The year without a Christmas tree

So this past Sunday the husband went out to his parents to pick up our Christmas decorations and tree stand. We are not big on having a tree up the entire season, one week is good for us so it was not untoward to put it up on the 21st. The husband was also going out to his parents to drop off Christmas gifts. HE was pretty hung over from a Christmas party the night before. He called me when he was in the crawl space and asked if I was sure our stuff was there. I said yes. He looked for a little over a half hour then went upstairs to go to the bathroom. As he walked out of it he noticed his parents had a live tree this year and guess what? Yep, they were using our tree stand and decorations. I opined since we are leaving Christmas Day to go snowboarding for a week we should just skip the tree this year.

I was not paying a lot of attention to the markets this week since it was a two day work week for me.

Tuesday night I picked up the boys at their grandfather's house. The weather was not bad but apparently my former father-in-law doesn't believe in salting his driveway. As I pulled in and was hitting the brakes the truck kept sliding, I barely missed rear-ending the ex' car. I took the boys into the city to see the tree in Rockefeller Center. The entire way there my oldest (he's 11) kept saying who cares, I don't want to do this, it's only a tree, etc. Once we turned the corner on 5ht at Saks the first words out of his mouth were "Oh my God!" He was mightily impressed by the tree and that reaction made all the bitching earlier worth it.

Christmas Eve the husband worked and I hung out with my boys. We got up and I made them breakfast then we opened gifts. They loved what they got. Then we showered up and went to the movies. We saw The Tale of Desparyeaux. It was a good flick but as we were leaving my oldest said he liked it but he likes comedies better and not movies that try to teach you a lesson.

We drove to my brother's house in central Jersey and spent a few hours there with him, my sister-in-law, their twins and my parents. I then dropped the boys off at their mom's with Christmas cookies and fudge from their grandmother. The ex asked if they were my mom's chocolate chips cookies because she really misses them. I said no but she can make them and send some to which she responded she didn't need them because she would eat them all.

The husband and I then had dinner with ST and PJ at a great little restaurant in Rocky Hill. We drove home and went right to bed.

We woke up to find we apparently had been good enough this year to make Santa's list. We had a nice breakfast and opened gifts, finished packing and we are off to Utah to meet up with TK for a week of snowboarding. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to anyone who reads this. I'll catch ya on the other side in 2009.

It's better to PIK then be PIKed

The company Christmas party Wednesday night was actually very fun. As the CIO said we rolled back the rugs, had music, food, wine and good friends. A few of us went across the street before hand and had hot toddies- we had to explain to the bartendress how to make them though. Afterwards I and one of the other traders who shares the same surname as me went across the street to a different bar for one more that turned into about six more just because. I got home, went right into the boys room and slept on one of the twin beds there. Thursday morning- hell all Thursday was not fun. At least I made it to the desk only about a hour late whereas the COO did not get in to the office until about 10:45. The CIO did not even make it in to the office.

The big story Thursday was what CSFB did to their executives for their bonus. They are taking all the toxic shit they collateralized and putting it into a partner asset pool. The bonuses will be paid out in from that crap as it matures and/or defaults. Oh, by the way it's also levered 7:1. There is also a clawback- that is if the executives leave before it pays out, any cash they did get will have to be paid back. That my friends is called PIK. Before Mr. Barrett asks me PIK stands for Pay In Kind. When someone asks for cash back, or redeems, you are allowed to deliver to them securities that at the time have a market value equivalent to the cash they asked to be remitted. It is a possibility in many financial ventures particularly hedge funds. For the record the hedge fund I worked at did it to all the scummy European fund of funds. The best part about that was we gave them all the gains and all the illiquid crap.

Thursday night when I got home I took a nap as the husband had drinks with a broker and got his haircut. We met for dinner at our local favorite, came home and went to bed at 9:30.

This morning it was cold and overcast in preparation for the storm that was coming our way. It started snowing around 10 AM. At one point I could not see the Hudson River, New Jersey or the building next to me. I was debating leaving work early because I had to drive down to central Jersey to pick up the boys but decided against it. By the time the markets closed it was not nearly as bad weatherwise. The drive still took me two and a half hours to get there and one and a half to get back.

So it looks like everyone but the ECB will go the Q.E. way. The BOJ cut rates to 10 bps. Since the Fed is targeting a range of zero to 25 bps apparently BOJ did not want the yen to lose its crown of the carry trade. If the USD is not the new carry trade it will be soon.

Tomorrow we get the Christmas tree. I think Sunday I will take the boys into the city to see the tree at Rockefeller Center.

Matthew McConaughey is a big tease but I think he wants me...

Welcome to a ZIRP (Zero Interest Rate Policy because Mr. Barrett complains I use too many acronyms) world and the fun and exciting world of quantitative easing! So the Fed decision came out late which is unusual in and of itself. Everyone expected a cut of 50 bps in the target rate. A funny thing happened though and I have to think the reason it was late getting announced was they sat there saying are we really ready to do this? We are Japan and will be having our own lost decade sadly. That is not to say there will not be up years in the market but we will be grinding lower and my guess is the article I read on BBERG last week that said we will bottom out somewhere on SPX 400 is correct. If this does not work the only thing left for the government to do will be to start buying houses directly and becoming the largest landlord in the nation. That will put a bottom in prices for sure but at a particularly nasty price for generations to pay.

I did not quite understand why the SPX rallied so much. Apparently many have yet to realize that all equities are are a perpetual call on a possible future income stream. After talking to some smart people I would have to guess the place to be is in corporates- ideally investment grade- because in a ZIRP world the central bank is trying to disincent investors from being risk averse. The auction today was priced at 0.000%- hello? They are flooding the system with cash and trying to get people to invest it in yes risky but ideally profitable ventures. So I would say junk first but I keep thinking about what my friend the bond guy said that junk will not be a viable investment class in say 5 years as defaults will rise dramatically. So the next thing would be investment grade corporates and then last the perpetual calls- I mean equities. By the way I was told junk is currently pricing in something like a 30% default rate. That is almost unheard of unless you go back to the 1903s. Makes you wonder right?

Looking back at some of my earlier posts I'd have to say I've been subconsciously worried about the risk of a war on a larger scale than the two we are currently engaged in in Iraq and Afghanistan. A couple of weeks ago I was talking to the kid next to me and asked him ok if we are in a depression like the '30s what really ended that? He gave the usual response The New Deal. I disagreed and said really it was the outbreak of WWII. Today the economist from MER said his biggest concern and the largest risk facing the markets in 2009 is rising geopolitical tensions leading to war. I was chatting with a PM about that and he agreed and said the only problem is that we no longer have the industrial base to wage a global war. Roughly 70% of our economy is service based. My response was well I guess we'll have a lot of people drafted to make up for the lack of the industrial base.

Spoke to both of my old partners about all the FofFs who got totally taken by Made-Off. They agree with me that it is a good come-uppance for them after busting our balls and grudgingly giving us money. The only thing I did not know is that one of the partners fraternity brothers who was instrumental in getting us funding went to the unit of MassMutual who had $3.3 billion out of their $5.1 billion in Made-Off. He is out of a job I have to imagine.

The other thing about the whole Made-Off scandal is there is absolutely no way the guy pulled it off himself. I have to guess that it was a family affair and when it came crashing down the old man said he'd take the fall and the blame for everything. I understand that as a father wanting to protect your children so I cant fault him for that instinct. But what I don't get is that if you still had roughly $200 million left why wouldn't you make a run for it? This was not a very well thought scheme. Hell, if I was in his shoes I'd have taken say $50 million, gotten a good plastic surgeon, changed my fingerprints and gone to Brazil or some other South American country and spent the rest of my life in the company of high class rent boys with lots of beer and a personal trainer.

I was supposed to have drinks with JS tonight but his workload is crazy and apparently his boss told him no vacation between now and the end of the year. So we rescheduled for the new year. It worked out well as I finished Christmas shopping and had the estimable intention of finally getting the Christmas cards done. I got home walked and fed the kids, hit the gym and ordered dinner as the husband was out for business drinks. He finally got home after I had put the dinner in the fridge and had a protein shake as I am not a big fan of eating dinner after 9. He was giddy and definitely buzzed even tough he said he only had three drinks- his usual line for the situation, lol. I was not upset as I know tomorrow night the shoe will most likely be on the other foot as it is my company's Christmas party and I will use the line I only had three drinks.

the Childrens Broadcasting News Corporation has been running these ads for Dolce & Gabbana cologne with Matthew McConaughey. He is seriously hot and it is a real distraction. I would be willing to fill in for Lance any time Matthew if you ever read this...

I hate fund of funds

There were none of the usual hotties on the bus this morning.

I am really kind of enjoying the whole Made-Off scandal mainly because of many of the investors involved. Not the individual investors- I truly feel sorry for them. I am somewhat gleeful that a lot of European fund of funds were in there. Gotta love their due dilligence. There are many on the list that were investors in the hedge fund I worked at for five years and they were a bunch of pricks who put us through the wringer before they would invest. We actually had a very well known accounting firm who's reputation was built upon them specializing in hedge funds. We had one of the two major law firms for outside counsel who were known for their hedge fund practice. We had a major i-bank prime broker who provided all pricing for all securities. They still treated us like we were trying to perpetrate a fraud on them.

I came to learn that all European FofFs were solely performance chasers and not investors at all. No better proof is there than the fact that they invested in Made-Off solely because he had steady up returns no matter what. They must have changed their due diligence process. They also must never have heard of serial correlation and what it implies- that would be a strong possibility of fraud. They ignored all these red flags solely because they were chasing performance. I love the irony of the situation for them but truly do feel bad for the retired carpet salesman and his wife who invested their entire savings with Made-Off.

