I want a silver lame suit

So last week was a bit chaotic and interesting.

Wednesday night the husband and I went and saw Phoenix at MSG.  Seriously, it was like we were dropped into the middle of the 12th arrondissment.  I swear everyone around us was from France.  The best part was the husband, being the chatty Kathy he is, started chatting with the woman next to him.  Much to our surprise we found out this is not Phoenix' first album.  They apparently have made a bunch.  So I told her it is obviously their first good one or they'd have toured the U.S. before an done a show in MSG.  That did not go over well; it was like I insulted their WWII military achievements...

Thursday I convinced everyone on the desk except the boss we should dress up this Friday to celebrate Samhain.  The rule was simple:  You need an actual costume, putting a witch's hat on or black cat ears or something else lame is not allowed.

Thursday night we all attended a party celebrate the  fortieth anniversary (in our line of work) of  a woman we do business with.  She is 58 which means she started at 18 (see I can do math without a calculator).  More importantly she started as a high school graduate and a woman in a man's world.  She succeeded beyond all odds.  In this day and age you cannot get into my line of work with just a high school diploma.  It is a testament to how great she is at her job.  The boss made me drink a few too many straight vodkas.  We tried an Irish vodka- Boru (named after the legendary High King)- which gave us pause until the bartendress (Irish of course) pointed out vodka is made from potatoes and who knows potatoes better than the Irish.

I read Friday how scientists have spotted the oldest galaxy in the universe.  Apparently it is roughly 13.1 billion light years away.  Two thoughts came to mind- are we about to be forced into the ongoing war between the Vorlons and Shadows (maybe they are already here influencing us which could explain Sarah Palin)?  The other was I cannot wait to see Skyline.  The movie looks great and I hope the creatures from it are not on their way already from the oldest galaxy.

Saturday we worked on the cottage.  We were installing window casings and baseboards.  Funny thing happened though early in the morning.   The ex called in a mood.  She apparently had reached a breaking point.  The boys it seems have been rather disrespectful, bratty and rude a lot lately.  Then she adds on how her mother has been the same and her horse is being a jerk.  "I fucking hate everyone right now."  I asked if she called because she is mad at me and hates me as well or she just needed to speak with someone.  She informed that while her boyfriend is a great support she could vent to me and I had to listen because I am her ex.  I asked if she wanted me to come over a hour ahead of my scheduled pick up of our oldest (he and I were going to see Paranormal Activity 2) and the four of us would sit down and have a "family chat."  She said yes please.

I got there and apparently I had my angry eyes as both boys immediately knew something was wrong.  The four of us sat down at the kitchen table and had a good discussion.  I then said to the ex that while I know it is her house could she please leave for awhile so I could talk to the boys.  She did.  I then laid into them and read them the riot act.  I was dropping the f-bomb, telling them their mother is not a maid or a chauffeur or cook, etc.  She is their mother and they will start treating her properly.  I told them they were being ungrateful brats, I think I also called them shitheads.  I told them I have tried to use logic, reason and everything else to make them understand.  I closed with this is your first, last and only warning; if I ever get a call like that from their mother again I will stop whatever I am doing, come down here and kick their asses.  At this point they are both in tears.  My oldest said he had never heard me talk like that and I replied I have never been this angry.  Their mom came back in and they both ran to her, started hugging her in tears, apologizing profusely.  She gave me that look like what the hell did you say?

I felt bad for two reasons.  One, I threatened my children with physical violence to get them to behave and two that I actually had to threaten them.  It does seem to be working though.  I know this because the ex and I now speak daily and when I asked my youngest how his attitude has been he replies "Good...I hope."

Paranormal Activity 2 is actually scarier than the original I think.  I was always a scaredy cat about basements as a kid and this movie completely justified my childhood fear.  I have also always need to have the closet doors closed when I go to bed- even now- and again, the movie has made me feel justified.

