Coming Soon.....

.... as usual, so much has happened since the last time I've actually posted here.

I could go on about a wonderful trip to Barcelona, more delicious meals we've had, grilling on our terrace despite the rainy summer...

but there's really one thing that's unbelievably changing our lives in so many wondrous and unimaginable ways:
We're expecting in November.

A little baby boy. Coming Soon.

What to Dread in the New Year

The Times has a great article on What New Yorkers Should Dread in the New Year

Despite the fact that I can't believe 2008 feels like it went by quickly, it felt unbelievably rough, being that it was an extremely bad year, possibly the worst year on wall street. I guess there isn't too much more to say about that, other than I don't think I'll ever again witness the magnitude of events that unfolded in the financial industry again as we did this year (at least.. I hope we won't).

There were some great things about the year too though...

• most notably, the birth of our niece, Madeleine, who's brought joy to all of us! (and insomnia to her parents!)
  
• we got to see Paris, and almost live like Parisians, (well, sort of)
  
• we got to see Cancun
  
• we got to celebrate July 4th properly on our terrace for the first time, and spent many more lazy summer weekends and nights out on it too...
  
• celebrating year two of married bliss (which we celebrated at the now-closed Cafe Gray)
  
• ... and the simpler things too, like finally getting what all the hype is around Shake Shack and eating more burgers from them that two people probably... should.
  

So what do I dread in the new year...? I think the Times article has it right. On a serious note, all things considered, I have absolutely nothing to complain about. Everyone's looking to fatten up their piggy banks, and we will be too. I have to honestly say though that while we may have been looking forward to a bigger kitchen, a nicer refrigerator, a bigger TV, and maybe a new iPhone... The prospect of not buying anything, and not having any discretionary spending until maybe 2010 actually honestly... doesn't bother me much. We're still in a beautiful apartment that we love, we have our health, our family, our friends, and most of all of course, we have each other.

2009 is going to be a year of everyone fattening up their piggy banks, surprisingly sucky desperate measures like taxes on soda, more MTA fare hikes, probably higher crime and unemployment, but it won't be armageddon. The depression-like pictures in our minds seem to have less and less likelihood of actually becoming a reality. And by that perspective, I feel that there's actually very little to dread in the new year... To be honest... perhaps even more, perhaps far much more to look forward to in 2009 than there is to dread...

Shelter From the Storm

What matters is we continue to enjoy living in a beautiful home (though a little cluttered in some spots, and that's all me), and this summer we finally got around to buying outdoor furniture and enjoying the terrace. (some pictures from which I've posted). We're unbelievably lucky to be living in such an awesome place. (and of course, even luckier to still be employed.. for the moment)
We're unbelievably lucky to have the family and friends that we do too (though I really feel bad for not spending as much time as I'd like with friends)

September also brought a much-anticipated and fabulous addition into the family, our niece Madeleine. Her parents are well into a regular routine of insomnia, but loving every minute of it, and of course we all love her.

Wife made another killer turkey for Thanksgiving this year with her family, and I still feel like I'm recovering from four days of continuous eating, first with her family, and then with mine. I think I actually just got around to cleaning off that roasting pan in the sink a few days ago.. (I'll leave it to you to decide if that's more indicative of how busy I am.. or just my own laziness).

And then of course, there's work.. For a while, all the way through October, I was shuttling back and forth to the London office for about one week per month. And the complete transformation of the industry I work in has been... a lot to go through. So, things have been busy, very busy to say the least. Though there have been ways to work smarter that I feel like I didn't take advantage of throughout the year. Well. You live and learn, I suppose.

The storm we're caught up in that continues to destroy modern finance doesn't look like it's subsided yet. I, for one, don't think we're facing a depression as the government seems fully intent on doing anything and everything it can to make sure that doesn't become a reality. But the downturn is continuing. I'm not jittery, but it's natural to feel a bit unnerved considering that some outcomes formerly thought of as unthinkable have actually transpired, and that everything we know - certainly everything I've been taught and have grown up learning - just simply doesn't apply anymore to the situation we're now in.

So, I'm thankful - I know we're very blessed with what we have, but at the same time, I'm tired. Feeling drained. I'm ready to hibernate and wake up next year to try again. Hopefully the bear that continues to haunt the markets will go into hibernation soon too...

The City of Light

My wife told me on our first night here that if a city can be personified, Paris would undoubtedly be a lady.

L'Avion

camping out in the sitting area (it's not a proper lounge, and I guess that's how they pull off affordable business class) for L'Avion

We're off to lovely Paris for two weeks.

A long long overdue vacation for both of us.

Editors of GQ, Take Note: You Have Alan Richman to Thank for Losing Me as a Reader

http://www.seriouseats.com/required_eating/2008/03/alan-richman-is-pissed-at-bourdain-les-halles-review.html

The Merciless Bloody Slaughtering of Bear...

Today was one of those days when you start off thinking you've seen it all.... and the market proves you wrong with an unbelievable kick in your ass.

I've seen my fair share of rallies and crashes from sector moves, huge portfolios being bought and sold, Fed chairmen and Presidents opening their mouths when they shouldn't, but I can't recall a time when I've seen a spectacle like the one today. It really was quite a sight to behold - it's not an Internet startup that suddenly had its balance sheet exposed, not a dwindling dying American airline or car company - but an 85 year-old company and the fifth-largest investment bank in the States. And the stock lost almost half its value today - within the first hour of trading even.

Cratering was the word we used to frantically describe what we saw in that first hour of madness. The news tells you that financials, and the market as a whole, was dragged down, but honestly when you look at the horrific way that the price was just utterly vaporized in this one name - and the raw speed with which it happened, the other financials, and the entire market as a whole seriously seems entirely insulated from it by comparison.

But don't you dare take off those seat belts. There's no way this is over, not by a longshot. No one - save a select few, perhaps, know what to expect in terms of the final fate of the badly bleeding, battered, hobbling but not dead Bear that basically had both its legs, at least one arm, and an eye ripped out of its socket today. And as for the markets as a whole, we still haven't seen a real endgame there either in terms of stability, and we won't anytime soon.

The real spectacle to watch today, at least for me, was the unbelievable way that a super large-cap name completely melted down, completely independently. I don't think even Enron melted down like this in one single day (I could be wrong, but I'm under the impression it was more of a continual gradual decline). I still think comparatively the broader market as a whole did hold its own - all things considered, when you look at just how bad the meltdown was.

No doubt we're still in for a bumpy ride, but I just can't imagine more meltdowns like the one we saw today - whether they're single name ones as we saw today or broader market ones.... I really hope I'm right about this, but only time will tell....