Each week, the Washington Post has in its Opinions section a “5 Myths About” feature, addressing myths about various topics. This week’s was about executive pay, and I was glad to see it. I’ve long been uncomfortable with the amount of vitriol levelled at people who work at financial companies, in large part because my dad works at a brokerage firm, so I grew up surrounded by people who worked in the financial world. Obviously, I understand why people are upset, but labeling it all as “Wall Street” and condemning the world of finance outright is foolish. In particular, this quote stood out to me:
Collectively speaking, Main Street is Wall Street’s client and generally has been very well taken care of. In this crisis, Wall Street professionals, through carelessness or errors, lost a lot more money than Main Street did, and probably more, proportionately, lost their jobs too. Wall Street didn’t benefit from the market declines, and only in the past few months has it recovered some of what it lost.
I was packing up to leave work yesterday when I pulled my cell phone out of the drawer. I turned it on, noticed that the battery was low, and then…something.
I don’t know what. I got home and couldn’t find my phone. I searched through my bag and couldn’t find it, so I assumed I left it at work. I tried WheresMyCellPhone.com and heard nothing in the apartment. I searched my desk at work and found nothing. I got home and searched the car. Nothing. (Except a map of Pittsburgh, an extra umbrella, and an empty bottle of Diet Coke, all of which were hiding under the passenger seat.) So I decided to head out to the nearest cell phone store.
Where I discovered that even a basic cell phone would set me back a good $150. I left the store, vowing to redouble my efforts. I didn’t search every drawer in my desk at work. I should stop by the donut shop I went after work, though I didn’t take out my cell phone there. (That I remember.) (And which, by the way, did not have marshmallow glaze, so I couldn’t try out my s’mores donut idea.) (Anyway.) I’ll call the store I popped into to get the new Mika CD, even though the bad stayed in my car the whole time.
I got home and realized that hey, I actually still have my previous two cell phones. I wonder if I can just reactivate one of them, saving myself $150? I can wait until February, when I’m due to get another free cell phone. Which is the kicker, really. I’ve had three cell phones now, and haven’t paid for any of them. I don’t know that they’re worth $50 each, but putting down some money now wouldn’t be so bad.
Luckily, that’s not something I have to face, as I just activated an old phone. Woo! I feel all empowered now. Take that, cell phone industry!
I went up to Gettysburg yesterday, partly because it was Homecoming and partly because I needed new jeans, and this was a good excuse to drive up there and hit the outlets. Other than a few hours on Monday for Brent and Katie’s wedding (congrats!), I hadn’t been up to Gettysburg in ages.
It actually made me really look forward to Reunion Weekend in June, also my 10-year reunion, which is something that’s hard to think about. It’d be nice to maybe actually spend the weekend on campus. I had a good time yesterday walking around and being the oldest one (along with Brent) at the APO reception* and seeing the new gym and everything, but I missed when the group of us would be in Gettysburg and hang out and just sort of meandered around. Of course, this was close enough to when we graduated that some of us actually got our hair cut…because we hadn’t found new places for that sort of thing.
And obviously we can’t recreate that. We won’t be crashing at Mary’s apartment, because Mary is married and lives with her husband and two kids (congrats, Mary!) in the next town over. Plus, the idea of sleeping on the floor has lost a good bit of its appeal.
But if there’s a way for me to spend the weekend in Apple 109 again, I’m all over it. And hopefully it won’t be raining as it did yesterday. Though…what’s more Gettysburg than rain on the weekend?
(Oh, and I did get jeans. And some nice tops and shoes. Whee!)
* Two notes about this. One: Except for a brief appearance by a ‘99 alum, Brent and I were the oldest alums there. Two: In a scrapbook, there were family trees, and in my tree, I was listed just as “Barb.” I choose to believe that that’s because I became mythical (”Ooh, yes, I remember her. We only called her ‘Barb.’ She’s a legend around here.”). I then spent the next 5 minutes changing a 7-year-old photo album.
For some reason, when I woke up this morning to feed the cats, I started thinking who top 5 current boyfriends are. (Some people might refer to this as their “lists”–you know, the people they can have sex with without retribution from their partner. Since I’m single, I don’t have to worry about that sort of thing.) So, as of 7:15 this morning, here’s the current list:
Boyfriend Emeritus:
Michael Ball Other Boyfriends:
John Krasinski
Matthew Morrison
John Oliver
Brian Roberts
David Tennant
Hmm, two Brits and three Americans. That seems about right. And in alphabetical order, so nobody’s feelings get hurt.
I’m deep into another Beatles phase, thanks to the combination of Beatles Rock Band, the book I’m reading, and basically just listening to their music a LOT lately. Which only makes the current weather–cold, rainy (but not too rainy)–only appropriate. This is what it was like when I visited Liverpool back in November of 2004. For some reason I didn’t bring an umbrella (because fall in England = sunny, right?), so one of my lingering memories of that city is hiking from my hostel to the train station with my suitcase in the heavy mist. Not too bad for a short walk, but the walk was long enough that I arrived thoroughly wet. Good times!
Yesterday at work we “celebrated” Breast Cancer Awareness at our all-staff meeting. Coworkers got up and told their tales of breast cancer. I didn’t share mine.
My grandfather died in November of 1997. My grandmother turned 80 the next month, and early the next year was diagnosed with breast cancer. She went through treatment and has been in remission since 1998. She’s still going relatively strong and is almost 91 years old.
I don’t remember when my aunt was diagnosed with cancer in her mouth. I want to say it was spring of 2005 (around Easter, though I found out after, because who wants to bring down a holiday like that, right?). I watched as she fought treatment for a cancer that she didn’t deserve. She never smoked, never did anything like that. She taught reading at a local college, and read Agatha Christie and Anne of Green Gables, and loved watching Trading Spaces. She had four children, and a grandson, and fought the cancer and dealt with depression and died the day before her daughters’ 26th birthday. She didn’t get to see her second grandson or her daughters graduate from medical school.
It’s a story similar to so many about breast cancer, but I can’t help but feel that it’s not just breast cancer that needs awareness and research. People are out there dying of all forms of cancer. It’s not that I don’t support breast cancer research, it’s just that when I choose to spend my funds on charity, I have to prioritize. So when I give, it’s to causes that hit closer to home for me. Breast cancer is something that hits close to home…but more down the block than in my front yard.
I was stuck at the Louisville airport yesterday–very unhappily, mind you, because I was supposed to be on a 10:21 flight that would get me east in time to make it to the Orioles last game of the season, for which I had very good seats, but nooo, stupid mechanical difficulties meant the only part of the game I got to experience was the last half-inning, which I heard on the radio; I’m glad they won, but I was supposed to be there, dammit!–when I noticed that the little girl next to me was reading a biography of Eleanor Roosevelt. I was in a pissy mood, and that just cheered me right up, because she looked to be about the same age I was when I first read a biography of Eleanor. Turns out I was right; she was in third grade, and I had been in fourth grade. She said she was enjoying it, and I was just so glad. Eleanor rules! Yay!
And then, today, I saw someone link to Eleanor’s appearance on What’s My Line?. It seems so bizarre to see the former first lady on a game show, but it is really neat.
Of course, she also did commercials.
I guess the maintenance of Hyde Park must’ve eaten up the money she got from her newspaper column, etc. But can you imagine Laura Bush shilling for some random company?
Anyway, happy early 125th birthday (Oct. 11), Eleanor!
