The wonders of A/C

I am writing this from my new home. Internet is up and running...for now. Although, I seem to have lost my old email address, which is some bullshit, because they told us (Mikey & I) that we'd get to keep them. Must speak to Cox.

In the meantime, you can email me at gmail.

Moving out

Just got off the phone with U-Haul. I've been on "standby" with them to get a vehicle on Sat. Something became available, so now I'm moving on Saturday. Between the hours of 7:00 and 11:00 a.m. So, it'll be an early morning, but I'll be done by 11:00. Hopefully.

I'm picking up a new cable modem today for the new place. Hopefully the internet in my new place will work. If it doesn't, I won't be online for a few days until it's straightened out. Just wanted to let y'all know in case I disappear from IM for a few days.

And speaking of the Series 6...

I just got my "test window", a four-month period during which I can take the Series 6 exam. Which means my background check cleared in about 2 weeks -- exceptionally fast seeing as how they can take up to a month. I could, in theory, take the exam tomorrow. But I won't. I need to study my ass off.

Fun fact

Learned something interesting today about one of the side effects of becoming a Series 6 certified "agent". I am forbidden to invest in "hot issues". Like IPOs. Like Google. Oh, and so is my family.

Seriously.

Just thought I'd mention that.

For the record

The people who live upstairs from me suck. A lot. A few weeks ago, they decided to put all their trash on the stairs outside my backdoor. The building manager was not pleased. Specifically, he was not pleased at me. Mikey and I eventually explained the situation to him, which is a good thing, because we were about to be fined $50 each.

They also like loud music around or after midnight. This is something I've actually asked them about before. Politely, mind (i.e., "Could you please turn down the music?"). Well, tonight (11:45) they're playing the loud music again. This time, I decided to try a different tactic. So I got the broom and banged a couple time on the ceilings. They stomped back. A few minutes later, there's a knock at the door. Here's how the conversation went between me ("Me") and the asshole upstairs ("AU").

AU (holding a beer in one hand and a joint in the other): What's the problem, man? Why are you banging on the ceiling?

Me: Could you turn down the music? It's pumping straight through the ceiling into my bedroom.

AU: It's not even loud, man.

Me: Well, actually, it is -- it's coming straight through the ceiling into my bedroom, and I need to work tomorrow.

AU: So do I, man. Look, you're getting your fucking wish, we're getting kicked out of here.

Me: (Silence. Closes door.)

AU: Have a nice fucking night, asshole. Go suck your own dick.

By the way, I wasn't exaggerating about the pot. I could've called the cops on AU, and he would've done time. So he should be thanking me. So I just want this whole incident on record.

Oh, and I didn't know they were getting "kicked out". But hey, that's what you get for breaking the terms of the lease. And I quote:

STAIRWAYS: For safety reasons it is important to keep all stairways clear. No items are to be left on the front or back stairs or landings at any time.

NOISE: All loud music or noise must end by 11:00 P.M.

Ahhh...it's stopped now. I guess they all left. Except now I'm too pissed off to sleep. So I'll talk about my job...

I'm in the process of studying for my Series 6. A whole bunch of info. to keep track of. Having trouble keeping all the different types of debt securities straight. Although I think all I need to know about collateralized mortgage obligations is that the word "tranche" is associated with them. Do you know the difference between a Treasury Bill, Treasury Note, and Treasury Bond? How about the difference between Series EE and Series HH bonds? And how do STRIPS fit in? I'm a little fuzzy on those.

However, I know all kinds of random crap about 401k's now. Go ahead. Ask me something. I'm the man. Can you name the 4 reasons for a hardship withdrawal? I can. Do you know what EGTRRA stands for? I do. And let me tell ya, the chicks dig somebody who can quote IRS regulations for qualified retirement plans.

Oh, and speaking of my job, I'm going to be living closer to it in a few weeks. I got a sweet new place in Warwick. It's got carpeting, A/C, a dishwasher, a backyard (for grilling, so they say), and laundry that, while not free, is a step up from coin-op in that it uses handy-dandy little cards that you can put money on. It was also a serious pain in the ass to get. They had to see that I had 4.5 times the annual rent available to me in some form or another. That was quite a trick. Many thanks to the 'rents for faxing over financial statements for money in my name that I will never ever touch because if there's one thing I've learned about the stock market, the longer you're in, the better off you'll be. Historically speaking. Unless you own shares of Enron or something, in which case you're screwed. But mutual funds should be ok. Especially index funds. Those seem to do really well. (/Investment advice I'm not really qualified to give yet but hopefully will be someday).

Ok. Time to read and go to sleep. Thanks for listening.

And the vision that was planted in my brain ...

Just returned from a trip to St. Louis. To clear my head and to rethink. Saw my bestest friend, which was lots of fun, and met her new beau. No codename for him yet ... get to work on that right away, PasteEater.

St. Louis is a lot different from Providence. Mainly, it's cleaner. And friendlier. And the gas prices are cheaper. Oh, and by "St. Louis", I mean the suburbs thereof including the Loop. Important distinction, as anyone who lives in East St. Louis could tell you. Speaking of which, did you hear that the guy who writes the Boondocks, Aaron McGruder, co-authored a new graphic novel? The premise is that East St. Louis gets sick of being disenfranchised and whatnot, so they secede from the Union and form their own country. Sounds like a hoot.

Anyway, on my last night there, having drunk 2 TGIF-sized Long Island ice teas, I fell into a deep slumber. I had a lot of dreams that were all basically the same. I was being pulled in one direction by someone, and I kept telling her that I couldn't go, that I had to stay. And she kept saying, "Well, we can still be friends." After a few dozen variations on that, I had a really odd experience. A voice, very loud, boomed through all my dreams and spoke directly to me, my conscious self behind the dreaming. It was half female, half male. And I suddenly became very conscious of the fact that, although I was still dreaming, this voice was not my own. The voice said, "Your heart isn't there anymore. It's time to move on."

I knew right away that "there" referred to Providence. I had been thinking very seriously during my trip about moving to St. Louis in a few months. And the Voice more or less confirmed that desire. I pictured moving back to St. Louis, and being near my aforementioned best friend and family, and that was all great. Then, the Voice said something else, almost as a disclaimer: "But remember that it's not forever".

I've been struggling with that one. My first thought was that the Voice was waxing poetic, throwing out that thought as a memento mori. But I've thought about it some more, and I think what it actually meant is that, even if I do move back to St. Louis, anyone I know there will eventually move on, too. Even my parents are going to move after the Mother retires.

I don't really know what to make of all this. And I apologize for breaking my own rules about keeping my posts light-hearted, but it's been a rough couple of weeks for me. I'll be back to normal someday.