Wednesday, April 30, 2008

The all clear has not been sounded

So I got to take adbantage of the perks one can avail oneself of on Wall Street tonight. I got to attend the premeire of Iron Man. A broker offered one of our small cap PMs tickets to the premeire at the Ziegfeld. Said PM is in China so his trader got the tickets and asked if I wanted to go. I said duh! I am a huge geek and have a big comic book collection (the ex-wife did not realize the value of it and I was able to get through the divorce with it in tact) in storage across the street from our apartment.

The other trader is a big geek too and he has been telling me we need to start weatching Torchwood. So I bought the first season and the husband and I will watch it along with season one of Heros over the summer on weekends out at the beach. We did the same this past summer and caught up on Supernatural.

Anyhow the movie was freakin' great and Robert Downey, Jr. is really good as Tony Stark but Jeff Bridges is even better as Obadiah Stane. The movie was fairly true to the whole Iron Man mythology. The ending was a pretty good twist too.

So I was rading about the new information about black holes. Not being a scientist I was a bit taken aback by one comment in the article that said no one knows what the inside of a black hole looks like. Hello- the name is pretty self explanatory- it's black and it's a hole!

JP is going off to Maine for a month for work in mid MAy but I am going to see him Monday. His brother is in town and he asked if the husband and I wanted to go to Splash for Musical Monday with him and tried to spin it as we could celebrate Cinco de Mayo. The husband is passing but since JP is a fratenity brother I am in. Plus I have only been to Splash once before.

So the Fed cut rates one more time today. The tape sold off and ya know why? The Fed's actions speak louder than words and their actions are saying this credit crisis is not over. The banks are basically telling you that with all of the capital raising they are still doing. The Fed is continuing to devalue the dollar and at some point we will all be usinf dolphin teeth like the natives of the Solomon Islands to buy everything from groceries to brides.

I think we are stuck in a trading range- but 'em at 1300 and sell 'em at 1400. This tape is going to grind down a lot of people. There is still too much excess capacity in my business.

The FDIC is putting forth a plan that would make the Treasury loan directly to homeowners moeny so they can pay down the principal on their current mortgages they can't afford to begin with. That annoys the shit out of me to no end! Shelia Bair should be fired!

Also where is the uproar about food companies and all the profits they are making? When oil companies started making record profits the politicians were screaming about instituting a windfall profit tax. Why isn't anyone saying that about the food companies?

Two athletes in the news that I read about and both are pretty hot. Barry Zito is a pitcher- but I bet I could make a catcher out of him? Sean Avery is the Ranger in the news who is smoking. Unfortunately he lacerated his spleen.

Monday, April 28, 2008

Stereotypes just save time

The rain came today- of course after I spent the weekend adding 300 miles to the truck. The games were actually not that bad. Sunday my little guy actually did real well especially when he played in the infield. At one point his older brother actually sat and watched some of the game with me and commented on why can't his brother make a play like that; I pointed out it was his brother who made that play and he was mightily impressed. They lost the game but my youngest told me it was because they had a fourth grader and so they were cheaters.

When I got home the husband had gone to the pet store and bought new collars for the dogs. He got freakin' rainbow collars for them! I looked at him and asked if he was kidding and why would he do that to them and us? He said we are two gay guys with small dogs and they will fit right in on Fire Island this summer. He loves messing with me.

Saturday when I was watching little league the husband went and borrowed a triathlon bike from a friend of his. He told me the cute married guy (NOT German Shepard) in the building saw him and said great bike, I do tris too. We should go ride some time. I told the husband you are both married so don't get any ideas...

Last night we had dinner with TK and WP in the city and then we went and saw Smart People. It was very funny and Dennis Quaid is great in it. The humor reminded me of Lars And The Real Girl. We got home a bit late for a Sunday and that did not help me getting up this morning. I had to swim for a hour and it wasn't that hard but I was ready for a nap around 4 when the markets closed. I skipped riding the bike tonight, I can do that tomorrow morning.

Mr. Barrett, Mr. Clifford and Mr. Clifford's bf will be visiting us at the beach this summer. The weekend we agreed to is actually the weekend of the Acension Party. I have never been to it so it will be interesting.

