Tuesday, August 31, 2010

Lasagna

Vacation was great. Everyone had a relaxing time. Wednesday morning I did my six mile run. It was ok. I and the boys then had lunch with another friend from high school. She too- like another friend who was part of the group Tuesday night- is a sheriff. She is actually a sergeant. It was great seeing her.

Thursday we hit the state fair. It was a blast. We spent a good two and a half hours there walking around checking out the sights. We even met the llama that won second place in one of the judgings. We also saw two of the biggest sows I have ever seen and they had piglets. I also got my picture taken with a great tractor too.

The best part though was when the boys looked at me and said they were tired and could we go home? I looked over to my dad and he said he was tired and would like to go home too. I said I guess we are going home.

Friday morning we were on the road by 9 AM. I dropped the boys off at their mom's house and went to the cottage. The husband was at the gym so I went across the street to PJ and ST's place and hung out by the pool.

Saturday the husband told me it was time to work and we went over to the cottage. My main job was to remove the three layers of wallpaper from the foyer. I decided against all the new fangled stuff and went with mom's suggestion of nearly scalding water and white vinegar. Quelle surprise- it worked really well.

My secondary job was to check the mouse trap that I set. Apparently we had a mouse setting off the alarm. It seemed to be getting through a small hole in the kitchen ceiling that was created during the beam installation. Well, the glue trap worked. It caught a mouse. the poor bugger was still alive. The husband was freaked out by the whole thing so of course I walked toward him with it, lol. We threw it out in PJ and ST's dumpster.

We took a small break when JD and JW stopped by to visit the cottage. They had their pooch with them which made finding a place for a late lunch a bit of a challenge.

Sunday morning we did our long run- eleven and a quarter miles. I did a pretty good steady pace. I made the run in a hour and thirty three minutes. The weird part was when we finished our run along the canal we ran into the ex' best friend. Apparently she too is training for a half marathon but one in Philadelphia.

Then it was back to the cottage. I had to patch the mouse hole in the ceiling. Then I had to wash off all the remaining paste from the foyer wall. Next up was the fireplace. It had this hideous faux brass door thingy. I pried it off and threw the thing out. The husband then painted the brick white.

Monday morning was tough. The run from Sunday was hitting me. I was exhausted. No run yesterday morning. Work was ok, thankfully not that busy and it was actually the slowest day of the year and was even slower than the half day after Thanksgiving last year.

The best part of yesterday though was dinner. With the husband's recently realized gluten intolerance we really can't have pasta unless it is the less than appealing gluten free kind of pasta. Last night though I took advantage of the husband staying down at the cottage and ordered lasagna for dinner. It was pure bliss.

The month of August ended and now we get to September which is historically the worst month for the markets. We shall see and I am firmly in the double dip/we never left the recession camp.

Today's action was unusual. First off the much hyped Consumer confidence number is a joke. The much better gauge to follow is the ABC News U.S. Weekly Comfort Index. The thing is it comes out around 5 PM and does not get much air play. Well that index is still in the shitter and was lower than expected today. If you look at a longer term chart of it it is not a pretty sight.

The Nivea ad on tv for their Active 3 product- holy shit the guy is hot. I think he may have to go on the list.

Tuesday, August 24, 2010

Are you on your way home?

Vacation has been fun and relaxing. Sunday was a huge bust. It rained the entire frackin' day. We got over four inches of rain Sunday. We basically hung out all day and were lazy- which is not a bad thing in my book for a Sunday. I made dinner Sunday night, just whipped up something on the fly and it was a huge hit. then I watched Date Night with the boys and I have to say it was rather amusing.

Monday my oldest and I ran early in the morning. I had to do a four mile run but my oldest decided he'd join me for the first mile of it. My pace was a but slow as I had to let him keep up with me but I made up for some lost time after he finished. We then hit the tennis courts. We did not get to play a lot as we got rained out but I did okay. I only lost 6-4. We got home and hit the pool in the rain because I had promised the boys we'd go swimming as long as there was no thunder or lightning. Dad made dinner last night; he had these huge Fred Flintstone like steaks. It was great and I introduced my oldest to the unique taste of Worcestershire sauce.