Sunday night the husband and I went and saw Muse at The Prudential Center.   It was a completely different show than Phoenix but just as great.  It was seriously old school rock concert- moving stage, laser lights, smoke machines, massive video screens.  The best part was the lead singer was wearing a freakin' silver lame suit.  the husband commented Muse is much harder in concert than on their albums- I concur; definite headbanging going on.  Also, The Prudential Center is a great venue to see a show it, highly recommend it.

Got my costume today- a Klingon, with ridged forehead no less (STNG type not the original).  I also have a fu manchu style mustache to put on.  Need to figure out a name and a house.  I am predisposed to the House of Mogh of course.

An interesting story  out last week regarding Anglo-Irish.  The government is finally doing what really needs to be done to help solve this whole financial wreck- hitting the bond holders.  Apparently they are proposing the bond holders take 20 cents on the euro, which is the equivalent of 18 cents on the dollar.  Huge hit and it should scare everyone who holds bank debt as it could set a precedent.

Exercising has been killin' me lately.  Did a twelve mile run Monday night with the husband.  My knee was killing me and when we got back to the building we find out there was a water main break a few blocks away so we had no water.  Great...

Tuesday morning was the gym then one class at the dojo- sweep the leg!- at night and then up until roughly 11:30 PM working.  This morning was a five mile run.  I got to the office and the woman who sits next to me told me I look really tired.  So tonight nothing.

Domo arigato Mr. Roboto

I slept in later this morning- I need to catch up from all the manual labor I did this past weekend.  Speaking of manual labor, the boss and I discussed our weekend activities and came to the conclusion that manual labor for guys like us is cathartic.  It is great to do that kind of work and see immediate results and know they are because of you and not someone else.

I wore a suit and tie to work this morning.  Not only was I being lazy but the boss had also scheduled several new non-U.S. business contacts to come in I did not want to look disrespectful as they were predominately Asian and I know how the are about the whole  "face" thing.

I am a firm believer this market has topped out.  I have finally started walking the walk and not just talking the talk.  Today I moved my 401(k) and every other incentive/savings plan I have to 100% cash.  I don't care if I miss another 5% to the upside.  Don't get me wrong, I was doubting myself until I chatted with my bond friend and he told me he had done almost the same thing but moved into 10 year Treasuries, 30 year Treasuries, gold and cash.  I get those moves but even those moves can generate losses whereas cash can only lose (even more) purchasing power, lol.

I had a quick drink with one of our Asian business contacts after work then met up with the husband and TK for a drink. They were then having dinner and going to some Broadway show- non-musical variety.

I am psyched for this weekend.  Saturday night I am taking my oldest and a few of his friends to go see Paranormal Activity 2.  I told my oldest I'll buy treats but his friends have to buy their own tickets and make sure it is ok with their parents.

This song just keeps on giving...

This weekend was quite industrious.  The husband and I started to install the hardwood flooring in the foyer, hallway. living room and dining room.  My step-father-in-law was there to help us start the project as it is all important that the first three rows are in straight and they need to be hand nailed in; the husband thought we could use the nail gun we borrowed and I told him the pre-finished bamboo flooring manufacturer said it could damage the planks.  It did on the first one he nailed in.  So it was all hand nailed on the first three and I got to use my nail set- which the step-father-in-law was impressed I actually owned.

The table saw also impressed the husband's step father; it is the same portable one he owns and he is a cabinet maker/carpenter.  It also generated a shitload of sawdust, as in by the end of the day Saturday my snots were basically all sawdust.  We ended Saturday when we got to the front door and I was fried and couldn't fully get the process figured out.

I sent pics to a bunch of friends and family.  I really don't know why they are all shocked and awed- seriously, can't all gays handle hard wood with ease?

Sunday we really made some great progress.  I had to buy a jig saw to get some of the cuts done.  I also got stuck having to do the remainder of the foyer and the hallway which is a lot of precise cutting and hand nailing.  We got half the square footage done- I know that because we started with 41 boxes of planks and used 20 of them.  I got home last night and was so frackin' sore.  There were muscles I did not know I had or hadn't used since my days as a union construction laborer throwing 105 lb. jack hammers around.

