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.

I am still alive

Sorry for not posting recently but I've had quite a bit going on. Starting a new job, going on vacation, coming back and returning to work, buying a house, severe weather, AND moving into the aforementioned house. Add in one huge surprise here in the last few days and (needless to say) life has been crazy recently. I've shunted some of the lower priority items waaaaaaaay down the list. Such as this blog...

Anyway, the job is pretty much the same as it was when I was up north; forecasting the weather with a few additional duties involved. What are the new duties you ask? Well, I get to decide who/if we need people to stay thus I have the power of granting overtime/comp time. I also now have signature authority for our managerial staff if they are unavailable and the others who have more tenure than I are not here. And I guess the fact that I can chose how to distribute shift duties also comes in nice. This is definitely a position that as one of my friends put it: "You are the first one that gets blamed if something goes wrong and the first one that gets praise if things go well". And I am still having problems adjusting to being called "Senior" Forecaster. I'm not THAT old...

Vacation was nice; we headed up to South Fork, Colorado for some much needed fishing and relaxation time. Unfortunately I was playing around with my camera and left it on the wrong setting so quite a few of the pictures didn't turn out like I wanted them to. I did manage to see how well my camera can take pictures of the Milky Way and stars in general however. As for fishing, Dad and I ended up at Poage Lake which is located at around 11,700 ft and caught our limit of trout for the day (including my 15" lake trout!) while scaring my family and Jill to death at the same time. You see, we were only supposed to go find the lake and then go back to the house for lunch. However, the fish were teasing us and we ended up staying there for 6 hours. Mom was about ready to call the police when we came down the mountain and finally had cell phone reception...oops! Our time was well spent; the fish were mighty tasty and I've learned how to grill fresh trout.

Back here in the South Plains - I did finally close on a house and the movers came a week ago to unload and unpack all my stuff. The day before I was supposed to have Suddenstink Suddenlink come and establish my cable. This fiasco started when the person pulled up to the house, never got out of the car, and then drove off. When I called customer support, they said that the service tech tried calling the house (NOT!) and with no answer he left. Upon informing them that I was there and gave them the number of the truck that came by, they said it was their error and that they would fix the problem...a WEEK LATER! And then they claim that my cable modem is a rental (I bought that thing 5 years ago), it is overdue, and that they are going to send my account to a collection agency. I'm about ready to be done with them and switch over to DSL. (Rant mode off). ANYWAY, mom came into town for a couple of days to help organize things and did an outstanding job; I've actually got room to move around now. Also, a H U G E thanks to my friends the C's for keeping some of my lawn care items and bringing them down this past weekend. Besides bringing me those items, it is always good to spend time with such good friends. (Post Edit - Suddenlink came and got everything hooked upa. However, my cable modem was fried so you guessed it: I had to buy one from Suddenlink. What a racket...)

And then there has been the weather. Two weeks ago we had 6 days of rain around the region and we netted about 7 inches at the office. Fortunately, the Hub City has been doing some drainage work on my side of town and there weren't nearly the problems there used to be. Yes, drivers still were idiots but at least they didn't have to deal with whole roads underwater; just a couple of intersections had deep water. I had nearly forgotten what heavy rain was like up north; we just didn't get it very often. The only bad news was that I found out my Exploder has a couple of leaks around the doors as the weatherstripping is old and not sealing the door as tight as it used to. If I didn't need to get that 7" lift, 37" tires, new rear axle, SYE, and other goodies for my Jeep, I might consider a new...meaning used...pickup. We'll see.

To close things out on a really high note, there was a surprise that totally came out of left field. My girlfriend had been trying to find a job here in the South Plains and had resigned to keeping her job down in southeast Texas for another year. However, she received a surprise call asking if she was still interested in a teaching job in this neck-of-the-woods. After dealing with an idiot apartment complex, still dealing with the previous employer, and a quick move, she has arrived here in my town and is trying to get settled all while starting a new job. Be praying for her because she is under just a little bit of stress right now and my shift-work schedule certainly doesn't help matters either.

Awlrightythen...time to get back to getting the last of the boxes unpacked and finding all the various nooks and crannies to put stuff!

Another Quick Update

So much has been going on the last couple of weeks and I have been bad at keeping y'all updated. In this brief moment before heading out for a bit of lunch with a parental unit, I give you some tidbits and nuggets of information on how things are going here in the Hub City.

• I have signed a contract on a house and will (hopefully) close the first part of August. Only real problem was I missed getting low interest rates by ONE day (went from 6.125% to 6.75% in 5 hours the day I went in for my mortgage).
  
  
• Work is going well; I'm slowly getting settled in on what it means to be a shift supervisor. So much to learn in so little time. The "gang" that works here is great and it seems a bit more relaxed than in my previous office.
  
  
• Lubbock drivers STILL don't know how to drive, even after 5 years. Stupid college students talking on their cell phones and not watching out for other people. People forgetting that there is a nifty device called a turn signal that they can use when changing lanes. I just can't wait to see what it will be like the first heavy rain event or winter storm that blows through here...NOT!
  
  
• Living out of a hotel is great the first 4 days you are in one. After that it gets old. I don't have a real kitchen to cook in and frozen dinners are getting boring. The "continental breakfast" is nothing more than day old bread for toast, some bagels or English Muffins that don't fit in the toaster, and some kind of reconstituted fruit juices that are supposed to resemble apple or orange juice. I might have to learn how to drink coffee just to get something that tastes good in the morning.
  