I then headed out for drinks with a friend from high school. I had not seen the guy in about twenty six years. Yes he goes to my church and kneels in the pews. He looked great and we had a good time reminiscing. turns out his cousin lives about six or seven blocks away from the husband and I.

This morning was my rest day so after I got up and gave the husband his wake up call I went back to bed. I woke up at 9:40 AM. It was great sleeping in that late. Then it was off to the tennis courts again. I won the first four games but then my oldest kicked my ass and won six straight games. I was not so lucky and lost 6-0 in the next set. At that point I gave up. We went home and then spent most of the day in the pool as it was great weather. I forgot how much fun Marco Polo is. I also learned my sons cheat blatantly at the game.

Tonight I met up with a bunch of friends from high school in town. It was a blast. We had dinner at a small pub like bar in town then hit the local restaurant that serves wine out of actual bottles not boxes. It was quite fun. I was having a blast until my phone rang and it was my oldest asking if I was on my way home. I told him yes I was just leaving. I got home in five minutes- yes my hometown is that small- and tucked the boys in, called the husband and bade him good night.

Tomorrow I have a six mile run, should not be that bad.

Saturday, August 21, 2010

The drive in

Got up this morning to do my long run. Thank God for the GOOG maps pedometer website. I mapped out ten miles with as few hill as possible. The run was going fine until I got past the high school. At that point I had hit eight miles and the last two were a frackin' bitch. I was psyched with my time though as I kept close to eight minute miles and finished the run in a hour, twenty four minutes and sixteen seconds- yes I am that anal.

First thing I did when I got back to the house was popped three advils, ate a banana and drank a lot of water. The boys were hanging out with grandma, waiting for grandpa to get back with donuts from DD. Dad got back and asked if I wanted anything I told him I would shower up and then go get myself an ice coffee. I got out of the shower and dressed and dad had already gone and gotten it for me.

Next up was dad and I had to go grocery shopping. I asked he boys if they wanted to come and they said no so I told them they had to engage their grandmother in conversation and whatnot. She is not real mobile right now as she is still recovering from hip replacement surgery. As we were leaving mom yells at dad- Don't take two hours like you always do. WTF??? Is my dad that old that he is one of those men who has to take two hours to grocery shop??? LOL.

We did not take two hours, we took about 45 minutes and as we were in the check out line dad's phone rang- yeah it was her asking what is taking so long.

I then took my oldest to the store to get some running shows, swim trunks and a duffel bag as he had decided to pack all of his stuff for the trip in a large paper shopping bag- which of course ripped last night when I was bringing it in.

By now my legs were sore, my knees a bit tight and I was ready for a nap. I took a nice long nap,
got up and started dinner. Mom can't really stand around in the kitchen and cook so I am doing most of it this week. I made the husband's famous brined pork chops, baked potatoes and a tomato salad. Then of course the boys wanted to play Twenty Questions. That was quite fun and I have fond memories of sitting around the dining room table growing up and playing after dinner.

I then told the boys we were going to the movies. They asked which one, I told them Toy Story 3. I knew they had already seen it and they were bitchin' and moanin' until I told them we were going to see it at a drive-in. My youngest asked if we could take his grandfather's car so he could get in the trunk and we'd save money. I told him no. We got there and found a good spot. I forgot how social the drive-in is. whole families there tailgating and spending the night to see both flicks. We had stocked up on candy and sodas. They thought it was sooo cool that the sound came in over the FM radio. It was quite fun and only about twenty miles north.

Tomorrow I and my oldest are going to play tennis first thing in the morning. I am hoping we beat the rain that is supposed to be here. Then tomorrow night I am having drinks with a friend from here who has moved back after being gone for close to thirty years.

Friday, August 20, 2010

259 miles later...

Last night I did my run- it was a short one, just 3 miles. Completed it twenty four minutes and eighteen seconds. Not bad if I do say so myself.

