I have been watching the stock market closely the last few weeks and all I can say after Monday's historic rise is that I have no clue what is going on. All I know is that it has been going down a lot and yesterday it jumped because of government intervention. I checked my 401K online yesterday and was very saddened by the losses. Oh well, you win some and you lose some, I just wish I did not lose so much.
It is a good thing that I am young and can delay my retirement for a while longer even if I do not want to delay it. However, I feel bad for those in retirement or near retirement who had their stock portfolios devastated by the recent market turmoil. Reading that retirement accounts had lost about 2 trillion dollars because of the decline in the stock market was shocking. And I still cannot believe how much has changed in the financial world over the last couple of months. Storied names of companies that have been around for decades or even over a century have been brought to their knees. It is a shame that the risky behavior of a few has hurt so many.
If the last decade has shown me anything in the stock market, it is that fortunes are made and lost quickly and that no matter how big the company, the company can and will fail. I remember earlier in the decade the collapse of Enron and Worldcom. I thought the collapse of Bear Stearns recently was an anomoly, but sadly, it was the start of something much worse. Over the last few months, seeing AIG, Wachovia, Washington Mutual, Lehman Brothers, Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae basically go out of business, I am not surprised the Dow Jones industrials dropped over 40% from its peak last year. Hopefully the worst is over and the market can behave rationally and inch back upwards.
I know that a lot of seniors and older folks are desperately hoping for a furious market comeback. I just think it is unrealistic for a complete turnaround in a short time frame. We may not see Dow at 14,000 for a few years. Though if you have some money, maybe it is not a bad time to invest some of that in a broad market index. As billionaire Warren Buffett once said, "be fearful when others are greedy and greedy when others are fearful" or something like that. Last week people were afraid.
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
Street fair food
Yesterday was Columbus Day, which is a psuedo-holiday in the United States. Certain things like banks and the post office are closed as are some schools. But my company was not closed and I had to go to work. I did not get a three day holiday weekend but I thought I would be able to drop by the street fair that is outside the building I work at for a delicious lunch.
My diet is not exactly what you would call a good one though recently I have been eating better. Which is not saying much since my usual fair is some fast food joint. In any event, I thought yesterday I would treat myself to some tasty street fair food. It being Columbus Day, I thought I would join in the celebration of the Italian Christopher Columbus by having a tasty Italian sausage sandwich with onions and peppers. The very thought of it had me salivating for an hour before I went to lunch.
Imagine my disappointment when I went downstairs for lunch and walked up and down the street fair looking for that food stall that would satisfy my hunger and found nothing! Oh, there were food stalls. There were popcorn stands and stands that sold roasted corn, which I guess are really snack stalls and not food. But there were food stalls. I counted about six in the four blocks I walked but none of them sold Italian sausage sandwiches. Instead five of the six stalls sold Gyros, Falafels, Pitas and Kebabs. One sold pulled pork and beef brisket sandwiches with some award winning barbacue sauce.
Let me just say that I was extremely disappointed that there were no food stalls with Italian sausage sandwiches. For pete's sake, Columbus Day is meant to celebrate, at least to a small degree, Italian-Americans in the United States. I do not recall any street fair in NYC that did not have one food stall that sold Italian sausage sandwiches. I remember chowing down a greasy but delicious one last year along with a refreshing cup of lemonade. Though truth be told, the lemonade tasted like water with some sugar and a lemon wedge. In the end, after my fruitless search for an Italian sausage sandwich, I settled for a beef brisket sandwich. It was okay and the award winning sauce was good, but because I really wanted an Italian sausage sandwich for lunch, I felt disappointed.
My diet is not exactly what you would call a good one though recently I have been eating better. Which is not saying much since my usual fair is some fast food joint. In any event, I thought yesterday I would treat myself to some tasty street fair food. It being Columbus Day, I thought I would join in the celebration of the Italian Christopher Columbus by having a tasty Italian sausage sandwich with onions and peppers. The very thought of it had me salivating for an hour before I went to lunch.
Imagine my disappointment when I went downstairs for lunch and walked up and down the street fair looking for that food stall that would satisfy my hunger and found nothing! Oh, there were food stalls. There were popcorn stands and stands that sold roasted corn, which I guess are really snack stalls and not food. But there were food stalls. I counted about six in the four blocks I walked but none of them sold Italian sausage sandwiches. Instead five of the six stalls sold Gyros, Falafels, Pitas and Kebabs. One sold pulled pork and beef brisket sandwiches with some award winning barbacue sauce.
