Monday, June 7, 2010

Things change when you go global

So the summer kicked off with a great Memorial Day weekend with the boys at the in-laws house. I and the boys got out there Friday night around 9:45. My sister-in-law had already started a fire on the beach and had the makings for s'mores. I of course was happy my step-father-in-law is always happy to share his wine. The husband and the kids got there around midnight.

The boys had a blast. The husband commented on how great it was that the boys were totally engaged with his family. The husband's older sister was really great with them. She taught them how to play dominoes. By the end of the weekend they were playing poker for change!

It was quite a movie weekend too. Saturday night we hit the local theater and saw Prince of Persia. Jake was hunky in it of course but the better part was the popcorn/concession guy. He had to be 19 or 20- definitely his summer job. Totally woofy though and chatty about the movie. The ticket taking guy was quite cute too.

I was not expecting much from the movie but it actually wasn't that bad. The best was I had to drag my oldest kicking and screaming to see it and as soon as the lights went back on he looked at me and said it was actually a pretty good movie. The best part of the night was walking out of the theater looking over and seeing two extras from The Big Bang Theory commenting on how the movie would have been good or ok if you had never played the video game, lol.

Sunday night was a double feature night at the in-laws. We watched Daybreakers on dvd followed by Ninja Assassin. The boys liked Daybreakers. Ninja Assassin was ok but the gore level was pretty amazing. My youngest decided he'd rather go play on his laptop than watch it.

Saturday the in-laws had a bunch of guests over for a barbecue. I got to man the grill. I made ribs, burgers and dogs. all of them were a hit. I also grilled asparagus and eggplant- the eggplant was used in a salad the husband made and it was awesome.

Sunday the boys went clamming- manually. My oldest came out of the bay with the pockets of his cargo shorts full. He caught four dozen clams, We steamed them all up and had them for dinner that night and I have to say I think my oldest was a bit proud of the fact that he caught dinner for everyone.

The past week and a half has been kind of crazy at work. Apparently corporate decided to roll up a different division into us. No big deal but we are now trading on a global basis. So last night I was actually trading in Japan. Today I was trading in Brazil along with my usual U.S. trading. It is all about IOF taxes, conversion ratios, f/x rates, holidays, how things settle. I have not traded outside the U.S. (Canada doesn't really count) before but I am a firm believer that trading is trading and it does not matter what country you are trading in. Yes there are nuances and eccentricities but whatever deal with it. It is exciting and fun.

Speaking of the markets I will just say again that according to my Magic 8 Ball all signs are pointing to deflation. Everyone is trying to be a cheerleader and ignore it but when you see things like materials shitting the bed, steel companies idling blast furnaces and asking ferro-chrome producers for price decreases I don't know what else to think. A lot of pundits are doing what a lot of people in this business (I have been guilty of it too) do when they might be wrong' they try to force the data to match their investment thesis instead of changing their thesis to match the data. It never ends well.

The Euro is going to at least 1.15- that is the first stop on the way to parity. Not good for our companies as when a country devalues its currency it makes their products much more competitive. We really can't do anything to stop it. Sadly my children and grandchildren will most likely have a lower standard of living than I and my parents.

This week is a busy one. Tomorrow night the husband and I are going to a charity event- Voices In My Mind I think- with MP. She invited us and it is business attire so I'll be suited up for it. Wednesday night is my youngest son's spring concert. Thursday I am having drinks with a fraternity brother (we also were pledges at the same time) who actually works in my building and is the general counsel for a company there. I have not seen him in 20 years so it should be fun. Friday it is down to the cottage to do some non-gutting work.

My oldest son's summer reading list is out. He was not excited with any of the four choices but I am! There are two books on there I really like- The Hobbit and Ender's Game. I know my oldest- The Hobbit is a non-starter but Ender's Game is right up his alley. SO I will be re-reading Ender's Game this summer. I have to credit my excellent liberal arts education with exposing me to that book. I read it my sophomore year as part of an English class titled Science Fiction For Non-Majors. Ahhh the beauty of varied requirements at a liberal arts school.

This morning on the bus was fun. The hottest guy by far was Wire Rim Glasses. I have not seen him before but totally hot! Scruffy, nice guns in his polo shirt, jeans that fit well in all the right places, dark hair and wire rim glasses- hence his nickname.

I am breaking my facial hair tradition. Normally I go with autumnal facial hair. However this year I am going with the summer (porn) 'stache. The husband asked me to do it the weekend we were at the beach with TK and I acquiesced.

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