I got up this morning later than usual as it is a rest day. It is also the first day of vacation so even though I was physically at work I was already on vacation mentally on the bus ride in to the office.

Thankfully it was jants day at work. What are jants you ask? Duh- jants are just like jeggings but for men. If jeggings are jean leggings, aka jeans, then jants are jean pants, aka jeans. There was also a charity raffle. It was a 50/50 and the tickets sold came to $5000. I would have loved to have won as it would have paid for a new washer and dryer-the cool kind, you know, a dryer that uses steam and can get rid of wrinkles and the matching front loading washer. Alas I did not win.

Work was still slow which today was not a bad thing as I decided to cut out early. I went over all the trades I had with a co-worker and passed them of to her for the week. I caught an early train and the husband picked me up. I got to see all the progress the professional spackler made and it looks great. More importantly for my ego- since I did work as a union construction laborer for two summers- was the guy told the husband we did a really good job except for we did not need to use so many screws. I laughed as I had a discussion with the husband while we were hanging the dry wall and as any married man knows, you pick your battles and that was not one I would win. Yes though I feel and am completely smug but did not say I told you so to the husband.

I then drove over to the ex' house to pick up the boys. Our vacation is up north at mom and dad's for the week. I really never knew how long of a drive it was and GOOG mapped it- 259 miles door to door.

We made good time and the boys fell asleep in Black Betty for the last hour or so. I got them to bed and then decided it was time for some nectar of the gods- booze. I looked at he wine selections and noticed that mom and dad still don't listen to a word I have told them over the last twenty years. They still insist on putting their reds in the fridge and keeping their white in the rack and warm. My smart brother- the doctor- told me I was expecting to much and I should have known better. hence why he is the doctor.

Tomorrow I have to do my long run, ten miles. I mapped it out with the GOOG Pedometer website. It will be interesting. Summers up here can get gross, humid and sticky so I will be doing my run early. The rest of the day I have told the boys that after we do some chores with their grandfather we will lounge around the pool. They were happy to hear that.

Wednesday, August 18, 2010

Hump day

I was supposed to run this morning but did not feel like it- sue me.

The bus ride was a non-event although white pants was on there again. More importantly there is a new piece of eye candy. Scruffy, tallish, looks like a soccer player, his name is Calvin as he was wearing a Calvin Klein tee shirt on.

The market was still deadly boring. At least I got a bit busy today backing up the boss who is out on vacation.

Speaking of vacation I am off next week. I am going up north with the boys to visit mom and dad. I will most likely leave work early Friday, drive up Friday night. The husband is going down to the cottage tomorrow morning to finish patching the dry wall we did this past weekend. The pro is coming in next week to tape and spackle. So I will be grabbing the train down, picking up the truck, pick up the boys and hit the road. That means I have to pack tonight so the husband can take that down to the cottage tomorrow morning. Packing tonight means I did not go to the dojo- sweep the leg!- and did my five mile run instead. At least I did the run in a fairly good pace. I completed it in forty one minutes and 34 seconds.

Looking forward to spending the week up north. Not looking forward to my ten mile run I have to do Saturday morning. Looking forward to mom and dad's pool. Looking forward to sleeping in late- late for me these days is like 8 AM. Looking forward to taking the boys to a drive-in theater that is still operating up north. Looking forward to the opening day of the state fair. Looking forward to seeing a bunch of friends from high school.

Tomorrow is another short run, just three miles thankfully. Then business drinks after work.

Tuesday, August 17, 2010

yeah, whatever

So I took advantage of my rest day today and hit the gym this morning to lift. Orange long sleeve tee was there again- woof. I still have not had the opportunity to discretely get his name, lol. there was also a cute guy who was wearing a sleeveless tee for some track and field camp. His work out partner was cute as well.

White pants was on the bus this morning but I found it odd he was dressed really casually. He was wearing a tight white tee, dark blue khakis and sneakers. I am wondering if he has been downsized from our industry.

Today was even slower than yesterday. The tape ripped on what I have no idea. Things have not gotten any better and the spin was in on all the retailers even though WMT and HD both had crap quarters.