I ran 4 miles this morning and again paid the price for all the manual labor I did over the weekend.  I listened to my half marathon play list and again Carmine Burana keeps giving me all these great insights.  I definitely heard "Dorks use blue tooth" and "Pimps drink Grey Goose."

The bus was a none event this morning.

One has to wonder.  The government owns GM- no matter what semantics they use to obfuscate the issue.  Why don't they force GM to spin off OnStar as a separately traded public company and then anyone who buys a car could go and sign up for OnStar?  I used to own a Tahoe and it had OnStar- OnStar actually rocks.  If I could subscribe to it in my Toyota pick up truck I would.

Brothers are funny.  Last night after I had been home for about 5 minutes I noticed I had a missed call from the ex.  The voice mail was a cryptic call me.  I call her and find out she and the boys are in the emergency room.  Apparently my oldest was getting annoyed by his younger brother and pushed him or reacted in some other physical manner.  My youngest fell and hit the back of his head on the kitchen chair, gash resulting.  they went to the doctor who looked at it and he said he needed a stitch.  He ended up receiving two staples instead.  I spoke to them both and stressed to my oldest that a physical reaction is not acceptable.  The only thing I was really annoyed at was the ex was not home when this happened and left her phone in her car.  Thankfully the boys are smart, called their grandmother who lives two blocks away and she took care of everything.

This week is frackin' busy.  Tomorrow night I have drinks with a Japanese business associate who is in town.  Wednesday night the husband and I are going to see Phoenix.  Thursday night I have a surprise birthday party to go to for a friend in the business.  Friday I will go down to the cottage again after work, the husband and I are having dinner with my friend who lent us his tools and his wife.  Saturday more work on the cottage and then Sunday we are seeing Muse in concert.

Not a luxury liner...

I got up yesterday morning got up and ran my 5 miles.  There is something nice about running on an autumn morning that early when it is still dark and there is a slight chill/crispness in the air.  The winter can be fun as well but I think I am emotionally scarred from my days wrestling in high school and running in the winter meant I was close to being over weight and had to do extra cardio. 

I then had no mental energy to actually pick out pants and a shirt, etc.  So I woke the husband up and asked him to pick a tie for me and commented I kind of wish we'd go back to having to wear suits at the office on a daily basis. 

The bus was rather uneventful.

The new blond guy on Glee- does anyone else think his mouth is all fracked up?  It reminds me of Heath Ledger's   Joker mouth.  Hot body but weird mouth- kinda turns me off.

I played lacrosse from 6th grade on.  So when I see articles in the NYT about it I always read them.  Paul Rabil- holy shit!  If I was not a lax fan I would be after seeing him.  I need to get the ESPN The Magazine body issue.  I also came across another hot opera guy.  Vittorio Grigolo.  Something about dark hair and dark eyes that just get me going.

So the other day I watched a story on BBRG tv about SBUX and how management is trying to slow down their servers.  Are you frackin' kidding me??  The people at SBUX are slow enough, if they go any slower it will completely back fire on them and they will definitely lose even more sales.  The management should be trying them to pick the pace up a bit.
 
Last night after work we had an Oktoberfest.  I had a few beers then pulled a Houdini as I was meeting PF for drinks.  He of course picked the new gay sports bar, Boxers.  It is actually a real sports bar and of course I sat down in front of the hot, blond, shirtless, muscly twenty something bartender.  He was not very friendly; you'd think as a bartender you'd be friendly.  Of course once we bought him a shot he was all smiles and introduced himself as Josh.

This morning I got to rest as Fridays are my rest days for training.  White pants was on the bus and he was hot as usual wearing a pink button down shirt with white collar and blue blazer- I think...lol.

I read how God's Bankers have IT Nazis and the cannot even respond to IMs such as WTF.  So of course every day I now IM the kid I do business there with a WTF first thing in the morning.   The prevents him from replying and he has to actually pick up the phone and converse with me.

