Sunday, September 28, 2008
Countrywide Clowns
Yesterday I just lost my shit when Countrywide called up here an was all "Kah-l-eye Sue-key-a?" I'm all, dude, is it really that hard? Then when he asked me how I was doing, I told him "not so well since I learned your company allowed a disgruntled employee to sell my personal information and now it's out in the world for anyone to steal." He said and I quote," Anyone could get ahold of your personal information if they pay $30 and run a background check on you." Oh is that the official stance of Countrywide? Wow, I feel so secure that our mortgages are held by them and we have no say in the matter. What a bunch of clowns. No wonder they got in trouble and Bank of America had to buy them.
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
I'm Only Happy When It Rains
There is no denying it, summer up and left us here in Seattle. Of the two of us, Ken finds the weather change gloomy and I think he secretly wishes we lived in a sunnier climate. But having grown up in the Pacific Northwest, it doesn't really effect me. While it's not pleasant to have several overcast, rainy days strung together, when you finally get that break--it's just glorious. Sunny days here are like finding a 20 dollar bill in the pocket of your newly washed jeans.
If I can't have the sun, a good substition for sunshine is spending time with friends. And in that way the weekend was full of sun. Sean and Shannon introduced us to dim sum lunch at New Kowloon on Saturday. It's a huge place and when we first arrived it was mostly empty. But by time we left, both large dining rooms were almost full. I guess this town loves it's Dim Sum. Being that dim sum is a buffet on wheels, it's really easy to take too many things from the roving carts full of goodies. Because of the sheer volume and variety of foods, we all left completely stuffed. Afterwards I got to take a tour of the Testa's newly purchased home on Queen Anne. I believe if all goes well they are moving in this weekend--fingers crossed. And the house is roomy and has such neat period-correct touches. So exciting!
In the evening, Brett & Denise hosted an accurately named 'end of summer' BBQ at their Maple Leaf home. This was the first time we got to see their house and the finished basement they did all by themselves--and passed city inspection! This included tiling, plumbing, fixture installation, painting and wiring a bathroom, office and family room. I guess the dry wall was done by someone else but otherwise they learned how to do all that other stuff. I neglected to take any pictures but was very impressed.
We also got to meet many of their friends and there were children everywhere. One mom showed us a "revolutionary" way to carry around a baby with a "piece of cloth." Looks freaking awesome. You should have seen this gal put it on--it was like wrapping a sari. A bit complicated but once it was in place, the kid calmed down and couldn't get enough of it. I guess this is also better for your back than a Baby Bjorn. Fun times. The Coug game was on during the event and though the Cougs probably got their only win of the season, they suffered many injuries to their quarterback rotation. Hopefully they can recover. But most of us have written this off to a "building year."
Sunday I incorrectly assumed that because it was sort of drizzly that the Farmer's Market would be less crowded. WRONG. I think everyone else assumed that too. Well one lovely surprise was running into Wilson and Briahna and their cute dog Havana. I was picking out potatoes and Wilson pointed me to a better potato stand up the row. It's good to have friends who know things. After picking up a few more produce items, I trekked out to Lake Forest Park and spent the afternoon with Amy. I brought some Thai food because Amy loves to put soy sauce on Phad Thai and I love to marvel at how bizarre that is. Like us, Tim and Amy have the video game Rock Band so I asked Amy if she was any good at it and she's all "yeah, I'm pretty good." And I was like, "yeah, so am I." Luckily she's good on guitar and (I think) I'm good at drums. We played awhile and Amy IS good by the way but we were only having access to the first 14 songs. So I wondered if the unlock code on the Wii version would work on the Xbox 360 version and you know what---it did! So Amy suddenly got access to 30 songs she didn't know existed in the game. And it was like Christmas all over again! After playing through some of the new songs, it was time to go home.
If I can't have the sun, a good substition for sunshine is spending time with friends. And in that way the weekend was full of sun. Sean and Shannon introduced us to dim sum lunch at New Kowloon on Saturday. It's a huge place and when we first arrived it was mostly empty. But by time we left, both large dining rooms were almost full. I guess this town loves it's Dim Sum. Being that dim sum is a buffet on wheels, it's really easy to take too many things from the roving carts full of goodies. Because of the sheer volume and variety of foods, we all left completely stuffed. Afterwards I got to take a tour of the Testa's newly purchased home on Queen Anne. I believe if all goes well they are moving in this weekend--fingers crossed. And the house is roomy and has such neat period-correct touches. So exciting!
In the evening, Brett & Denise hosted an accurately named 'end of summer' BBQ at their Maple Leaf home. This was the first time we got to see their house and the finished basement they did all by themselves--and passed city inspection! This included tiling, plumbing, fixture installation, painting and wiring a bathroom, office and family room. I guess the dry wall was done by someone else but otherwise they learned how to do all that other stuff. I neglected to take any pictures but was very impressed.