My friend the bond guy says the housing market has at least another 12% to the down side and that will get it back to trend. I don't disagree but there is no such thing as a national real estate market. Real estate really is local and/or regional. Still, I am glad I am not currrently long real estate. He also thinks that we have been in a recession since FEB and will not get out of it until JAN of '09 and we will have the dreaed double dip; i.e. we will slide right bak into recession after a brief respite in Q1 of '09.

Speaking of the economy, the Fed meets this week. Fed funds futures are saying a 75% chance of a 25 bps cut. That is a huge reversal from two weeks ago. I really hope Bernake and crew have read their Bagehot. I am going to go out on a limb and say they do nothing.

Saturday, April 26, 2008

You didn't let me have a sleep over.

Yesterday while I was driving down to pick up the boys for the weekend my phone rang. It was my 11 year old calling form his mom's cell. He asked if he could sleep over at his best friend's house. I told him he knew how I felt about that because I only get to see him every other weekend; couldn't you do it a weekend you are at your mom's house? He begged, I said no unless you can give me a good reason. He hung up dejected. Ten minutes later my phone rang again. So up go the windows, down goes the volume on my radio and I answer. It's my son again who tries to give me two reason, neither of which were valid. He then hands the phone to his best friend who tries to convince me that since his parents are divorced as well that both reasons are valid. I disagree with both again. They hang up still dejected. I call the husband and ask him about a proprosal I am going to make and he agrees. I call my son back and tell him he is more than welcome to have his friend sleep over up in Hoboken which I get a quick, curt no thank you to.

I expected him to decline. First off he is 11 and getting to that stage were parents aren't cool. Added to that is then his friend would meet the husband and I am pretty sure my son still has yet to expand the circle of his friends who know dad is a big, old homo. I will not force him to tell anyone and will never embarrass him but I do look forward to the day some time far off in the future when my orientation will not be an issue for him.

I have to play chauffer again this weekend. Thankfully today's game is in the afternoon so the four of us had a nice breakfast and didn't have to rush out of here first thing in the morning. We have to be there early today since it is team picture day. The weather forecast on MSN said it was supposed to rain and thunder storm this afternoon but so far it is clear blues skies.

So, the other day I got a message on a social networking site I am a member of. I was asked if I would like to do porn. While truly flattered I kindly explained to the gentleman that I have a full time job, don't think my husband would be all that thrilled and what would I do if, God forbid, my sons ever found out? Seriously, in this day and age if you put it on the web you will get found out. Social networking sites I have no problem with but all out porn? So not happening.

Thursday, April 24, 2008

We love German Shepards

Tuesday I got to see German Shepard twice, once in the morning and then again on the bus home. German Shepard is the smokin' hot married guy who lives in the apartment above us. I mean he is en fuego! I saw him walking his dog- oddly a German Shepard, hence his name- inthe courtyard Tuesday morning when I was leaving. Then I saw him on the bus and noticed he had gotten his haircut. I told the husband and he asked if I mentioned it looked good. I said not because that would be too creepy and make me seem like a stalker. I actually do know his given name though; I am not that shy and have no problem asking questions. One night we were both in the lobby so I introduced myself. His wife chats me up all the time. She is worried that her oldest daughter makes too much noise in the morning. Apparently she likes to put mom's heels on and dance. I said we are both out very early on the mornings so we don't hear anything and besides the husabnd does the same thing and the people below us have never complained.

This morning the husband sent me a text saying he saw German Shepard in the courtyard when he was leaving for work. Commentary was he looks amazing in gym shorts and a cut off tee. Then he saw Full Lower Lip on the bus so his morning was pretty much made.

Crutches was in the gym the other night. He lives on or block and we aren't quite sure if he is on our team or not. He and his roommate (we think, not sure) always get on the bus together and always work out together. Really cute kid who did something to his leg so he is named Crutches because he was on them for about three months.

Mr. Barrett and Mr. Clifford are going to visit us this summer out on Fire Island. Just waiting for Mr. Clifford to send me what ates he is free since he travels extensively with his job of protecting our freedoms.

Is there a set etiquette for telling people you have a blog? A good friend of mine who used to work with me found out I write this. He is a good Person and was there through the entire coming out and divorce I went through. Funny aside, I took hi to Hooters to tell him I was getting divorced annd was gay. I told him he might get queasy when reading this but feel free. He rad it and asked if couold write two blogs- one for all my straight friends from when I was living the straight lifestyle and one post coming out, lol. I am not sure who actually reads these ramblings so I am not editing them.

