace.
The second time was when my dear friend passed away. We were best friends in middle school, different high schools caused us to drift, but once we ended up at UNC together, freshmen year was just like middle school, except with no parental restrictions this time around. We were much closer our first year than when we graduated, but we still managed to keep in touch. Then came that summer day in 2010 when I heard she had passed away. I was in shock, someone so young couldn't just go. She was an amazing girl with the best intentions inside her heart. I was insanely scared of going to her funeral alone but I knew it was something I had to do or else, I'd regret it for the rest of my life. It hurt me so much to see her family deal with such a tragic loss. I looked through her albums and saw so many pictures of us together having fun and it just added fuel to the hurt inside. Every now and then, something happens and I think of her and hope she's at peace.
My Dadji has been in my life for so long I never really thought about what life would be like if he wasn't around. Granted, he was hard of hearing and losing his sight due to glaucoma but he was always there. Going about his day, with any complaints, always wishing me well and praying for my well being. It will definitely take some getting used to, not seeing him in "his spot" when I go to visit my uncle anymore.
I was extremely upset when it happened but I've accepted it now. I think I was more upset with having to see my mom so distraught and not being able to do anything about it more than anything else. He was old and I truly think he was ready to go. He had lived a good life, he raised his five children, he saw his five grandchildren settle down with their own new families, and he was able to play with all four of his great-grandchildren. What a good life to live. Rest in peace, Dadaji.
I was extremely upset when it happened but I've accepted it now. I think I was more upset with having to see my mom so distraught and not being able to do anything about it more than anything else. He was old and I truly think he was ready to go. He had lived a good life, he raised his five children, he saw his five grandchildren settle down with their own new families, and he was able to play with all four of his great-grandchildren. What a good life to live. Rest in peace, Dadaji.
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