The First Day of the Rest of My Life

Wednesday, November 29, 2006

Rae, don't ever say I don't look out for you...

"Zombies file lawsuit against city of Minneapolis"

(via Best Week Ever)

Saturday, November 25, 2006

CATHOLICISM

Me: "So, apparently, almost 40% of all births last year occured out of wedlock."
Co-worker: "I don't see what the big deal is. That's what happened with both my kids."

That reaction, and the reaction on a Catholic message board I sometimes read, have stuck in my head over the last few days. I appreciate honesty and openness as much as the next guy, but to have someone just blurt that out was a bit shocking to me. I get the feeling it's because of her feelings on the subject.

Over on the aforementioned board, the topic of shame came up. One poster, a 32-year-old man who could easily pass for 45, broke out the term "bastard," saying, "I'm not going around mocking children, but I'll say it to their parents. The social stigma needs to be returned to illegitimacy, abortion, divorce, homosexuality, premarital sex, etc. Love the sinner and all, but knock some shame back into people."

I'm the last person to shame anyone else, but is this really something that needs to be done in order to rectify a situation?

Tuesday, November 21, 2006

CAREER

I think I realized big business isn't for me. I learned this on a Monday.

Yesterday, early on in the day, a client called asking for information on a stock, ASCA, Ameristar Casinos. At the time, the stock was up around five or six bucks from where it closed last Friday, about a 20% jump, and the client was wondering what was up. On my computer system, I saw two items of interest.

The first was a press release announcing the death of the company's CEO. That was released at 9:00 a.m. The other was an upgrade of the stock to "buy" by KeyBanc Capital Markets, stating that it was now a takeover target since the company's largest shareholder (a person who was opposed to selling the company) was deceased. That came over the wire a little bit after 10 a.m.

For those of you playing along at home, that makes the elapsed time from the announcement of someone's death to an announcement of how to parlay that news into a money-making opportunity approximately sixty minutes.

After I wrapped up that call, I had to excuse myself. I could not believe how cold and calculating the whole process was. Yes, I realize life goes on and all that jazz. But it just seems to be a bit too mechanical to issue a note so soon after the news.

And that is why you won't be seeing me on Wall St. anytime soon.

Sunday, November 19, 2006

You may have noticed I've cleaned up the links section a bit. Taken off some long-deleted blogs (where are you, Steezie?), updated ones I've visited lately (congrats, Dan).

In other news, I'm looking for a date to my company's Christmas party. Anyone free on Dec. 2?

Some random thoughts I want to get out of my head while they're still fresh...

- I realize he's your ex and that he can say nice things sometimes, but damn girl, let him go!

- I don't care what anyone else says, Rage Against The Machine is NOT dance music.

- Dear Scotty from Big Bad Voodoo Daddy:
If that really was you at the bar tonight, I would have come and asked for your autograph, but I was too shy/tipsy. Hope you enjoy our fair city.

- I am not cut out for the "singles scene."

Monday, November 06, 2006

COMPANIONSHIP
(Been a while since I've done one of these...)

"Hey Greg, I need to e-mail you. There's this song that I heard that you might like."

So said a friend to me after a church group meeting last night. I've known her from the group for about a year or so, and have just started getting to know her outside the group over the last few months. I refer to her as my "single" friend because whenever we get together, all we really end up talking about is dating. Dates we've had, dating strategies, etc.

My friend has told me about a book that she read some time ago, "When God Writes Your Love Story," written by Eric and Leslie Ludy. My friend's not told me too many specifics about the book (I assume she may recommend that I read it), but I assume it has something to do with Christian courtship.

After dinner with some of the guys from the group, I called my friend to say hi, since we didn't get a chance to talk for long after the meeting. She gave me the URL, and I decided to give it a listen. Now, I'm not the world's biggest fan of Christian music. To me, "Christian artist" is usually code for "weak songwriter." This song is no exception. But it did make me think.

Is God preparing her for me? Is God preparing me for her? And if this is the preparation, what will the finished product look like? Should I really be praying for her to come along? Should I be praying for her, period?

If you'd like some insight into a couple of crazy Christian kids' idea of romance, download the song. If nothing else, it's free...

Hmmm... what to blog about? My promotion at work? Nah, too boring. The Borat movie? It's been done. The gal I took with me to see the Borat movie? Too little promise.

I know! How about a cute puppy?


The Flight of the Harry

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Wednesday, November 01, 2006



This is my brother, Eddie. He was born 37 years ago today.

He died 11 years ago this past summer.

I actually had the day off today, and I had some plans made for what I was going to do: watch my friend and I on TV, go to Mass, get my car looked at, and visit my brother's grave (not in that particular order).

What I ended up doing was watching TV and doing laundry. (Granted, it was needed to be done, but still...)

I don't know that I've completed mourning for Eddie. Couple that with the fact that I don't know that I've completed mourning over the end of things with Suzanne, and that may explain why I've been in so much of a funk over the past few weeks.

I've now outlived my brother by over 2 years. Combine that with my dad's health issues (things are fine, more details to come), and that's REALLY making me a nice person to be around.

Happy Birthday, Eddie. Hopefully I'll be seeing you soon.