Tuesday was Earth Day. I am not a true believer that we humans have caused global warming. There is a lot of conflicting data out there. I like to read it all and try to sift through fact and agenda. Then I will make an informed decision. But I am also an agent of chaos and like to stir the shit up. So when ever someone sends me something that says global warming may not be happening I love sending it to all my friends who have wholly embraced the idea. I did that on Tuesday and one of my friends replied that if I am so conservastive he wasn't sure we could be friends. That gets me to the point I am trying to make: It took me a long time to achieve what I like to call my personal sovereignty. So I am not going to blindly follow an idea without questioning it. If questioning an idea- which is the basis for a free society in my opinion- makes me conservative then so be it. But if you cannot have an intelligent discourse of why you believe something and have to resort to threats and name calling then go back to second grade and do that on the playground. If you cna have an intelligent discourse then do so and try to convinve me that your point of view is correct.

Along these lines there was an editorial on the WSJ on Tuesday by the founder of Greenepeace. He left it because it has abondonded science and is now solely following a political agenda. It has no interest in science that may or may not support their stand. That sounds awfully conservative to me and not open minded and liberal.

Having dinner tonight with the outlaws to celebrate the husband's birthday. But before that I am getting my unruly tresses neatened up. The husband saud tell the guy to keep my hair "shagalicious" but not as moppish. Did not run for my training this AM, will tomorrow.

Monday, April 21, 2008

At least the BOE is calling it by the right name...

I had a great swim this morning, the pool was not that crowded. I think I swam close to 2400 yards in 42 minutes, not sure because I lost count of my laps after 130. I felt pretty damn good. The only draw back is I did not shave and to be honest I am pretty lazy about shaving in general so I have some serious scruff. Not a big deal, I can shave tomorrow.

Is it just me or does a short sleeve, button down oxford cloth shirt irk anyone else when worn in the office? There is a guy in the office who I think has a wide stance and he was wearing one today and it totally annoyed me all day, lol.

I had forgotten about it but the company I work for has a new website and back in November I had to wear a suit and get my picture taken for it. Everyone on the desk did actually so when it was out we had a lot of fun altering each others pics. I sent the link to the husband and he made me blush by calling me papi and telling me it was yummy.

The older woman on the desk who is pretty much the Den Mother to the pack of Cub Scouts I work with (myself included) has a dark side. She keeps this huge bowl of candy and treats next to her desk. Everyone knows about it and tons of people stop by during the day for a quick treat or pick me up or cheat on their diets. Today after lunch I noticed she had yodels- or the ugly step brother of Ho Hos as I call them. I ran down to the deli across the street and grabbed an ice coffee and had them for dessert after lunch.

Have recently reconnected with a friend from college who lives in the city and also does triathlons. He is going to do the Alcatraz tri which is supposed to be pretty amazing and tough to get into. I am impressed.

So the Bank Of England (BOE) has drunk the Kool-Aid we in the U.S. made and agreed to start buying MBS. At least they are honest enough to call it a liquidity scheme as opposed to liquidity facility that our central bank is calling it.

Sunday, April 20, 2008

Just what you need- more art books...

Friday night was fun bowling with a bunch of eleven year olds. They had the bumpers up which I was kind of bummed, I'd hoped they were old enough to not use them. However I was psyched when I hit the bumper, lol.

Yesterday the husband went up to see his younger sister at school in the wilds of northeast Connecticut. I spent the day running around and taking care of errands and getting the menu set for the husband's birthday dinner today. I laid down to take a nap around 5:30 with the kids. The husband got home around 6:30, woke me up, I convinced him to join me for a nap after he walked the dogs. We woke up at 11:30, I walked the kids again and we went back to bed. We woke up this morning at 6:30- sleep does a body good.

I told the husband to get out of the house while I mad dinner for his birthday. I baked the cake and frosted and decorated it. Then I made dinner for the five of us. We did the old fashioned Sunday dinner at 2:30 in the afternoon. I don't think I've had a Sunday dinner like that in quite some time. The cake was a hit and the husband opened his gifts and got more art books- like we don't have enough as it is.We got done and our guests left around 5 PM. Took another nap and then watched quite possibly one of the worst straight to dvd movies- Highlander The Source.

Thursday, April 17, 2008

Screw my carbon footprint...

