Good-Bye, Blogger!

Farewell! I've launched my new website. Check out http://catherinegacad.com/

Happy New Year, everyone. I am reinventing myself for 2010!

A Long Life and a Short One

Dean's maternal grandmother died today at the age of 91. She had a full life and very family-oriented. I heard so many stories about her. Her home was surrounded by pictures of her children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren. She always sent cards and cried whenever anyone talked about our wedding because she wanted to come. A rich full life was had and shared.

On a very sad note, my mother emailed me when I told her about Dean's grandma. "We also got very sad news this morning. Our co-worker lost his 4 month old daughter yesterday. We don't know the details yet. When he went to pick her up from day care after work, there was an ambulance infront not knowing it was his baby the paramedics were trying to resuscitate. She did not make it."

My heart is breaking! Here is more from my mom.

"this is their first baby. they were married two years ago. he was just showing me the baby's pictures with santa claus last week. he is such a proud dad and takes care of the baby like a mom giving bottle feedings and changing diapers during the night. that's what makes us so sad because we don't know how he is taking it.

"went to the cathedral for the noon mass with one of my coworker and we were there early. right before the mass the priest was saying hello to everyone and i went to him and asked him to include the baby's intention. he had a pen and pad and wrote the name. my friend and i were surprised when he announced at the beginning of the mass that the mass is for the baby and her family. and he mentioned her name again at the offertory. that made us feel better."

Transition

We're shaking it up at 2420 Geary.

In February of 2005, a couple bought the upstairs two-bedroom. I bought one of the downstairs one-bedrooms--the one facing Geary Boulevard. And another couple bought the other identical, but mirror image one-bedroom across from me. This couple would separate and divorce soon after. Still, the four of us (one couple and two single women) lived harmoniously for almost five years, watching each others' dogs, collecting mail, working together to remedy pipe leaks, drainage problems, and fixing an eyesore of a backyard.

I moved out and in with my fiance this past summer, rotating my condo with an MBA summer intern and a Stanford post-doc. In January, a couple of doctors will move in. The doctors had no use for the garage spot so I'm renting that out, too, to a neighbor across the street to house his weather-damaged BMW.

Newly-maried, my neighbor with the identical unit moved out a month ago. She initially paid $500K and sold for $525K which is a slight loss when you account for the broker fees. I paid $455K for mine which profits me $40K right now if I sold. All of this is public information. It's easy to determine whether or not your place is under water. I have no plans to sell. It's been surprisingly easy to find tenants to pay rent that covers my mortgage and HOAs.

The upstairs neighbors are now preparing to put their place on the market in 2010. When they leave, it'll be sad knowing I'm the only remaining original owner and I don't even live there anymore.

Making History Every Day

It's that time of the year when you get hit up for donations. In a stack of mail, something came from my business school. I quickly glanced at it, about to toss it, when I saw my name in bold. Nice touch, GSB.

1890 John D. Rockefeller donates $600,000 ($14.2 million in 2008 dollars) calling it "The best investment I ever made"

1929 First University to grant a PhD in business to a woman

1935 First Heisman Trophy is awarded to College of Commerce student John Jay Berwanger

1982 George Stigler becomes the first business school faculty member to receive a Nobel Prize

2004 Catherine Gacad earns MBA

2008 The school was named in honor of David G. Booth for his $300 million gift, which Booth described as a "partnership distribution" based on the long-term contribution to his life's success by his alma mater

To Prenup or Not Prenup

I do not know a single person who has gotten a prenup. Consider, too, that my network is vast. If there's anyone out there reading this who has gotten one, please contact me.

There are a few reasons to get a prenup: 1) You're a major celebrity like Tiger Woods, 2) You stand to inherit billions like Athina Roussel who is the sole heir to the Onassis fortune, or 3) You own property. I fall into the last category. Not only that, I have built up my own little nest egg that is mine. Not my husband's. Not community property. It is my hard-earned money.

I've consulted many friends regarding this--friends with inheritances, friends who came in with a lot of money, friends who had property. Across the board, they did not put together a prenup. Further, they questioned, "Do you really want to bring up the topic?" I've gone back and forth and figured that I didn't really care. I agreed. Why bring it up anyway? What's mine is his and what's his is mine.

But then a friend of mine put me to the test during drinks the other day. It really made me rethink the issue. He asked, "Let's say you were marrying someone who came into the marriage with a lot of money. Then he asked you to sign a prenup. What would you say? Would you be offended?"

I shook my head. "I would absolutely not be offended. What's his money is his money. I'd have no problem signing a prenup."

"Then there's your answer."

Conrado snapped this pic of an art piece at Sugar Cafe.

There's no rhyme or reason to Christmas with my family. It happens at different homes. Sometimes it's celebrated on Christmas Eve, especially growing up. More recently, it's been Christmas Day. People come and go throughout the afternoon and into the night. There's no set time; this drives me crazy! If the start time is 2pm. Don't do it. No one will be there. I've learned my lesson. Timeliness is not rewarded in our Filipino household. You sit anywhere and your seat rotates throughout the night. It's a buffet free-for-all. I'm always astounded when spending a holiday meal with friends and it's a set course. Wine is passed around the table. You actually have to talk to one another for a good chunk of time. I love that there's order. I hate the chaos I've grown up with which is why I've spent several Christmases travelling with friends. What beats South America in December?

