Carnage and depression

Is there anyway to start this day over?  What about being able to just stay in bed with the covers pulled up over the head?  No?  AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!  It’s very depressing to be me today.  First the Cowboys choke up one of the worst games in recent history yesterday and now the market wants to bungee jump except there may not be a bounce back for a long long time.   What is Congress thinking?  If we needed anymore proof that the people who run this country shouldn’t be able to get a job at you local 7/11, well, we now have it.  Warren Buffett, fairly successful gentlemen that he is, told Congress that if we didn’t get the bail out we could experience the worst financial crisis since a little happening called the GREAT DEPRESSION!!  Does Congress listen?  Of course not!  We should fire every single one of the the people who “represent” us in what has now become the biggest black hole in our country, Capitol Hill.   What do these people do?  Ah, I guess if you’re a multi-millionaire “serving” your country then you don’t really care about what’s happening on Main Street!  Nobody can buy a house, a car, and some are struggling to even buy groceries.  It is a sad sad day in this country when people have to choose between putting gas in their car and food on the table.   There is no easy fix, that’s for sure, but it sure would help the economy if we could unfreeze the credit market.  That was a huge part of the $700 billion bail out package.  I’m just as against giving these companies a free pass as anybody else, BUT, not at the risk of having the entire economy collapse.  And that is now a very clear and present danger.  What 9/11, war and a presidential election couldn’t do (ruin the economy), Congress in all of it’s brilliant hand wringing, has done! 

See all of you in line at the local soup kitchen.

Time for more randomness (not a word)

I can’t believe that we just closed out the 3rd quarter of the year here at work.  This year has really flown by.

I haven’t been to Texas in over 2 years.  I’m going in a few months for a family shindig/hoe down!  Gotta get back into the lingo.  Ha.  I’m very excited about seeing my family, some of whom I haven’t seen in almost 4 years.  However, it is quite disturbing that I’m more excited about the food.  I fly in on Friday at 1:30 pm and leave Sunday at 6 am.  That gives me less than 48 hrs, some of which I will sleep, to make the rounds.  I have to get to Pappadeauxs, Cracker Barrel, and of course What-a-burger!  So little time, so many choices.  Of course that excludes, Steak n Shake, Fogo de Chao, III Forks, AHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!  What am I going to do?

They’re painting the stairwell in the parking garage.  Is it odd that I’m spending a few hours a day hanging out by the stair well?  I feel so much better when I walk, er, stumble away!  Just kidding of course!

Starbucks carries a really good line of juice called Naked!  hehe.  No, seriously, the juice is really good.  I’m especially fond of Peach Mangosteen Bliss.

Soul Winner Boot Camp is just around the corner.  If you want to come we would love to have you.  Go to www.bootcampamerica.tv  Space is limited so you need to sign up in a hurry.  It will change your life.  I know this because it changed mine! 

Have a great weekend. Do something fun!  Fall is the best time of year to be outside!

Falling

I love Fall.  It’s my favorite time of the year.  Football, leaves turning, crisp air and the smell of  the fireplace!  Ah!  So how did my fall start today?  Well I went to Starbucks, like I do almost every morning, and was assaulted by unimaginable smells.  The gentlemen standing in front of me smelled like an entire bottle of Drakker Noir had thrown up on him!  Wow, it was a good thing that I was car pooling this morning.  I couldn’t see through the blood pouring from my bleeding eyeballs!  What a way to start the fall!

I told you the Cowboys were going 19 and 0!  HAHA!

The ‘Horns aren’t looking to bad either!  And to make it all better, things are terrible in Aggieland!!  HA!

I’ve been a little pessimistic lately.  It’s pretty easy to fall into that trap when your job is like riding the “Flashback” at Six Flags.  Up and down.  Up and down. 

Enjoy your week.  I’ll be trying to avoid smelly at my local Starbucks.

Freedom….to be wrong?

Recently a cartoon in the Washington Post has received a lot of criticism.  It was a negative depiction of Pentecostalism in general and the biblical practice of speaking in tongues in particular.  If you have not seen the cartoon you must have been living in Iceland.   I have been bombarded with requests to sign petitions, express my outrage to the Washington Post editorial board, etc.  I have signed the petitions and expressed my anger at what I feel to be an unfair depiction of the religion that I practice.  At best the cartoon is demeaning and out of touch with the reality of millions of Americans engaging in the practice of speaking in tongues.  At worst it is a flat out attempt to shame and make fun of a politicians religious practices.  This would never be acceptable if the cartoon was depicting derogatory comments about a person’s race or sex or sexual preferences. 

