a99kitten's Musings

I don’t have any other words right now. Just sadness.

(just like this….)

I have been wanting this bag for about 10 years. No joke. But it was either impossible to find (their pink spring bags sell out sooo fast) or, the one time I did find it, I talked myself out of buying it since it’s a ridiculous price for a purse. Let’s be honest. Completely ridiculous (but look at it! So pretty!)

I was even JUST looking at Marc Jacobs quilted bags which are totally cute, but let’s be honest, are complete Chanel wannabes. Then I received an email from Portero (which I get a lot of but don’t usually even look) advertising new Chanel finds. OK, I’ll bite. So I clicked on it. And there it was. It’s pre-owned but in pristine condition. And half the retail price. Also no tax or shipping. Win! So I did it. Anyone who knows me well, knows that a cute, little Chanel bag in THE perfect pink pretty much embodies me :)

Feeling absolutely no buyer’s remorse at all :)

Chanel Classic 2.55 Small

This is gross.

“Some 25% of the people who lost jobs since 2008 have applied for and received government disability checks. As an aside, we normally think of disability as something physical (back pain, etc.), but since 2008 43% of those getting approved for disability cited psychological reasons like stress.”

http://www.businessinsider.com/where-will-all-the-jobs-come-from-to-get-us-back-to-full-employment-2012-3

Stress? Really? Guess what losers – that’s called life. If you can’t handle it, or change your life to address it, feel free to go away. But the government (AKA the taxpayers) do NOT owe you a living. There is a reason in nature the weak ones get culled from the herd. Because then you don’t pass on the weak genes. Not a bad system really. Has worked for millions of years.

Watching CNBC this morning and they start talking about a company/stock – HK. It’s a US gas/oil exploration company (I only knew that by searching for them.) The stock was up $0.33 on the day as they talked about it and I was looking at what the heck they do. Sure enough, starts jumping up and up once they were done to + $0.75 (this isn’t AAPL, it’s a $10 stock so that’s a decent jump.) Made me laugh to see that happen…again.

When I worked at a hedge fund and sat right outside the trading room, I would listen to CNBC all day. This was during the internet stock craziness and it was pretty much 100% guaranteed the minute CNBC mentioned a stock, the sucker would launch. I had access to instant execution on trades so I would buy and sell small lots in my account. This is basically how I paid for my wedding/Hawaii elopement & reception. That and some options trading.

I remember calling a friend and asking if she wanted me to trade her account on a stock I was getting into that day AS they were talking about it on CNBC. She was stressed but did it. We both had a great day.  She went into trading soon after that and ended up being a trader for a fund. She just left that to work on a stock newsletter. Good times. The stories she and I have about our old jobs would put the Nanny Diaries &  Devil Wears Prada to shame. But we’ll never tell :)

Good to see the CNBC effect is still in place. The sheep are still there and you can profit from it (just like in ZNGA!)

This is the painting I bought the other night.

The restaurant we went to for dinner had a bunch of bear paintings displayed all around. I assumed from a local school. We asked the waitress and sure enough, the elementary school’s 3rd/4th grade art class.

I kept going back to this one because the Momma bear face has the same “hmph” expression Angelus gets when he is annoyed. :)

$20 cash and I have some original art that I like :) Now I just need to frame it & figure out where to hang it in the new house.

I’m all for supporting artistic endeavors. Just not enforced support through tax dollars. THAT I do not support.

I liked it. Great cast for sure. Helen Mirren was of course superb. Interesting story. One that seems like it could have been true. But it wasn’t (at least that we know of…)

The bits that show the pure evil that was Nazi Germany as well as the depression that was Eastern Europe (still is in a lot of places?) makes you love the good ol’ USofA. I assume the bad guy in this was loosely based on Dr. Josef Mengele. Or Satan. Actually, Satan probably isn’t as bad. Pretty horrifically sick what humans can come up with.

I recommend the movie for sure. Although, without spoiling the ending, I can say that if I was Helen Mirren’s character, I would have handled things differently.

Also, I prefer seeing her shoot bad guys with a big-arse gun and a smile on her face (see Red!!!) :)

Preposterous: completely contrary to nature, reason, or common sense; absurd; senseless; utterly foolish.

The freedoms offered by this country are ones of personal freedom and liberty. NOT the ability to get stuff handed out for free or be taken care of by others. Or by taking away the freedom and liberty from another person or organization so you can have your perceived freedom.  I’m not Catholic or Christian or particularly religious. However I believe in the freedom of religion.  If you make the personal choice to go to a religious school, perhaps you should have investigated things like this if they are so important to you. They have every right to stand by their long-held (aka no big damn surprise to anyone) convictions without government interference.