We also got to meet many of their friends and there were children everywhere. One mom showed us a "revolutionary" way to carry around a baby with a "piece of cloth." Looks freaking awesome. You should have seen this gal put it on--it was like wrapping a sari. A bit complicated but once it was in place, the kid calmed down and couldn't get enough of it. I guess this is also better for your back than a Baby Bjorn. Fun times. The Coug game was on during the event and though the Cougs probably got their only win of the season, they suffered many injuries to their quarterback rotation. Hopefully they can recover. But most of us have written this off to a "building year."
Sunday I incorrectly assumed that because it was sort of drizzly that the Farmer's Market would be less crowded. WRONG. I think everyone else assumed that too. Well one lovely surprise was running into Wilson and Briahna and their cute dog Havana. I was picking out potatoes and Wilson pointed me to a better potato stand up the row. It's good to have friends who know things. After picking up a few more produce items, I trekked out to Lake Forest Park and spent the afternoon with Amy. I brought some Thai food because Amy loves to put soy sauce on Phad Thai and I love to marvel at how bizarre that is. Like us, Tim and Amy have the video game Rock Band so I asked Amy if she was any good at it and she's all "yeah, I'm pretty good." And I was like, "yeah, so am I." Luckily she's good on guitar and (I think) I'm good at drums. We played awhile and Amy IS good by the way but we were only having access to the first 14 songs. So I wondered if the unlock code on the Wii version would work on the Xbox 360 version and you know what---it did! So Amy suddenly got access to 30 songs she didn't know existed in the game. And it was like Christmas all over again! After playing through some of the new songs, it was time to go home.
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
Phantom of the Opera was never so Operatic
Okay I'm just going to say it. The performance of the Phantom of the Opera tonight just didn't live up to expectations. Sure they had the big chandelier, a jaw-dropping scene in the sewers of Paris and come flashy pyrotechnics. But when did insane operatic singing invade this musical? From the cast recording and the performance I attended back in 1995 in London, I do not remember people shooting for the vocal rafters. I also don't recall being unable to discern a single word during the Ensemble singing pieces. The sound was so muddy and resonating so much that you couldn't make sense of anything. We've seen Wicked and Spamalot at the Paramount over the last few years and I don't remember the sound being that bad. So this causes me to believe the audio levels were off and the performers were needlessly kicking it into overdrive. I also found the soprano particularly shrill. Who knows? Maybe this is the difference between a resident show in places like NY, LA, London, Las Vegas & a touring one.
This was Ken's first time seeing the Phantom and I thought of all the musicals, this would be one that consistently delivers--even the touring version. I suppose it didn't help that we had an understudy playing the role of the Phantom tonight. Tonight's Phantom was played as more of a character to pity rather than fear. But it's hard to see something not live up to it's legacy. I heard people talking about how they'd seen Phantom multiple times in multiple cities. I can't imagine. I'm hoping to see Lion King for the first time when it comes next year but I think I may steer clear of the "classic" musicals going forward and let them live on flawlessly in my memory.
This was Ken's first time seeing the Phantom and I thought of all the musicals, this would be one that consistently delivers--even the touring version. I suppose it didn't help that we had an understudy playing the role of the Phantom tonight. Tonight's Phantom was played as more of a character to pity rather than fear. But it's hard to see something not live up to it's legacy. I heard people talking about how they'd seen Phantom multiple times in multiple cities. I can't imagine. I'm hoping to see Lion King for the first time when it comes next year but I think I may steer clear of the "classic" musicals going forward and let them live on flawlessly in my memory.
Monday, September 15, 2008
Greed is not good
I've always been fascinated with economics, even though I never formally studied it. The closest thing was when I was in high school and I took a class that followed the stock market and introduced the tenants of investing. We all competed with each other over who's stock picks would gain the most. But ever since then I've been keen to know about investing, 401k's, mortgages, interest rates, credit scores and so on. You can't know too much or be too careful when it comes to finances.
Like the other day, when we received a letter from Countrywide (the company that holds our mortgages) saying they endured a security breach. One of their ex-employees may have sold our information (along with 2 million other people's) for profit and nefarious purposes. This employee allegedly exploited a security loophole in their computer system and got a hold of "client files, which includes names, addresses, mortgage loan numbers and social security numbers." Well that's just excellent.
Not only are mortgage lenders in a world of hurt because of decreasing access to credit and lots of bad debt due to defaulted loans, but they can't turn their backs on their own people for fear that a disgruntled employee will bring them down from the inside. I have made such a fuss about trying to keep our info secure by shredding financial docs and not giving out my social security number needlessly. But when the people who are supposed to have it can't be trusted either--that's a quandary. I was telling Ken the other day that we're getting to the point where mandatory biometric identification will be the only way to properly identify ourselves: retina scans, fingerprints, saliva DNA...
