Wanda Sykes hits it straight on: “If you don’t believe in same sex marriage, then don’t marry someone of the same sex.”

Fresh Air‘s Terry Gross conducted a very interesting interview with professor Irene Pepperberg and her unique relationship with Alex, an African gray parrot who could speak, understand, count, identify colors and develop emotion.

Five weeks ago we put in a contract for short sale property with a price above what the seller was asking for. We’re the highest offer and the only remaining buyer of the house. Both the seller and the banks have approved the price, but the short sale agent refuses to close the deal with us. She is negotiating with the second lender to lower its net so she could get more commission.

From what I understand, the owner goes into short sale to avoid foreclosure because he cannot make the payments. The banks don’t want to go into foreclosure either because it would cost them more money. In this case, it is the seller agent who is dragging on the contract because she is not getting enough commission. If she keeps dragging this out, the house will eventually fall into foreclosing.

So the increasing number of foreclosures isn’t necessary the owner’s fault, but the greedy agents. Has anyone have any experience with short sale? Is the seller agent allowed to do that even though both the banks and the seller accepted the price? Is there any regulation?

I am not a circus guy, but I enjoyed Cirque du Soleil‘s KOOZA. It was quite entertaining. Highly recommended.

I just read the entire site and signed the petition. Keep on fighting friends.

The new Change.gov is finally up. The tremendous traffic might have caused the site to hiccup all afternoon.

Ever since Dana is bearing our precious baby, I stopped taking the bus. Instead, I drive my family (Dana and the child) to work and then hop on the train. One thing I miss from taking the bus is seeing my commute friend, an African-American woman who gets up every morning and goes to work to put her granddaughter through college. In compensate, I get to hold my lady’s hand for half an hour even though the rock on her hand is a bit bothersome every time its sharpness stabs my palm.

As usual, I picked up the Express and played some music on my headphone for my Metro ride. The Express today is filled with Obama’s victory celebration and Proposition 8 controversies; therefore, I folded the paper and look out the window. The view was gorgeous. The sky was cloudy. The trees had turned yellow and orange. The strong wind knocked off the autumn leaves. The water was clear and calm. On my headphone, Quynh Lan gave a heart-rending rendition of “Cho Nguoi Toi Yeu” accompanied by Nguyen Anh 9’s bittersweet high keys. The entire scene lasted about a minute before the trained moved into the dark tunnel. I was devastated and quickly pulled out a pad and pen to recapture the moment.

As I was writing down the details, I didn’t remember the water in my regular commute. I looked up and realized that I had taken the wrong line. My little dreamy morning had ended when I had to take the malodorous train to Foggy Bottom.

Aren’t you glad McCain didn’t win? His running mate didn’t even know that Africa is a continent.

Although Obama has won a historical election, I am sadden by the passing of Proposition 8. Hang on and be strong, friends. We have made it this far. Your day will come. It will have to come.

It’s a new dawn. It’s a new day for American and I am feeling good. Yes, we did it. We made history. We elected Barack Obama to be our 44th President. Now it’s his responsibility to fulfill his duty. I wish him all the best and hope that he will do what he has promised: bring change and restore America. As for me, it was an eye-opening election. I have absorbed a great deal of American politic from blogging throughout the general election. Big thanks to everyone who had joined me and provided me your invaluable, intelligent opinions.

The election is over, so what is my next move? I have promised my wife to cut back on blogging. I hate to admit it, but I have been addicted to it. I love the ability to write whatever it is on my mind, share to the world whatever I am passionate about, learn new things everyday and the instant feedbacks are priceless. I am having such a fantastic time that it is so hard to let go, but I have to. I won’t go away completely, but I won’t be as active as I had been in the past. I will write occasionally when I have time.

I have a new priority and it will guarantee to take up most of my time. I am proud to announce that Dana and I are expecting a baby. I am very excited and I can’t wait until April to welcome my newborn into the world. We haven’t found out if the baby is going to be a boy or girl. We will take whatever we will be blessed with; therefore, we won’t need to find out. Yes, I am going to be a daddy. How crazy is that? Being a father will be my new passion and dedication. I hope I can fulfill my role. I still have a lot to learn.

In any rate, thanks for reading and stopping by all these years. Without you, I wouldn’t have had the motivation to write and the inspiration to share. I occasionally get email from readers who I have never get to know, yet they just skip the introduction and write to me like I am their friend. It just feels good. Blogging is not easy, but so rewarding.