JW sent me a link to a really great former blog. I say former because sadly this brilliant mind who writes much better than I and on many of the same topics but much more in depth has signed off. He has taken a new job in The City.

Went to the gym tonight and have to say there was some serious quality hotness there. It made the work out interesting and I actually shared the incline with this really hot guy who had teddy bear brown eye- he was dreamy. He was also actually nice guy who gets gym etiquette. He asked if I needed a spot on my turns and told me he needed a lift off on his turn and how many reps he was going for so I knew when to be ready. He also stripped the plates. It's nice to know not everyone at the gym is uncouth.

No pictures this year

I would have to say the remake of The Day The Earth Stood Still was not that bad. It really wasn't a remake, more a re-imagining. It was a good movie for Keanu because he only had 20 lines at most to speak and all of them sounded the same. The lead from Mad Men was in it as well in a bit part though. Gort was way cooler but no one got to say the immemorial phrase Klatuu barada nikto.


Friday night we went to Ragnar's Christmas party. We had a fun time, drank some gluck and hung out with JW and JD.

We had dinner in the city last night with MP. It was nice and relaxing. We got home at a reasonable hour and actually went to bed.

Today we got paint chips for the second bathroom. I thought we were done with all the painting but the husband has decided otherwise. We were going to go see the new Punisher flick but took a nap instead and then ran out to visit my brother his wife and sons. The twins are doing great. One looks just like my brother and is huge- he has a Buddha belly. The other is cute and crawling. Once both of them get mobile my sister-in-law is going to have her hands full.

We stopped at TGT too. Normally we send out photo Christmas cards but just never got around to doing a picture this year so we're sending out regular ones. I also picked up the movie Never Back Down- mainly because of the two hotties in it that seem to be shirtless most of the time.

Klaatu barado nikto

The husband had his company "Holiday" party last night. As he so succinctly put it there would have to be Christians present for it to be a Christmas party. I, my boss, several co-workers and former co-workers met up with an old friend who is in the business for drinks after work at a nice bar in Hells Kitchen right around the corner from the office. This guy is a character in the best sense and I found out he and the boss both attended the same college. I left at 7 and the boss texted me around 8, still drinking with his fellow alum.

When the husband got home we watched the original The Day The Earth Stood Still. The husband had never seen it so I told him it would be a good primer for seeing the remake this weekend with Keanu. The actor who portrayed Klaatu was actually pretty damn handsome.

Heard from JP yesterday,was good to catch up with him even though it was thru email. He is off to the hub of the universe this weekend for work, then back out west and then off to FLA for a half marathon which I commended him for as any run longer than eight miles would not fall into the category of fun and/or enjoyment for me.

Caught an earlier than usual bus this morning as most of the news and emails I was reading made me think getting in a bit early would be prudent. Damn there were a lot of hot guys on the early bus.

B. MadeOff was a ponzi scheme...how am I not all that surprised? I have been in my line of work for almost twenty years. That firm has always perplexed me wondering how they actually made any money. They always tried to get whatever firm I was working for to do business with them but couldn't as something always felt not quite right. Well now I know how they made money: the old fashioned way- stealing it! The owner lived up to his surname and made off with quite a bit of dough.

So munis seem to be the next ground zero in the ongoing financial morass we are in. I really don't understand why the government doesn't just shut down the CDS market as tha unregulated wild west seems to be where most of the trouble started and can't be stopped as it is a complete cluster fuck trying to untangle the counter-parties. Shut it down and then get every ones house in order and then re-open it (if there is still a demand for such a product) under strict regulation and supervision.

I really want a BDK Alligator Lopper for Christmas. I don't need one but I saw an ad for it n t.v and it is really cool.

Change of plans this weekend

So my oldest called and asked if he could stay at his mom's house this weekend. His best friend's parents are having a Christmas party and they figured it was the perfect time to have a sleep over. I told him he had to talk with his mom first because she may have made plans already. So he spoke with her and it actually works out well. Monday is her birthday and her family is coming down Sunday to celebrate. She was going to ask me to have them back by noon Sunday anyways. So they will be with their mom this weekend. I will then pick them up Tuesday evening after work on the 23rd and they will spend Christmas Eve with me.

I can now go to Ragnar's Christmas party Friday evening with the husband. We are also planning on sleeping in late again. He wants to see the remake of The Day The Earth Stood Still with Keanu Reeves and I want to see Punisher War Zone so we'll be doing matinees both days it looks like.

I saw the hot married guy from the old apartment this morning on the bus. He is still a great looking guy. Tonight after work we went to the gym in the building and there was a really hot guy who lives in our building there too. I have chatted with him before in the elevator. He was doing a charity boxing event that is run and sponsored by a trade rag from my business. After the fight I ran into him again and found out he lost a split decision. The husband was staring at him the entire time.

JP is still out west for now but this weekend he is of to the hub of the universe for work for ten says I think then back out west and then back home here in Hoboken in the new year.

Woo-hoo- I weigh less than Oprah...but I'm still not a strong black woman

So we finally saw our hot neighbor again Monday night. He is back from wherever he was and he had a woman with him. We both got all catty saying he could do better than her and she couldn't possibly fulfil his needs the way a man could, lol.

I got a text yesterday morning from RK; he got let go from my old employer. He was pretty senior as he started there a year after me and has been there the entire time surviving 3 mergers. It goes to show that no one on the Street is safe at this point in time and I don't think my side of the Street will be done with cuts until the end of Q1. The husband told me he heard his old employer was announcing more cuts by the end of this week.

I also read that the former CEO of BSC said the Wall Street model is dead now that his firm and LEH are gone and GS and MS turned into banks. I would have to disagree. It reminds me of Reagan's comment concerning the Democratic party and to paraphrase, Wall Street didn't leace them, they left Wall Street. I imagine in the next decade we will see new investment banks created and started to fulfill what BSC, GS, LEH and MS used to do. Along those lines I read where two senior SSG guys left GS. Gee I wonder what they are thinking of doing?

I read yesterday that Oprah weighs 200 pounds. It was all over YHOO. Seriously, that falls into the category about President-Elect Obama and his smoking habit- who gives a shit!!!?? We have much more important things to worry about.

So President-Elect Obama's old seat in the Senate from Illinois was put up for sale on eBay by the governor. Well not really but he might as well have done that after reading some of his tape recorded comments from the indictment. BP, the kid who used to work with me and I'd classify as a staunch Republican, and I were discussing if P-E Obama gets mired in this and I said I doubt it very much, he is too smart for that and after the Rezko incident I have to believe the Harvey Keitel type cleaners went through his closet and straightened it out. If he does we may witness an Electoral College fiasco. Remember, we vote for Electors not candidates. If I recall my American Political Systems course from freshman year correctly the person with the next most electoral votes would become President. That would be none other than Senator McCain.

Last night we had dinner with Ragnar and his bf Umberto. I was psyched because we had Indian for dinner. Indian wreaks havoc with the husband's innards so we don't have it all that often. We then went back to Hoboken and went to the local gays in the village night. We had not been there in about three months so it was good to go and catch up with some friends in town. On the ferry ride home the husband asked me why Jay Leno was all over CNBC. I said I had no idea and don't care as I am not a fan of his.

There was one piece of data out yesterday that turned my head and got me worried. The 1M T-bill auction was done and is yielding 0.005%- that is truly stunning. Basically investors are willing to get paid nothing by the government to lend them money! Why wouldn't you just hold cash under your mattress? Are there no animal spirits left? IT also illustrates the huge dichotomy between the credit markets and equity markets that is still out there. It will have to be rationalized at some point and my guess is equities will come down in line with credit as we all know credit guys are smarter.

A Dean & DeLucca opened up this week in my building. I know the first week of a new restaurant is always a horror show but they are still 0 for 2 as of now. I went in there Monday to get lunch. They were so disorganized and unprepared. I walked out after waiting 19 minutes, went across the street and saw a large number of people who had the same idea. Yesterday I stopped in for my afternoon caffeine fix. I got to the front of the line and asked for a large iced coffee. Sorry no iced coffee (even though it is on the menu) and maybe they'll have iced coffee today...

Finally a relaxing weekend

The Christmas party we went to Saturday night in north Jersey's suburbs was a lot of fun. The hostess looked great and their new home is pretty amazing especially the huge flat screen mounted over the fireplace in their family room. The only thing I didn't really like was how the living room was a dead end room- you know what I mean, only one way in and it didn't flow into any other room. The husband said that is how all the newer homes are but it just doesn't make sense to me.

There were some very interesting guests. One in particular was this Ukrainian woman. We tagged her pretty quickly because she was wearing these amazingly tight pants that were all covered in black spangles and these boots with easily 5 inch heels. The boots also had red soles which the husband said was the signature of Christian La Boutain- no clue if I spelt it right. We were in the garage chatting with her and her husband- who happened to be this uber-WASP wearing Campbell tartan slacks, a whale belt and the Brooks Brothers gold button blazer- as the husband and she were two of the smokers and I was having a dip. We carried the conversation into the kitchen where she stated she had a personal question to ask the husband. She prefaced it with you don't have to answer it if you don't want to. He looked at me like what the hell is she about to ask. Her question was "Where'd you get your sweater?" I started laughing. The hostess was also wearing the red soled shoes.

We slept in late again Sunday morning. It was really nice not to have to get up and run around and do anything. We had a very lazy Sunday morning for once.

Sunday afternoon we showered up and went into the city for a very early dinner with TK. We are planning on going to Utah with him for a snowboarding trip on Christmas Day but the snow reports are not looking so good so we started talking about making back up plans. We then went to the Toys For Tots party at Chelsea Piers. There were tons of hotties but that is too be expected when there 2500 homos who live in New York City all in one place. We had fun and I saw some old friends. I got to meet KennethInThe212 and I was a total geek. I believe my words were I read your blog everyday and I miss Sunday Worship. I also met his boyfriend Michael. He was off to work. I saw JS too and we have been trying to get together for a drink and he introduced me to KennethInThe212. They are best friends.

