3 posts tagged “quick hits”

The Touch

At a street fest last year, I was moving through the crowd and I saw this girl that I knew somewhere.  Our paths have crossed many times over the years but I've never peaked her interest.  She only hugs me when she is drunk. 

As we passed each other, it was too crowded to hug, so we grasped hands.  In that moment, it seemed as if we connected, but only for that moment.  It was half acknowledgement, half apology...that our story didn't have more flavor to it.

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Why I think interest rates are what they are

as of this writing, the interest rate is about 5.3%, even though the Fed is like zero.  I'm sure there is a good reason for, perhaps something to do with the Finance-speak I saw on a newsletter:

Mortgage backed securities(MBS)prices are near unchanged this morning as traders brace for a record $67 billion in new supply. FNMA 4.5% coupon currently @100.64bps, +3bps. Stocks are retreating on concern the deepening recession will decimate consumer spending. Yields on 10yr note has increased 98bps in 8 weeks from 2.04% to 3.02% as the Fed's decision not to purchase long term debt has excaberated efforts to reduce consumer borrowing costs, ie mortgages, auto loans etc.
[source:  Bryan Kelly, Wintrust Mortgage 2/9/2009]

My theory is that now that loan applicants are being scrutinized more, the odds are better that those who do manage to get loans will be more likely to pay those loans for the lifetime of said loan (duh!).  So banks make more money by charging a) more interest or b) less interest!

If you said a) you are not a conspiracy theorist, just a skeptic.

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My coworkers think I'm a freak for not dreading coming into the office in the morning

One morning last week as I was cutting through the Bank of America building to get to work, I ran into a friend I hadn't seen in a while.  It was 3 minutes before 9 and were I still at the consulting firm, I would have been gripped with panic because we had to be at the office by 8:30 or our first assignment by 8:30/9am on the dot.  Being a minute late was inexcusable.  If you're gonna be late, you should leave your house earlier so that you aren't, is their logic.  Because you have nothing better to do than get to a client half an hour early...so that you can finish up and go to another client before the day ends and work late too.

But fortunately, I don't have to be rude a friend I pass on the street because I have to check in with Core Command every 5 minutes.  My boss doesn't care when I show up or when I leave, only that I get my work done and our systems are covered. 

I'm still going through some post-consulting firm stress withdrawl and there are times when I still think in the old mode, but I'm slowly recovering. 

• I just discovered a new piece of technology!  Okay, it's not new, it's probably been around for a long, long time.  I just never had a reason to use it before.  While booking a flight, the airline has the option to send to your outlook.  I assumed this meant an email to your inbox, which they also do, but selecting this option will also send you an ICS file. 
  
  Now if you run Microsoft Outlook (and presumably another email application could convert the file), you can import this file and your calendar will have all your flight information automatically inserted!  This beats the old fashioned method (circa 1997) of having to input it manually.  Yourself.
  
• At least i'll get reward points.  So I officially signed up for the Atlanta Marathon and booked my flight.  Between the flight and marathon registration fee, I just put nearly $300 on my credit cards.  The good news is that this will be paid off by the date of the trip and I'll have plenty of room on the ole plastic to cover the hotel and other expenses. 
  
  Just an hour or so after I registered, CARA sends a news alert telling us that there are only 2000 spots left for the Atlanta Marathon.  Apparently they are capping the half and full at 15,000 total so yay for getting my act together quickly.
  
• In a previous entry, I wrote about losing a close friend.  This past weekend, there was an event where we were likely to run into each other.  I was on the fence about whether or not to go, mostly because it isn't fair to the friend we share in common to let this get in the way.  However, when she texted me to tell me that she was bringing a date, the decision became clearer.  I've been in similar situations in the past and going to the event only leads to feelings of "I shouldn't have come."  Weighing that against the "I'm glad you came"  our mutual friend would feel for 5 minutes before hostess duty forced her to talk to another guest and I opted not to go.
  
  The hard part was not waivering and showing up just to say hi.
  

I might expound on these items when I have a chance.

• Jessica Simpson isn't as dumb as she pretends;
  
• Dancing is everything about sex that women enjoy and nothing about sex that men like;
  
• I've never seen Our Town;
  
• George W. Bush's legacy won't be that enough Democrats said "enough, go away."  It will be that enough Republicans said "okay, have it your way."
  
• Another way to describe my job:  I teach people new ways to do the same thing they do everyday.