I didn't write last night because I got home around 9 and went out for a late dinner with the husband. I got home so late because I had to go to central Jersey for pizza and ice cream cake for my oldest son's birthday. I had fun, was just me, the boys, the ex-wife, her mom and boyfriend and my oldest son's two best friends. The ex asked me when I was actually getting a haircut and when was the last time my hair was this long. I told her not until the day before my race and it probably hasn't been this long since I was in high school; I also mentioned I was starting to feel like I might end up on mullethunter.com. Her mother said it looked really good and she liked it. That made me laugh because the shaggy look apparently works for straight women- both the women who work on the desk with me said they thought it looked really good too.

I asked Son #1 if he had any more pictures on his new dig cam. HE said no because the memory was full. I said put them on your mom's computer. She of course said she didn't know how to- go figure. SO id plugged and played and stored all his pictures. Some things never change even after you are divorced I guess.

There was only one other person in the pool yesterday morning. Was nice having it to myself. Today I ran and lifted and tomorrow I am somehow supposed to bike for two hours. I won't be able to do that long in the morning and can't tomorrow night because I am off to central Jersey again for Son #1's bowling birthday party. Yes I will be participating.

Yesterday I read about the asteroid Apophis. In case you missed the story a 13 year old German boy found an error in NASA's calculations regarding said asteroid. Apparently instead of a 1 in 45,000 chance of it hitting a geosynchronous satellite it is a 1 in 450. This is possible in 2019. If it occurs when Apophis returns in 2036 it will strike the Earth in the Atlantic throwing up a huge cloud of dust and we will end up like the dinosaurs. And that my friends is why I say to hell with worrying about my carbon footprint oh and don't buy 30 year bonds and go get that 30 year fixed mortgage and laugh the whole way out of the bank.

Saw JP Tuesday night when we went out to hang out with the other gays in the village. He is doing well and has many irons in the fire on the dating front.

Supernatural is on and I think it would be an even better show if Dean was shirtless more often...

Monday, April 14, 2008

Tags

The pool was packed this morning which is very unusual at 6 AM. I actually had to share a lane. There were two hotties in the pool not the usual grey haired women or cranky old men who get mad when you splash them- which makes no sense to me; you are in a pool were people are actively swimming, hello am I missing something?

There were a lot of things in the market today that kind of annoyed me. First was the BBI offer buy CC. Seriously, one dying company buying another? If I hear the phrase synergy I think I'll puke. I bet they (BBI) will say they can leverage people buying consumer electronics into more sales of videos and music. Whatever.

The other thing that really grinds my gears is how the government totally manipulates the statistics. What got me on this was retail sales were reported and they were better than expected due to higher gas costs increasing the dollar amount of sales. Yet when they report inflation numbers they try to make you focus on the number ex- food and energy. Hello? Am I the only one who gets major cognitive dissonance from that?

Mr. Barrett last week suggested that I start using tags on my posts so whoever actually reads them can easily get a sense of what they talk about. That would mean I would have to take the time to use the dashboard and figure out how to do that; I may do that this weekend but am not feeling real motivated to do it.

We haven't seen JP lately but I probably will tomorrow night when we got to hang out with the other gays in the village.

Sunday, April 13, 2008

He so can't run fast...

Last night we had sushi and birthday cake for dinner. We gave my oldest his birthday gift which was a dig-cam; he loved it. Afterwards the husband went out to the movies with friends while the boys and I watched Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets for the fourth or fifth time- it was on ABCFamily Channel I believe.

The husband forgot his house keys and I woke up later as my phone rang and let him in. This morning we rented a U-Haul and packed it with a lot of the contents of one of our storage spaces for transport out to the husband's parents new house with a huge basement. Then off he went to Long Island and off I went to central Jersey for yet another little league game.

My youngest is a complete goofball. As I told his older brother while we were in the stands, I thinkhe plays more for the social aspect. His older brother found that very funny. One of the mom's in stand made the facetious comment that it's too bad my younger son is so shy and he really needs to come out of his shell. His older brother took a lot of pictures of him goofing off in the outfield. His first at bat he had a great hit but man he cannot run fast aqt all. He lumbered down the first base line and was tagged out. It didn't phase him one bit. His next at bat he drove it right between 2nd and 3rd and got to 1st no problem. His brother commented that my youngest can't throw, catch or run but he can hit, lol.

