2) Wall Street
3) Dehydration
Dearest Liz:
Arrived in Leon, Spain and it is a beautiful, lively and sophisticated CITY--you and I would enjoy it here.
The cathedral is especially beautiful at night when the entire town's population, who all but disappear from 2pm-5pm, come out to stroll and enjoy some fresh air. They do that for about 5 hours because it seems that no city restaurant has any customers, and therefore why open, before 9:30pm!!!
Anyway, the reason I'm writing is because I was made aware, through the internet cafe I visited and various wall street concerned friends, that THE ENTIRE FINANCIAL WORLD is coming to an END. I know you have heard this before from me, starting in 1987, then 1991, then 1995, 1998, and boy did you hear it in 2002, but I thought I would just make a kind request to you, since I'm kinda on a LEAN budget here, if you wouldn't mind kinda keeping a LOW budget there for a while. You know, like were a TEAM.
While my love for you has grown stronger, just as the "absence makes the heart grow fonder" saying says, I know this request seems a bit trite. Know, deep down, I continue to have that desire to keep you in the style you've become accustomed.
However, seeing as this walk does NOT generate any meaningful financial return (none, in fact), and as I'm all unemployed and such, I thought you wouldn't mind taking it down a few NOTCHES, just till things settle down.
Yours truly, as "always and forever", for better or worse (right?),
Love
TT
So, how you think that's going to go over??????
I thought I would just check in with the real world seeing as I have a cold (from the frenchman Alain, for sure!!!) And feel ill for the first time since I arrived. I wanted to see how my Wall Street brethren were doing, hoping they were well and settled down from that BofA news and such.
So, given some friendly encouragement, and the news that the JETS were 6-2 from DavidC I figured I'd check in on my working world--
A few ticker checks---let's see--
Google-- $7 hundred something-- wow, that's great
Apple- $185+ -unbelievable--must be pretty good there on Wall Street as Apple keeps chugging!!!
GFIG-- one of my financial favorites!!
$90 something!! Up 10+% since I left-
Wow, this is GREAT.!!!!
Citi- $34.50??
Bear- $97!!!!
MS (dear mother morgan!!) $52!!!!??????
And EVERYBODY and THEIR MOTHER has lost like $5 BILLION!!!! And there still counting at some places--like the places where the CEO job is now "available"!!!!
HEY, I'm WALKIN' OVA HEEEERRRE!!!!! (With the north Jersey Soprano accent, please).
I don't think you got that right (unless you grew up in North Jersey, so let's try again---)
"AAAAY, PEOPLES!!!!! I'M WALKIN' OVA H'EEEERRRE". !!!!!!
There, that's better---
Oh, and one more thing-- The JETS AREN'T 6-2!!!!!!! Are they!!!! They'll be playing golf with the Mets soon enough!!!
It's like that sound of a record playing on the sound system and then the guy SCRATCHES the record needle across the album-----ooooppppsss!!!!
When I left for Spain MS was at $66!!!!! not to mention the rest of the financials.
So the financials have taken the proverbial bath----
How great is it to be away from all this---?????
Well, it's not like I PLANNED it---remember, I was CALLED--if I had PLANNED it I probably would have found a job running a sub-prime mortgage unit --IN AUGUST!!!!!
I take no joy in OPP (other people's pain), or my own.
It is what it is, and another of the things I have learned (as I'm sure many of you have too, but sometimes we forget), you control what you can control and let the rest take care of itself. Have a little faith!!!! In yourself, to get through it, and in God to help should you need it (I'm pretty sure we all do!!).
Oh, and one more thing-- as the note to my wife ascribes to--KEEP YOUR SENSE of HUMOR!!!!! Laugh EVERY DAY---if you're not LAUGHING, you're NOT LIVING--
So, I really promise not to update myself and pollute my mind with thoughts like the JETS are 6-2!!! Or any of this stock and bond stuff for a few more weeks.
I've got to recover from this current fatigue of a cold/whatever I have, and I hope it doesn't slow me down too much--but I might need to stay an extra day and try and kick it--we'll see.
For all of us, when it's tough out there, which it many times is,
You have to keep "Pressing On"(dylan)
And I like the version done by the Chicago Mass Choir
-----
Morning update from Leon--
-----
I wrote the above late last night as I was having trouble falling asleep.
Well, as it turns out, my cold was compounded by EXTREME DEHYDRATION--- my body forgot I was taking it easy yesterday and decided to absord all the fluids it could given I've been walking 6-7 hours a day for over three weeks.
Well, I think I mentioned I haven't see any gatorade here, right?
Well, at 3am the cold became the shivers and, as I was in a hostel for the night with my own room since I wasn't feeling well, I actually got my sleeping bag out and used that to try and get warm. And I drank water, which as I recall I didn't have much of yesterday.
It's now 11am and I am feeling better, have eaten, and will find a GALLON of gatorade. And I'm gonna have to stay in Leon another night (didn't eat last night given how I was feeling).
So the scary night has passed, as I prayed it would. The only things I've had for 3 weeks are water, red wine, and cafe (okay, an occasional coke).
Yesterday I didn't have much of anything, and things just got worse all night peaking with that 3am shivers (and this room was heated!!).
Okay, so I'm hopeful to regain my strength today and be back on the path tomorrow, but am going to the medical unit now just to check in.
And I am thankful that there will be a great need for my services on Wall Street when I return, but I think enough is ENOUGH!!!!.
Peace,
And I mean peaceful, tranquil, and boring markets for a few weeks to,
TT
Sent via BlackBerry by AT&T
2 comments:
TT- Not quite sure how to break this to you, as you are in a peaceful way and all. The deep thinking, thoughtful walk that you are experiencing is of great solace to us experiencing the most recent, and deepest, market meltdown to date. Like almost ever. Oh, wait, sorry, I don't want to disturb the pheng shuei (who would know how to spell that?- sounds like feng shway). But, you may want to consider a different industry, that would be a very productive thing to THINK about. This one, it's a little disheveled. Maybe slightly awry, askew if you will. People suggest that fixed income is, well, damaged, broken for now. The fact that we will post somehwere in the neighborhood of $50B in losses over a 3 month period, that kind of behavior does leave a mark. The people exiting via layoffs, they leave a mark too. So in terms of NEW employment opportunities, growth, etc, that stuff will have to wait a while. We are dealing with a slight correction, which will probably take like 2 years to fix. This is not something people willingly RETURN to. Think of it this way- you are driving down the highway, up ahead you see the bridge is out, a gap in the road that falls into a ravine, it cannot be crossed, but there is an exit just before the gap. The exit goes everywhere else in the world. Which do you choose? Those of us in the ravine suggest the exit. Now, that being said, there are multitudinous opportunities awaiting deep thinkers such as yourself. Your wise counsel, your vast experience, your positive karma, all that is of significant value. Make use of it in a productive way, somewhere you can make an impact. Somewhere that won't suppress your imagination, that will make use of your compassion, that will allow your "oneness" to be contagious. Don't waste an opportunity to allow the rest of the world to experience your vastness. You owe it to them, and whoever they are, I will be jealous of them. From deep in the ravine.......
Hi Tom, Just to let you to know that I spent the most enjoyable couple of hours yesterday with Jake and Moose. There is nothing better than when I open the dog room door and surprise Jake. Watching them run out in the field made me think they probably would love to be walking with you--Liz I'm sure would agree. H
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