After the party at we went to Park and met up with DS and his partner JK for dinner with a group. We walked there and it was freakin' cold and the wind was whipping down the avenue. We were only staying for a drink. Met some of the husband's old neighbors and they were a nice couple.

Ok, seriously, don't we as a country have way more to worry about than whether or not President-Elect Obama smokes cigarettes? I also read how the left is becoming pissed off with President-Elect Obama's choices for the Cabinet. Funny how once a party wins power they start to turn on each other. I have no problem with President-Elect Obama picking the best people in his opinion regardless of their political opinions.

I am confused about etiquette

We saw Quantum of Solace last night with DR and PF. The movie was really good but a bit long. The husband fell asleep in the theater. The only disappointing part was Daniel Craig was shirtless only once and you don't get to see him in a Speedo like Casino Royale. I actually like the new Bond much better- there is no cheesy kitsch to it at all; it's a kick ass action/spy picture.

Today we slept in pretty late- 9:30. We then cleaned up the apartment and went to a new place for brunch. It was very nice and is only one block from our apartment. The owners own another restaurant in town the was one block from our old apartment and we frequented that a often.

Tonight we are going to a Christmas party in the northern Jersey suburbs. The hosts are a couple we have known for a few years. The husband I met through my old job and got to be friends outside of work with him. His wife is from upstate too and she is fabulous. We attended their party last year and they came to our reception and house warming.

Tomorrow we are going to the Toys For Tots party for all the homos in the city. It is at Chelsea Piers and I have been to it once before I met the husband. It was a fun time. We are going to grab some dinner before hand with TK.

I guess I need to relearn some etiquette. We hosted the house warming and now we are getting thank you notes from some of our guests. I don't get that at all. I did not know you were bound to write a thank you note to the host of a party. We did receive some gifts and we wrote thank you notes to the people who brought them. I was discussing etiquette earlier this week with Mr. Barrett and thought I knew what I was talking about apparently not.

I really want a slow week

So the other day the ex' mother had her second round of chemotherapy. I sent a text in the afternoon asking how it went. I did not get a response. I didn't know how to take that- good news or bad news. I called her today to ask and apparently she was just really busy and saw my text but did not have a chance to respond. It went well and she thanked me for asking; quite a change for her to thank me for anything. I must admit I do it only because I am concerned what will happen with the boys because their maternal grandmother is a large part of their daily lives.

We had the husband's book club over last night. I acted as the hired help- cooked, served and made sure the wine glasses were full. I tried to write this post last night after I finished cleaning but said to hell with it and am now writing it at my desk before the markets open.

Tonight we have MP coming over for dinner and just to catch up. Tomorrow night we are going to see Quantum of Solace because one can never get enough of Daniel Craig especially when he is shirtless. Saturday night we have a Christmas party to go to in the northern suburbs of Jersey. Sunday we are going to Toys for Boys in the city. It seems like we have been going full speed for the past three months.

The tape seems to be muddling a long and putting in a long base/bottom. Everyone seems to think you can't pick the bottom but as RK told me it is easy- it's the hot shirtless guy dancing with his hands way above his head, lol.

I am getting concerned about the Middle East as the Jerusalem Post has an article saying the IDF is planning on bombing Iran's nuclear facilities with or with our help/coordination. That could make for an interesting Christmas...

Saw the cute guy from the third floor at the bus stop this morning. Not sure what his story is.

I have been wondering that is we are in a second depression and all the articles saying the New Deal really did nothing but prolong it and maybe it was WWII that actually caused the end of it are we setting up for another large-scale, global type conflict?

My oldest is maybe maturing as when I talk to him at night now and I ask how his day at school was he tells me and then actually asks how my day at work was. I was stunned the first time and told him it really makes me happy that he is showing interest.

We may have to start watching Legend of The Seeker

When we were up at mom and dad's we were surfing the channels and came across a show with a hot shirtless muscly guy using a sword being instructed by a wizard. The guy was stunning. I saw the title of the show was The Legend of The Seeker. So I googled it today. I never read any of the books it is based on by Terry Goodkind. Craig Horner- of course he is an Aussie- is the star.

Speaking of surfing through the channels there are certain movies I will always watch if they are on: ANY Matrix movie, ANY Star Wars movie, ANY Indiana Jones movie, ANY LOTR movie, Caddyshack, ANY Scream, Gorillas In The Mist (college memories) and White Chicks are a few. The bathroom scene in White Chicks has often made me consider letting out a big sigh as I am standing at the urinal at work and seeing what the reaction is- that is until yesterday when I was in there and someone was in the stall grunting and huffing and puffing while pinching out a loaf. I thought the guy was gonna die in there. I was washing my hands when he came out- out of shape, older IT guy; go figure...

This morning at the bus stop there was a cute pocket sized guy. I have seen him at the gym before but he looked good all cleaned up and ready for work. Had a WSJ with him so he probably works in my line of business.

We have not seen our hot neighbor in quite some time but there is another hot married neighbor to ogle occasionally in the elevator.

Everyone keeps talking about how Treasuries are the next bubble. I have been thinking for a while though that maybe what is really going on is that equities as an investment class have been the bubble for the past 25 years. Historically bonds dominated all thoughts of the investment business from the dawn of time. They are just much more bottom-line: When am I getting paid back and what will the vig be? That is all they care about. When it comes down to it equities are really just glorified call options; you as the owner may have a claim on some possible future cash flow after the debts are paid. Somewhat sobering and depressing though for an equity trader but what can ya do?

Almost time to get back into the shallow end of the pool

Don't have a lot to write about tonight so I'll try to keep it short and sweet.

I was chatting with DS on IM today about the holiday weekend and the ride home. He came up with the line I should use from now on about the boys when people ask me about them. From now on I will be saying "I have children from a previous orientation."

I noticed the NBER officially announced that we entered into a recession in December of 2007. That makes me think we are getting close the finale of this debacle we have been going through in the financial markets. The boss agrees with me but thinks there will be a lot more reoragnizational filings, aka bankruptcies.

I think our President-Elect naming HRC as his Secretary of State is a brilliant move but also think-the cynic in m showing- that he did it to prevent her from challenging him in 2012.

Home sweet home

Friday's drive up north was uneventful except for my oldest complaining he was bored and had nothing to do during the ride. I told him to take a nap or listen to his iPod or some combination thereof. We drove gaily forward (as opposed to straight since that really isn't my case) to mom and dad's house. My older brother had just gotten in from the airport, my younger brother, his wife and three kids were there already. We hung out for a while and I had to run to TGT to get khakis for my oldest as he did not have any that fit. I got back and called the hotel to see what time I could check-in because mom and dad did not have room for the four of us as well. Check-in was 3 PM. I went over there around 3, checked-in and then drove to the airport to pick up the husband. We went back to the hotel, showered up and got dressed then drove to the restaurant for the dinner for dad's birthday. Dinner was nice and my younger brother and sister-in-law got stuck at the kids table. After dinner we went back to the hotel and changed our clothes. Then back to mom and dad's for cake with friends and family.

Saturday morning we did family photos. It was fun. Then the husband and I went and grabbed breakfast while the boys decided Dunkin Donuts with their uncle, aunt and cousins would be more to their liking. My older bro flew back to FLA around noon. My younger bro and sister-in-law left around 2 PM after the grandchildren and grandma made snowmen. That left us and mom and dad. The husband and I went to the mall to T-Mobile to get a new SIM card for the husband's crackberry. Then the adults played cards for a bit while the boys played with all the old Fisher Price toys in the basement.

I uploaded and re-arranged all of mom's digital pictures on her PC. That was fun as she still had 300 pics on her camera. I then emailed a few from the party to my youngest brother who could not make it up do to a sick child.

We took mom and dad out to dinner at the local restaurant. It was ok and then they went home. The husband and I then took the boys to Barnes & Noble so they could each have a book to read on the way home. My oldest picked one form the teen section called Fallen Angles. My youngest picked a fantasy series by Garth Nix. We then all crossed the street to the theater to watch Madagascar 2. By then it was pretty late and it was bed time for all of us.

This morning I wanted to get on the road somewhat early to avoid the big coastal storm coming in. We had breakfast with mom and dad. Then I and the boys got on the road. The husband was flying back later so he and mom and dad went home.

During the ride I got some interesting questions from my oldest as he read the book he got. "Dad, what is a slant?" A derogatory term for an Asian. "Dad, what is a gook?" Another derogatory term for an Asian. "Dad what is a genital?" Your balls. "Dad what is crabs?" Use it in the sentence please. Oh, it's a venereal disease. "Like herpes?" Yes as we quickly accelerated due to my foot hitting the gas.

I dropped them off at their grandmother's house because their mom's flight was delayed due to the coastal storm. The weather sucked and I got home and took a nap as the husband did not beat me home due to said coastal storm delaying his flight as well.

This week will be interesting and hopefully non-eventful after Black Friday. We'll see.

They are all such cheaters

Last night we got out to the in-laws house around 9 PM. The boys had fallen asleep on the Southern and woke up a bit groggy. The traffic really wasn't that bad. The husband left Hoboken later than I did and beat me there. Once I hooked up the Wii the boys were wide awake. My oldest and his aunt played it for quite some time. My youngest played some anime style game on my laptop. I helped the husband and his mom prep the turkey for today- think lots of fennel, lemons, butter and sage. Thankfully we had some wine while doing it.

