An item on the dog front. First of all, it seems the cats have been peeing in the living room to get the dogs in trouble. Pesky cats, but you got to love them.
Econo-Girl has been graced with a vision lately. A vision where she uses her law degree in the field of probate law and guardianship for the elderly. It's time to unleash the inner advocate.
Some have said, "Why are you throwing away decades of computer experience and a guaranteed good income to start something new?"
But, without wanting to sound bitter or angry, Econo-Girl must admit to a bit of incapacitation since The Incident This Summer. Could she sit in a cubicle all day? Without really wanting to find out, the answer is probably "no."
Aside from that, should she dive into bureaucracy once more? Econo-Girl never fit in. She is an outside the box thinker if ever there was one. This is not the sort of thing that is welcomed, generally speaking.
Econo-Girl likens it to cutting off her big toe to fit into a glass slipper. Could she take such extreme measures? Sure. But it's not guaranteed to pay off. And that's just one toe too many for Econo-Girl.
11.29.2006
Dollar Going Down
Econo-Girl first started this blog as a response to CNN Money's horrible financial and economic coverage. Honestly, what passes for business reporting in the U.S. is just embarrassing.
No announcement is made without a positive candy-cane spin to it. For example, the news that the dollar is going down is couched with the "but that means exports will go up." Of course exports will go up. They won't go up enough to cover the amount we import, however. That would take sacrifice and discipline, and we all know how far that would go.
The real upswing about a lower dollar value is that it will kick up inflation here at home. Since we import a lot of stuff, and the exchange rate puts the dollar as buying less, less can be bought with the dollar. So the price to get a foreign good will go up.
There are some that gamely point out that now Americans will buy more domestically-made products. Sure. They will. But nowhere in the U.S. are clothes made as cheap as Asia, even with the lower dollar value making the prices rise.
So the practical upswing is: run to Walmart now to buy clothing, before the prices inevitably rise.
No announcement is made without a positive candy-cane spin to it. For example, the news that the dollar is going down is couched with the "but that means exports will go up." Of course exports will go up. They won't go up enough to cover the amount we import, however. That would take sacrifice and discipline, and we all know how far that would go.
The real upswing about a lower dollar value is that it will kick up inflation here at home. Since we import a lot of stuff, and the exchange rate puts the dollar as buying less, less can be bought with the dollar. So the price to get a foreign good will go up.
There are some that gamely point out that now Americans will buy more domestically-made products. Sure. They will. But nowhere in the U.S. are clothes made as cheap as Asia, even with the lower dollar value making the prices rise.
So the practical upswing is: run to Walmart now to buy clothing, before the prices inevitably rise.
Should I Avoid Eating Sushi With Russians?
All this poisoning of Russian whistleblowers is getting Econo-Girl down. She had vain hopes of traveling the world, eating sushi wherever she went. Perhaps another decade, not this one. And London isn't even safe for me. Quite disconcerting.
People have called the current regime fascists, not without reason. But Econo-Girl can say this: killing little CC was never on the table. For that, we can thank the strong institutions of democracy here in the U.S. and the American public.
Not the current Administration, mind you. Politicians have never been good at controlling themselves, and this group seems a particularly vengeful lot.
A Russian man told me that in his country, I would be swinging from the end of a rope. And he said it before the reporter's assassination. After The Incident This Summer, Econo-Girl was warned away from remote sections of South America. It seemed a bit extreme, but I'd already been to the Amazon, so there was no clash of plans.
Perhaps Econo-Girl should just avoid rude Russians.
In Russia, there doesn't seem to be any outrage about the assassinations at all. Completely curious. Putin's feet are being held to the fire by the British government, and you can imagine how angry they must be. Imagine the audacity of Russia to send people over to kill people on British soil. If Britain did the same to them, what would happen? Certainly the Brits would feel justified in killing on Russian soil now, if they hadn't already.
Econo-Girl predicts a major international incident in the next few months. Not based on any new information, just an explosion based on what's happened already.
People have called the current regime fascists, not without reason. But Econo-Girl can say this: killing little CC was never on the table. For that, we can thank the strong institutions of democracy here in the U.S. and the American public.
Not the current Administration, mind you. Politicians have never been good at controlling themselves, and this group seems a particularly vengeful lot.
A Russian man told me that in his country, I would be swinging from the end of a rope. And he said it before the reporter's assassination. After The Incident This Summer, Econo-Girl was warned away from remote sections of South America. It seemed a bit extreme, but I'd already been to the Amazon, so there was no clash of plans.
Perhaps Econo-Girl should just avoid rude Russians.