Let me just say that I was extremely disappointed that there were no food stalls with Italian sausage sandwiches. For pete's sake, Columbus Day is meant to celebrate, at least to a small degree, Italian-Americans in the United States. I do not recall any street fair in NYC that did not have one food stall that sold Italian sausage sandwiches. I remember chowing down a greasy but delicious one last year along with a refreshing cup of lemonade. Though truth be told, the lemonade tasted like water with some sugar and a lemon wedge. In the end, after my fruitless search for an Italian sausage sandwich, I settled for a beef brisket sandwich. It was okay and the award winning sauce was good, but because I really wanted an Italian sausage sandwich for lunch, I felt disappointed.
Sunday, June 8, 2008
Summertime heat
It's too hot outside. I was going to venture out today to see a few more open houses but I woke up in a hot hazy daze. Maybe I should have turned on the air conditioner last night, but I thought the late night rain would cool things down. It did, but this morning, I felt like I slept in a desert or maybe an oven.
In any event, my plans for visiting some open houses went nowhere. It's a shame too since there was an interesting studio apt in Murray Hill that is almost 800 SF in size with shiny new floors and a very open layout. Also an interesting one bedroom in Brooklyn priced decently and decorated tastefully, with a washer and dryer in the unit. But, I'm a fair weather person and it's too hot outside to be schlepping back and forth from one open house to another. I would probably be too hot and tired to enjoy any of the apartments I would have looked at today.
Better luck next week, but if not luck, then at least better weather.
In any event, my plans for visiting some open houses went nowhere. It's a shame too since there was an interesting studio apt in Murray Hill that is almost 800 SF in size with shiny new floors and a very open layout. Also an interesting one bedroom in Brooklyn priced decently and decorated tastefully, with a washer and dryer in the unit. But, I'm a fair weather person and it's too hot outside to be schlepping back and forth from one open house to another. I would probably be too hot and tired to enjoy any of the apartments I would have looked at today.
Better luck next week, but if not luck, then at least better weather.
Sunday, June 1, 2008
Open house review and other thoughts
Wow, just realized it has been over 3 months since my last entry. Since that time, much has happened that I thought about blogging on, but nothing really motivated me enough to actually blog.
I do want to briefly comment on the Democratic primary which is just about over and my choice is unfortunately, not winning. Such is life in a democracy. I can complain about the unfairness of it all or blame the stupidity of voters in the earlier Democratic primaries, but that is just sour grapes. Regardless of how I feel that the current frontrunner is ill suited to the enormous task of returning America to greatness, he is still a much better choice than the Republican nominee. So come November, the Democratic nominee WILL have my support, no matter how tepid it may be.
About a month ago, I also saw this amazing article in the NYTimes about good sportsmanship. I do not believe this would ever happen in professional sports where a lot of money is on the line based on wins and losses. But it was good to see people acting like good people. It really doesn't matter if you win or lose, it's how you play the game. And those women who helped carry the injured player around the bases, play the game the right way. Congrats to them!
Now to the open houses I attended today. It has been a while since I went to more than one open house at a time. In past weeks and months, I would go to one or so because there were not many apartments that would interest me other than the occasional one. Today I went to five open houses, one in Manhattan and four in Brooklyn. So without further ado, here are the five apartments I looked at today.
The first apartment I want to talk about is this one in Manhattan. It is currently priced at 499K and located in the Gramercy Park area. The building is not in the best location since it is next door to a construction site but the neighborhood is great. They are building a new condominium next door, but today being sunday, I did not hear any construction noise while I was there. The broker mentioned showing the apartment during the week and saying she did not hear the construction next door. I doubt it, but maybe the building has think walls. The apartment is a nice sized place at an advertised size of 800 SF. The maintenance is $1117 which is not unreasonable. I liked the space and location as well as the high ceilings in the front room which is described as the bedroom in the floorplan. When I say high ceilings, I mean high ceilings, it felt very loftlike, though it sloped at a slight angle as you move from the entrance of the bedroom toward the window. Still, it made that room feel very spacious even though it is sort of narrow.
The negatives of the apartment are many. First, I do not like the idea of being next to a construction site. Second, the unit is on the first floor, though there are a few steps to walk up before you enter the building, but it is practically on the first floor. The noise of the sidewalk in the current bedroom is probably too loud at night. Third, the bedroom has carpet while the rest of the apartment has wood floors. It should not be too much of a problem to remove the carpet. But that brings up the renovations that need to be done in the apartment. So fourth, the bathroom and kitchen are passable, but very plain and utilitarian. If you like the stuff you see in newer construction, then you need to renovate the kitchen and bathroom. Fifth, the current bedroom has high ceilings, but the current living room does not. They are either eight feet or nine feet high. So not very good when you compare it to the current bedroom. Lastly, they have a weird walk in closet with some tiny passage way into the current livingroom. According to the broker, you can probably tear down some of the walls to open it up somewhat, but there did seem to be another sloping area there that might cause an awkward looking space.