And then there is today's scandal and intrigue: Lehman Bros. filed for bankruptcy, Merrill Lynch sold for half its value to Bank of America and the stock market plunged 500 points. I think everyone has cause to be worried. Naturally for the impact on the price of goods, accessibility to credit and our stance in the world economy. But more than that, the average person should also be concerned with how we got to this point.
The intrigue of a mystery gets your attention but the details reveal people's innermost desires, what motivates them. And the mystery of how the economy got this way qualifies as a bonafide whodunit. But you might be thinking, 'this is all so complicated and over my head,' right? Well, not really. Do yourself a favor and listen to this streaming episode on This American Life called "Giant Pool of Money." It's quite possibly the best primer for a layperson to grasp the in's and out's of the financial turmoil we now find ourselves in. You will feel so smart after hearing it. And then, as in my case, you might feel a mix of indignation and disgust.
Why? Because it seems that no matter how evolved, sophisticated, enlightened and indulged we humans become, greed shows up and tempts our lesser selves. Greed causes people to make bad, short-term, destructive decisions. Greed urges people to buy houses they know they can't afford, lenders to qualify those people for outlandish mortgage amounts and employees at that mortgage lender to raid customer information for profit. And when you look at other issues we have, like why did we start an unprovoked war with a Middle Eastern nation flush with oil, why didn't car companies start the electric car revolution a whole decade earlier when they had the technology or why do products today feel largely disposable and not made very well, it again comes back to greed.
And specifically greed of money. Isn't it stupid that something as simple as that is at the heart of what is causing all this suffering? Professionals who crunch numbers, assess risk and balance budgets for a living, ignored common sense and succumbed to a tide of quick profits. It honestly makes me lose faith in human beings a little bit. But then I think perhaps it's lessons like these that teach us what is truly valuable. Quick profits are especially not valuable when it comes at the expense of our country's sovereignty. Guess who now owns a lot of our collective debt? Hint: They just hosted the Olympics and they have lots of drummers.
The troubled economy is not someone else's problem--it's all of ours.
Like the other day, when we received a letter from Countrywide (the company that holds our mortgages) saying they endured a security breach. One of their ex-employees may have sold our information (along with 2 million other people's) for profit and nefarious purposes. This employee allegedly exploited a security loophole in their computer system and got a hold of "client files, which includes names, addresses, mortgage loan numbers and social security numbers." Well that's just excellent.
Not only are mortgage lenders in a world of hurt because of decreasing access to credit and lots of bad debt due to defaulted loans, but they can't turn their backs on their own people for fear that a disgruntled employee will bring them down from the inside. I have made such a fuss about trying to keep our info secure by shredding financial docs and not giving out my social security number needlessly. But when the people who are supposed to have it can't be trusted either--that's a quandary. I was telling Ken the other day that we're getting to the point where mandatory biometric identification will be the only way to properly identify ourselves: retina scans, fingerprints, saliva DNA...
And then there is today's scandal and intrigue: Lehman Bros. filed for bankruptcy, Merrill Lynch sold for half its value to Bank of America and the stock market plunged 500 points. I think everyone has cause to be worried. Naturally for the impact on the price of goods, accessibility to credit and our stance in the world economy. But more than that, the average person should also be concerned with how we got to this point.
The intrigue of a mystery gets your attention but the details reveal people's innermost desires, what motivates them. And the mystery of how the economy got this way qualifies as a bonafide whodunit. But you might be thinking, 'this is all so complicated and over my head,' right? Well, not really. Do yourself a favor and listen to this streaming episode on This American Life called "Giant Pool of Money." It's quite possibly the best primer for a layperson to grasp the in's and out's of the financial turmoil we now find ourselves in. You will feel so smart after hearing it. And then, as in my case, you might feel a mix of indignation and disgust.
Why? Because it seems that no matter how evolved, sophisticated, enlightened and indulged we humans become, greed shows up and tempts our lesser selves. Greed causes people to make bad, short-term, destructive decisions. Greed urges people to buy houses they know they can't afford, lenders to qualify those people for outlandish mortgage amounts and employees at that mortgage lender to raid customer information for profit. And when you look at other issues we have, like why did we start an unprovoked war with a Middle Eastern nation flush with oil, why didn't car companies start the electric car revolution a whole decade earlier when they had the technology or why do products today feel largely disposable and not made very well, it again comes back to greed.
And specifically greed of money. Isn't it stupid that something as simple as that is at the heart of what is causing all this suffering? Professionals who crunch numbers, assess risk and balance budgets for a living, ignored common sense and succumbed to a tide of quick profits. It honestly makes me lose faith in human beings a little bit. But then I think perhaps it's lessons like these that teach us what is truly valuable. Quick profits are especially not valuable when it comes at the expense of our country's sovereignty. Guess who now owns a lot of our collective debt? Hint: They just hosted the Olympics and they have lots of drummers.
The troubled economy is not someone else's problem--it's all of ours.
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