I dropped them off at their mom's and my oldest couldn't wait to show his mom his birthday gift. She commented wow, I have the same digital camera as you. I felt a bit smug- does that make me a bad person?

I got home and cleaned the boys room and decided why stop there and cleaned the rest of the apartment. The husband got back and we quickly showered and ran into the city for dinner with his best friend Ragnar.

It got cold this afternoon and is supposed to stay cold tonight; I am psyched to snuggle up in bed with my sweetness.

Saturday, April 12, 2008

Call him Master Chief

Yesterday I picked up the boss's phone line because he was off the desk in a meeting. It was his wife. She and I got chatting about how we are both hoping it would rain this weekend so we wouldn't have to suffer through little league. She promised me she would do her rain dance.

Then there is the hot data services provider rep who was in the office. He hasn't been around in a while and I forgot about him but have to say he still looks really hot. The kid next to me started laughing and told me to shut my mouth before I caught flies.

Last night the husband and I caught up with lasts weeks BSG season premiere and watched this week's new episode. All I can say is wow, great season opener and am totally psyched for the whole season.

Back when I went out to Copper Mountain one of my friends and I got talking about World Of Warcraft. We had been part of a group that played AD&D and were reminiscing about it when he asked if I played WoW. I said no because I was afraid I'd get sucked in to it in toto. Well we have emailed back and forth since and we have decided to give it a trial run. We have taken a blood oath only to play once a week and only when we both can. He said he was not telling his wife, lol.

It rained all night but was sunny when I got up. I called the little league hot line to see if the games where still on. They were. So We drove down and got there only to find out the field my youngest was to play on was a swamp. All of us parents were highly doubtful there would be a game. I immediately texted my boss's wife and said so much for your rain dance, we have a game. Her response was "Fuckers. Us 2." The coach got there and after conferring with the other coach and the league officials the game was cancelled and they practiced in the outfield. One of the other dad's asked me what my son's nickname was; apparently they had all chosen nicknames at their first practice. When we got in the truck to go home I asked him what his nickname was. He told me Master Chief. His older brother burst out laughing saying that is cool and does anyone know where it comes from. The answer was no, no one knows. I laughed as well.

Tonight the four of us are celebrating my oldest son's birthday even though it is not until Wednesday. He wants sushi for his birthday and I baked a cake.

Thursday, April 10, 2008

I hope it rains this weekend

The charity wine tasting/dinner last night was fun. There was a lot of food and couldn't finish it all. Met some nice people too and it was for a good cause. I was home a bit later than I anticipated but did not sleep in the boys room.

There were not any hotties I noticed on the bus this morning. Work was kind of slow today. Did a lot of reading, some interesting stuff but nothing worth mentioning. I did find out Mr. Barrett has IM so I chatted with him a bit today.

I left the office late because we had a meeting until 5:30. I walked across the street to the Port Authority and figured I'd be able to catch a quick bus home. That was so not the case. I had to wait almost 30 minutes but that was ok because I played Brick Breaker and achieved a new high score and made it to level 16. When the bus exited the Lincoln Tunnel I found the cause of the delay- one lane was closed off because of construction.

The husband had a business dinner so I grabbed a slice of pizza for dinner then finished the book I have been reading. The book is Sharp Teeth by Toby Barlow. It was not what I expected when I bought it but it is a great book.

Today was an amazing weather day- mid seventies and sunny. I looked at the weather forecast for the weekend and saw it is supposed to rain Saturday and Sunday. I kind of hope it does because that means I won't have to chauffeur the boys back and forth for the baseball games. I stated this at work and several other of the guys with kids laughed and said the same thing- on weekends in the spring they aren't upset if it rains because it means no little league. We all agreed it doesn't make us bad fathers.

Wednesday, April 9, 2008

86 yearsold

Here's the idea: Think remaking of Showgirls but with an added twist- zombies! I have to think that was pretty damn close to the pitch that someone made to get someone else to throw money at a movie being released next weekend called Zombie Strippers. The illustrious cast includes Robert Englund and Jenna Jameson. Will there be a scene where two zombie strippers admit to each other they once ate people food to get by in their youth? The husband is a huge fan of really bad zombie flicks but I think I will have a difficult time getting him to go see this one; my guess is when it comes out on DVD we'll buy it and have a double feature of it and Flight Of The Living Dead.