The apartment is good in terms of size, location and overall value. But it is not in a move in condition and at that price, I just cannot afford it and make changes that would make me happy living there. Also, I thought I overheard the broker mentioning to another visitor that the building has sold the air rights above the building to the new development next door. That does not sound too good to a new buyer like myself since the money has already been divided amongst the current owners of the co-op units.
The second apartment I will write about is a first floor unit listed here. The biggest plus of the apartment is the location. It is located in a very good area because of the close proximity to the Brooklyn Promenade. Just a short walk away and you get fabulous views of the water and Manhattan as well as a lot of benches to enjoy those views. The car noise from the Brooklyn Queens Expressway is not too loud and I did not notice it at all as I walked to the apartment. The apartment also has a lot of windows and I felt a lot of the cool breeze from the outside because there are windows in the front, side and back of the apartment. The roof deck is very nice as well and gives you a great view of Manhattan. The negatives are that it is on the first floor, which means it can be quite noisy, though I have to admit, I did not hear anything while I was inside and the windows were definately open. Natural light is not that good. Renovations are a must in the apartment because everything inside is a bit outdated. And it did not feel as spacious as the floorplan made it look. Not a bad apartment, just not quite the apartment I am looking for at that price.
The third apartment I will talk about is one located on Clinton Street. I will not say a lot about it because I did not stay very long. It was too small for my taste, though the price is good. Just not good enough considering the size of the apartment and the fact that the small kitchen needs to be completely redone. According to the broker, two people currently live in the apartment, but I felt it was too small for myself.
The fourth apartment I visited was also very brief. It is located on Remsen Street and you can find more information about it here. The living area is very nice and clean and the views from the living room were very nice and bright. But the bedroom was very small and there was an entry from the living room as well as the kitchen. The current occupants have a thin cloth divider between the bedroom and the kitchen. Maybe that turned me off, or the fact that the kitchen and bathroom are very small. In any event, the apartment did not impress me enough to stay for a long time and chat the broker up for more information about the building.
The last apartment I will write about is this one in the Robert Livingston building on Livingston street. The price is low compared to other units I have seen in this building last year. It felt small because they put a wall in what would be a large bedroom to make two small bedrooms. Once that wall is removed, the bedroom becomes very big. The unit is on the third floor and faces the back of the building so there is not a lot of natural light. But I liked the apartment because of the size of the apartment. It felt like a true one bedroom and is definately not one of the junior one bedrooms or alcove studios where they put up some walls and made a bedroom. However, I was not impressed with the condition of the apartment. There will definately need to be some renovations and repainting done in the apartment. The price is still a bit high, but probably somewhat negotiable since the apartment is definately too small for the current owners. Also, I did not notice this in my previous visits to units in the building, but the ceiling is a bit on the low side, probably eight feet. All in all, I think the pluses outweigh the minuses in this unit.
I hope to visit more apartments this summer, primarily in the Brooklyn Heights area. And I will write more entries in my blog about my visits. I will also write about other things that interest me, but no guarantees on that.
I do want to briefly comment on the Democratic primary which is just about over and my choice is unfortunately, not winning. Such is life in a democracy. I can complain about the unfairness of it all or blame the stupidity of voters in the earlier Democratic primaries, but that is just sour grapes. Regardless of how I feel that the current frontrunner is ill suited to the enormous task of returning America to greatness, he is still a much better choice than the Republican nominee. So come November, the Democratic nominee WILL have my support, no matter how tepid it may be.
About a month ago, I also saw this amazing article in the NYTimes about good sportsmanship. I do not believe this would ever happen in professional sports where a lot of money is on the line based on wins and losses. But it was good to see people acting like good people. It really doesn't matter if you win or lose, it's how you play the game. And those women who helped carry the injured player around the bases, play the game the right way. Congrats to them!
Now to the open houses I attended today. It has been a while since I went to more than one open house at a time. In past weeks and months, I would go to one or so because there were not many apartments that would interest me other than the occasional one. Today I went to five open houses, one in Manhattan and four in Brooklyn. So without further ado, here are the five apartments I looked at today.
