The underlying problem is, house prices are *way* over-inflated. Inflation-adjusted, they peaked at *double* the historical norm, and all this mess started when they came back down just 10-30% (regional). There is a generation of people who honestly believe that house prices don’t go down, and have made grave mistakes in their personal finances as a result. Nation-wide, house prices above about 3x the median hosehold income aren’t sustainable, and we’re still about 5x (and of course far worse in the housing bubble cities).

While there were certainly a subset of loans that were just bad – forged docs, impossible payments, etc, and that’s what’s causing this month’s crisis, the problem is much deeper. There’s an entire culture now of buying a house with a mortgage payment of 80%+ of your take-home pay, counting on cashing out equity every year because “house prices only go up”. This isn’t a problem the government can fix.

Sure, the governement needed to intervene to avoid a market panic, but really it just needed to “make a market” in these mortgage-backed securities, to allow them to trade at a value not absurdly depressed by that panic. That’s not a $700B bailout, that’s just splitting the difference between buyer and seller.

Long term, however, house prices are certain to fall back to sustainable levels, and anyone thinking “we just need to put this problem behind us so house prices can start rising again” is in a dream world. The governement isn’t going to solve that problem, and shouldn’t try. Do the minimum to stop the panic, and get out.
-lgw

What do you all think?

I mean, heck, let’s look at all the things I usually only do once a week: see friends, play RPGs, do laundry, go shopping, sleep in late, go out to dinner, think about my finances, play with pets, and more.

In many ways, my life apart from work is measured by a weekly yardstick.

Lots of daunting things seem less daunting– and some seem much more daunting, when weighed on the “once a week” average of my life. A short list of upcoming stuff:

• My wedding? Over 50 weeks away, plenty of time to plan.
• My deadline for my next grant/paper: Only 6 or 7 weeks. Ugh.
• How long till a friend moves away: Only 8 weeks or so. Yikes!
• How long until even more friends move away: less than 30 weeks. Wow. Less than 30 chances to see them again.
• How long till Teisha graduates: Probably 200 weeks or so, which means I need to find a job around here for 100 weeks or so. Not too bad.
• How long since I last got new shirts (which I need): 16 weeks. Guess I should go shopping…
• How long since I’ve last written more than a few pages of something for fun: At least 100 weeks, which is too long.

So yeah, the weeks pass quickly. But maybe with that in mind, I can try to stay more motivated to use the time I have productively and enjoyably. And the best way to do that? Probably more exercise– I’ve always felt that regular exercise raises your energy level in life, and I’m out of practice.

Has anyone else been thinking about time a lot lately?

Lately I have been packing on weight. Why? Because I eat delicious delicious rice garden all the time for lunch, and I work ludacris hours so I don’t ever get off my ass and do anything physical. So I have decided to seize control of my body and start getting myself back in shape (plus rice garden was chewing on my budget).

Therefore the first thing to do was axe the chinese. What do I use to replace my beloved MSG-soaked lunch, start packing sandwiches. They’re quick and easy, and have a great deal of variety: breads, meats, condiments. However when i started to eat these sandwiches I found despite all the variety they all taste essentially the same.

Then it dawned on me. Sandwich is the lowest form of food. What is the end form of meat in cafeterias? Sloppy Joe’s. What do you do with the thanksgiving leftovers? Put them inbetween two slices of bread. It is the end catch basin of food. Not particularly bad, but just asonishingly mediocre.

If you don’t agree with me think of it this way. I ask you if you want to get some prime rib, where do you thinjk we’re going to go? A.J. Spurs, maybe if you are thinking big… Holdrens.

Now lets say I add the word sandwich to the end of it. “Would you like to get a prime rib sandwich?” Now where are we going? Quiznos! If the sandwich form can actively devalue a particular cut of meat there is no telling what end of damage a sandwich can do to the rest of the food world.

So the next time you pick up a loaf of bread at the store think for a second to what you are doing to your meats, vegetables and condiments of your choice. That being said… I’m going to go make my sandwich for tomorrow’s lunch.