Today actually was a very nice and relaxing Thanksgiving. The husband swore he was not doing any cooking and yet once he got up and his mother had the turkey in the oven he decided the menu she was planning was too plain. So we ran to the grocery store and picked up a few things. We changed the mashed potatoes by adding roasted garlic and Dijon mustard. The stuffing got bacon, mushrooms, shallots, onions, sage and fennel fronds. The rest of the fennel went onto the grill on the back porch. My sister in law was a bit late but once we sat down to dinner it was great. My youngest is a total pain in the ass when it comes to eating so he had chocolate chip waffles. The boys know they have to ask to be excused from the table after dinner so when my youngest asked his step grandmother if he could be excused she said he had to eat a piece of turkey. So he ate one tiny piece and that was that.

Pumpkin pie and lemon meringue pie for dessert with vanilla ice cream and Cool Whip. Then the husband and I took a nap and the boys played Wii with their aunt and step grandparents. MarioKart was fun.

Before we left we did the infamous Secret Santa routine. The husband caught everyone else showing names. They were all cheating already! Then the husband turns to me and asks "Did you get me?" I told him he'll never know.

We drove back to Hoboken. Tomorrow morning the boys and I will drive up north to my parents for Dad's 70th. The husband is working a half day and then flying up in the afternoon.

Tuesday night I redesigned the blog a bit and Mr. Barrett noticed right away. He is off to Ireland but Wednesday we were chatting on IM much as we do every day and commented on how he likes the new look. Probably won't be posting again until Sunday night, enjoy the weekend.

Get your turkey stuffed

So we watched the season finale of Tru Blood Sunday. I never read the books but I have to say the actor who portrays Jason Stackhouse is fucking smoking hot. Yesterday I was supposed to have drinks with a friend from college who found me on facebook. She works 2 blocks away from me in Hell's Pantry. I emailed her to conform and good thing I did since she had it on the calendar for tonight. I re-confirmed today and she had to cancel as her budget meeting got to 5 PM. I ended up grabbing a drink or two with the boss, 2 co-workers and our salesman from BOFA. We had drinks in the P.A. at Metro Marche.

Speaking of which I am a bit annoyed about the fact that it is not even yet Thanksgiving and the P.A. is playing Xmas music. The grocery store I went to with the husband after I got home is as well AND our friend PF put his mom's tree up today! Seriously, I guess I am too old fashioned in believing that the Christmas stuff should wait until AFTER Thanksgiving passes.

Since I am on the topic of Christmas, our company "Holiday" party has been held off-site since I have been working here- usually some swanky, hip place. Well you know we are in a recession now since yesterday we were told it is now being held on-site.

I read on the web how male lizards do push-ups to get attention. Well duh! You should see the lizards out on FI.

There are so many acronyms in the market now that one loses track of them. The only one you need to know is QE. That stands for quantitative easing. What the government did today is it folks. They are now directly buying securities in markets that have frozen. They should have just gone right to it once LEH failed. One could even argue that the Treasury taking stakes in the major banks was a stealth form of it but that is neither here nor there.

So QE plus the fact that the yield curve is no longer inverted and is actually normalizing and even steepening AND that the metal with the PhD in economics (that'd be copper) had a ~20%+ day yesterday tells me that possibly we will be bottoming in Q1 and out of the recession by end of Q2. We need to remember that the market is generally the best and most efficient discounting mechanism around.

Tomorrow after work I am picking up the boys and driving out to the in-laws. The husband is coming home and picking up the kids and driving out. My sister-in-law asked me to bring the Wii out with us. The boys are psyched about that because they won't get completely bored. We are all sleeping over there, celebrating Thanksgiving there and coming back to Hoboken Thursday night. Friday morning we are off to my parents in central NY for my dad's 70th birthday party for the weekend.

He KO'd me three times in a row

Friday the parent/teacher conferences went well and as expected- no surprises which as a dad you are always thankful for. The boys only had a half day so I picked them up form their mom's house and we went back to Hoboken. Their mom told me they needed new sneakers. They also needed button down collared shirts for the housewarming cocktail party Saturday evening. We stopped at TGT which is great for that stuff. The shirts were easy to get- on blue and one white oxford cloth shirt. The sneakers however were not as my oldest is in 6th grade and becoming conscious of this stuff. TGT did have Nikes. So off to Modells next door. The oldest found a sweet pair of Nikes that were on sale. The youngest picked out a kicking pair of D&C black faux suede laces ups. They were also on sale.

Friday also happened to be my birthday. So the husband got home and had the boys help wrap the gift he got for me. We then went out to dinner at this awesome German restaurant in town. We got back and I got to open my gift. The husband got me a Wii!!! They boys had been begging for one for as long as it has been available. I had been adamant about we didn't need one since they had one at their mom's house and a PS2. Secretly I was more concerned that I would end up playing it waaaay too much. He said "You have insisted you had to have one since the system came out." I think someone was projecting- actually I know someone was since I also got MarioKart- with two steering wheels.

Friday my parents called to say due to the snow they had gotten and the forecast for more they were not coming down for the party. I told them at their age I thought it was a smart thing they didn't drive in severe weather. Saturday morning at 9 my cell rang- it was mom saying it had stopped snowing so they were on their way. I guess I hit a nerve.

Saturday was a busy day. We spent the day cleaning up getting ready for the party. My parents arrived around 1:30 and I asked them if they would take the boys out to lunch so the husband and I could finish up our last minute shopping.

The party was a success I think. IT was actually good in that the boys did a great job. My oldest decided he'd rather handle the coat check duties than take pictures. So I was working the door and greeting guests and he would come out and ask if he could take coats. MY youngest would then come over and snap a picture of the guests. It was great.

Our home was packed. I almost told everyone to spread out and move towards the windows as they all congregated near the kitchen. I ended up giving a bunch of art tours. Thank God I know who all the artists on the wall are but I have no clue how to expound on influences and what not. The last guest were gone by 9:30, the boys played Wii and a couple who are friends showed up late due to a family event. They are the ones who's wedding we went to a few months back. We had a few drinks and caught up. When they left it was near midnight. I put the boys to bed and we cleaned up a bit and then went to bed.

This morning we finished cleaning and then played Wii. I suck at tanks, did ok with laser hockey, bowling and golf. Boxing however my youngest kicked my ass- he knocked me out three times in a row. MarioKArt was fun.

Thanksgiving means I will be travelling a lot this week. We are going up to my parents the Friday after Thanksgiving for my dad's 70th birthday party.

It's Friday for me...

So I saw the hottie in the BBERG fleece again this morning on the bus. That was a good start to the day. It is also Friday for me since I am off tomorrow because I have two parent/teacher conferences. So I had that going for me as well. All I needed was total consciousness on my deathbed and I would have a hat trick.

To bad the tape was going to ruin my shot at the hat trick. In case you missed it it is no longer "real quiet" on the technical front since we went right through the 770-775 level. What scares me most is that on a technical basis we have a sliver of what some might call support at 650 but there is a vacuum to roughly 400. This is really the first time I am concerned about the future of my career. No one is safe in my industry in this environment.

If that happens I will be forming a criminal organization with my bond manager friend. The problem is we need to come up with name that inspires both fear and awe. His suggestion with the qualifier that it has been used is SPECTRE. I am thinking if we pluralize it we might be okay in regards to not violating any trademarks or copyrights.

I see Rep. Waxman has successfully made his power play for the chairmanship of the House Energy and Commerce Committee. Is it just me or does that guy look really porcine? Have you seen the guy on t.v. at all?

So Shitigroup is finally admitting defeat it appears and saying they might have to split the company up.

There is this really cute blond, meathead looking guy in our office sporadically. He works for corporate and I always seem to lock eyes with him as I go to the bathroom.

I have to make a new playlist on my iPod for the cocktail party. That should be easy though since it is full and I'll just mix and match.

I have no idea what your wife/girlfriend should wear to a cocktail party

Funny how all our straight married friends or the ones with girlfriends seem to think because two gay guys are hosting a cocktail party they should also know what their significant others should wear. Hello? I definitely do not have the fashion gene and the husband has it but for men.

I am starting to worry about China now. The whole Mandate of Heaven thingy has a lot of historical heft behind it in China. I read there are riots occurring in some cities. That and the flood and the earthquakes make me wonder if and when the central government is going to crack down on the civilians. I also wonder if it is too late for them to put the genie back in the bottle. If they determine it is then if there is a crack down it could make Tianamen Square look like a picnic. It would also have severe consequences for the global economy.

I see Iran says they will have a nuclear power plant operational by 2009. That should help reassure the global community that they really are pursuing it just for peaceful use.

Apparently al Qeda wanted McCain to win the election. The second in command has called our President-Elect a house negro. Apparently nothing we do short of all converting to Islam, helping destroy Israel and then implementing Shiria globally will make them happy. Ha- yeah, good luck with that list.

The tape was not pretty in the last hour. The CMBX is now the index de jour and the perpetrator. Corporate bond spreads are blowing out. You'd think the dollar would be getting smoked as well but since the rest of the world thinks we are ahead of them is is the least offensive smelling piece of shit so it is holding in.

We are done with all of our touch up painting. All we left is some tidying up to do between now and Saturday and we are a go.

The husband and I went to the gym tonight and there were a lot of serious hotties there, some new ones and some of the usuals.

I can't abide Billy Mays

I swam this morning. The dark haired hottie I have seen a few times was there again. Mr. Barrett would have swooned- not over the swimming hottie but over the scruffy hot married guy who was there as I was leaving- he was very cute and had the full beard. I chuckled to myself because Mr. Barrett came to mind when I saw his beard.

I caught the boss checking out the you, nubile operations girl. It was really funny. He sits across from me. I looked up and saw saw him kind of staring at someone coming down the stairs that are behind me. I turned around and saw her. I looked back at him and said, I see what you are looking at. He blushed a bit.