I hit the gym after work and did some non-running cardio. I love the eSpinner by StarTac. I am however worried about the mileage readings it gives you. Supposedly I got 15 and change miles done in 45 minutes. I have never done that pace on a bike.

I met the husband and a friend of his after the gym for drinks right around the corner. It was good to see GR.

Running tomorrow morning. Then hitting the dojo- wax on, wax off.

Monday, August 16, 2010

The arborist

Friday night I took the train down to central Jersey. We had dinner with PJ and ST. St made an awesome stir fry for us.

Saturday morning we got up early and did our long run. I ran eight miles, the husband ran ten. We ran along the canal in the neighborhood and it was perfect running weather. I ran my eight miles i just over sixty four minutes which was a great pace.

We got back to the cottage to meet the arborist. Why an arborist? Well ST had mentioned one of our trees looked sick. So the husband set up a meeting. It was quite interesting. We have two pin oaks and a willow oak on the drive way. The two pin oaks are the ones that have the problem. They have some bacterial infection. The arborist then went through the property. We have a weeping bitter cherry tree, a tulip tree, a silver maple, some white ash trees (which led him to warn us about the emerald ash borer), a kusa dogwood, a dogwood, several hickory trees and the one that got the arborist all agog was the sour wood.

The three oaks on the driveway are all about sixty plus years old. He then pointed out to us the oldest tree on the property- a massive pin oak he said was at least one hundred twenty years old.

Then we got to work putting up dry wall. We had a beam replaced in the dining/living room area. That meant we had to replace part of the ceiling and three walls. We got one and a half walls done and half the ceiling. We glued and screwed the dry wall on. Thankfully we did not have any mistakes. The hardest part was getting the ceiling up. We used two tees we made out of two by fours. It was quite a bit of work.

We went out to dinner with PJ and ST. The restaurant was great. I was exhausted by the end of dinner however and could not wait to get back to the house and go to sleep.

Sunday we finished all the dry wall. I forgot how tiring manual labor is. I was exhausted from two days of physical labor.

I did not run this morning as I would rather sleep in after all the work. I can do my short run tomorrow morning.

Headphones was on the bus this morning. I had not seen him in a while and forgot how hot he was.

No dojo- sweep the leg!- tonight. I got home, walked and fed the kids when the thunder storm started. Not only did I not feel like walking in the rain but the kids get scared with thunder storms so I decided a nap was the better part of valor.

Today was painful at work. It is really the dog days of summer. We were short two people due to vacation and it was still dead quiet. I should be careful what I wish for but I hope it picks up a bit this week.

Thursday, August 12, 2010

Jeggings

I ran my five miles this morning. Long sleeve orange tee shirt was there and he is still smokin' hot. I did the run in forty four minutes. Not bad.

I wore a suit and tie today as it is just easier than having to figure out what to wear. Picking one tie versus pants and a shirt is a no brainer in my book.

The bus ride this morning was seriously bad. Not one piece of eye candy.

I got to the office on was told I look intimidating in a suit. WTF? I am so not an intimidating person.

I read a report yesterday about the back to school selling season and came across the word jeggings. I of course called the broker to ask what jeggings were. I had an idea and was thinking it might be similar to jorts. I was correct. Jeggins are jean leggins. Which of course is just another word for jeans...

I had drinks with a broker tonight who is in the States from Australia. She is also married to a former co-worker of mine.

Everyone touched my dick today- no really. I did not wash my hands once after I went to the bathroom today. So that means everyone who shook hands with me touched my dick. Ha- just kidding...or am I?

Wednesday, August 11, 2010

Leviathan

I slept in this morning because I was beat from the dojo- sweep the leg!- last night. I was supposed to run this morning but will do that tomorrow instead and make up tomorrow on my rest day Friday. then I'll run again Saturday.

The bus ride this morning was good because of the hot guy in the Peter Griffin tee shirt. Dark haired, dark eyes and nice scruff.

