Curious to see what my new condo looks like?  Come watch the video below!  It is a bit long (12 minutes), so to make it easier to view I'm putting down some time marks so you may skip around.  If I tag a Xangan, that means I mentioned that person during the video.  Enjoy, and let me know what you think of my new place.


Time Marks

:07 Why I had to move
:21 @toadywonders
:32 Kitchen
1:00 @NimbustheDragon
1:46 Kermit the Frog
1:56 Cooking with Coolio (thanks @Endless21Echos )
2:25 Living room
3:26 My fishes
3:44 My AMAZING view
4:36 Tennis corner
4:52 Bedroom
5:15 Hawaiian girl
5:33 My office
6:47 Bookshelf
7:00 Xangans book
7:11 @wyrdkismet
7:27 @VaneDave
7:45 My bed
8:26 Mini fridge
9:24 @snapeful
9:32 @secade
9:43 Closet
10:11 Bathroom
10:45 Snoopy
10:53 New towel!
11:12 Final thoughts

Now you all know your way around my place if you decide to stalk and rob me.  If you do though, don't be shocked when you encounter me with this.

It has been a crazy and hectic past few weeks, which is a major reason why I haven't been updating as much lately.  As some of you know, Todd (@toadywonders) and I are in the process of moving to a new place together.  We're currently staying at a temporary home until the lease for our condo begins this Saturday.

You might be wondering why I'm moving, especially since my old place was pretty awesome and was great for hosting fun events.  Apparently, there is a county specific code that states there can be no more than four unrelated people living in one household.  In other words, a family of 12 is allowed to live in one location, but not 12 random people even though each person has their own room within a massive house.  It's some old, dumb code, but alas it's still a code.

I unfortunately discovered this code the hard way about a month ago, when a county officer rang our doorbell and I just happened to be the one that answered the door.  The county officer said there was complaint by someone about us and wanted to ask me some questions.  I think it was the fact that he was in uniform and I didn't want to cause any trouble that led me to comply with all he asked.  As far as I knew we were doing nothing wrong, so what's the harm of answering truthfully (thought naive me)?

After a brief intro, he asked the following question.  On left is what, in hindsight, I should have done and on the right is what I ended up doing.



My hospitality kicked in or something and I treated the county officer like he was a welcomed guest.  ALEX, Y U NO SHUT UP?! 

After looking around, he then asked me...


Sigh, I know.


My landlord finally came into the house at this point, but by then it was too late.  I had given the officer all the information he needed to give us a notice of our code violation.  I never seen my landlord look so down and defeated.

I felt incredibly guilty and horrible about the situation.  Even though it was technically the landlord's fault, I couldn't help but feel responsible for the mess.  If I hadn't opened that door, 2/3 of us would not have to move out and the landlord, one of the nicest guys I know around here, wouldn't have to be burdened with finding a new way to pay for the property now that he lost a large portion of rent money.

I do feel better now that some time has passed.  I talked to my landlord and he admitted he knew this would come up eventually.  My new place, although more expensive, has a lot of wonderful perks/amenities and the location is quite convenient.  I guess we'll have to do a MTV Cribs video once we're all settled in.

In the mean time, Todd and I will continue to deal with the hassles of moving.  Hope you all had a less stressful month than we did!


TL;DR A county officer found out my house had too many people living there, so many of us had to leave.

P.S. I still haven't found my towel, even after clearing out my room and bathroom.  What in the world happened to it??

Magical.  That's the adjective my girlfriend chose to describe how she felt about me traveling and befriending so many people I've initially met through an online site.  Although I made fun of her for picking such a hyperbole, I could see why she saw my experiences that way.  It is rather unusual, and I probably wouldn't have believed it myself just 4 years ago.

Back then, I didn't really have a strong desire to see the world.  I felt content staying in Maryland and truly thought I would stay there all my life.  I was comfortable where I was, and perhaps a little afraid to leave my comfort zone.

In January 2009, I decided to take a trip to California to meet up with a few Xangans.  I left satisfied, and couldn't wait until the next time I got the chance to see my friends from out of town.  I was worried it wouldn't happen again for some time.  How would I have known that it was just the start of many more trips and gatherings to come?

3 years later, it's all of a sudden 2012.  In that span of time I've met up with at least 150 people from here, many of them I've hung out with multiple times and some even becoming my most trusted friends.  It's amazing how things worked out, and I find myself lucky to receive this experience.

In a few hours, I will turn 26 years old.  I don't know how much longer we all will continue doing this unbelievable thing.  I hope it goes on for many more years, but I have a feeling that over time many of us will start to get tied down by our work, our family, or whatever else life throws our way.

I will no doubt be sad if or when this ride stops, but do know I will forever cherish the fact that my mid-20s were filled with all these vivid, happy memories with you all.