Karen and I got married this past Friday. We had a City Hall wedding, with a very small gathering that consisted of my family, her family and one of my bestfriends who took of work to help me take pictures.

We had decided about two weeks ago to get married. Since we were getting married anyway, we might as well get it over with for tax and health benefits reasons. We are still planning for the BBQ reception next summer where we will be inviting all our friends and family.

As most of you know, Mrs. jigg and I met on Xanga. Through this blogging community, we became friends and last year April began to date. Neither she nor I had any special feelings for each other at the time, but we decided to give it a try and see where it would take us. I knew within a few months that she was the one for me. First and foremost, there was nothing about her that I hated or couldn't stand. Although she was a bit naive and immature, I knew she had the potential to mature and grow fast enough to catch up to me. Maturity is really important, but what is most important is when both couples see eye to eye and are in the same point in their lives.

I didn't tell anyone about our wedding plans because I wasn't sure how to address it after we got married. Do I keep it secret till we have our wedding next year? If so, do I continue referring to her as my fiancée and not my wife? It's a rather long way from now, which meant that neither of us will be wearing our wedding rings till then.

After thinking about it, we decided that we will tell everyone that we are married. I don't like keeping secrets and marriage shouldn't be a secret. Once I got to a computer on Friday, I changed my Facebook status to married and then added a Pulse on Xanga. Mrs jigg didn't even know until hours later when my phone kept on buzzing from the Facebook alerts, everytime someone commented on my new status.

So far, being married doesn't feel any different. We dated less than a year before I proposed and our engagement has been less than half a year. Either way, this is definitely a new chapter in my life and I'm pretty excited to share it with my new wife.

Anyway, we would like to thank everyone for their congratulatory words! I'll try to post up some pictures later. In the meantime, I would like to say that I am wearing the Ring of Power as my wedding band, made in black tungsten.

I was helping my friend with his b-school essay and his topic of choice about himself was balance. More precisely, it was about his interpretation of Yin and Yang, where his yin was discipline and his yang was balance. How the idea of balance where one of it's two components is balance makes any sense is beyond me, but reading the essay made me think about balance in my life.

We all know someone who seeks balance in their life or we might be one of those seekers ourselves, but for sole reason, I feel that we have lost the core idea of what balance is--for every good, there is a bad; for every moment of sadness, there's a moment of happiness. And having both in your life, makes things feel more complete. At least it is to me.

Except most people are not like that. Instead, we strive for more happiness we than we need, because that's what most, if not all people we know look for--happiness. It's not wrong in any way, but it's common sense that too much of anything isn't good, even good things.

I was talking to a friend yesterday and I asked her what motivated her. She's a simple person who only seeks a paycheck to pay rent and live. While most people want more money, more success or more material things, she's just content. Isn't being content the real definition of balance?

When people ask me how I am, I usually respond that I'm "not too bad." Maybe it's a pessimistic way of looking at things, but I like being like that. I'm content. I don't look for more happiness and I try to avoid things that would make me unhappy. I think that it's easier to maintain balance when you are content, but once you venture out to seek more happiness to tip that scale, you are setting yourself up and risk being unhappy, whether because you failed at your task or over-indulgence wasn't really what you were looking for to begin with and you feel empty.

When it comes to love and relationships, I used to have this idea that I wanted a girl that was more like me. We'd have the same interests and never argue about anything. The older I got, the more I realize that it's not about finding someone like me, but finding someone who balances me. Karen and I could not be anymore different when it comes to pretty much everything. And although we have the most pointless debates, life has certainly been more interesting so far, since we're pretty much polar opposites. She keeps me in check and I to her. Our relationship feels wholesome and complete, even though there may be someone out there "better" for her and I.

Maybe the idea of balance is an excuse for the unambitious. But one thing that lingers in my mind is that, if I died a year from now, or maybe tomorrow, would I be satisfied with what I have achieved for myself in life? Would I have no regrets? I think i would be satisfied and wouldn't have regrets--simply because I always concentrate on what I have at the moment, and not think about what I want to have in the future. Might be the wrong way to look at things, but it's certainly feels good.

Do you seek balance in your life or are you the type who always looking for more? Do you think being content is not good enough?

My friend, who is a blogger herself, asked me how I come up with topics to write about. I've been doing this for on average twice a week, for the past eight years. She asked me why two times a week, and the answer was simple: once was not enough and three was too many.

Every Monday and Thursday mornings, I ponder about things that have happened to me in the past week. Most things are not important, but I always feel that there is a lesson somewhere--something that made me take things a step further in thought and ultimately, help me understand myself a little better.

And that's precisely my style. I write about trivial things and hope to provoke thought in the reader. I blog because I want people to read my thoughts, but you can't get readers if you give them nothing back. If someone reads my entry and takes nothing away from it, I feel that I have failed them.

I want every reader to read my posts and almost instantly provoke some kind of thought or question. I know that when something makes me think, a little bit more about me comes to light. What would I do if I was in such a situation? Do I agree or disagree? These are all questions that we would ask ourselves if the writer allows it.