I thought I read Joe Paterno is receiving the Medal of Freedom. WTF??? I am sorry but no college football coach deserves the Medal of Freedom. The funny thing is the ex-wife's family are huge Penn State people as everyone in her family- except for her- went to Penn State. I imagine even they would question him getting the award.

Still in the WTF mode, Spider-Man The Musical???? Seriously. Don't get me wrong, I am a huge fan of the Web Slinger but I just don't see how the life and times of Peter Parker translate into material for a Broadway musical. I will have to grill JP on the thought process there. Apparently it is also the most expensive musical to date. Well duh, if you have Bono doing the music for it I can't imagine it being cheap- he lost tons of money on his PALM investment and has to make it up some where.

JW and I are starting our own book club. It is going to be a specialized book club. We are starting a political economy book club. JW thought it would be a good idea as it seems we here in the United States have forgotten just what exactly constitutes a capitalist economy. He suggested we read the usual suspects- Smith, Marx, Keynes, etc. I said well we really should start with the grand daddy of all political economy treatises- Leviathan by Hobbes. I had recently read a review of a new printing of the work and I never actually read it in college. He then suggested some others we should add like Locke and Rousseau. Of course booze will be involved too- it aint a book club unless there is some kind of alcohol.

The markets today had the delayed reaction to yesterday's Fed actions that I would have expected. It was not pretty. After the close CSCO did not help any with the miss in revenues. Tomorrow should be interesting.

I have drinks tomorrow in Hoboken with an Aussie broker. She used to live there and is up for going to my favorite restaurant.

Tuesday, August 10, 2010

The bus, the bus, the bus is on fire...burn mutherfucker burn

So this morning I did nothing as it is technically one of my three rest days for the week. All that really means is no running.

I had two interns from BAC stop in the office today. The husband's girlfriend EL works for them in private banking and asked if she could send them over to expose them to a different part of the business. I told her sure. I set up having them arrive at 12:30. I would speak with them for fifteen minutes, give them a quick recap of what my job entails, etc. Then I had them set up to meet with one of the international PMs and then a U.S. PM.

First off the arrived fifteen minutes early. Too bad, they had to cool their heels in the lobby of the office. I got up there at 12:30 on the dot. I showed them the entire office. Took them to the desk to explain to them what a trader does on the institutional side. They asked some interesting, intelligent questions. I then took them up to the international PM. I told her she had fifteen minutes. Funny thing is she was kind of iffy about it all, prepared me with she was busy, doing me a favor fitting them in, etc. I went back up after the fifteen minutes and she told me she couldn't stop talking and she needed more time. She had them for an entire half hour. I took them to the U.S. PM next, told him he had fifteen minutes etc. After fifteen minutes I went back up and he said no, he was not done. He kept them for a half hour as well. The interns were then free for the rest of the day and were going to go have lunch somewhere in the city. I think it went well.

I see Van Halen- the real Van Halen not the fake one with Sammy Hagar- is reuniting and putting out an album. Woo hoo! When ever I see Van Halen I always think of 11th grade and my friend KM. We used to have parties at his house, drink his parents cinnamon schnapps and lounge around the pool all day. I sent him an email mentioning it and he said there is only one Van Halen in his book and I was redundant when I mentioned David Lee Roth.

My sons used to be really big with Yu-Gi Oh. I have no clue why, they loved the cards and the game though I doubt they actually played it correctly. Anyhow, for some reason I have had the game stuck in my mind since Sunday. So I have been texting my oldest : "I summon Exodia, the Forbidden One!" He has replied calling me a nerd. I told him everything I know about Yu-Gi Oh is due to him and his brother.

I hit the dojo- wax on. wax off- tonight. Classes were good. I was more the windshield than the bug. Not too sore.

So the Fed did it. Quantitative easing redux. This is going to destroy the U.S. dollar. It will not cause hyper inflation but it sets the right conditions for it. I am surprised the markets weren't down more but there is always tomorrow.

