Dusk in the sunshine state

Enjoyed a nice bbq'd briscuit sandwich during our Austin layover. Arrived in FL just in time for a Shake n Steak dinner, just like back in the college days. And back to our zebra themed room at the Sheraton Safari. Could Florida ( or Flo Rid A, as Josh calls it) be any flatter?

Nessun Dorma

Nobody shall sleep!...
Nobody shall sleep!
Even you, o Princess,
in your cold room,
watch the stars,
that tremble with love and with hope.
But my secret is hidden within me,
my name no one shall know...
No!...No!...
On your mouth I will tell it when the light shines.
And my kiss will dissolve the silence that makes you mine!...
(No one will know his name and we must, alas, die.)
Vanish, o night!
Set, stars! Set, stars!
At dawn, I will win! I will win! I will win!

Literary Tuesday

Just finished reading Van K. Tharp's Trade Your Way to Financial Freedom, second edition.  Sorry Mr. Tharp but I don't feel any freer.  In fact, went into work today hoping to get some final training in before trading live tomorrow.  After leaving the house at 5:30, I arrived to find that the office didn't have any functioning internet.  More boring training videos.  I'll put off live trading until after vacation.

Took the kids to see How to Train Your Dragon in 3D today.  Fun movie.  Young vikings flying around on dragons a la Avatar and the pterodactyl thingies.  Funny thing was, the main dragon - Toothless - acted just like Cubby.  It was uncanny.  Except for the fire breathing....although Cubby doesn't exactly have puppy breath anymore.

list Monday

Top 10 Places I've Been

1. Santorini - One of the most beautiful places, with nightlife and beaches, no bias because I honeymooned there.
2. Aruba - Tough to pick my favorite Caribbean destination, but Aruba had it all (St. John was one of the prettiest undeveloped islands; Caymans in the top 3.  And who could beat Atlantis).  Still so many islands yet to visit.
3. Barcelona - the most cosmopolitan place i've been, though I went right before the '92 olympics
4. Venice - most unique place, with a Jewish quarter smack dab in the middle
5. Paris - most cultured city.  Don't miss Musee d'Rodin.
6. Monaco - luxury beyond belief and a central local to explore the rest of the French riviera.
7. Cabo - ultimate relaxation within a stone's throw from civilization.  If you have the means, Esperanza...
8. Florence - most artistically stylish and the Ponte Vecchio.
9. New Orleans - like visiting a different country without leaving the USA, great eats (I went pre-Katrina).
10. Montreal - like visiting a different country without leaving Canada.  Surprisingly, great corn beef.

Back to the future....

Saw Hot Tub Time Machine last night.  Quite a trip.  Not sure which was more hysterical this or Hangover.  John Cusack was his usual awesomeness.  One thing though, they made the 80's look fairly cheesey, and not in a nacho good way.  Sure, we wore our share of layered polos with animals on them and the collars sticking up.  But I don't really remember anyone purposefully emulating Miami Vice.  All in all, I recall a fairly preppy time ala Brooks Brothers.  One could do worse.  They kind of bad mouthed the decade, but for a coming of age mwa, it was the pinnacle of pop music (stay tuned for a best of the 80's) and the prime of my wasted youth.  I want my $2!

These are the days of our lives...

Survived another encounter with the electric hedge trimmer.  (I wonder if it's friends with the magnutron.)  No body parts were maimed in the taming of the shrubs.  The plants, however, may beg to differ.  Hey, they'll grow back, I think.  That is all.

The week in review

Started work Wednesday.  Actually, just training.  Training entails watching inane econ 101 videos and mock trading.  Mock trading entails making fake, paper trades just to get used to the keyboard system.  I was pretty happy trading for nickels and dimes, until I saw that the guy across from me found a stock that ran $6 bucks.  The office is a bit of a work in progress, but the 3 or 4 other traders that I've met so far seem cool.

Getting up at 5:20.  A. M.  Soon that will be more like 4:15.  That's gonna take some getting used to.  More so for the wife, who likes to watch late night TV.  Also, commuting 50 miles each day (to my old stomping grounds, no less) - also, gonna take some getting used to.  Good thing I gots me a vacay coming up.

At least, I get to come home to delicious gourmet meals.

     J1:  Why do we have to eat gourmet?

     J2:  Because we are a gourmet family.


Had a little league game last night.  Nevermind, that we are now 0-7.  My son, who almost got creamed by a liner to second base, has been bugging me non-stop to let him pitch.  Well, I've been trying to get a single, damn elusive win by playing our best pitchers - to no avail.  So, yesterday, being down 16 - 0 to nothing, I called for my young right hander.  One of the other Dads implored, "Don't concede!"  I ignored him.  I let J1 pitch to a few batters.  He did OK.  Didn't get his head knocked off.  And then I went to relieve him to let another pesty kid pitch.  Now my son is upset that I pulled him.  Can't win.

And there you have it.  Have some gardening, ll practice and game, and some movies to catch up on this weekend.