The original text of this post is preserved elsewhere. I didn’t expect this but my parents went PSYCHO over the post and spammed this blog with crazy comments and flooded my cellphone with messages. They went as far as phoning my husband at work about it. I didn’t write anything bad about them, but I think the post really hit a nerve because I wrote about the reality of the real estate bubble and how they were affected by it. I really don’t understand why they are always bragging about what they have and at the same time they are afraid to face the truth. What annoys me the most is that they’re still preaching that real estate is a great investment to me using the numbers of years past and that isn’t realistic at all. I wrote the post because I thought it was a pretty interesting story that I lived through personally and I didn’t mean to offend anyone. I also wanted to put the story out there to show that once upon a time houses in the Bay Area were affordable and it made sense to buy. My parents’ objection isn’t that I wrote about the truth, but that I wrote their story. Maybe it’s the Chinese custom of “saving face” that I violated, but I believe that I shared the information quite anonymously. I hope that they realize noone really knows who they are except for themselves. I guess I am still quite in shock that they reacted this way because a lot of bloggers write about the good and bad in their lives. Also, I didn’t react as crazily as they did when my dad plagiarized multiple articles from this blog and posted them on his blog without crediting me as the author. I really think the entire point of blogging is that we learn from personal stories like the one I wrote. For those of you who read the original story, would you say that I revealed too much? Do you think that the story was mean-spirited in any way? Comments are definitely appreciated on this matter.
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10 comments ↓
Interesting post.
I hate to say it but they got a bit greedy.
Mike
And yet my mom still keeps on telling me to buy, and she got rather angry over this post. I don’t think I said anything extremely bad about them.
I have a very similar situation. My parents have also lately been trying to get me into real estate…difference is it’s not really turning me on. Anyway they also bought a house at the peak of the bubble and it sounds like they now harbor regrets. Oh hey and since I’m reporting it, maybe you can get spammed by them too for bringing out their potential mistake.
Kenny, fortunately your parents do not read this blog and do not know my phone number. Thanks for the comment.
Well I’m one of those fortunate people who luckily missed out on the housing boom craze. I almost got sucked into it by everyone I know. Now everyone who did is paying the price.
I have saved enough to buy, but like a patient vulture investor, I’m waiting for housing prices to tank significantly (by half I hope) before I enter the market and claim a house from someone.
It’s interesting how everyone likes to boast when housing prices were soaring. Now that the bubble has burst, everyone is mum about their homes’ market value. I think we still have 3-4+ more years to go before this recessive cycle repairs itself. Just my take on it.
-Raymond
Yeah, my parents are the same way. I think it’s the cultural differences. I didn’t get to read the original text so I can’t give an opinion either way. I hope everything worked out ok though.
Hilarious – I thought the post was fine.
This might be an example of why a lot of bloggers don’t tell anyone at all about their blog. It really does limit your posts some times.
Mike
Thanks for the comments.
@Raymond — It is true that people only talk about their wins and not their losses. One of the reasons I like reading personal finance blogs is that a lot of everyday people talk about their mistakes and missteps. I cannot believe how childish my mom acted over the whole thing.
@Anna — yes. every Asian kid I’ve talked to say that their parents hate to admit that they’re wrong even when they really are wrong. They just can’t look bad.
@Mike — Yup you did read my original post. The thing is I wrote this blog for my friends first and then my dad found it and then my mom begged for the blog address. I really don’t like that she reads my stuff because she has gone crazy before when I was in high school. The story that set her off that time was that she was wearing a pair of Payless shoes she bought, but the shoes had the security tags on them because the store clerk forgot to take them off when she purchased them. Then our whole family was at Best Buy buying a TV and she set off the alarms as she walked out. Well, the story was a bit longer and funnier, but she went ballistic over that and I thought it was retarded. It was just a funny family story.
Wow, your mom sounds like the type of person who…how shall I say it? “Has a tendency to over react”?
Mike
yes, she does, and I find it funny that she wants to start a blog because both my dad and I have blogs. If she started a blog she wouldn’t be able to take the criticism that comes with writing in a public forum.
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