I am not a fan of reality t.v. in any form. However I saw an article today about one that is all about flipping houses. The star of it- one Jeff Lewis- is actually pretty hot, lol. I am sure he flips a lot...

The NAHB hit an all time low today. I still don't agree that forcing banks to take losses only to keep people in houses they couldn't afford to begin with and still can't afford.

The debate of whether or not to bailout the automakers is a raging one now. There was a great editorial in the WSJ yesterday saying they should file for reorganization. I agree. If you look at the whole process the Big 3 all have the same costs as most other automakers. The rub is all the others do not have these liabilities to their retirees. That is what is causing them all the pain. If the Big 3 could just get out from under the weight of those and reorganize them they most likely could produce cars and make money.

Again what keeps echoing through my mind is the technicians saying it is real quiet until 770 on the SPX.

I was supposed to have drinks after work today with a guy I went to college with who is a fixed income trader. He had to cancel because he had a coaching meeting for his kid's basketball team. I told him no problem but going into the holiday season I said it will have to be after the new year for the beers.

I really can't stand Billy Mays- the OxyClean guy. He is now shilling insurance on the business channels.

We finished painting tonight. Tomorrow night it is all touch up work and then Thursday we have plans. The husband is starting to get stressed about the party. He will be a nervous nellie until 9 PM Saturday when the party is over.

Ugh- I thought we were done painting

The tape continued it's volatile, low volume action today which I would have to guess is going to be the norm for the rest of the year. There are some good things I can see though. First is most hedge funds that have survived this far have made it past last call for any redemptions for the year. I am not saying all are going to be around come JAN1 but they probably won't have to be selling much more. The second and more telling thing I saw was the Philly Fed Board of Forecasters have said we entered a recession in April and it will be a fourteen month recession- the longest since the one in the late '70s-early '80s. If they are right then that means we should be exiting said recession by the end of Q2 '09. Assuming this is a normal type recession that means the tape will start discounting that come January. If we are not in what most who are in the markets now think of as normal then I have no idea when this ends.

I read President Bush said he will not be going back to Congress to ask for the roughly $350 billion still not used in the bailout. I would have to say that is a prudent political move. He is out of there so why ask for something you can't use to your advantage and if it blows up your successor will bear the brunt of it.

There has been a good amount of bitching that President-Elect Obama is surrounding himself with and choosing a lot of old hands for top posts in his incoming Administration. Well that was quick. As I said, I did not vote for the guy but shit, at least give him a chance. He could actually live up to the idea of change for the better. I also noticed he has met with his former Presidential opponent Senator McCain. The real mindbender would be if he tapped him for his Administration. The left would howl and scream bloody murder but it would actually show he really is post-partisan and maybe does want to do things differently. I also see HRC is a top contender for Secretary of State. The cynic in me says he is doing that not to appease her supporters but to prevent her from making another run at the nomination in 4 years. If I were an idealist I'd have say it is similar to trying to be a different type of politician and President.

JP's grandfather passed away last week. He was working out of town and his current employers were kind enough to let him out of the last week of his obligation/contract. I exchanged emails with him because we had not heard form him in a while when he told me what had happened. He knew his grandfather was not doing well and said he had been prepared for it but I know that even when you see it coming, losing someone so important and a large part of your life still hits really hard.

I caught a later bus this morning than usual and there were several cuties on there. I took the seat in the back and just checked them all out while reading emails and listening to Katy Perry. I have her on my iPod because my oldest asked for it to be put on his- well really just her two hit "I Kissed A Girl" and "Hot And Cold." IT is complete bubblegum but fun for the morning bus ride.

The husband decided we had to do some painting in the boys room. I was hoping it could wait until after this weekend but nooooo. So we hit the gym in our building and then put the first coat up. We'll finish it tomorrow evening and then do some touch up painting in the apartment before the big party this weekend.

I have Friday off because I have two parent/teacher conferences down in central Jersey. It will make for an earlier than normal Friday evening when we have the boys as they have no school that day so once I am done with the conferences I can bring them home.

Oh- Indian not Indian....

Thursday we had a meeting at work with an analyst from a sell-side firm. I had a question and got to use some excellent alliteration- conundrum causing concern to be exact. Afterwards the husband and I had dinner at our local favorite place and finalized the bar tender we are having for our housewarming cocktail party this Saturday.

Friday the tape was dead. One of the portfolio managers, I and the kid who sits next to me took the boss out for a belated birthday lunch. We went to a great burger place by the name of 5 Napkin Burger. The boss ordered a beer so I followed suit. The one I saw that immediately had to order was Hoptimus Prime. It was pretty damn good and the classic burger I had was great- would definitely recommend the place for lunch- oh and they have more than just burgers.

Friday the husband and I had a date- movie and dinner. We went and saw Max Payne and I have to say the movie totally sucked. The plot was thread bare, the main actress was terrible as at her job and Mark Wahlberg did not even get shirtless!!! However the villain Lupino was very hot and was shirtless a lot.

Afterwards we went down to Chelsea and had dinner at a great little Italian place we had not been too since our second date. We then had coffee and banana-chocolate crepes for dessert at a French cafe and then met up with Ragnar and his boyfriend at Barracuda. I forgot about the smoking hot bartender there- dark haired and dark eyed- totally dreamy and in a red tank top. There were a lot of cute guys there too.

Saturday morning we drove down to central Jersey, picked up a rental moving truck and pocked up the last piece of art we are putting on the walls in the apartment. We also got to see our friend ST's pack of puppies. We got back showered up put our tuxedos and got into the car and drove into the city for our friend's wedding. It was an interfaith marriage- the bride is a Sikh and the groom is a Hindu. The ceremony was very nice but nearly as long as a full Catholic ceremony with Communion. We had never been to an Indian wedding before and we both had a blast! The reception was basically all dancing broken up by the meal. I even got pictures of the husband dancing with the bride and doing the Indian version of line dancing. It was a blast. We got home relatively early too and went to bed.

Today we hung the art we picked up yesterday and then went and got the booze for the party, all of the horsederves, cups and napkins. We also picked up the recent Star Wars Clone Wars dvd. The boys saw it over the summer but said they would watch it again and we want to watch it too.

This week will be interesting at work as now both Japan and Germany are officially in recessions. The sense of the markets is we are 3-5 mos. ahead of the rest of the world which by that logic means we have been in one for awhile now. We'll see.

The KLI sounds kind of interesting

Today was a dead day in the markets. It felt like a summer day in terms of activity. The only reason I knew it wasn't was because I could see my breath this morning and it got dark very soon after the close.

It was so slow that at one point a position trader sent out a BBERG asking if Dire Straits should be considered a top 50 rock and roll band of all time. It was an informal, unscientific survey. I replied duh, Sultans of Swing? Hello McFly? Apparently one of the other traders on the desk said no way. I said he was not a good sample as he is a Dead Head and that automatically disqualifies him in a clean and sober state. We (myself and and the MSCO trader) proceeded to have quite a pithy exchange in which I am sure I offended him by insulting Dead Heads everywhere by commenting I did not miss Gerry in the least. He proceeded to use the word fierce at which point I said totally Sasha like. That led to a discussion of music and the fact that I had just happened to read that Aretha Franklin was named the #1 rock and roll singer with Elvis coming in at #3. I think Aretha is great and one of the best but not one of the best rock and roll singers. He agreed and that led to me lamenting that John Lenon beat out Mick Jagger in the rankings. I can't stand the Beatles mainly because every baby-boomer raves about them and how they were he second coming. I personally think the Beatles sucked, they were the Back Street Boys of the '60s and the only good Beatle is a dead Beatle and we are halfway there to them all being good. he was stunned and I said if you tell a baby boomer that they get red in the face and near sputtering in anger. The follow up to that just when they are about to start about how every act after them owes them you quickly say "And did you know the moon landing was faked?"

I was a bit freaked out by what GE did today. In case you missed it their GE Capital division can now access FDIC insurance backing. This is a complete end run. The official reason is that GE Capital owns two banks already. Why would they need it? It is a bit scarier than AXP becoming a bank holding company. AND- where the hell is the FDIC going to get the $139 billion they said GE could access? I am starting to get a bit concerned that the r-word is not enough to describe what could be coming down the pipe.

I love wikipedia. I stumbled upon the KLI, also known as the Klingon Language Institute. It got me discussing Klingon with Mr. Barrett. He commented that I would probably like studying Klingon and he actually said a few words but deftly evaded answering if he was fluent in it. That lead to him revealing to me that Glen Larson- the creator of a bunch of hit shows such as Magnum, P.I. and the original BSG. The thing with BSG was it had tons of Mormon theology worked into it because Mr. Larson was a Mormon.

There was a really cute guy on the bus home today and he got off on the same stop as me but went the opposite direction.

I hit the gym this evening. There was the really hot dark haired guy with seriously sculpted face- and his body aint bad either. He is now called Waiter because we saw him working as one at a restaurant near our old apartment. He was on the elliptical in front of me and holy shit he has got a really hot ass. I had a very nice view.

Sidney Rigdon

"We will never be the aggressors, we will infringe on the rights of no people, but shall stand for our own until death."

The above statement is a pretty powerful statement. It is from a speech Sidney Rigdon made in the months leading up to Missouri Executive Order 44 being signed and that executive order was not rescinded until 1976. If you go to wikipedia you will see that Sidney Rigdon spoke those words in 1838. Missouri Executive Order 44 is also known as the Extermination Order. It dealt with Mormons in the state of Missouri. Apparently it gave the Mormons fellow citizens the ability to kill them if they were found in Missouri because they were viewed as a threat to the public order and society in general. If you do a little more digging you will find that Sidney Rigdon was part of a schism in the Mormon church- apparently he was too liberal even back in 1838.