  
• I thought the mosquitoes in the Top o' Texas were bad. Nope. This town has them worse. Getting out of your car and walking to the door at the hotel has caused me to sprint through hungry hoards of blood-sucking mosquitoes that were so thick you needed a light saber to cut through. Right now I count 7 itchy bumps from being outside for 15 minutes, one of which is on my cheek. Damn thing itches like mad!

Anyway, such is my life right now. Gotta run...time to get some local items taken care of and then start getting ready for our family vacation to southwest Colorado. Highs in the upper 70s, lows in the 40's, and chances for rain each afternoon. Ahhhhhhhhhhhhh.

I am now a Vagabond

Well, I've landed in the South Plains. The house closed with one minor hitch...the buyers delayed until 2 pm so I had to wait a couple of hours to get my check. It was worth it however; it gave me one last opportunity to eat lunch at Rudy's with friends and get a little bit of Rainbow Six: Vegas 2 in as well. However, in true words of the term - I am now a Vagabond.

There wasn't much fanfare when I left; just a look in the rear-view mirror at the town that I have known for the last 5 years. I had a couple of days to say farewell to my friends, my house was empty, and I didn't have to go into work. But there is a sense of sadness knowing that I won't be able to call the C's to see if there is a free evening for Super Smash Bros. on the Wii (or some Rainbow Six: Vegas 2 with Mr. C.). I won't be able to go to iForty (as often) nor have the fun evenings afterwords with "the gang" when we sit down for dinner.

This move does bring with it new opportunities however. I look forward to renewing friendships of old and getting back involved with playing guitar in a worship setting. I'm back in college town so I'm hoping (hint...hint) that friends will come on down and stay for a weekend of Raider sports. Eventually, maybe, possibly when I get settled, I'll finally be able to get that big screen and an Xbox360 (or the Wii) with Xbox live to meet my friends on the battlefield or Super Mario Kart track.

So, here I am. A vagabond back in a town I left 5 years ago. Time to unpack and get some clothes ready for the first day impression tomorrow at work. Tomorrow...laundry and the story of the hotel.

P.S. To the gang back in the Top 'o Texas: to quote Sallah from Indiana Jones I and III: "I am missing you already..."

Housing Update

Here is the latest news from the housing front. The buyers of my home here in the Top o' Texas wanted to bump up the closing date by two weeks which is physically impossible as I still have to live in my house through the end of this week. SO, we struck a compromise and I close on my current house on the 21st. Whew! I'll have to make sure all my ducks are in a row for the closing but it appears all is coming together well.

I decided this morning to put an offer on a house in the Hub City so that process has now started. Currently am awaiting info on whether the house is still on the market and if the seller is even interested in my offer. Should that go through and the haggling isn't too far out of touch of what comps in the 'hood are (see, I'm learning the real estate lingo with all this moving stuff taking place), I'll hopefully have a contract by tomorrow. Why the rush? With all the mortgage mess with Freddy Mac and Fannie Mae, there is a great likelihood that rates will jump quite a bit this week. Best to try and lock in a low rate if I can!

Last but not least...movers come Thursday to pack and Friday to load. Ought to be interesting...I STILL don't have my travel orders. No travel orders = no hotel at the guv'ment rate. No hotel = sleeping on air mattress and sleeping bag over the weekend (well...not really. I'll probably crash over at the Clark's).

Dang. I've got a WHOLE LOT of stuff to take care of.

In the next three days.

While working day shifts.

Can you say small panic attack???

BREAKING NEWS...

We interrupt your regularly scheduled blog reading with this breaking news story. After only 8 days on the market, I've received an offer on my house! The contracts have been signed so now it is up to the inspector to be nitpicky and figure out what all needs to be worked on or "allowanced". Hopefully it won't be too much, especially with all that I have been working on. The most impressive item in this story is that the offer was exactly what I was asking. Amazing.

Also in breaking news, the vanity top supposedly has arrived at Lowe's (according to the purchase order tracking) and I should be receiving a call from them to go and pick it up. Once that puppy is in and the back door is painted, the house will be complete.

We now return you to your regularly schedule blog reading...

Anybody want a house?

Well, as if it wasn't official, my house is now on the market. Here you go...

The Master Bath Series, Part VIII

A quick update while eating lunch. There has been much progress in the master bath since my last update. Paint is up, fixtures are up, lighting is installed, loo is installed, and half the grout is installed. The only three things that are left are to do the last of the grout, install the baseboards, and then install the new vanity top when it arrives. Soon...hopefully soon.

Random Updates

A lot going on at the moment...too much to grasp at times. Here are the highlights:

• Saw three tornadoes (well, two confirmed and one possible) two Sundays ago near Channing and Stinnett. Total miles driven - 217, total cost of gas $40. A few pics are forthcoming whenever I can find time (HA!).
  

• The packing has started. Pictures have been pulled down, personal items you can't put a price on packed away to be sent with family, and the to do list continues to grow.

• A new backyard fence is going in after the old one was falling apart. Gotta make things look good for prospective buyers.

• It's hot...as in 105 degrees hot. TOO hot. I'm afraid my A/C will explode on me one of these days.

• Official move date has been set for the middle of July (right before I report to the center of the South Plains). I still haven't looked at a house yet at my new location; hoping to get that taken care of in the next couple of weeks.

• I'm totally addicted to Super Smash Brothers, Wii Fit, and Mario Kart on the Wii. Now all I need is to get all of those games AND the game console.

• The master bath continues but progress is being made. Still patching some drywall and getting it shaped right. It stinks being a perfectionist. Will go and order paint and a loo in the next couple of days.

Back to the grind...