I enjoyed this year with Dean's family. His parents picked us up from the airport and drove us directly to church for mass. We snuck away after they dropped us off. With 90 minutes to kill, we walked a few blocks to an English pub's trivia night and drank beer. The 10:30pm mass was half-full which was a big surprise to me. Every single Christmas mass I've gone to has had people standing up, lining the walls.

We spent Christmas day at his parents' new house. Buffet-style, but sit-down. Then lots and lots of presents. Piles of presents for the kids. No matter how wasteful, I still think it's fun. Presents are important. We continued to eat throughout the night: pumpkin pie, cheesecake, Dorritos, Ruffles with french onion dip. I thought I was going to explode before midnight. It was a good time. Everyone was still around late into the night.

As we got ready to leave, Dean's cousin patted me on the back jokingly, "Catherine, you can do better. There's still time. It's not too late to call off the engagement."

Merry Christmas Eve

Call me selfish. I wish I could stay here at home and spend Christmas with the fam. Instead, I'm off to hang with the in-laws in Scottsdale, Arizona. You'd think one of the perks of spending Christmas in the desert would be sun, right? But hell no, it's just as cold there as it is here. Oh well.

Despite my party-pooping anxiety of spending Christmas away from the throngs of Filipinos, I have had the best two nights hanging out with loved ones.

Tuesday night, Dean and I went ice-skating at Union Square, took pics with Santa, then sang and drank the night away with friends at my favorite city bar, the Gold Dust. Love that place! It's the perfect mix of tourists and locals and the drinks are dust cheap.

Last night, Conrado came into town and we grabbed dinner at the Westfield food court, had drinks at Oola, then Marky came out to meet us with his fabulous Aussie date. I LOVE THE GAYS! Marky hates it when I call him my gay friend. "You don't call Daniel your black friend."

"Yes I do!"

So happy to celebrate with my posse prior to departure. Merry Christmas everyone and I'll try to blog if I can get my hands on internet access.

Finance Work

It's the Eve before Christmas Eve and I'm working feverishly on finance. Not my job, but personal finance.

Budget
- We have no budget. This is a bad thing.
- Dean and I have been reveling in our extra savings from living in a studio and the income from my condo, that we don't really manage our money. We go out to eat. We drink every night. We spend freely.
- No more. Starting now I've sorta put us on a budget. Every paycheck, a certain amount of money will be transferred into our designated savings account.

Savings
- I think it's important to have specific savings accounts. Otherwise, there's no incentive to save.
- The savings account for our wedding was completely funded after the current tenant paid for December rent. A total of $20,000 for our desert wedding. Done and done.
- I have a new set of tenants (two doctors) moving into my place in January. Their checks will be deposited into our new savings account for a home. In two years, we should have enough for 20% down on another home.
- My 401K is growing. I max it out every year. I'm looking to open up a Roth IRA soon, too.

Insurance
- Geico is the best for auto.
- Traveler's for home.
- We don't have renter's insurance. That's on my to-do list.

The Gacad-Barbella Legacy
- One kid is enough.
- I have no plans to save for my one child's education. He or she can pay for college like I did. I believe in the best up-front education possible to ground children for continued success in college and beyond.
- I've always wanted my kid to go to Catholic school. If my immigrant parents could afford it, I can too.
- The best Catholic elementary schools in San Francisco are Convent and Stuart Hall at a whopping $20,000+ per year. That starts at kindergarten! Way beyond our means, but strong potential for a scholarship. Throw us a bone: two Catholic parents with one of us (me) who went to Catholic school for 12 years. I'll ask the Bishop for a recommendation. That said, I have concerns with any kid of mine going to a richy school. Just not our style.
- So I've scoped out Notre Dame des Victoires not too far down from where we live and not too far up from where I work. At $700 a month for our kid to have a Catholic elementary school education, then on to Saint Ignatius for high school at $1300 a month, we can definitely afford to have our little kid sporting a plaid uniform.

Whistle While You Work

I love being at work during the holidays. It's quiet. You can go out for lunch with friends without feeling guilty. Work is in slow motion. I really do like what I do, but it can get stressful...almost unhealthy considering the lack of sleep. So I treasure these times when my co-workers' kiddies come in to see what mommy does during the day. You can power through all those emails that are still sitting in your inbox.

I don't believe in Astrology, but I still find it uncanny when I read a horoscope that's spot on.

From the November issue of Glamour. Gemini: The full moon and Mars unsettle your life; then the new moon and Mercury tidy it back up. Tackle a project you're dying to start, whether it's work stuff (website!) or a health routine (Wii Fit!).

Uncanny...new website coming soon.

Drip, Drip, Drip

You know how the models own their quirky traits. Like Cindy Crawford and her mole. Lauren Hutton and the gap between her two front teeth. Or Padma Lakshmi's scarred arm. It's cute. It's what makes them unique. Well, I've got this quirky trait called hyperhydrosis. It's so not cute. I sweat a lot, especially underneath the armpits. It caused me a lifetime of embarrassment. And it was expensive having to dry clean silk blouses.

Several years ago, a friend told me about Botox to help control the sweating. Luckily, my health insurance Kaiser covers the Botox procedure. The dermatologist draws a grid on each armpit, then injects the Botox. It lasts exactly six months. During that time, I don't sweat. I don't wear deodorant. I haven't worn deodorant in years. It's a lifesaver. When the six months are up, I suddenly start sweating up a storm which results in a frantic call to Kaiser.

Well fucking shit, my dermatologist is on vacation. Apparently, they won't switch me to someone else. I must go to her. So now I have to wait three weeks for an opening in her schedule. Until then, I am dripping!