The Asian theater is a hotbed of potential military issues for us right now. Apparently we have the USS John S. McCain (named after the Senator from Arizona's father) stationed in Vietnam. It is causing some agita for China it seems. Then there is good ol' North Korea. funny how when they fire artillery into the ocean 115 times and threaten south Korean vessels it doesn't get much play here in the media.

On the way home today was a perfect example of New Yorker mentality even though if was in Jersey. Right at the second stop of the bus in Hoboken the bus started to smell like burning plastic. the chick next to me looked at me and I said, unasked, yes I smell it. Everyone on the bus, calmly got up and got off at the stop. the driver was a bit dumbfounded then smelled it too. Yep, huge cloud of grey smoke bellowing from the back of the bus. No one even bothered to look back and all just started to walk home. I of course tried to stalk the hot guy in the purple, button down shirt but he ducked into the gym...

Monday, August 9, 2010

Making cheesey smiley signs with puncutuation marks

So this morning I decided to skip running and do it after work. That then means I would skip the dojo- sweep the leg!- tonight which is okay since I can make it up tomorrow night. The husband is off to the cottage tomorrow morning and spending the night down there so I can go to classes. I slept in kind of late which was nice.

No one of note on the bus this morning. Kind of a let down as there is usually always someone to pique my interest.

One of the moments that made me laugh this morning was when I logged on to BBRG and checked my messages. Last week one Blythe Masters at JPM was excoriated in the WSJ for the pep talk she gave to her division. The press really screwed her over. For some unknown reason I sent her a BBRG telling her not to let the bastards grind her down and she gave a great speech to her troops. I don't know why I did it- call it a whim. Well this morning I had a response from her thanking me for my support with that cheesy little smiley face made with a colon and a closing apostrophe.

I got home and the husband and I hit the gym since it was a bit too humid out to run for my tastes. holy crap there was major talent at the gym tonight! There were too many to mention here, suffice to say the eye candy at the gym downtown is just as good as the eye candy in the gym uptown.

So Eric Northman is a top...

I still don't understand the market. The bond market is telling us deflation is coming if it is not actually here already, yet the equities are ignoring it. Then we get the San Francisco Fed telling us it is highly probable that the economy slips back into recession (for the record I think we are already in it again if we ever actually left it) and equities rally.

The Fed is meeting tomorrow- whoop dee fucking doo. There is nothing they can say that will change the economy. The market has discounted that they will initiate a second quantitative easing. God help us if they say nothing.

Sunday, August 8, 2010

Pimps don't cry- they don't shed a tear

The weekend with the boys was yet another relaxing one. I picked them up Friday after work. We stopped by PJ and ST's farm on the way home to pick up the husband and the kids. ST had a bunch of his pugs there. My oldest got out to pet them. ST jokingly told him every visitor gets a free pug to take home with them.

Saturday morning I got up and ran my six miles. I was pretty happy with the run as I did it in fifty minutes. I got home, woke up the boys, told my oldest to eat some breakfast and then we'd go play tennis. I told him we need to get there kind of early as the public courts in Hoboken can get busy early. He ate his breakfast and went back to bed. WTF? I told him no we go now. We drove over there and found a parking spot. He told me it says residents only. I said not a problem as I have a parking permit for Hoboken.

We got to the courts and there were three groups ahead of us. We waited. A friend RB who had not seen in quite some time stopped by with his dog and we caught up. It was good to see him and catch up on everything. It was our turn so we got on the court. My oldest has gotten very good and he kicked my ass 6 games to one. Our hour was up so we walked back to the truck and lo and behold I had been booted! My parking permit was not valid for '10- which I knew but was playing the odds I could sneak by; apparently not. I called the number, paid the fine and got the code to remove the boot. I pinky swore my oldest not to tell the husband. Pretty sure the husband doesn't read this but if he does I've just outed myself.

I took a nap when we got home as a six mile run plus a hour of tennis had me beat.

We went and saw The Other Guys yesterday afternoon and it is a hilarious movie. I highly recommend it to anyone who actually reads this. Will Ferrel and Mark Wahlberg were great and Michael Keaton was really good in a supporting role too.