The first apartment I want to talk about is this one in Manhattan. It is currently priced at 499K and located in the Gramercy Park area. The building is not in the best location since it is next door to a construction site but the neighborhood is great. They are building a new condominium next door, but today being sunday, I did not hear any construction noise while I was there. The broker mentioned showing the apartment during the week and saying she did not hear the construction next door. I doubt it, but maybe the building has think walls. The apartment is a nice sized place at an advertised size of 800 SF. The maintenance is $1117 which is not unreasonable. I liked the space and location as well as the high ceilings in the front room which is described as the bedroom in the floorplan. When I say high ceilings, I mean high ceilings, it felt very loftlike, though it sloped at a slight angle as you move from the entrance of the bedroom toward the window. Still, it made that room feel very spacious even though it is sort of narrow.
The negatives of the apartment are many. First, I do not like the idea of being next to a construction site. Second, the unit is on the first floor, though there are a few steps to walk up before you enter the building, but it is practically on the first floor. The noise of the sidewalk in the current bedroom is probably too loud at night. Third, the bedroom has carpet while the rest of the apartment has wood floors. It should not be too much of a problem to remove the carpet. But that brings up the renovations that need to be done in the apartment. So fourth, the bathroom and kitchen are passable, but very plain and utilitarian. If you like the stuff you see in newer construction, then you need to renovate the kitchen and bathroom. Fifth, the current bedroom has high ceilings, but the current living room does not. They are either eight feet or nine feet high. So not very good when you compare it to the current bedroom. Lastly, they have a weird walk in closet with some tiny passage way into the current livingroom. According to the broker, you can probably tear down some of the walls to open it up somewhat, but there did seem to be another sloping area there that might cause an awkward looking space.
The apartment is good in terms of size, location and overall value. But it is not in a move in condition and at that price, I just cannot afford it and make changes that would make me happy living there. Also, I thought I overheard the broker mentioning to another visitor that the building has sold the air rights above the building to the new development next door. That does not sound too good to a new buyer like myself since the money has already been divided amongst the current owners of the co-op units.
The second apartment I will write about is a first floor unit listed here. The biggest plus of the apartment is the location. It is located in a very good area because of the close proximity to the Brooklyn Promenade. Just a short walk away and you get fabulous views of the water and Manhattan as well as a lot of benches to enjoy those views. The car noise from the Brooklyn Queens Expressway is not too loud and I did not notice it at all as I walked to the apartment. The apartment also has a lot of windows and I felt a lot of the cool breeze from the outside because there are windows in the front, side and back of the apartment. The roof deck is very nice as well and gives you a great view of Manhattan. The negatives are that it is on the first floor, which means it can be quite noisy, though I have to admit, I did not hear anything while I was inside and the windows were definately open. Natural light is not that good. Renovations are a must in the apartment because everything inside is a bit outdated. And it did not feel as spacious as the floorplan made it look. Not a bad apartment, just not quite the apartment I am looking for at that price.
The third apartment I will talk about is one located on Clinton Street. I will not say a lot about it because I did not stay very long. It was too small for my taste, though the price is good. Just not good enough considering the size of the apartment and the fact that the small kitchen needs to be completely redone. According to the broker, two people currently live in the apartment, but I felt it was too small for myself.
The fourth apartment I visited was also very brief. It is located on Remsen Street and you can find more information about it here. The living area is very nice and clean and the views from the living room were very nice and bright. But the bedroom was very small and there was an entry from the living room as well as the kitchen. The current occupants have a thin cloth divider between the bedroom and the kitchen. Maybe that turned me off, or the fact that the kitchen and bathroom are very small. In any event, the apartment did not impress me enough to stay for a long time and chat the broker up for more information about the building.
The last apartment I will write about is this one in the Robert Livingston building on Livingston street. The price is low compared to other units I have seen in this building last year. It felt small because they put a wall in what would be a large bedroom to make two small bedrooms. Once that wall is removed, the bedroom becomes very big. The unit is on the third floor and faces the back of the building so there is not a lot of natural light. But I liked the apartment because of the size of the apartment. It felt like a true one bedroom and is definately not one of the junior one bedrooms or alcove studios where they put up some walls and made a bedroom. However, I was not impressed with the condition of the apartment. There will definately need to be some renovations and repainting done in the apartment. The price is still a bit high, but probably somewhat negotiable since the apartment is definately too small for the current owners. Also, I did not notice this in my previous visits to units in the building, but the ceiling is a bit on the low side, probably eight feet. All in all, I think the pluses outweigh the minuses in this unit.
I hope to visit more apartments this summer, primarily in the Brooklyn Heights area. And I will write more entries in my blog about my visits. I will also write about other things that interest me, but no guarantees on that.
Thursday, February 14, 2008
Happy Valentine's Day!
