http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DPy2alWEZ-U
Quite possibly the best thing that has ever been on television!! Jesse is in rare form!
Friday, September 19, 2008
When the world is running down, you make the best of what's still around
Okay, so I bought a car, but it's not a Co-rolla. I got a Honda Civic. Since the beginning of the year, I have hit the Japanese car trifecta: Toyota-Nissan-Honda. It's a stick, so I have to get used to that again--it's a nice enough old car, though.
I have gotten a couple of quizzes back now-so far, so good. I think the professors are taking it easy on us grade-wise, for which I am very grateful, especially in Statistics. Also, I was elected as one of two representatives from my class for the MBA Marketing Association-one more step in my quest to take over the world (I'm taking the long, slow road). Essentially what this means is that in addition to my class load, career search and family time I get to go a bunch of meetings and think of ways to make Neeley a more relevant marketing force in the universe. Then next year, I will get a real title, like president, vice president, treasurer or janitor. Piece o' cake.
So, how 'bout that economy? Few have been hit harder than WaMu. New CEO last week, stock prices around $2 this week and openly courting buyers! I would say it can't get much worse than that, but then I think of Countrywide, Lehman bros, AIG, Freddie, Fannie, etc. I guess it could get worse. While the company on a whole is in trouble, but I can't help but think the Commercial Group will come out relatively intact. It is still profitable and it has more apartment loans than any other bank in the country. Even if WaMu is bought by another bank, it won't have the infrastructure in place to originate & service these loans. They would have to retain the organization and personnel in place to manage the portfolio. That's my two cents (these days, that's almost enough to get you a share of stock).
Hopefully, the economy will recover before I finish school so I can get a job. Hopefully, whoever our next president is won't make things worse by fixing everything. Hopefully, my 401K won't be worthless before the end of the year. Hopefully, "America as we know it" isn't over. And hopefully, this season of Heroes will be worth the wait. Cause let's face it--what really matters is that the writers are back and it's almost time to plug in our IV of televisory anasthetic and forget what is going on in the world. I wonder if my teachers will start grading even easier, now that "must-see" TV is back. They have to--it's called "must-see" for a reason.....
I have gotten a couple of quizzes back now-so far, so good. I think the professors are taking it easy on us grade-wise, for which I am very grateful, especially in Statistics. Also, I was elected as one of two representatives from my class for the MBA Marketing Association-one more step in my quest to take over the world (I'm taking the long, slow road). Essentially what this means is that in addition to my class load, career search and family time I get to go a bunch of meetings and think of ways to make Neeley a more relevant marketing force in the universe. Then next year, I will get a real title, like president, vice president, treasurer or janitor. Piece o' cake.
So, how 'bout that economy? Few have been hit harder than WaMu. New CEO last week, stock prices around $2 this week and openly courting buyers! I would say it can't get much worse than that, but then I think of Countrywide, Lehman bros, AIG, Freddie, Fannie, etc. I guess it could get worse. While the company on a whole is in trouble, but I can't help but think the Commercial Group will come out relatively intact. It is still profitable and it has more apartment loans than any other bank in the country. Even if WaMu is bought by another bank, it won't have the infrastructure in place to originate & service these loans. They would have to retain the organization and personnel in place to manage the portfolio. That's my two cents (these days, that's almost enough to get you a share of stock).
Hopefully, the economy will recover before I finish school so I can get a job. Hopefully, whoever our next president is won't make things worse by fixing everything. Hopefully, my 401K won't be worthless before the end of the year. Hopefully, "America as we know it" isn't over. And hopefully, this season of Heroes will be worth the wait. Cause let's face it--what really matters is that the writers are back and it's almost time to plug in our IV of televisory anasthetic and forget what is going on in the world. I wonder if my teachers will start grading even easier, now that "must-see" TV is back. They have to--it's called "must-see" for a reason.....
Friday, September 5, 2008
Book Learnin'
So I lived through another week of mind-expanding classes and events. Busy as ever, but mostly doing worthwhile stuff. I particularly like my management class, where each session is spent discussing actual business decisions actually made by actual people in actual companies that I have actually heard of. Wonderful theoretic ideals such as balancing employee and stockholder interests, empowerment, etc. Right after the empowerment discussion where we all individually decided that empowerment is a wonderful thing that we will all implement at our very first opportunity, I read an article in BusinessWeek by Jack Welch explaining how in the real world, empowerment typically doesn't work and shouldn't be attempted. So, I am unlearning just as quickly as I am learning.
Speaking of book learning, I have learned recently that there are far more powerful lessons to be learned in popular literature than could ever be taught in a textbook. Apparently if I will temporarily suspend my manliness and read the teen vampire romance novel Twilight (the cover is 99% Fabio-free, by the way), I will understand women in ways in which I never before thought possible. I guess that's a good idea, although the book should come with some kind of guarantee that I will get my manhood back once I finish reading it. I'll get to it once I have read all of my textbooks cover to cover. Twice.
As a capstone celebration to the end of my income, I will be selling my car tomorrow (hopefully). This, the glorious Altima that I coveted for months and finally purchased. So after six months of that, my best guess is that by next week I will be back in an old Corolla again--probably a white one. While this may be a step backwards in my automotive pilgrimage, at least I know I can get along with a Corolla. I test drove an old Accord today--blech. Can anyone explain why Hondas cost more than Toyotas? Another cosmic mystery that Carl Sagan failed to answer before passing on.
Speaking of book learning, I have learned recently that there are far more powerful lessons to be learned in popular literature than could ever be taught in a textbook. Apparently if I will temporarily suspend my manliness and read the teen vampire romance novel Twilight (the cover is 99% Fabio-free, by the way), I will understand women in ways in which I never before thought possible. I guess that's a good idea, although the book should come with some kind of guarantee that I will get my manhood back once I finish reading it. I'll get to it once I have read all of my textbooks cover to cover. Twice.
As a capstone celebration to the end of my income, I will be selling my car tomorrow (hopefully). This, the glorious Altima that I coveted for months and finally purchased. So after six months of that, my best guess is that by next week I will be back in an old Corolla again--probably a white one. While this may be a step backwards in my automotive pilgrimage, at least I know I can get along with a Corolla. I test drove an old Accord today--blech. Can anyone explain why Hondas cost more than Toyotas? Another cosmic mystery that Carl Sagan failed to answer before passing on.
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