We got home, ordered dinner in and then watched The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus. Typical Terry Gilliam movie. My youngest watched it with us and he enjoyed it.

This morning I got to sleep in late and the husband went and did his long run. He got done with his run, showered up and jumped back into bed. We slept 'til about 11 AM. A late breakfast was in order. We then decided to watch The Haunting in Connecticut.

This week looks like it should be a nice low key one but that usually means things will unexpectedly cause it to end up busier than I expect.

Thursday, August 5, 2010

Shocker- ha, that's a good one

This morning I convince the husband to run with me again. I did not run yesterday morning like I was supposed to so I made it up this morning. We ran four mile at a very good pace- 32' 40". The humidity did not help but it was a good run.

The bus was a non-event this morning. Which was a good thing since I was still cooling down from the run and catching up on all my emails and BBRG messages from over night.

Chael Sonnen- total woof! Don't misunderstand me, I am not getting the fight on pay per view but he is hot. Speaking of hot MMA fighters- Roger Huerta. TMZ had a video of him knocking a guy out in a street fight outside a club in Austin. The best part was Dana White commenting good for Roger. Apparently the guy he knocked out punched and knocked out a chick. That was too much for Roger. The best was before he got into the fight he took his shirt off- omg I would totally tap out for the guy.

I hit the dojo- sweep the leg!- tonight. Again it was a surprisingly small class and the substitute sensei was there. Did I mention the substitute sensei is frackin' adorable? Anyhow, he apparently felt the need to do some ground fighting with me. the guy is perfect build for ground fighting- 5' 3"-5' 5". large thighs relative to his body, nice guns, scruffy, dark hair, dark eyes and great ink. Mr. Barrett would be drooling over him. I mentioned it to the husband and he said he may have to stop in there tomorrow and do some marking. Of course I am beat up and sore but it was an excellent experience. I checked him out on the school website and found out he is on the fight team and has fought professionally.

We have the boys again this weekend. I am not sure what exactly we'll do other than go see The Other Guys Saturday night. The weather looks like it will be nice for the weekend but who knows. If for some reason the weather turns on us we'll do board games/dominoes/dvd movies.

When I got home and walked the kids another dog walker came up and commented on how great the kids were and he thought they looked great. I said thank you. He commented at least two more times. I started to wonder if he was fishing for me to say how great his dog was. I just couldn't bring myself to compliment his dog since I don't like the breed and I know the dog has issues with the kids.

As I was taking the elevator down to go the the dojo- Cobra Kai never die!- some guy commented on how great my shorts were and asked where I got them. Please- that is one of the lamest attempts at a pick up line I have ever heard. apparently he thought the wedding ring was just for show.


So oops on the jobless claims. They were higher than expected once again proving the ADP numbers are a misleading indicator. It does not bode well for the unemployment number tomorrow which could possibly see the dreaded 10% level again.

Let's assume the GSEs do some grand move like taking all the mortgages they own (which accounts for roughly half the entire mortgage market in the U.S.) down to the market rate. That means someone will take a major hit to their P&L. The other rumor running rampant is they could just write off all of the principle on the underwater loans to take them to market level. that also entails someone taking a large hit to their P&L. August 17th is the date to keep on your calendar. Watch out...

A record number of Americans are now on food stamps. That is how bad is out there. Over 40 million Americans are receiving some sort of assistance when it comes to getting three squares a day. We need some sort of public works program- think about all the roads that could get repaired and we need to replace and upgrade our entire power grid. What happened to all the shovel ready projects that were around when the first stimulus was passed?

Running again tomorrow morning. Shorter run than this morning. the boss announced it is pink shirt day tomorrow as well. Why? No clue, he likes to mess with people like that, lol.

I had to stop at the grocery store tonight after the dojo- wax on, wax off- and as I was standing in the checkout line I do what all normal people do- I perused the tabloid covers. There on one of them was an article that made me laugh out loud. Siegfried & Roy Shocker: Roy caught on videotape soliciting gay sex. I really don't know what was shocking? That he was caught on video tape? That he had to solicit? It cannot be that he is gay.