If you need birth control, you can get it through almost all health plans. Or Planned Parenthood. Yes, you might have to pay something out of pocket but so what? You should have to. Hck, my Ob/Gyn hands it for free with your annual exam. For Free. And if your insurance company won’t cover it (almost ALL plans do to some extent however), then use condoms. Or abstain. Those are all of your choices. And you are free to choose one that works for you.

But my tax dollars should not go to cover it. No way. No how. The government, businesses/employers, health care companies and tax payers are NOT responsible for you. You are responsible for your own condition. Period. There is no such thing as free birth control or healthcare or anything else. What’s free to you is being paid for by someone else.

Too many people in this country are growing more and more dependent on the government trough when the whole purpose of this country was for INDEPENDENCE.  People warred and died to have more independence and less overlord interference. Do not look to anyone but you. And maybe your family and friends. But certainly not the government. Not the tax-payers. Not your employer. Not your school. That is not their job.

Rush Limbaugh was out of line for calling her a slut. On the other hand, she put herself in the cross hairs with this issue. In today’s media-driven, 15 minutes of fame society, she knew she would be a subject of media attention. And frankly, I read so much crap in the media about Sarah Palin and her family  (who I don’t even like but will defend here) it was ridiculous. So not one person in the media has a stone to throw on this issue, even though they sure are.  And his sponsors cannot possibly be surprised. Do they never listen to his show?

The whole damn thing is preposterous.

To be clear, I LOVE the movies. I love watching good movies. And I love seeing the gowns and jewelry. But I think the incredible amount of award shows and self love the Hollywood community participates in has surpassed the ridiculous line.

Plus the Oscars aren’t based on a truly BEST movie, actor, etc. If we are picking best actors, Leo DiCaprio would have won by now. Hands down, best actor of this generation. And Brad Pitt and George Clooney wouldn’t be nominated. Are they likable? Sure. Of course. Fun to watch? Sure. But best actor? No, not so much. If either wins tonight, they should go and watch any movie from Leo’s career. And then throw in The King’s Speech from last year to switch it up to non-Leo. And then they should return their Oscar.

A few years back when I read about the value of the gift baskets the presenters receive in order to present (because they were having problems getting people to commit to present) all I could think was “Gross.” Again…don’t get me wrong…I’m all for cool stuff and fun gifts. But come on?? You are being asked to give out awards to your own friends and co-workers (possibly yourself) and you need to be bribed to do so?? And free suites at hotels where you cruise around and get free stuff? But then I have to listen to you preach about income inequality, socialized insurance and the unfairness of Wall Street and bailouts? Ok….*pat on your head*

I look at old clips from Oscars years and years and years ago and they just seemed so much cooler (as do the stars and movies.) But I think the Oscars were the only show in town. And they were proud to be nominated and of course, happy to win. Nowadays, it seems more of a circus. And a me-me-me series of events. I mean really, celebrities are surrounded by people that cater to their every whim. Everyone says yes to you. Everything is done for you. Talk about living in a bubble that is so far from reality it’s comical. But that’s probably why the “average person” is so drawn to it.

Think about it…if bankers, VCs or CEOs had 6 or 8 different conventions or award shows every year, giving themselves kudos and awards, drinking champagne, attending fancy parties publicized everywhere that went on for weeks, wearing expensive gowns and jewelry, well…they’d be hated and called the 1%. Much like they are now. But Hollywood is somehow different? Yeah….

But I will pop my Taittinger tonight and tweet some snark about the Oscars. And also be happy when the actors I like are shown in cool outfits. It’s NOT the SuperBowl, but it’s fun anyway. :)

And we wonder why the term “tech bubble” is being thrown around. Well, at least they haven’t IPOed yet…

“Messrs. McKinney and Stansberry also call their business strategy cliché because they are focused on “building a great site” and aren’t sure how they are going to make money.”

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970203918304577239230904697246.html?mod=e2tw

(p.s. I still do not get the allure of Pinterest….)

So the mailman just returned a correctly addressed & stamped envelope with no explanation as to why it was returned. Our Controller said he received 2 bill payments back last week same way – correct address, correct postage, no markings or notes on the envelope – just returned in the bundle of mail (that the mailman shoves into the door the second you open it and runs off.)

Is this the new plan by the USPS to cover their huge deficit? Have everyone pay for double postage a few times a month (betting that most people won’t go down to the post office to complain)?

Or is it just another small example of how poorly run this money-hemorrhaging entity is?

I’m going with door #2.