I’m conflicted because I want to get back into some long-term lab projects, but have no idea when my mock could be — they do the scheduling a week in advance, and if the next week doesn’t work then they start scheduling for the week after… (such as, last Thursday I was told it could be this week, on Wednesday, but was only told today that it won’t happen… and they’re starting to check it if can happen next week, but that’s doubtful with faculty going on trips over Spring Break). People tell me not to worry about doing experiments right now, but it’s just kind of hard to for me — I want to get things done and get out of grad school eventually, not to mention feel more productive and accomplished…

Socially, it’s been hitting me a lot too — even when I haven’t been studying/reviewing and have been trying to have fun with friends, it’s been hard. Even when not studying, I’m a lot more stressed and anxious than usual — I’m a bit of a catastrophizer and the exam is always lurking in the back of my mind, and I know I won’t feel better until it’s done. Also, some friends have been trying to plan an all-day party event with us and their other friends, but I haven’t really known my schedule in advance because any time I might find out my exam is a few days away, and then I’ll need to review/study/rehearse more…

Anyway, I just want it to be over with, but at this rate it may not be until April… I’m tired of putting off friends and work, but oh well, I guess that’s grad school.

The things that keep me most busy are, predictably, my work and Teisha’s work. My work because my project isn’t going so hot. This project may yet fail– we’re supposed to submit a grant in two weeks, but we don’t have nearly the data that would require. On top of money– it’s just not working. It’s a frustrating situation. Teisha’s work because there have been a few tense moments, such as one of the labs Teisha enjoyed working at not having funding, and organizing a fourth rotation. It’s not technically my stress– but I try to be there for Teisha and help, and it has worn us both out.

Beyond that, though, there is some mirth and merry-making to be had. I have some great friends, Ted and Christina, that we’ve been seeing more of (and they’re moving nearby soon- yay!). With them, and other friends like Paul or Nathan, Teisha and I have been watching anime, playing RPGs, and taking night-walks. It’s nice to have plans and things to do.

This summer promises to be busy and fun: I’m teaching General Chemistry 1C, which is a great opportunity for me and should be very rewarding. I also want to take SCUBA lessons, and get some roleplaying GMing in. On top of that, Teisha and I want to take some fun vacations. Oh, and maybe I’ll get some work done, too, or start a new less-doomed project.

So, hypothetical reader, what have you been up to?

Even though they somehow manufactured that statement and went with it, it’s still blatantly false. If they used their “right” to refuse service to, say, all black people who came in to the cafe… Well, I don’t think that policy would fly for very long. Guess they aren’t right about their right. I recall some similar thoughts on signs in the Illuminatus trilogy, I may have to pull it out tonight and re-read.

I’m frankly shocked. I had the bike U-locked, in an off-street bike rack not visible from the street. I’ve kept it there for almost two years. And there’s no sign of the bike or the lock… at least all the other bikes at the rack seem unmolested. I wonder why they took mine.

I’m pretty sure that it’s gone forever, but Teisha has been a sweetie and posted this stolen bike notice on Craigslist. The bike was originally ~$500.

If I do have to get a new bike, I’m going to get a cheaper bike, and always keep two locks on it. In a good thought, though, I could get a lighter road bike rather than a mountain bike, since for my daily commute a road bike would be nicer.

So.. yeah. What a sucky surprise, but life goes on.

I’m shell-shocked. The U.S. just seems doomed to me some days.

• Total salary after taxes and tuition: $1532
• Minus $852 rent leaves $680
• Minus $190 in utilities (phones, electric, internet) leaves $490
• Minus $200 barebones survival groceries from Costco leaves $290
• Divde that by the 22 or so work days a month gives $13.18

That makes me feel poor… and really, really bad about driving today, which eats about $0.60 in gas and $7 in parking fees. There’s half today’s money, gone!

I should give thanks that Grad School isn’t forever, and for the fact that I can afford my education, rent, utilities, food, and everything else that I ignored above.