Tuesday, August 3, 2010

Unconditional love

Worked out lightly this morning as it is supposed to be my rest day but whatevuh...Holy crap- orange long sleeve tee at the gym this morning! The kid had to be in mid twenties but he is stunning. He wears nice pants too, lol. I noticed he attached his work i.d. with one of those retractable string things to his pants. I was not quick enough to see his name but I'll work on it, lol. Pretty sure I did not stare but it was real tempting.

White pants was on the bus this morning. He was wearing flip flops too. On a Tuesday? I think he may be in my line of work but not sure which side of the desk he is on.

I met up with JP for coffee before work this morning. He looks great- he has a new trainer and it is working. He seems to be in a good place with work as he is involved in a big production here in the city. He is working with Sylar which is cool and I told him he needs to get friendly with him and bring him out in Hoboken one night. His job is challenging but I know he is up to it. At least he has not fallen asleep at the light board.

I shocked the woman who sits next to me when I said today I am in favor of letting the Bush temporary tax cuts expire. I was leaning that way earlier due to conversations I had with JW and then when I read David Stockman, David Stockman's editorial it was the final nail in the coffin for me. I am all for less taxes but we need to man up folks. We are screwed and taking the easy way out won't do us any good. We need to face facts and realize we have to make some hard choices and those choices will cause pain, discomfort and social angst. I learned late in life that the right choice is also usually the hardest one and the seemingly impossible one to make, you think you won't survive it. Not true.

GTL=Gym...Tan...Laundry. The Jersey Shore. Everyone at work is talking about it and I just cannot abide reality television. Regardless of The Situation's abs I will not watch the show.

Mitch Miller died. The gentleman had a special place in my heart believe it or not. Growing up my favorite Christmas album my parents had was the Mitch Miller Sing Along Christmas Songs. I read his obituary and did not realize he was such a big deal in the music industry.

The dojo was tough tonight. Sensei is on vacation so there was a substitute for him. No clue which one he is from but he was good. It also seems he invited two of his own students to come down for class. Both black belts, one sempai and one joshu. I was the only other male in the classes so I got the honor of working out with them. I think I acquitted my self just fine but I will be sore tomorrow especially when I have to get up for my four mile run...

A bunch of upcoming movies I think will get me into the theater. Piranha 3D, The Last Exorcism, The American, Machete, Resident Evil: AfterLife, MegaMind and of course Paranormal Activity 2.

The title refers to one thing and one thing only- dogs. Dogs are really the only creature you will encounter in your life that completely and truly embody unconditional love. I got on this topic because my brother (the smart doctor) and his wife had to put down their dog today. It sucks! It also makes me concerned about our older dog and how the husband will handle it when we have to make that decision.

Monday, August 2, 2010

Credit where credit is due

Saturday's movie choice was good. The Sorcerer's Apprentice was actually not a bad flick. Three out of four of us surveyed said it was good.

Yesterday was actually a very nice lazy Sunday. I did not run as Sundays are my rest days. The husband has a different schedule so he had a sort of long run. He then took a nap and I did the laundry and cleaned up the kitchen. I made the boys clean up their room with me and I called my younger son big guy. My oldest stopped what he was doing looked at me and said "I thought I was big guy?" I told him you both are my big guys.

Mom went in to have her hip replaced today. I called and spoke with her from the bus ride in. My brother- the smart one, he's a doctor- was up there for moral support. He and my dad both called to let me know everything went well and as expected.

I was a bit shocked to find out my crackberry is viewed as a threat to national security by so many foreign governments.

I have to say as much as I thought it was a bad idea for the federal government bailing out the auto makers it seems to be a success for now.

I was supposed to do one of my short runs this morning but I decided to sleep in. I skipped the dojo- sweep the leg!- tonight as I have a light week and can hit it tomorrow night. I ran three short miles in under 24 minutes which was pretty good.

Seriously- there is a need for Step Up 3D??? And they are remaking Red Dawn??? Wolverines!