If you haven't actually perused my Shelfari, let me say I am a huge fan of The Wheel of Time series by Robert Jordan. I knew there was one last book coming out so googled it yesterday to find out the title and release date. I find out instead that Robert Jordan died back in October due to some rare blood disease and that Robert Jordan was a pen-name. The final book is being written by someone else using Mr. Jordan's notes, full outline and detailed tapes he left. The title is to be A Memory Of Light and it is scheduled for an October '09 release.

Yesterday a brokerage house had one of their analysts in to discuss his outlook on a certain sector. when it was done and the kid who sits next to me sat back down I told him if I had known the smokin' hot salesguy was going to be in the meeting I would have sat thru the damn thing just to stare at him.

The husband and I went down to centeral Jersey last night to help celebrate a friend's 86th birthday. We had a great time but got home close to midnight. Hence why I did not write last night. I was supposed to swim this morning but have decided I need a week off from training. Tonight I will be attending a golf based charity dinner in the city. I am not a golfer at all but the guy who invited me is a friend and the cause is worthy.

Monday, April 7, 2008

One more time with feeling...

Saturday night we stayed in and I tried yet again to get the husband to watch BTVS and join the club. He was hesitant and I compromised he only had to watch two episodes. I chose them. The first was Hush. The second was One More time With Feeling. After watching those two episodes I realized how much I miss both Buffy and Angel. They were two of the best shows I have ever watched.

Sunday we went out to the husband's parents house out on Long Island. We had a nice lunch with them and looked at new patio furniture for their awesome back deck looking over the bay between their house and Fire Island. We drove home back through the city,I dropped him off at the pool to swim for his triathlon training. It then took me quite some time to get through the Lincoln Tunnel due to the Greek Independence Day Parade. I was starting to feel a little green in my gills. By the time I got home it was too late to get to the gym and run but I was out of it. I felt like I was going to throw up. Went to bed and today felt like such dog shit did not eat. Got home, took a nice nap, had some dinner and feel much better.

I am reading a really amazing book right now that once I finish it I will put it on my Shelfari.

Today on Bloomberg one of the top fifteen read stories was about Princess Di being unlawfully killed by her drunk chauffeur. Seriously, who the fuck cares about her anymore. Get a life people.

The more important thing I think that was on the newswires was that the Fed waived some serious regulations for JPM in order to get the deal with BSC consummated. It made me think how scared the Fed was that they would waive capital transfer regs for JPM. The other thing that stunned me was the Boston Fed President Rosengren saying he is surprised that the housing market is not showing any signs of recovering. Seriously they should not let this guy make public comments. I found out he has a PhD in economics and went to Colby; it is quite an indictment on Colby that he is an alum of theirs and gives me even more reason hate Boston.

Mark to market is a way firms have to price securities they hold. Way back when before loans and other debt instruments were sliced and diced every which way (it's called securitization) banks could mark the loans to what they expected to get paid back- no big deal. But these days you can't do that and it is causing all kinds of problems these days for all manner of financial firms. They are arguing they should be able to do what the banks of yore got to do but see they did not originate the loan and don't actually hold it so they shouldn't be allowed to treat them the way banks of yore got to.

I read a scary rumor that the U.S. is getting ready to strike Iran military facilities- I really hope that does not come to pass.I asked a friend of mine who used to be military intelligence, he has been out about 5 years and didn't have anything to add.

The shagginess is really starting to get to me. I can't wait until the day before the race to cut it. I will not be going shaggy again again I think.

Saturday, April 5, 2008

Metallica at a wedding is way cooler than you'd think

Yesterday was kind of slow at work so I went onto Barnes & Noble's website to see what sci-fi/fantasy books are coming out this summer. I came across a book tilted 2012. It refers to the Mayan calendar. I googled it and learned some interesting stuff. apparently according the Mayan calendar, on December 21, 2012 the current age will end with a bang. Many theories have been posited as to how it will end- some say the second coming of Christ, humanity as we know it will cease to exist and some even say an alien race will attack Earth. It made me remember when we took the boys to see Cloverfield, in the car on the way home I made the boys pinky swear that if a big huge monster ever attacked New York City they were not to come try and find/rescue me and the husband; they are to get their mom to get them in the car and start driving west immediately. No ifs, ands or buts about it (lol, I said but).