Funny how quickly the oppressed can turn the tables and become the oppressor. I am not equating the passing of Prop 8 with Missouri Executive Order 44. I am just trying to make the point that denying a minority all the full civil rights accorded to American citizens has a long history in this country. Hell, slavery was still legal when the order was signed and African American slaves were only viewed as three-fifths of a human. My point is that at some point the country realized the deny any citizen the right to pursue life, liberty and happiness was inherently wrong and rectified. I doubt there will be actual armed conflict or that it will take close to 140 years but it will occur. It will not be easier but hopefully those who were denied their inherent civil rights as Americans prior to this will realize that by deny us our rights and hence our humanity that they are betraying the people who fought for theirs in the past.

It's Veterans Day. Regardless of what your position is on the current wars, you should thank anyone who has fought for this country or currently is fighting. It's their blood that allows all of us to actually debate the finer points of who counts as a legally recognized couple with all the rights, privileges and responsibilities.

Speaking of Veterans Day you'd think the NYSE would be closed for the day. Seriously- the bond market and banks are closed, why not equities?

Ok AXP had access to the CPPF already but apparently that was not enough money. Late last night the company announced it was becoming a bank holding company. That means they can now tap the Fed for all sorts of cash. One has to wonder how bad things are that AXP decided they were better off becoming a bank.

The auto makers. I say let them file and reorganize, shed their massive liabilities that make them slow and unprofitable. If they become nationalized who's to say the government won't tell them what kinds of cars to make and how many? Didn't the Soviets try that? I can't recall if that was successful or not...

I often wonder what I would do if I lost my job on the Street. Well I figured it out today after catching an ad on tv about a professor who will sell you a dvd on how to buy and sell things on eBay. I am sorry but I thought that was all pretty self-explanatory. Apparently it is not. so my idea will be selling booklets on how to do your own garage sale. I am so confident it will work that I know the next time you can't figure out how to switch a light bulb that I will be able to sell you a booklet telling you how...

Had drinks after work with an old co-worker, RK. He is doing well sort of but getting ready to make some big steps at the work place. I told him what I would do but also qualified the statement that I am a natural risk taker whereas he is risk averse. I hope it all works out for the best for him. I also put the hard sell on him about coming to our house warming party next Saturday. We met at a bar I had never been too but it was actually pretty nice.

It was the boss's birthday today so I made sure a lot of people knew- because I knew it would embarrass the shit out of him. It did especially when a mutual friend of ours arrived at the office late in the day with a birthday cake and sang Happy Birthday to him. He texted me later this evening saying thanks for embarrassing him. My reply was that he needed to remember he was part of a team not just the team captain. He told me payback is a bitch. I said I imagine it is but I have to take my birthday off as I have to go to two parent-teacher conferences that day- HA!

No title

Thursday evening we had friends over for dinner- PF and DR. The husband made dinner and we ended up going through a few bottles of wine. Before dinner though I grabbed a quick drink with my friend from the fly over state- mine was alcoholic his was not as he is now with the program. Sadly he is also going through a divorce and having been there and done that I know how much is sucks.

The boys were with us this weekend. My oldest plays tennis down in central Jersey every Saturday morning. So this Saturday morning we got ready to go. I pulled up to the cross walk at the exit to the parking lot at the building. Looked right, nothing, looked left and there was a car down the way so slowly started to pull out when two runners ran in front of my truck. I hit the brakes and stopped immediately and came to a full stop with out hitting either runner. They both jumped and one fell- well more tumbled as she was rather large and should be running- and sprained her ankle. She started crying and couldn't get up. I was immediately out of the truck and calling 911. (As an aside 911 sucks.) Three fire squads, two ambulances and two cop cars later I told my oldest no tennis. He was psyched because he said before we left the apartment. My oldest also used some choice swear words which I scolded him for afterwards.

The car that was down the way saw the entire thing and I believe corroborated my recollection of events. The husband was also walking on the sidewalk to my left and saw the whole thing but the police officer did not take his statement once I told him he was my partner.

I called the insurance company after I parked the truck. Told them everything. The weather sucked so the rest of the day we vegged out. The husband did a bunch of stuff. When he got back he asked if the boys had gone outside. I looked at him and asked when he started smoking crack since it had been raining all day. I did run into the hot neighbor when I went out to pick up lunch. He actually introduced himself. I said to him you must work on the Street since you seem to keep the same hours as us. He said he did and he works at a rather large hedge fund. He is a fixed income trader which means he has had more interesting times than us equity guys have.

Saturday evening JW and JD came over ostensibly for pizza and wings- which always makes me laugh since that was the line the brothers in my fraternity used all through hell night and it was a total mind fuck as a pledge to think pizza and wings were on the way and then half way through the ordeal and realize no pizza and wings were showing up but I digress. We and our guests had sushi instead.

Sunday the husband took a bunch of stuff out to his parents house to store in their basement. My oldest and I went to the gym in the building and did cardio for 25 minutes. There was a really cute guy on the tread mill who lives on the third floor who watched the runner-truck incident the day before from his window and the husband pointed him out to me as I was being interviewed by the police officer, lol.

I then had the boys shower up. My youngest decided to run a little experiment in the shower apparently that almost ended badly. He covered up the drain to see how much water would fill up the shower. When I checked in on him I saw water covering about two thirds of the bathroom floor. Thankfully it did not go further. I tried to scold him but after he explained it all I could only laugh.

I dropped them off at their mom's house and told her we missed tennis and why. She was non-plussed. Looked at her bf Bob the Builder and said gee, at least he didn't hit anyone. My youngest whispered into my ear as he hugged me good bye "Dad I thought you hit her?" I said no.

The tape was sort of quiet today. The intraday swing was only about 350 bps. I was a bit shocked by the fact that AIG came back and said we really need $150 billion not the $85 billion we originally thought. Oops.

GM and F both seem to be headed for zero on their equity prices. Think I have heard that somewhere before.

I maybe overreacting but I have to complain about the lack of etiquette a lot of our friends seem to have. We are having a cocktail/housewarming party a week from this Saturday. We sent out invitations with my email to RSVP to. No one- not even my parents or brother- seem to think that is how we expect you to RSVP. They all think telling us on the phone or IM are acceptable.

Speaking of the party we also have the boys that weekend so I told them they are going to be our photographers for the party. It is really just a way to get them involved in the whole vent so they won't sit there and watch t.v.

Also I ran into the hot neighbor tonight and told him we are having a party and we are inviting everyone on the floor. I believe he will be coming. The husband said did you happen to say you can bring your girlfriend as a way to find out if he has one, lol. I did not.

No I am not upset

I am an independent (note the lower case i not a capital I) and I voted for who I thought was the best choice yesterday. Most of my friends knew who that was because they asked me. A lot of them also asked me this morning if I was upset because who I thought was the better choice did not win. My response is plain an simple- no. How can I be upset that the democratic process actually worked the way it is supposed to and has for over 210 years now? I understand not everyone agrees on issues but that is the whole point of this country- you can disagree and not get killed for it- for the most part. The people have spoken, so be it. I can live and will live with it. I support our President-Elect because that is what the majority wants. My deepest fear now is some right wing whack job(s) go and override what the people have chosen. We are supposed to be a land that abides by the rule of law. For someone to take it upon them self or selves to decide otherwise would make us nothing more than the hypocrites those who don't like us or fear what we represent believe us to be.

Speaking of our new President-Elect, I hope he is the pragmatic megalomaniac I think he is because most megalomaniacs want to be remembered as great and that means they have to govern from the center. My guess is circumstances will force him to the center regardless of what he said to get elected. It happened to our current President; he basically got elected as a near isolationist, disengagement, non-nation building, "we are not the cop for the world" platform and was forced to do a 360 because he had no choice.

I am truly disheartened by Prop 8 getting passed and even more bummed by a quote I read in the WSJ this morning. The quote is: "...voters like Christopher Miracle of Oakland, a 19-year student at nearby California State University Hayward. Mr. Miracle voted for Barack Obama, but voted to support Prop 8. "Look at the bible." he said. "It's not a man and a man."" Hello Mr. Miracle? The same Bible tells you what price you can and should pay for slaves, the prostitutes would be stoned to death (not the 420 kind), that if you wear clothing of mixed fibers you should be killed and that women with "familiar spirits" (aka witches) should be killed and if you have sex with one of your slaves they need to be "scourged." I guess civil rights are only for straight people- non-straights need not apply? Seriously, you'd think African-Americans would understand the plight of the GLBT community yet exit polls show they voted by a 2-1 margin for Prop 8. Support Obama for President and then it's see ya, wouldn't want to be ya? Gays have no friends on either side of the aisle. At least the GOP is honest about not liking us.

I am definitely not the norm for a gay man but this is the first time I have really felt betrayed and disenfranchised from my fellow Americans. What change did everyone vote for? As I said to a good friend this morning who was asking if I was upset- so now that there is a new Administration, does this mean "Don't Ask, Don't Tell"s gone? He said no. Ok so when is the change coming?

I was emailing with JW and he said the next time there is a battle for a similar Prop 8 issue he was going to volunteer to do work. I think he has the right idea.

It also got me thinking about our Christmas vacation. We are going to Utah with TK to go boarding. As I told Mr. Barret this morning, it's funny, I never thought this way before but I told the husband I think we need to bring either our certificate of civil union or a copy of it with us in case one of us gets hurt and ends up in the hospital. He of course said if that happened he would go ballistic and demand he get to see me. I asked why do you assume it would be me in the hospital? LOL.

One of my co-worker in the SF office is pretty liberal. I said I can't believe separate but equal still exists in this country.

We had the husband's co-workers over for dinner. It was fun. We went thru a couple bottles of wine- not the magic wine that give you +1 to your hp but good wine nonetheless.