Obviously I am opposed to the sort of “journalism” that the Washington Post has practiced in publishing this despicable cartoon.  However, it is their right, guaranteed by the Constitution of the United States of America to publish this trash if they so desire.  In the same amendment that guarantees me freedom of religion, the press is guaranteed freedom from censorship and the right to free speech.   Freedom of speech is defined as the right to speak freely without censorship or limitation.  This is the theory that our country is based upon. 

So this is what I say to the Washington Post.  You have the right.  You have the right to publish anything you want.  However, your credibility, which hardly existed anyway, has been further besmirched.  America knows that people inside the Beltway have lost touch with reality anyway.  This is just further proof of how irresponsible the media has become.  The Washington Post is renowned for not checking its facts, rushing to judgement and printing erroneous information.  This reprehensible depiction of a persons protected religious choice is just another example of how callous and ignorant they have become of America.  I think that they truly believe that their “readers” represent America.  How wrong they are. 

This is my hope.  I hope that they continue with this garbage.  It will only hasten their impending demise.  To all of the liberal media:  Please continue!  You’re slowly but surely giving us our country back because you are so out of touch with reality that nobody even listens to you.  Well, outside of where I live nobody listens to you!

Bad day on the Street

Wow!  What a day!  That is not a positive statement but rather one of mind blowing proportion.  I’m a portfolio manager for a major firm, one that just became 4 times as big today, and I have never experienced a day like today.  It’s not a pleasant feeling to see the money that you are responsible for take a hit like todays.  If you haven’t been paying attention, the Dow Jones Industrial ended over 500 points lower today.  The NASDAQ was down over 3% in one trading day.  Carnage would be the best way to describe it.  When we have days like today things are not that pleasant in the office.  There are a lot of slamming doors and raised voices saying words that aren’t repeatable.  But when it gets this bad people just kind of walk around in shock.  The phones never stop ringing.  Clients are calling wondering if I work for my firm or the firm that we just bought that was 4 times the size of mine!!  Then they see their numbers for the day and they are not happy to say the least. 

Lehman Brothers failed today and declared the largest bankruptcy in history.  This was the worst day on the stock market in over 7 years and that was the aftermath of 9/11.  Washington Mutual paper, bonds and corporate notes, have been lowered to junk status and AIG the insurance giant is asking the Fed for a $40 billion bridge loan so that they don’t become insolvent.  Merrill Lynch cashed out its chips before a fate similar to Lehman Bros. could befall it.  This of course is on the heels of the largest credit crisis that this country has ever seen.  In fact, the credit crisis is directly responsible for Lehman Bros. failing.  They took over $60 billion in losses from risky real estate ventures!  Not to long ago Bear Stearns, another giant on Wall Street, was bought out by JP Morgan just in time to keep from becoming insolvent.  It’s crazy and unlike anything that I’ve ever seen or anything that has happened in recent (50 years) history.

I juxtapose this day with the day that we had at church yesterday.  It was a day of victory, not defeat.  People throughout the congregation received great victory and you could see it in their eyes and on their faces.  If you could have seen the eyes of my co-workers, and probably myself, and seen the eyes of the saints of God yesterday the difference would have been startling.  I watched as people danced before the Lord, completely unaware of their surroundings, but giving themselves over to the moving of the Spirit.  It was absolutely incredible. To go from that spirit of triumph and victory to the feelings of doom and gloom that exist in my office today was such a difference. 

It made me glad that my hope is not in the temporal world but rather in an eternal God.  I may have lost in my retirement portfolio today, but yesterday I stored up in the only retirement portfolio that matters, Gods.   If I thought that I had to live in this world without the hope that I have, I don’t know what I would do.  Days like today emphasize that point to me.  It is so easy to lose sight of what is really important.  We work, we play, we go to church and sometimes we just lose sight of the important things.  I’m glad that I’ve got my eyes focused on what really matters in life!