To be honest, I cheat and end my posts with questions to be answered, but it's because I want my readers to comment. I read each and every single one, and many times, learn something insightful. That's what blogging is all about isn't it? Sharing thoughts about something so that your readers will share something back. And they won't do that if there is no substance behind the words you write.

That's why I blog. Why do you? Do you care about readership?

The drainage pipe under the kitchen sink has been leaking. While it's normal to call a plumber for most people, I thought it was easier asking my dad for his opinion. I'm sure many of our fathers are handy, able to work on simple electric work to all kinds of plumbing issues.

He told me the possibilities of the situation, from a hole in the pipe to maybe the loose bolt that clamps the pipe onto the sink. With the advice he provided, he expected me to be able to take care of it. While I have helped him with his work growing up, I have never done more serious plumbing issues on my own.

I think this was his way of testing my manly-hood, making sure that I wasn't one of those guys who couldn't do anything around the house. This would be a good test, simply because messing up wouldn't result in anything catastrophic like flooding the apartment or losing water for an entire week.

It really got me thinking about many of my friends--how many of them know how to use different tools correctly? I can't repair a car, but I can certainly do simple things like changing the oil, headlights or battery. While it's normal for almost every guy in my dad's generation who can repair things around the house, how many of my friends cannot even repair their own bikes?

Times have changed quite a bit. While many of us are more educated than our parents, I really feel that we lack many fundamental skills and knowledge. Just writing this post now, I realized how much he has taught me growing up, but I have never been tested. I wonder how long it will take me to become as handy as my father. I guess I will find out one pipe at a time.

In order to save money, I promised my then girlfriend (now fiancée) that I would bring lunch at least 3 days a week. Since we have been engaged, I have been bringing lunch everyday. It's usually a leftover chicken dish from the night before because we literally eat chicken 5-6 nights a week with fish or seafood on the weekends.

See, Karen doesn't like pork. She would eat cured pork like bacon and sausage, but unless it was BBQ spare ribs or pulled pork, she doesn't like it. So that means out of a possible 21 meals a week, we eat chicken at least 10 of those times. So why not beef? Well, beef doesn't taste good as a leftover.

Personally, it doesn't bother me too much since I like chicken. I try to make it differently every night to change it up. I've grilled it, baked it, braised it, and stir-fried it. This has been going on since May it has been okay. I'm just wondering if this is going to be like this for the rest of my life.

Anyway, there wasn't enough chicken last night for me to bring any to work. I love having fresh food for lunch, so I'm wondering what I'll be in the mood for around lunchtime. There's a pretty good halal stand across the street. $5 gets you chicken, lamb, and falafel over rice. Down the block from there is the most expensive deli in NYC, Delmonico's, but their food is pretty good, especially their burritos. Cosi's is just a few blocks away. If I could eat out (depending on my work load), my favorite ramen place is about a 7 min walk away. I'm pretty excited just thinking about it.

What do you normally eat for lunch? What are you having today?

After work on Friday, I decided to go to the movies, either to watch The Expendables or Salt. I'm an avid movie goer, but I've been busy since Toy Story 3. Karen was out of town to visit her mom in Boston, so I decided to go by myself right after work.

I wonder what feels worse, going to the movies alone or dining out alone. Neither are social taboos, but both tend to make people feel lonely. I've only watched two other movies alone, 2046 and My Blueberry Nights, both Wong Kar Wai movies where I had trouble finding people who actually wanted to see them.

It wasn't really bad this time around. I guess usually after a movie, you'd want to talk to someone about it, but with the Expendables, what is there to talk about? It was an action movie that had a lot of action. Very linear. Very predictable. A lot of mindless action.

I think I might go to the movies by myself more often now, especially since any movie with too much killing and blood isn't Karen's cup of tea.

On a side note, what's up with the trailers these days? Six previews and I did not see even one movie I was interested in.

Anyway, have you ever been to the movies alone? If you haven't, would you?

One of the toughest decisions next to where you want to get married is what kind of wedding ring to shop for. The future Mrs. and I were first looking for matching bands, but realized that we couldn't agree on the same thing.

I'm not a fan of yellow gold bands, but it would be so awesome if I got the Ring of Power (from LOTR) as a wedding band--with all the engraving and everything. Obviously, Karen wasn't too happy about it, especially since she didn't even like the movies, which I think crazy not to.

It's tough for guys. We want something we like, but sometimes we get blocked by our future half. I mean, it would be so awesome if I showed off my ring around, but I'd probably only get props from the geeks.

The next best thing I saw were solid black bands. Both Karen and I think the black bands look pretty awesome. Even she wants one. However, she wants her band to match her engagement ring, which means it has to be either white gold or platinum.

I asked my friend who is a jeweler about mismatching wedding bands. Surprisingly, she said she has only sold ONE pair of matching bands, ever. I then asked her about titanium and tungsten, two metals that come in black. Tungsten carbide (an alloy) is stronger than titanium and virtually scratch resistant. Great for guys to play sports in. Titanium is the hardest natural metal, as well as the lightest. You don't even notice it if you wear it because of the weightlessness.