The boss was in meetings all day today. At 5 PM he asked me ok why did the tape get crushed today? I replied tell me why it was up huge yesterday. He laughed and said good point. Volume sucked both days so I am not that worried about the tape's action. What I am worried about is November 15th because that is the supposed deadline for all the hfs to have their cash in hand for any redemptions they have for year end.

Having DR and PF over for dinner tomorrow night. The husband is cooking since I made dinner tonight.

Hope there are some hotties on the bus tomorrow morning.

I am glad the election is over

So the ex's mother has cancer and started her chemotherapy today. I have been concerned for several reasons. My main concern is if it ends badly, my sons will be devastated. She lives one block away from them and is a major part of their lives. I am also concerned about the ex herself.

Things between us did not go well for about a year and she actually took me to court saying my "gay lifestyle" was causing irreparable harm and damage to them. Thankfully New Jersey is very forward looking and she got spanked by the judge- figuratively speaking. Ever since she went through with that the only thing I have felt for her is the general compassion I would feel for any other human being. I understand she was still very angry and hurt from the whole coming out and divorce ordeal but to take me to court and say I was causing irreparable harm and damage to my sons was not the right thing to do to get back at me. But I am human and I still do have feelings for the mother of my children and would not wish this upon her.


My mom found out because my brother can't keep his pie hole shut. She asked if she could and should call to express to talk with the ex' mother. The ex said no, her mom doesn't want to be treated differently, felt sorry for or pitied because she has cancer. I can understand that and I think I would probably be the same way if I had cancer. I asked the ex if I could call and wish her mom luck with everything and surprisingly she said yes. I had always had a good relationship with her but there is a lot of acrimony from her family to me.

My brother who told my mom is also a doctor and when I told him he said find out what stage the ovarian cancer is in. I found out this morning that it is stage 3. I emailed my bro the info, that the ex mother in law will be taking three drugs for a cycle then hopefully the tumor has been shrunk enough that it can be surgically removed and then another round of chemo. He has not come back with any info. He told me to find out which drugs she would be given which I do not know yet.



This morning on the bus there was a hottie in a hoodie asleep on the bus. Mr. Barrett would have been all over him because he was bearded and it was ginger.

I was IMing with PF today about the election. My call is whoever wins tonight I bet will end up being a one term President. I just really think the new President will be completely sunk by the economy. I still think both candidates are bad options to choose from but I did vote after work.

This week is busy. We fixed the lighting fixture in the living room last night. Tonight the husband is at a biz dinner. Tomorrow we have friends who also happen to work with the husband over for dinner. Thursday we are actually having DR and PF over for dinner- DR used to work with the husband and he and PF spent a weekend out at the beach with us this summer. the we have the boys this weekend.

I am not watching the election returns tonight since I am pretty sure who is going to be the winner. Right now it's time for Family Guy reruns and then Heroes from last night on the dvr.

RIF- that way you learn about FTEs

I swam this morning for the first time in quite some time. I only swam for 20 minutes but it's a start to back into the stroke of things. The early bus had one hottie on it but there were none in the pool with me.

I had an issue forwarding the Halloween picture Ragnar took of us and TK. I finally figured it out after Ragnar resent me jpgs. I then posted them to my facebook page but set it up so only certain friends could see them. They were a big hit and many of our friends were in a state of disbelief that we dressed up in our costumes.

Growing up I remember on Saturday mornings there were always these PSAs about Reading Is Fundamental- RIF. I like it better as Reading Is Fun. I read a lot during the day at work and not all boring equity research. I read about flux transfer events. Apparently these things were thought to happen only rarely- much like a beholder in the old school AD&D- but apparently they occur as often as often as every 8 minutes. It occurs when the sun's magnetic field pushes up against the earth's and a tunnel more or less forms allowing all types of fun particles to pass into our magnetosphere. It got me wondering if wormholes are just similar types of events on a large scale between galaxies and/or different space/time continuums?

The ISM hit a 26 year low. I am wondering if we are getting to the end of the recession that I believe we fell into at the end of '07. My guess is we will be out of the recession by the end of Q2 '09, probably a month after the government declares us in one.

The automakers are in serious trouble. I still think GM and or F will file. The idea of the government bailing them out is dangerous but who am I to say what is or isn't dangerous.

Tomorrow is the big day and I have to say I can't wait for the election to be over. My biggest fear is the executive branch and legislative branch both end up under the control of the closet socialists. I am most likely in the minority which is not a big deal. I think the worst thing that anyone in this country could do is shirk their civic duty and not vote at all- that is just complete bullshit for any citizen of the U.S. to not vote for the President.

My husband is a design snob

The past two weeks have been crazy. Last weekend we celebrated my youngest son's birthday even though it was yesterday. I baked a cake and he got to pick dinner for the night. He of course picked chicken fingers. We ate dinner, turned off the lights. lit the candles and sang Happy Birthday. He blew all the candles out and we ate the cake and he opened his gift from me and my husband. He got Sim City Creator for DS.

This past week at work was very interesting. The Chinese had a curse- "May you live in interesting times." It's a curse because interesting times for Chinese historically meant lots of unrest and Chinese culture has valued stability over all else. I wouldn't mind work being boring for 10-15 trading days. Boring for me would be intraday swings of less than 150 bps. I doubt that is going to happen for a while though.

We went to two Halloween parties this weekend. The one Friday was in the city on Central Park West. It was a costume party. We dressed up as pirates. We borrowed proper pirate shirts from JP- he had them for a wedding. I ordered weapons from the internet- I had a proper cutlass, the husband had the dagger and flintlock pistol. We got all of our pirate jewelry from TGT except of the earring. We couldn't find clip on earrings anywhere until our friend PF said I should look at Claires Boutique and he was right.

JP stopped by on his way home to help us with our costumes and took pictures- I think he was taken aback a bit by how much we got into the spirit of the holiday. He was impressed by my boots and said he may have to borrow them some time. The husband asked how we were getting to the party and my answer was a big duh! We're pirates! So we took the ferry. Arrrggghed our way over to the dock and caught the boat. Lotta women were impressed with my boots. We went to TK's place and went up to the party with him. There were some seriously hot and scantily clad boys there.

At the party I was arguing with this major young hottie who was all blue and had a black X on his chest. I asked where is your tail? He said I am Iceman! I said no you are not- Nightcrawler is blue, Iceman is white. He was a bit drunk and was not having anything to do with it.

Saturday morning after it took us almost 2 hours to get home due to issues in the tunnels, we finished the painting in the aprrtment. Then we went to find a coffee table for our home. We went to the DWR Outlet and got a really good deal on a Noguchi coffee table. It was like pulling teeth to get the husband to agree with me on buying it. His concern was it is sooo common place these days. I looked at him and said you are a design snob. If the masses have it and it is a good classic design the fact the masses have it means you don't want it.

We took a nap when we got home after putting the coffee table together and doing some other stuff. We got up, put on the same costumes and trekked into the city again. This time we drove and we got home at a reasonable time .

Today I hung up the new light fixture in the boys and another photograph in there. Then the husband and I spent way too long hanging the new lighting fixture in the living room. It is really fucking cool but took us too long.

I love chauffering my sons all day

This past weekend was actually very full and tiring. It started Friday evening when I got down to the town in central Jersey to catch my youngest son's fall baseball game. Due to unusually heavy traffic and an accident I was only able to catch the last bit of his game. He kept asking his mom where I was. He had an ulterior motive though- the night before he asked if we could leave once I got there and go have dinner. He doesn't like fall baseball and was hoping I would bail him out of it. When I got there he finished it up and we went to the local pizza place we always went to when I still lived down there.

My oldest was playing paint ball for his friend's birthday party. He wasn't due back until 9:30 so the ex had told my youngest we could wait at the house. I have to say it was a bit surreal sitting watching cartoons in her house without her present and waiting for my oldest to get home. He got home about 9:30, we got in the truck and back up to Hoboken. The other thing that gave me a start is my oldest is in 6th grade now so he is now using deodorant and Axe body spray. That threw me.

I sent them right to bed because we had to get back down to central Jersey for another baseball game and tennis. We were up and out of the house by 9:30. Before we left I had told my oldest to shower up. He goofed off and didn't have time to take one. By the time we got down to his tennis place he was freaking out that his hair was all messed up. I told him he should have showered. He got dropped off and I took my youngest to his baseball game. By the time he was getting ready to play I had to go back and pick up my oldest from tennis. We all had lunch then my youngest changed out of his uniform into street clothes and got dropped off at a laser tag birthday party. My oldest and I then went to Borders and killed a few hours. I ended up buying Bender's Big Score.

We picked up my youngest and drove back to Hoboken. Sushi for dinner for my, the husband and my oldest since my youngest had pizza at the laser tag party. The boys watched Bender's Big Score and the husband and I watched some tv and hung art in the bedroom.

Sunday morning my oldest and I walked to the public tennis courts in Hoboken and played for a hour. He is getting really good and will soon be able to beat my ass. We then took a long walk along the Hudson back to the apartment. Lunch, hanging out, did some laundry to send them home in clean clothes and back in the truck to take them home.

As we were about to leave and in the truck in the parking lot my oldest said Dad wait, I forgot my book. So I ran back into the building and got into the elevator when lo and behold who jumps in but the hot neighbor and he greets me very nicely.

I seem to be catching the hottie bus in the mornings so far this week.

All of us on the desk were cracking up yesterday when Bernake was getting questioned by the House Budget Committee- seriously, Congress is a bunch of morons and goes to show the system does work- ANYONE can be elected to office in our great country. The stupidity of the questions definitely had to force Ben to drink ALOT at happy hour yesterday.

