“Darkness of slumber and death, forever sinking and sinking.” – Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Well it is a “Black” Friday… and no I do not mean the one after Thanksgiving where consumers rush to the stores to grab the latest items at the cheapest prices. No, it is a “Black” Friday in the world of Finance, and thus, LIFE.

And, that is my world. I have been striving for the past two years to succeed at this “man’s” job. In the past 6 months it has seemed as if I was inching closer and closer to my career goal. No that this has happened, I have pondered two things, (1) Keep going. Men are at the top of this right? Maybe a woman can change things. Or (2) Just give up and pursue a more promising career while I still have time.

The people now have a loss of confidence in the world's financial system has caused the Dow to drop 21 percent in just 10 trading days. It is heading to its worst weekly point drop, and one of its biggest weekly percentage drops, since being created 112 years ago.

I thought, well maybe I didn’t pay enough attention to my economics and history classes and I am thinking wrong, but I thought that after the crash of 1929, our so beloved federal government tied the market up with tourniquets, stopped the bleeding, and cured us of the disease so that this would never happen again. Well here we are. “We” have taken these tourniquets off, allowed the disease to re-inhabit, cause an infection, and open the doors for the blood to continue to flow. Not only have we sickened our market, but now we have infected other economies. (So much for me taking my passport, packing my bags, and leaving the country for a better market.)

It is a complete nightmare in my office. Phones are ringing off the hook. Clients are concerned, which they should be.

By no means, am I trying to make this a political post. But, we, VOTERS, need to read our history books. George Santayana said, “Those who cannot learn from history are doomed to repeat it.” We need to learn. I need to learn. I have been reading things like the new bailout plan (yes the actual 495 page law), documents on ACORN, the Community Reinvestment Act of 1977 (CRA), the book Rules for Radicals by Saul D. Alinsky (to see what the actual make up of a “community organizer is and how they “brainwash”, and other various articles, blogs and documents on the economy now and then (then being whenever in history).

I truly advise, no matter your political stance, if you are not sure what these things are that I have just previously discussed and those words and names that the candidates use really mean, that you take part in teaching YOURSELF history take your OWN position on the matter. NOT what others, the news stations, your parents, or your peers believe will occur or fix this “crisis.”
Please VOTE. Please enlighten yourself of our current situation and why we are where we are.

(Now… I will step off of my soap box in hopes that no offense was taken)

"Dreams are today's answers to tomorrow's questions." ~Edgar Cayce

It has been awhile since my last post. I have done quite a few things since then. As I mentioned in my previous blog, we were going to Tennessee for a flint knapping event. We did make it there, had a nice country breakfast, and enjoyed the event. Stefan learned how to throw an atlatl, or a spear thrower, which was used by the Indians for hunting. Now it has become a sport. It was very interesting to see how these were made, the physics behind them, and the different techniques used. After that, we started flint knapping. We both started, and did very well at, a point. But, we both ended up making a small mistake that caused the point to disappear. It is a very hard and precise art. I now own my own flint knapping kit and Stefan owns his own atlatl. (I just hope we don’t end up with a dead animal from the means of the atlatl for dinner one night!)

Also, I have been working on the fabric postcards. They are turning out to be a nice hobby. Here are the ones that I have done since the last post.

And, of course, it is Sox-tober… I mean October. The Red Sox are at it again. On to the ALCS! Hopefully we can beat the Rays for the championship and then be on to the World Series. It was an interesting series with the Angels, and I will admit that there was a lot of luck going around that dugout. I just hope that no luck will be necessary for the series with the Rays. Bring them on!

Stefan and I have started attend a 6 week, 3 nights a week, tax course offered by H&R Block. It is more than I expected. It is called the Basic Building Blocks course. On the first night, our instructor handed us a book bigger that the Huntsville phone book, as well as two other smaller books. I was shocked. The instructor stated that organization is the key to this course. So Stefan and I both cut off the spines to the massive literature and put it in a three ring behind with tabs and stickies and re-organized it a little better. Hopefully, we will both be able to make the required score of an 80 on the final exam. That way we will have a chance to be hired by them during tax season. H&R Block has a nice compensation package for seasonal workers. If anyone is interested, I would definitely recommend it. Even if you do not work for them, the course is fantastic for tax payer knowledge, and is, guess what…tax deductible!

Other than that, things in my life are okay. Work is picking up despite the financial “crisis.” Classes are growing bigger and bigger by the week. We are still looking for a different place to live. Maybe one day we will settle and agree on a home. But right now, it’s just not the time.
More later.