Two days ago I got an email rant from Mr. Clifford. As he put it he is annoyed that while he is stuck in the "land of Bel Ami" I go and start this blog and I conspire with Mr. Barrett behind his back to go visit their town. I of course immediately shared the rant with Mr. Barrett. His response was we are Sith lords and we are always conspiring. This is true even though Mr. Barrett is younger than me, he has full knowledge and power of the Dark Side. Mr. Clifford is still an apprentice.

I realized yesterday the husband and I would miss the start of BSG 4.0. Was totally bummed but I am pretty sure it will be replayed. We had a blast at the wedding anyways so I am not upset with missing it.

The wedding was great. The newlyweds came into the reception as Metallica was playing and their first dance was to a non-traditional song: Don't Let Me Down by The Stereophonics. The food was great, the band was awesome- they played everything from Zepplin to Skynyrd to The Rainbow Connection to Justin Timebrlake and even Rhianna. Our table was fun, we got sat with a bunch of co-workers of the groom. The only weird part of the evening was when I was chatting with the lady next to me. Think Odin because she only had one eye. I never realized how difficult it would be to talk to a person with only one eye. I tried to stay focused on the eye but kept drifting over the the other socket while talking with her. Finally I just focused on the bridge of her nose. I asked one of the others at the table if they found it disconcerting as well and was told she was born that way.

The husband looked at me at one point and stated we are the ONLY 'mos here. I said well yes other than the staff we are but who cares? He was on his third appletini at that point. It was funny I never seemed to not have a ice cold Bud at the table, the waitstaff just kept bringing them.

Today I have to bike for some ungodly amount of time, I think almost two hours; let me tell ya that aint happening. We are getting the rugs cleaned and will probably go out tonight.

IS anyone else surprised it took NKOTB so long to do the reunion?

Thursday, April 3, 2008

Electric blue toenails...

Yesterday my friend in the fly over state emailed me from rehab. He gets out tomorrow. He relayed a story in which an 18 year old heroin addicted hippie chick gave him a pedicure and painted his toenails electric blue. He said it was the most sensual experience he has had. He went on to say how no one there gets where he is coming from; a 42 year old polo wearing white guy who is real snotty and drives a Range Rover. His group is growing in numbers but the IQ is going down. He and I always joke and sign off on emails and txt msgs with BFF, lol, like teenage girls. He really is a BFF though; we have been through everything. We met in the business when we were both single young guys at our respective firms, have been through marriage and children, deaths in the family and divorce- he because his soon to be ex-wife is a cheating whore and me because I like cock. He has one upped me though with this rehab thing. I will not be competing on that one.

Last night the husband and I had drinks with a friend of mine from high school. I re-connected with her two years ago when dealing with my 20 year high school reunion. she lives in the city with her husband and children. We had a blast. I have known her since 1st grade. Our families went to the same church, we had our First Communion,, First Penance and Confirmation together as well as graduated from high school together. I was psyched when last night she told me I was always handsome and smart. The husband died and said great, way to feed his ego.

Last night my youngest said he got a photo album and wanted pictures of me, the husband, me and the husband together, one of each of the dogs and then the dogs together, one of me the husband and the dogs and then one of me the husband, the dogs and him and his brother. I told him no problem, the next weekend they are here we'll take all those pictures and get them developed to go home with him.

The husband loves wearing my fraternity sweatshirt at night. I laugh and tell him he is the sweetheart of the fraternity. JP is a fraternity brother of mine and he cracks up at the story.

There is one blog I read at work that deals with a lot of stuff in my business. Today's post had a certain term used that made me think I knew who the writer was. I had a feeling it was a friend of mine and when I read that one phrase I knew it was him. I IMed him and asked and he admitted it was but I could not tell anyone. I swore to him it would go to the grave with me.

I don't feel like going into mark to market tonight so will save that for Saturday or Sunday since tomorrow night we are going to the wedding. The husband is psyched to drink with my mom. His job stress level has been high lately and he and mom get along great; as my brother said he is the daughter in law my mother always wanted but never had.

As I was getting ready to leave today one of the outside lines rang and I picked it up. It was some marketing call from Bombay (I refuse to call if Mumbai much like I still refer to Istanbul as Constantinople) offering me a free dentist appointment and teeth whitening. I asked where is the dentist and he said in NYC. I said where and what is his name? He could not understand what I was asking and I could nit understand what he was answering so I thanked him for the offer and told him I am good with the dentist I currently have who also happens to be in NYC.