Recently when all the talking heads on tv talk about QE2 they make the distinction they are not talking about the ocean liner.  I agree the luxury liner is not a good analogy but there is one that I think is- the Titanic.  QE2 when it comes is going to be a huge failure and do more damage to the economy.  It will also probably drive the ten year rate down below 2% which will be the bell ringing for everyone to get out of the pool because there is a Baby Ruth floating.

The in-laws are coming over tonight.  I will be hosting them.  Tomorrow morning we will drive down to the cottage.  My father-in-law will be the supervisor of us starting the floor installation and he will be measuring out the walls for the book cases we are going to put in.  Today the husband painted the foyer.

Hump Day

So I slept in this morning instead of running.  I got to bed late last night and just did not want to get out of bed.  It was nice.

The highlight of my day was an email exchange with Mr. Clifford.  He sent me an email reminding me I gave him my opinion on what options he should consider for his 401(k) when he started his new job back in January.  Apparently I made some good/smart/lucky guesses.  His account is up 14.5% year to date.  He wanted to know if that was a good rate of return.  I then had to expound on the difference between absolute returns versus relative returns.  Regardless of which way he wants to look at it 14.5%  y.t.d. is freakin' awesome.  The SPX is only up 5.74% y.t.d.

The other highlight of the day was stuffing the boss with my Asia trades.  The rule of thumb on the desk is if two of us have orders in the same name the one with the larger order takes them all; hence how I was able to stuff him- ha!

I got home kind of late tonight.  My intention was to hit the dojo- sweep the leg!- but I realized I had work to do.  I needed to clean up the boys room and make the beds as the in-laws will be staying here Friday night.  I then had to put away all the dry cleaning and empty out the dishwasher.  Why tonight?  Well tomorrow night I have an office social function to go to then I am having drinks with PF.  I know that I will end up getting stuffed with Asia work and that after a few cocktails cleaning would not be on my agenda.

In preparation for the foolish trail half marathon I agreed to do I set up my training schedule.  I only have five weeks to get ready.  So I took the husband's advice and am just going to repeat the last five weeks of my ten week program I did for the road half marathon.  That means tomorrow I will be running before work- five miles.

 

Foolishness is not saying no because you love someone

Lots to catch up on. 

First let's get the boring stuff out of the way.

HR3808 is an abomination, a stealth attempt at TARP 2.0 and shows you who Congress and the President really answer to- if I was in a less generous mood I'd say owned by.  It was an attempt by our corporate finance masters to make sure they could continue with their fraudclosures.  Thankfully the real reporters- the financial blogs out there- raised the alarm, hue and cry.  The President said he would use a pocket veto...how nice of him.  You can bet your ass he would have signed it if he had not been caught on it.  It basically allowed the servers of the mortgages to claim an out of state notarization was valid in another state.

We met the gentleman we do business with in London last Thursday.  Holy shit he looks like he is 12- no wait, 14 at the oldest.  I am sure if you asked him if he thought girls were icky he'd answer in the affirmative...

So there has been a bunch of articles on a big time hedge fund manager who is a huge comic book fan.  I had one of my less lucid moments late today and sent him a BBRG starting with Excelsior and stating Norrin Radd is my favorite hero.  The guy actually replied, lol.  We went back and forth for a few minutes.  I am sure he thinks I am a nut job- not far off base.  At least if he tries to find me on Linked In he'll see I am in the two largest comic book groups and know I am a true believer.

I have been biking a lot recently at the gym and I still doubt the odometer on the eSpinner.  Yesterday I actually got back in the pool for the first time in a long time.  I only swam for twenty minutes but it felt good to be back in the water and I didn't smell like chlorine for the entire day.

Last Thursday I had drinks with a college friend who I actually do business with; not a big deal in and of itself but what made it fun is his new boss.  His new boss just happens to be my ex-father-in-law, lol.  So I gave him some good intell on what buttons he has an dhow to push them.  I also had about twenty beers too many and it was Miller High Life- not my first, second or third choice ever but the bar was having a charity event where every cap from MHL bottles was kept and translated into a ten cents donation to Wounded Warrior.