Remembering

7 years ago today the world changed.  I was a sophomore in college in Sacramento, CA.  At around 6 AM, Nathan Neff, one of my room mates began yelling for everyone to get up.  I was not pleased, but when I found out the reason for the wake up call I was stunned.  How could this happen?  Surely this is a terrible joke!  Classes were canceled and we found ourselves sitting in front of a TV in a pizza place.  I remember that no one said a single word for what seemed like hours.  There was a lot of crying.  Everyone reached out to somebody for personal contact and comfort.  The images that we were seeing were too terrible to be in anything except the most absurdly unrealistic movie.  This was not supposed to happen to us.  This was not reality.  This was a violation of not just NYC and Washington DC and Pennsylvania, but of the entire American mindset. 

Life has never been the same.  I remember the incredibly eerie feeling of not seeing any planes flying for days.  The rumours were flying.  San Fransisco was next.  They were headed for LA.  There were still 6 planes missing.  My life changed that day watching people running from the towers being engulfed in a gigantic cloud of ash.   Suddenly I felt vulnerable for the very first time in my life.  Suddenly bridges and the capitol were being guarded by tanks and armed soldiers.  Entire streets in downtown Sacramento around the capitol were closed. 

I remember flying 3 weeks later, going from Sacramento to Louisville, KY.  The soldiers were still in the airport carrying loaded M4’s.  They weren’t there to smile and wave.  They were serious and I was glad.  Security was different and its never been the same since. 

There are a lot of times when I want to gripe about having to get to the airport so early, about having to take my shoes and belt off to go through the security checkpoint.  But then I remember and I don’t complain. 

Life has changed, there is no doubt about that.  Frankly it’s amazing that we haven’t had another attack since 9/11.  In this area, at least, our government has done a fantastic job of protecting our country.  However, we as a nation cannot forget what happened.  I know that I never will forget waking up to the sound of yelling voices and the unimaginable horror that followed.  May God bless the families of all of the victims of that terrible day and may God bless the United States of America.

Facts and things you should know about men

A few days ago I wrote about the difference between men and women.  Since then I have been ruminating on the differences and have come up with a list of reasons that guys are different.  For some strange reason women like to study us guys and what makes us different.  If you don’t believe me just check out the womens magazines the next time you go to the grocery store!!  Some of these are original with me and some aren’t.  Hope you enjoy.

1. Most men hate to shop.  That’s why the men’s department is usually on the first floor of the deparment store, two inches from the door.

2. No man is charming all the time.  Even Cary Grant is on record as saying he wished he could be Cary Grant.

3. When four or more men get together, they talk about sports.

4. Most women are introspective: “Am I in love?”,  “Am I emotionally and creatively fulfilled?”  Most men are outrospective: “Did my team win?”  “How’s my car?”

5. Men who can eat anything and not gain weight should always do this out of sight of women.

6. Getting rid of a man without hurting his masculinity is a problem. “Get out” and “I never want to see you again” might sound like a challenge. If you really want to get rid of a man, say “I love you, I want to marry you, I want to have your children.” Sometimes they leave skid marks.

7. Men accept compliments much better than women do. Example: “Mitch you look great.” Mitch: “Thanks.” On the other side: “Ruth, you look great.” Ruth: “I do? Must be the lighting”

8. Impulse buying is not macho. Men rarely call the Home Shopping Network.

9. Men who listen to classical music tend not to spit.

10. Men are self confident because they grow up identifying with superheroes. Women have bad self-images because they grow up identifying with Barbie.

11. When a woman tries on clothing from her closet that feels tight, she will assume she has gained weight. When  man tries something from his closet that feels tight, he will assume the  clothing has shrunk.

12. Men love to be the first to read the newspaper in the morning. Not being the first is upsetting to their psyches.

13. The way a man looks at himself in a mirror will tell you if he can ever care about anyone else.

14. Don’t try to teach men how to do anything in public. they can learn in private; in public they have to know.

15. Men are sensitive in strange ways, If a man has built a camp fire and the last log does not burn, he will take it personally.

16. All men think that they’re nice guys. Some of them are not. Ask disgruntled women for a list of names.

17. Men don’t get cellulite.

There are so many more.  Feel free to add your suggestions as well.

Manic Monday

It’s Monday!  I know, for all of you who get to ease into the week Mondays don’t turn out that bad for you.  It wasn’t that long ago that I didn’t necessarily mind Monday that much.  When you are in college you get the option of scheduling classes later in the day.  Even at a couple of jobs we were able to slide into Monday like a fat man getting into a swimming pool full of ice…….very gingerly!!  Not at this one.  It’s more like sitting in a jet plane that is hooked to the catapult on an aircraft carrier.  O to Mach 25 in about 1.375 seconds.  It’s more drastic when the Federal Government takes action on a weekend like they did this weekend for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.  Oh well, at least I got to sleep on the way to work this morning!  That is the great thing about commuting. 