In the past, I used to send out a mass email to a bunch of people every year on Valentine's Day with the lyrics to the song "The Rose" as performed by Bette Midler. I stopped after sending out a dozen "roses" because that was a good number to end it at. Now that I have a blog, I will just post the lyrics here once a year for another dozen years.
THE ROSE
Some say love, it is a river
that drowns the tender reed.
Some say love, it is a razor
that leaves your soul to bleed.
Some say love, it is a hunger,
an endless aching need.
I say love, it is a flower,
and you its only seed.
It's the heart afraid of breaking
that never learns to dance.
It's the dream afraid of waking
that never takes the chance.
It's the one who won't be taken,
who cannot seem to give,
and the soul afraid of dyin'
that never learns to live.
When the night has been too lonely
and the road has been to long,
and you think that love is only
for the lucky and the strong,
just remember in the winter
far beneath the bitter snows
lies the seed that with the sun's love
in the spring becomes the rose.
Happy Valentine's Day!
THE ROSE
Some say love, it is a river
that drowns the tender reed.
Some say love, it is a razor
that leaves your soul to bleed.
Some say love, it is a hunger,
an endless aching need.
I say love, it is a flower,
and you its only seed.
It's the heart afraid of breaking
that never learns to dance.
It's the dream afraid of waking
that never takes the chance.
It's the one who won't be taken,
who cannot seem to give,
and the soul afraid of dyin'
that never learns to live.
When the night has been too lonely
and the road has been to long,
and you think that love is only
for the lucky and the strong,
just remember in the winter
far beneath the bitter snows
lies the seed that with the sun's love
in the spring becomes the rose.
Happy Valentine's Day!
Wednesday, February 6, 2008
Update on the Super Tuesday Primary Office Pool
It feels good to win. Surprisingly, I finished first in the office pool with 29 correct picks, 2 more than my closest competitor. Too bad we only had 8 entries because a lot of people did not read the polls or the tea leaves over the weekend. Still, it feels good to win regardless of the number of participants.
Tuesday, February 5, 2008
My picks for the Super Tuesday primaries
Over the weekend, I looked at some polls, flipped some coins and made my picks for the winner of each of the following state primaries. The first name following the state will be the Democrat and the second name will be the Republican winner.
Alabama primary - Obama/Huckabee
Alaska caucuses - Obama/Huckabee
Arizona primaries - Clinton/McCain
Arkansas primaries - Clinton/Huckabee
California primaries - Clinton/McCain
Colorado caucuses - Obama/Romney
Connecticut primaries - Clinton/McCain
Delaware primaries - Clinton/McCain
Georgia primaries - Obama/Romney
Idaho caucuses - Democrat only - Obama
Illinois primaries - Obama/Romney
Kansas caucuses - Deomcrat only - Obama
Massachusetts primaries - Clinton/Romney
Minnesota primaries - Clinton/McCain
Missouri primaries - Clinton/Huckabee
Montana caucuses - Republican only - McCain
New Jersey primaries - Clinton/McCain
New Mexico primaries - Democrat only - Clinton
New York primaries - Clinton/McCain
North Dakota caucuses - Obama/McCain
Oklahoma primaries - Clinton/McCain
Tennessee primaries - Clinton/Huckabee
Utah primaries - Clinton/Romney
West Virginia convention - Repubican only - Romney
Let's see who the winners will be and maybe after tonight, we'll find out who the candidates will be for the general election.
Alabama primary - Obama/Huckabee
Alaska caucuses - Obama/Huckabee
Arizona primaries - Clinton/McCain
Arkansas primaries - Clinton/Huckabee
California primaries - Clinton/McCain
Colorado caucuses - Obama/Romney
Connecticut primaries - Clinton/McCain
Delaware primaries - Clinton/McCain
Georgia primaries - Obama/Romney
Idaho caucuses - Democrat only - Obama
Illinois primaries - Obama/Romney
Kansas caucuses - Deomcrat only - Obama
Massachusetts primaries - Clinton/Romney
Minnesota primaries - Clinton/McCain
Missouri primaries - Clinton/Huckabee
Montana caucuses - Republican only - McCain
New Jersey primaries - Clinton/McCain
New Mexico primaries - Democrat only - Clinton
New York primaries - Clinton/McCain
North Dakota caucuses - Obama/McCain
Oklahoma primaries - Clinton/McCain
Tennessee primaries - Clinton/Huckabee
Utah primaries - Clinton/Romney
West Virginia convention - Repubican only - Romney
Let's see who the winners will be and maybe after tonight, we'll find out who the candidates will be for the general election.
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