The only concern would be if there was an emergency and they had to cut it off your finger, these two metals don't come without a fight. They need special scissors to cut through these rings. I don't anticipate needing them to be cut off my finger, but you never know.

In any event, I might go with the titanium even though the tungsten is stronger and shinier. I like that it's lighter, which allows me to pretty much do whatever I want and never have to take the ring off. On top of that, it's hard enough to open beer bottles, so it's good enough for me.

What kind of wedding band do you want? Do you feel that you have a say in what kind of ring your significant other wants? What are your thoughts a out the Ring of Power? Should I just ignore Karen and get it anyway (which would be hilarious!).

My friend asked me last night if I feel good being right since I feel like I need to be right all the time. I'm very argumentative and is very quick to correct someone if I think that they are wrong.

I am right, almost all the time and when I'm not, I am just as quick to admit that I was wrong. Most of the time--actually, an overwhelming majority of the time, I don't get any feelings of satisfaction from being right. As bad as it sounds, I feel like that's just my duty and I'm just doing my job--correcting people.

However, there are times when I do feel good for being right and it has nothing to so with what I'm right about. It depends on the person. I would say there are around ten people who makes this list. They're there because they have a track record of always disagreeing with me--even with the most random things.

My fiancée would be one of these people--from disagreeing about copyright laws to what is the first day of the beginning of the week. Some of the topics are almost Seinfeld-esque, like what's sweeter, lemons or limes. These debates sometimes blow out of proportion, resulting in mass polling.

I've been told that people hate it when I'm right and when I'm wrong, I leave them with no satisfaction because I would admit it right away and move on.

Which type of person are you? Are you the type who is very opinionated and is vocal, or do you normally keep your opinions to yourself, even though you don't agree with what has been said?

I find that the toughest part about planning a wedding is saving for it. Everyone I have spoken to, pretty much spent at least 10-20% more than they wanted to. At the moment, we don't really have a set budget, but I would rather not go into debt because I couldn't save enough.

One of my biggest expenses is dining out. Although I don't eat out as much and have been good about bringing lunch to work, I still meet up with friends from time to time to catch up. Most of these friends, I see every three or four months, but the problem is that I have a lot of these friends. Anyone who knows me knows that they need at least two weeks notice to schedule anything with me.

The average dinner costs around $40-$50 with tax and tip. With even one a week, that's an extra $200 spent that I could have saved.

This has to come to an end. Starting today, I am going to decline every dinner invitation. I still might go out to drinks but it won't be often and even when I do, I will keep it at a two drink maximum. I'm just going to explain that I'm saving for a wedding and it's not easy. On top of that, I still have a mountain of debt that I need to pay off.

So for all the dinner plans that are already in my calendar, I will still keep. Just no more new ones for the next year.

Do you have any excessive expenses that you need to get rid of or cut down on?

In the past year, I've had many friends who have gotten married and many who thought the person they were going to one day marry, have their relationship come to an end. It's interesting seeing how some of these people deal with their loss.

I've had quite a few call me and talk to me about it. Some I haven't really spoken to in quite a bit so the calls came out of nowhere. Some were from those who I didn't think would result in a breakup. Others where I was wondering what took so long. While some were not surprised (about their breakup), they all wanted someone to talk to.

It's strange to me because whenever one of my relationships ended, I always felt some kind of relief--sort of like "finally, the fighting is over and I don't have to deal with issues anymore." Many of my friends however feel the need to talk about it. At first, I thought they just wanted me to listen, but it usually becomes me trying to analyze the situation from what they tell me and pinpoint exactly what went wrong.

I always felt that if you've been in a relationship for a long time (years) and you're not sure if they're the one for you, chances are, they're not. I would rather not waste my time in a relationship that has an expiration date, but many people do because feelings are hard to overcome sometimes and we all hope something good would one out of it. Not surprisingly, most people have made mistakes in their choices with who they date, but we can all rationalize that it was a learning experience. I would say for most people, it takes several mistakes to finally learn and some simply never learn.

Another interesting thing I noticed is the difference between how males and females deal with breakups. While most men usually feel anger or disappointment, most women feel sad and hurt, often helpless because they know the guy was a mistake, yet they can't let go. Most guys I know try to get back track--turn their lives around by working out and improving themselves, trying to enact some long term scheme of "getting back" at the girl by showing them what they have lost. Most women I know tend to do things to distract them and feel as if there's no way to move on, even if the guy was a total jerk.

We all know everyone eventually moves on, but it's interesting how we go about it. Obviously, time is the key, but I don't think we truly move on until we find another person we want to be committed to.

I've always felt that when something ends, something new begins. I don't think too much about the past because why let anything bring me down? I tell all my friends that there is someone for everyone. That person they were just with, simply wasn't the one for them. Life goes on.

How do you deal with those breakups?