Last weeks Glee was not bad but I did tell the husband and he completely agreed with me if any song from Yentl was on it we were turning it off.  We did not watch the entire episode obviously...More exciting was the premiere of Caprica.  This season is going to be frackin' great- I can just feel it in my steel cylons bones...

I had the boys this weekend and the husband was down at PJ and ST's dog sitting for them as they were off to Berlin.  Saturday we went into the city for the NY Comic Con.  I actually spied Chris Meloni there with- I assume- his daughter.  The boys and I agreed that it was really crowded this year compared to the last time we went.  After about four hours they were done and ready to go home.  That night we went and saw My Soul To Take- in 3D of course.  It was a good Wes Craven flick.

This weekend we are starting the installation of the hardwood floors.  A friend in my line of work loaned us a bunch of nail guns, an air compressor and compound mitre saw.  The husband went to pick them up Saturday morning and sent me a text letting me know my friend is adorable, lol.  The other thing we did was get a table saw!  I am so psyched!  Power tools rule!  We will need it for when we replace all the baseboards and window and door casings.

So today I did  a really dumb thing:  I agreed to do a trail half marathon in November with the husband.  What the frack was I thinking??  I really can't say no to him and I admit I am slightly competitive.

I got my ass kicked last night at the dojo- Cobra Kai never die!  I got stuck with the black belts and while they thanked me for the excellent workout I did not return the kind words, lol.  Joshu is one lanky, wiry bony-shouldered mother fracker and those shoulders don't feel good when they are getting round into parts of your head, chest, jaw line or neck.  Sempei is about an inch shorter than me and twenty pounds heavier.  I'll most likely see both of them tomorrow night- frackers.

Ok, falling into a slightly misogynistic (I apologize ahead of time to any women who read this) mode:  The husband and I went to the gym tonight (lots of great eye candy there such as Delaware, Rutgers and Brown hat but I digress).  I went to use one pec deck and there was someone using it with a trainer.  I go over to the other one and there is a lady using it.  I ask how many sets she has left and she replies she just started and "There's another one you know?"  with serious snottiness.  I reply yes I know and it is being used too.  Ladies- learn how to let someone work in on equipment.  Don't just sit there and rest and ignore the person who just asked how many sets you have- that is code for can I work in?  Also do not wear one of those mesh baseball-type caps in the gym.  Straight guys think they make you look less attractive and dorky, the gays are horrified you have either bad fashion sense, bad hair or split ends.   I then go over to use the eSpinner.  The tow are being used by women and they are both over the forty minute mark when all the signs clearly say all cardio equipment has a thirty minute time limit during peak hours.  I see the manager and totally rat them out, lol.  A trainer goes over and explains they have to follow the rules.  Both women pull the oh I thought that was just for treadmills.  They also both start shooting daggers with their eyes at me- ha! 

Seriously- I swear they are singing in Klingon

I hit the gym this morning.  The one next door to the office as I was up early enough.  The thing though was that the bus got stuck in the tunnel, why is unbeknownst to me as I had my iPod on and was happy listening to my music and playing WordMole.

I did the eSpinner today at the gym and I have to say that the odometer on it has to be wrong.  There is no way I actually biked 7.98 miles in twenty minutes.  I fervently hope it is right but I just can't see that being the case.

The whole mortgage mess is getting even more fracked up.  The housing market is seriously screwed up all because of securitization.  I get that if you cannot prove you hold title to a mortgage you legally cannot foreclose on the mortgage.  Makes sense to me.  That is really the problem right now.  The judiciary is finally smarting up and becoming activist- which means it's just a matter of time before the right gets all pissy about it, unless of course it is their houses the judges are stopping the bank from foreclosing on I am sure.  More importantly it means that if the banks that own the CMBs are not getting their expected cash flows because people cannot afford or choose not to pay their mortgages anymore.  No cash flows means they CMBs the owned are worth less.  That means all these banks who are lying and marking these CMBs on the b/s at 100 cts on the dollar will have to eat the loss at some point.  That means they will take a capital hit and have to either raise more or become impaired.  This will put the TBTF idea to a serious test and it will also be a serious strain on the severely limited FDIC.  I don't see how our corporatist finance overlords will allow a hideous, activist  judiciary to ruin their plans...