For all of you football fans, the fat lady is slipping into her tutu and warming up the old vocal chords.  Your 2008 Super Bowl Champions……America’s Team……The Dallas Cowboys!!  Ah, sweet success tastes so good.  What’s that?  I’m jumping the gun a little?  Nah, it’s in the bag!  Lombardi Trophy numero seis will look so nice sitting in Big D!!

On a more serious and infinitely more important note, two of our “bus kids” got the holy ghost at a youth rally on Friday night!!  It was so awesome to watch as they were filled with the Spirit of the Lord.  Too cool for words. 

I’d also like to give a shout out to Jason West.  If you don’t know Jason and Leah West you are truly missing out on knowing some great, great people.  Jason is the youth director of our section, Section 5 of the Western District.  He is the best sectional director that I have  ever been around.  At our back to school rally on Friday night there was probably 500 people and the power of God was incredible!  What an awesome move of God we experienced.  Jason makes sure that every youth and student ministry in our section is represented at least once a year.  He uses everyone’s music, drama or sign team throughout the year.  It has the effect of making everybody from San Francisco to Monterey feel included.  They say that the proof is in the pudding and the Wests definitely have the proof!!  Friday night the power of God was so strong you could almost see it.  Thank you Jason and Leah West, Justin Hogue and the San Fransisco Lighthouse chorale!  Ya’ll were awesome!

I’ll leave you with a few “motivational posters”!  Enjoy the week.

 

Lost and in danger of losing it….

I recently was forced to move my office.  We got a new boss and he decided that he liked my office which then required me to move into a different space.  Since we are packed there was only one space left.  My new “office” is right in the middle of an entirely different section of the office.  It’s right in the middle of a group of people who exhibit more “feminine” characteristics.  Previously I was situated with a more masculine cast of characters.  Now, without a doubt, this area of the office smells better but, there is one tiny drawback!  There is a lot more talking going on.  Now, when your previous “office mates” are a group of dudes you get used to a good morning here and there and then a lot of grunts and monosyllabic answers to any questions that are asked.  Uh, it’s just a little different here! 

It is a proven fact that women speak approximately 3 times as many words as do theircounterparts from the opposite gender.   That is just the science of it!  I’m a bachelor and during the work week I have very little contact with humanity outside of work and Wednesday night church.  Weeeelllllllll, things have changed just a bit.  I’m fastly learning that every little thing has to be discussed in great detail and then the great detail has to be broken down into even greater detail followed by an in depth explanation of why!! 

Not only do I sit in the middle of a group of the “kinder, gentler side of the species”, but all of my co-workers are from the Pacific Rim area of our great world.  Therefore, I get to hear Mandarin, Cantonese, Korean, Tagalog, Vietnamese and even a little Cambodian.  Then it is necessary for my fellow employee’s to tell each other in English what they just told the client in their native language.  There is not one minute of a single day when one of them is not talking about something.  Eh, it’s interesting.  I guess.  Somewhere in the distant past I have a memory of something like this happening to me but it has faded into oblivion.  Not only do they talk to each other but now they are expecting me to answer with more than caveman like grunts and head nods!  If I don’t I get the whole eye rolling and “rude” muttered under the breath with an accompanying head shake.  I have been forced to wear my head set and act like I’m constantly on the phone.  I simply hold up a finger and look apologetic that I’m busy talking to a client.  Unfortunately this approach won’t be able to last much longer.  I’m going to be forced to come up with another ruse.  My options at this point are to lose my hearing or jump head first into the nonsensical conversation pool and splash around with great delight!  Busted ear drums sound a little better everyday! 

I read this book one time called “Men are from Mars; Women are from Venus”.  I think the author got it wrong.  It should have been called “Men are from the Planet of the Apes (in a galaxy far far away); Women are from the Planet of Bloomingdales”.  It would at least explain why I had never heard of “jimmy choos” before. 

For all of you men that have more experience please give suggestions, better known as life preservers.  I fear I’m in danger of being skewered with “mean girl” glances or worse, stepped on with 3 inch heels!  I can feel the pain already.