Thursdays in my biz are referred to as Thirsty Thursdays. I did not go out tonight, had to run (I ran 4 miles in 38 minutes) for my training. The husband did though and got home all goofy and smiling. I told him leave me alone while I write, go take a nap and I will wake you up in a half hour so you can check in on Asia.

Wednesday, April 2, 2008

The noise you heard and vibration you felt were not real...

Walking back from the pool this morning I saw Full Lower Lip. He is the SMOKING hot guy we see on the bus and at the gym. He has this pouty, full lower lip- hence his name. Dark haired, dark eyed stud! I noticed he had no gel in his usually spiky Jersey doo and he made eye contact with me- or so I like to think, LOL.

Speaking of hotties from the gym, last night the husband said he was only running for 29 minutes on the treadmill- that was until Shawnee got on to the treadmill next to him. Shawnee is another of the husband's gym crushes and I must admit he is hot. I had to share the pec deck with this majorly cute Irish kid who has serious guns. He lives in the neighborhood too but has not received a nom du crush as of yet. He definitely knows the husband and I are a couple because he sees us walking to the gym often holding hands. He was kind of nervous sharing the pec deck with me at least in my mind. On the way home we saw Wife Beater running- he has a beard now and is looking much beefier, very grrrr.

Ok so around 10:30 this morning there was this VERY loud noise and the floor shook in our office. It startled us all. The real reason most were startled more than me is because most of them worked in the WTC back on 9/11 when they were part of a large bank that is currently run by Victim Bandit. So any large noise that makes the floor shake when we are on the 47th floor gets them very nervous. At the end of the day the building management sent an email saying they while they did not doubt 3 floors of the building they could find no cause for the supposed incident. They basically called us crazy and we imagined it all.

The boss and I and one of the ops guys went off the grid for lunch today; we ordered Indian food. I had the lamb vindaloo and when I finished it my eyelids were sweating and my hair was damp. I love Indian food but the husband is a delicate flower and it upsets the delicate balance of his constitution.

I listened to Ben today in front of the joint economic committee for the Congress. I have to say he has Fedspeak down very well for being on the job just over a year. When he says the economy might go into recession that is code for we have been in one since November but due to bureaucratic inertia and the fact we drive looking in the rear view mirror I can't admit it. When he says the housing market could continue to drop he means if you are long real estate it is now a long term investment ( as in 'til you die) and if you rent wait at least another year and you will do well.

The stunning art is he admitted BSC was going to file if the Fed did not rescue them and that would have caused chaotic conditions which means Wall Street is currently a huge daisy chain and if one went down it would have all gone down. This is as close as you will get to an official admission we were and still are not out of the woods and close to a repeat of the '30s. We are not out of the woods yet. Even though yesterday was the best start to Q2 since 1938, the more pertinent fact is that over 51% of the trading days since the beginning of 2008 have had moves of 1% or greater either up or down. That is not how bull markets act.

Anyways, I have said enough, I think tomorrow I'll opine on mark to market.

Tuesday, April 1, 2008

So I'm leaving the husband and getting back with the ex-wife...

LOL- April Fool's!!! I had to do something, just kidding.

Wednesday nights on t.v. the husband and I can't agree what to watch. I like to watch Scariest Places on Earth on Sci-Fi. He is not a fan. I told him I think we should try to get on it; me, him, his younger sister, my youngest brother and his wife. He is not buying it. I may have to trade the bushy '70s porn star mustache for it. So we watched The Marine and then the 25 toughest moments of UFC and we realized it was a repeat but Rich Franklin is still smoking hot even in reruns.

So my youngest got sent home from school today. Apparently the ex forgot to set her alarm, they woke up at 8:15 (the bus comes at 8:10) so she rushed them out of the house and drove them to the school (the oldest asked to be dropped off so his friends would not see her pajamas). The nurse called 10 minutes later, my youngest has pink eye. He got to spend the day with his mom running errands; she didn't notice his crusty eye in her mad rush. Then he hit me up for money. Apparently there is a math-a-thon at school to raise money for St. Judes. I told him sure no problem.

The oldest turns 11 in two weeks. We got him a Sony digital cam for his birthday. I ordered it two weeks ago and just checked the UPS tracking and it should be here in the next two days.