I am psyched it is Milk Duds and candy corn season. One of the women on our desk always has a huge bowl of candy next to her for all to partake of; if the desk was a Cub Scout den she would be the Den Mother. Milk Duds I associate with the movies and October and candy corn is only legally allowed to be eaten in the month of October so I guess October is my favorite month for candy.

We have the boys again this weekend. But next weekend I would like to see Max Payne or Rockandrolla.

JP basically yelled at me Sunday night for not writing last week. I was on facebook playing my latest obsession Tiny Adventures when he asked if it meant that since I was on-line was I writing a new post.

What a week

So last weekend we closed the beach house. We got the DNA Magazine while out there solely because of the guy on the cover- Will Fennel. Had never heard of him before but he is smokin'!!!! The husband told me if I lost 20 lbs. I could sort of come close to looking like him so I guess I've got something to shoot for this winter, lol.

Monday night we had my in-laws over for dinner and they spent the night so we went thru some wine. Tuesday night we went to the Madonna concert. I fulfilled my marital obligation. I was glad we were in a skybox with it's own bathroom and free vodka. The husband told me it was a great concert and he really enjoyed it. Wednesday night we had our friend ST over for his birthday and again more wine. Thursday we were very psyched to do nothing but watch the Winchester brothers and go to bed. However Mr. Market did not cooperate at all and we were both so shell shocked that when JT came over for some dinner and cards we had some more wine.

JT was over because he was watching the kids for us this weekend. We went down to Washington DC. We were going to go to Gaylaxicon- the nation's premiere GLBT Sci Fi convention.

Friday I had lunch with DS and it didn't matter because by noon the tape had had more gyrations than the 22 year old go go boy I hooked up with several years ago. Within the first 35 or so minutes there was an 800 basis point swing. The boss was only doing a half day and he left before lunch. By the end of the day we all were shell shocked.

The husband and I got on the train. I had bought a book title The Graveyard Book and read the whole thing by the time we got to Union Station. Neil Gaiman is an excellent writer.

Saturday we went to Gaylaxicon and I have to say it totally sucked and was a huge disappointment. It was really sad since there are so many gays who are sci-fi geeks and if it is one thing gays know how to do it is organize a big event. Mr. Clifford and his boyfriend CS and CS's roommate BC suffered thru it with us as well. The only redeeming thing about it was I paid for the passes so the husband couldn't complain about wasting any money and I got some cheesy tee shirts for friends.

After we bolted from there we went to Annie's (a landmark in DC) and had lunch. The husband and I went to the National Portrait Gallery which is now in the Old Patent Office. It was cool and I was exposed to a lot of modern art.

Saturday night Mr. Clifford treated us to a semi-traditional Korean dinner. We then watched an episode of Stargate Atlantis. After we went to BlowOff. We ran into a guy who lived across from us at the beach last summer.

This morning we had brunch with Mr. Barrett and two of his friends who were in town from Arizona.

We got to Union Station only to find it was being evacuated. No idea why but we had to wait for about 5 minutes. Then we got the all clear. We went in and got some coffee. The board then said our train had not yet arrived so we were delayed in our departure. We went to the shops and while there we saw one of the hotties from our gym in Hoboken. The guy is damn cute and has a really hot ass. Too bad he was there with what we took to be his girlfriend, lol.

This week we hope to finish painting the place. I also hope the markets can calm down.

Only the Sith speak in absolutes...

Travelling for work, time zone change has me all screwed up but I did bring my lap top so I could play lots of Tiny Adventures on facebook, lol.

Looks like the Senate is forcing the House to pass the bailout. The fact that GE can't access the cp market or at the least is afraid it can't and decided to issue $12 billion in stock and take $2 billion from the Sage will probably drive home the point that this is not just a Street event.

So yesterday a guy I do biz with who the husband has met when we were snowboarding in Vermont this past January called and asked if I had any interest in seeing Madonna. I said "Who?" He laughed and I then asked why he would think I had any interest in seeing that 50 year old tart who steals children? Again he laughed but that may be more because I can affect the amount of money he makes by doing more or less biz with him. He does have a good customer laugh though. Anyhow, I asked him when and he said Tuesday the 7th. I told him sorry the husband's parents are coming over for dinner. Then as a CYA move I IMed the husband and asked if he wanted to move the dinner to the night before (since we are having our friend the minister's son over for his birthday on the 8th) and he said hell ya!

So, I have never gotten into Madonna, have no interest in seeing her in concert and could care less if she has mystical powers of a Jewish origin. I SWORE I would NEVER go to one of her concerts. I told the husband that he owes me for this one...

That was fun today but let's not do it again

The weekend upstate with my fraternity brothers was a blast. I had not seen some of these guys in over 15 years. I did have some trepidation going up there but was really impressed with the sense of brotherhood. Not one guy had an issue with me being a big old homo. We drank a lot, ate a lot and I even took a swim in the lake sans bathing suit. As our host BB (the host) said "My 68 year old aunt is going to be all excited and talking about it for years." Her is the final count of what we went through in three days:

Final count:
2 bottles of Bailey’s
1 bottle Vodka
Lots of jack
1+ bottles rum
6 ish cases of beer
35 lbs wings
14lbs beef
4 lbs salmon
10 lbs elk and venison
2lbs cheese
4 dozen eggs
3lbs bacon
2 lbs sausage
3 lbs scrapple
2lbs coffee
4 bags chips
1 box crackers
3 dozen rolls
2 dozen bagels
½ face cord wood
Not one vegetable
God knows how many brain cells


Our host BB was in my pledge class with me, the president of our house our senior year and lived across the hall from me in the house. He is now a county D.A. and some of the horror stories about crimes in his county were very disheartening.

I saw the hot neighbor this morning and he held the elevator door for me but I was waiting for the husband so told him thanks but go ahead.

The humidity lately has been a pain in the ass for our painting. The new foyer is done though and 2/3 of the boys room too. All we have left is our bedroom and the living room.

Speaking of the boys room we have been trying to match the door handle and found it on the web. The only bad thing is it costs over $250! We are going to figure out something else to do that doesn't cost that much.

So the House voted down the bailout. That does not bode well in the short term for the tape but I went outside after the vote and saw that the world had not ended; people were still working, the deli was still selling iced coffee and the sun had not gone black. If worse comes to worse I can go become a pirate off the coast of Somalia and demand $20 million for ships I take.

WB- those damn shorts again! The stock was down ~85%. Oh wait- it can't be shorted. So does that mean stocks can still go down even though the government is trying to prevent free markets from working???

Today the tape was scary but let's keep things in prospective; Black Monday back in '87 the tape was down 22% or so. Today it was down barely one third of that. That gets to several things one should keep in mind. First, point moves are not the thing to focus on- percentage moves are what one should follow. Second turn off CNBC! Their main job is selling ads, not making you money. If you really feel the need to watch business news watch BBERG tv instead.

We also need to remember that Iran and North Korea are both still big issues and appear to still be pursuing nuclear arms and if they get them my guess is who voted yea or nay for the bailout really won't matter.

Uugghh I hate technology at times

So last night I stayed up and wrote an entry but for some reason it did not save to drafts and I lost the whole damn thing.

Work has kept me fairly discombobulated lately. So will try and go for a wide amount of info in this entry because I am off work tomorrow and travelling and won't be on line until Sunday at the soonest again.

Tuesday was Ragnar's birthday. His boyfriend also had some pieces of work in an art show down in Soho. This is only the second art show I have been to and it was much more different than the first one. It was definitely a scene. It was all I could do to exert my self control to not gape, gasp, stare or outright point a finger at some of the characters there. The free wine did not help any either.

After the show we went out for dinner and as Ragnar said the restaurant was "the bomb!" We gave Ragnar a nice pen for a gift and he will be getting his initials engraved on it.

I have been very haphazard on the gym this week. I only went once and that was to get some cardio done before I went to the art show.

Tonight I have back to school night for my oldest. After I get home for that I will be priming the new wall. Ideally the husband will get to painting it this weekend since I will not be around. I am off tomorrow and going up to my alma mater. It is sort of a mini reunion with a bunch of my fraternity brothers. I believe we will also be taking in a football game and stopping by the nouse to terrorize- I mean meet the undergrad brothers.

Speaking of my oldest he has been harassing me to get texting for his cell phone. His mother and I told him if he can get A's and B's for the entire school year he can get texting at the beginning of the summer.

There is a really hot guy who lives on our floor. The husband has been sharing the elevator with him in the mornings. Last night I finally met him in the elevator. I was running out to get to the hardware store to get paint. Someone was holding the elevator for me- it was our hot neighbor. JP is going to be house sitting for us in October- maybe he'll run into him...

I saw Full Lower Lip on the bus yesterday and again I think he smiled at me. First time I wrote it off as wishful thinking but this time I am not sure I imagined it...

I did not watch the President's speech last night. We instead watched a Fringe episode the we recorded on our DVR. Fringe is getting to be a good show. I am totally drawn into the Pattern and what it is trying to achieve.

Apparently the President tried to scare Congress into acting. I have to say he is pretty spot on. We are this close to seeing the entire economy disintegrate. Apportioning blame can be done later, right now we need to fix this. When major companies cannot access the corporate paper market we have a serious issue. The CP market is the true lifeblood of the economy. The TED spread is still way too high and the swap spread has never been where it is. LIBOR- whether it is accurate or not- is too high as well. I hope Congress can rise above the politics and do the right thing. I am reminded of a saying my dad uses all the time "Don't cut your nose off to spite your face."

Speaking of blame I think that when the autopsy is done years down the road the culprit will be the CDS market. I am not even sure we really need a CDS market but Wall Street created it and made tons of dough in it and now they are paying the extremely high price for it.

I also hope we follow the Swedish model of resolving this banking crisis and not the Japanese model. My guess is we will fall somewhere in between but closer to Sweden's example.