Why all the hype?

Call it being cranky because of the lack of sleep I've gotten working this series of midnight shifts but I'm tired of listening to all the stuff about how bad the economic situation is and that we are going to see the biggest financial bailout in U.S. Federal Government history EVVVVVERRRRRRRR. That's an awful big word. Ever. And I beg to differ with the political and economic analysts.

Anyone remember the oil bust and real-estate crash of the 1980's? Anyone remember how many Savings & Loans and financial institutions went under then? What about the fact that the majority were Texas financial institutions that went under?

Do a search for the Resolution Trust Corporation (RTC) and see what comes up. The late 1980s saw a crash in the oil market which then bled over into the real-estate market. In summary, the RTC took assets of 747 failed thrifts (mainly in the form of BAD REAL ESTATE LOANS...sound familiar?...mainly in the commercial market however) and disposed of them at taxpayer expense. How much you ask? Three hundred ninety-four BILLION dollars between 1989 and 1995. Adjust that for inflation (using 1995 as the base year) and you get: almost $700 BILLION dollars. Yes, if you use the initial year of 1989 that the trust started to distribute funds and you will come up closer to $500 Billion. The point is that the government stepped in due to overzealous lending practices, illegal activities on some parties parts, and poor decisions by many in the financial sector. One of the root causes they discovered; people got greedy and thought they could lend money to/for risky investments and thus make a lot of money on the interest. Some people did. A few got caught and were punished. However, many were hurt and lost their life savings and livelihood.

Why am I posting about this you ask? I've lived through this once before already. My family was directly affected by the financial crisis of the late 80s and early 90s as my Dad was laid-off, a casualty of the Feds being TOO proactive in taking over a financial institution that they thought was going under and in reality was still solvent at the time (Go read The Great Texas Banking Crash: An Insider's Account by Joseph Grant). When Texas American Bank was forced into insolvency by the FDIC in that crash, one of Dad's co-workers went behind his back and convinced the oversight board to lay him off thus allowing this co-worker to be promoted and fill Dad's position. Another instance of someone in the financial sector having feelings of inadequacy and thinking about himself. But I digress...

It seems to me everyone is worked up into a lather once again thinking the end of the financial world is at hand, our economy is going to fall to pieces, and we are all going to be broke. Yup, we are going to have to face hard times. Looking back, I was shielded from all the difficulties when Dad was laid off because I was barely a teenager. Now however I am a taxpayer, investor, and wondering if I will be able to live comfortably when I retire WAAAY down the road. Am I sure that the Feds will have the right answer in stepping up? Yes and no. Sometimes trying things that worked in the past will work now. The economy did recover after the crash of the early 80s but it took awhile. However, many times it won't as people have changed, technology has changed, AND we are now truly more of a global economy. Perhaps those who are in positions to make decisions remember the government bailout in the 80's and think that it is their turn to get a piece of the government pie.

Who knows? I believe that every generation has a "blip" in their road to long-term financial stability; personally, nationally, and globally. Think about it: in my life it has been the 80's - Savings and Loan crisis, 90's - dot com bust, early 2000 - Enron, and now the subprime credit crisis. I just wish people would remember these things and not shove them under the carpet. Remember what is happening now, remember what started this, and remember it when it comes back around shrouded in some other sector of the financial market.

Folks; history has a way of coming back and biting you in the ass. Learn from it!

Normalcy slowly is returning.

Well, there are six boxes left to unpack and two of those will likely be repacked and stuck into a closet since they hold old files that I've got to hold on for a tad bit longer. Most of the furniture is finally in a good position (for now) and the kitchen has finally been fully tested (meaning the ovens, dishwasher, stove, and microwave have all been used extensively). My desktop is up and running which means I now have access to the 5 CDs that my iTunes library didn't sync to the external hard drive AND I can finally keep my laptop in a Linux environment for testing and development of some work-related software.

I am also in the weekly routine of lawn maintenance although I did come to the realization that if/when fall actually arrives here in the Hub City, I will be buried under a large biomass of leaves. A LOT of leaves. So many that it may call for blowing all the glucose-rich clorophill dormant detrius into the street before a blue norther comes through allowing mother nature to relocate the leaves down the street and possibly all the way to the Big Bend. And then there is the other weekly task of laundry which I think I have nailed down to the day when I will need to get various loads of whites, colors, permanent press, or blue jeans sorted and started to ensure I'll have enough clothes for work.

Speaking of work, the "normal" rounds of shifts continue although I still have a problem wrapping my head around the fact the graveyard shift comes around roughly once every 30 days vs. once every 20 days AND we work 8 in a row vs. 4 or 5 at the old shop. I also miss having a month with weekends off. Is it worth working 8 days of graveyards every 30 days vs working 4 or 5 every 20? I can't tell yet. This is only the second set of mids I've had to work on this new rotation and I'm not quite sure my body has fully adjusted. Add in the fact that cotton harvest is coming around (meaning I'll probably return to my annual fall sinus infection here soon) and my body will likely be thrown for quite a loop with allergies and shift work combined. That and I still refuse to take anything unless I'm absolutely tuckered out...

There are only a couple of things that are keeping the old "normalcy" from up north returning. The first is that I still have to get my guitars back from a fellow musician (a HUGE thanks D) who was gracious enough to let me place my instruments under his care only for a fee of being able to use them. Once I get those back, I can start work on getting the callouses back on my fingertips (amazing how fast they disappear when one doesn't play daily) and start learning new matierial. Next is that we've got a good feeling about the church we are going to down here and although it isn't the one that I left 5 years ago, I have a couple of co-workers and a friend that goes there which has helped ease the transition into a new body of believers. Once I/we get plugged into a small group that should open the doors for new ministry opportunities down here. And last but not least; the one that I'm extremely happy is keeping my old "normalcy" from returning. The, well, significant other (see the previous post) is also getting settled into life here in the Hub City and we've been able to spend quite a bit of time together. I'll take that over spending evenings sitting around the house alone any day.

Yup, things are going well so far out here.