In Russia, there doesn't seem to be any outrage about the assassinations at all. Completely curious. Putin's feet are being held to the fire by the British government, and you can imagine how angry they must be. Imagine the audacity of Russia to send people over to kill people on British soil. If Britain did the same to them, what would happen? Certainly the Brits would feel justified in killing on Russian soil now, if they hadn't already.
Econo-Girl predicts a major international incident in the next few months. Not based on any new information, just an explosion based on what's happened already.
Did They Leave Yet?
Econo-Girl is sure that by now only the hard-core reader is still with her. Good.
The value of ostentatious antiques has not fallen, unlike housing prices, and Econo-Girl is making good because of it. In the hurly-burly days of Y2K profits, a huge, seven foot tall, antique armoire with all inlaid and hand carved wood came into Econo-Girl's possession. It is now being sold at almost twice my initial cost. The damn thing's HUGE. It totally dominates my living room. I just grew to a point where eliciting gasps of delight and envy from my female visitors was no longer as important as having more comfortable seating. Cozy wins.
Of course, such microeconomic wins leads Econo-Girl's gimlet eyes towards other antiques in her house, which might prove to provide an equally good return on investment.
If there's one thing that sells in the Washington, DC area, it's ostentatious. And pretention. I am printing digitized photos of old ancestors, putting them in nice frames, and selling those, too. Of course, people will buy them to pretend they had respectable ancestors, too. Isn't it all sad?
An inventory revealed six sets of china. SIX! My husband is ecstatic that I am getting rid of all this stuff. Of course, a girl needs at least three sets of china. There's the special holiday set, blue with gold stars. Then there's the everyday stoneware. Then there's the minor holiday set.
And as my father said when my Mother announced she was downsizing her wardrobe: "Don't be fooled. It's to make room to buy more clothes."
Ah, well. Hope springs eternal.
The value of ostentatious antiques has not fallen, unlike housing prices, and Econo-Girl is making good because of it. In the hurly-burly days of Y2K profits, a huge, seven foot tall, antique armoire with all inlaid and hand carved wood came into Econo-Girl's possession. It is now being sold at almost twice my initial cost. The damn thing's HUGE. It totally dominates my living room. I just grew to a point where eliciting gasps of delight and envy from my female visitors was no longer as important as having more comfortable seating. Cozy wins.
Of course, such microeconomic wins leads Econo-Girl's gimlet eyes towards other antiques in her house, which might prove to provide an equally good return on investment.
If there's one thing that sells in the Washington, DC area, it's ostentatious. And pretention. I am printing digitized photos of old ancestors, putting them in nice frames, and selling those, too. Of course, people will buy them to pretend they had respectable ancestors, too. Isn't it all sad?
An inventory revealed six sets of china. SIX! My husband is ecstatic that I am getting rid of all this stuff. Of course, a girl needs at least three sets of china. There's the special holiday set, blue with gold stars. Then there's the everyday stoneware. Then there's the minor holiday set.
And as my father said when my Mother announced she was downsizing her wardrobe: "Don't be fooled. It's to make room to buy more clothes."
Ah, well. Hope springs eternal.
11.20.2006
The Media Beast Must Be Fed
Yes, Econo-Girl is aware that OJ no longer has a book and movie deal. While that is some measure of relief, wouldn't it just be easier to NOT TALK ABOUT a book that you didn't want to promote?
Of course, then the talking heads would need to talk about something else. Econo-Girl is full aware that the media beast needs to be fed.
But along those lines, do we really have to know about Brittany Spears' divorce? Leave the poor girl alone. Yes, the media beast must be fed. Yes, Ms. Spears has done her share of hopping up and down to get her photo taken. But by inviting that kind of publicity, does it necessarily mean that she invites intrusion into every part of her life? Do they HAVE to pick apart this terrible time just because she once promoted an album?
Econo-Girl thinks the media should leave celebrities alone sometimes. Are people really as interested as all that in their personal tragedies?
Of course, then the talking heads would need to talk about something else. Econo-Girl is full aware that the media beast needs to be fed.
But along those lines, do we really have to know about Brittany Spears' divorce? Leave the poor girl alone. Yes, the media beast must be fed. Yes, Ms. Spears has done her share of hopping up and down to get her photo taken. But by inviting that kind of publicity, does it necessarily mean that she invites intrusion into every part of her life? Do they HAVE to pick apart this terrible time just because she once promoted an album?
Econo-Girl thinks the media should leave celebrities alone sometimes. Are people really as interested as all that in their personal tragedies?
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