The market loved the idea that the Fed has been telegraphing-more QE!  It seems very short sighted as the Fed is telling us it is coming not because of the strength and vitality of our economy but because we are totally fracked still.  Oh- and the first round did nothing to help, so sure let's try again and more this time. My belief is when the Fed drives the 10 year down below the 2% level it is over for bonds.  I am not sure what to move into once that happens- all I can think of is hard assets- you know, land, precious metals, coal, oil, guns, canned goods, etc.

I finally heard back from JP.  He has been busier than a one armed barber lately with his current gig.  Hopefully at some point in the near future we'll be able to get together with him soon for drinks and/or dinner.

One of the songs I put on my list for the half marathon is Carmine Burana- aka the music from The Omen (the original one not the recent remake).  I had never really listened to it before but it is what I started the race with and I have been listening to it a lot lately and I swear to God the song is in Klingon.  I hear the choir singing about Duras, Kahless, Gowron and Worf.  I am pretty sure I heard Sto-Vo-Kor and Gre'thor in there as well.

Hemlock, mosaic green and pale moon

Just catching up since over the weekend.  Thursday morning there was  a real cute guy on the bus bit he was wearing two clashing plaids.  I am not exactly a fashion plate- I like to illustrate the differences between my fashion sense and style by contrasting them to the husbands; mine is closer to Sindarin while the husband's is more like Quenya- but I digress.

There was actually a second hot guy on the bus that morning too- big burly looking blond with a brush cut.  He also had a rather mean looking mug- probably because he is not getting laid enough.

Thursday was back to school night for my oldest son.  Surprisingly the ex actually saved a seat for me in homeroom.  The first thing I noticed is why my oldest likes his homeroom teacher- she is an attractive blond with an ample bosom.  She also happens to be his science teacher.  The other cool thing I thought was I can know see all his grades and everything else about school on line.  They have a portal you can sign in and view it all.  Sucks for him but cool for me.

Friday morning was a non event on the bus.    It was also relatively quiet at work.  Friday night we went and saw Let Me In with JD and JW to celebrate the start of Shocktober.  I would rather have seen Case 39 but the vote went against me.  I don't know why the rest wanted to see it as we all saw the Swedish movie it was a cover of, Let The Right One In.

Saturday morning we drove down to the cottage for a weekend of painting.  I spent all day Saturday painting the ceiling in the living room, dining room and kitchen.  Painting ceilings totally sucks.  My lower back, neck and shoulders were killing me by the time we finished.  The husband got the first coat of paint up in the bedrooms.  Sunday we put up the first coat in the living room and dining room, got he second coat up in each of the bedrooms at which point the other rooms were dry so put up the second coat in all of them.  It was a lot of painting.  The colors we chose are blue, aka hemlock, for our room, green, aka mosaic green for the boys room and yellow, aka pale moon for the living room and dining room.  We have not yet decided on a color for the foyer or den.  The den will be difficult as the naughty pine was completely stripped of all varnish and stain.  We are going to seal it and leave it plain.

I think the husband has doubts about my painting skills as he suggested I instead try to remove the linoleum floor in the kitchen instead of helping him finish the second coat in our bedroom.  Funny thing about thirty year old Armstrong flooring- it is glued on.  Parts of it I was able to rip up but we need to rent a heat gun and do it as a team- that will be fun.

I think the boss is upset with me for cheating on him.  We had Thai food for lunch and I skipped the rice.  He looked at me and asked why I wasn't eating the rice and if I was training for another race that I didn't tell him about it.

I skipped the dojo- sweep the leg!- tonight.  The weather sucked,t he husband has a sinus cold and I was still tired from all the painting.  So I came home, made soup for dinner and nursed the husband.