Daytona 500

So I'm going back in time with this one but... Last Friday I left work early because of President's day (the Credit Markets have a 2PM close the business day before a national holiday). I went with a buddy of mine I work with and drove south, out of Charlotte towards Daytona for the "super bowl" of NASCAR, and the 50th anniversary at that. On the way down, we stopped in Columbia, SC to pick up his sister from USC.

It took forever to get down there as we got stopped by traffic jams on the way down.

Inflation is very real for Middle East

I read an article in the New York Times today about the rapidly rising prices of basic goods in the Middle East. It is amazing to look at how prices have more than doubled in a matter of weeks on products like gasoline, bread, eggs and cucumbers. In America we are complaining about smaller issues going on but we seem to have no idea about the problems other countries are going through. Syria, Jordan and Saudi Arabia are appearing as emerging markets but many of their citizens are worried that they are struggling in a society where a proud few are emerging as a new entrepreneurial Aristocracy. People are struggling but they see new signs of wealth whereever they look they are ever more out of their reach.

Looking forward, the real issue I see is a potential problem with more uprisings as people become more distressed at their quality of life in relation to others. This is a real problem that both the new class and the government need to address to help their own people. For America, I only hope that if nothing is done for them, this new anger is directed to people within their own countries instead of towards the United States.

Article from NYT here

A note on Charity

The initial charity I wanted to support through DonorsChoose.com was to provide English books for Hispanic children that would be culturally appropriate, prompting them to want to learn English and read more. Someone else took this charity so I took another that was available, fully funded the Animal Farm one and gave other money to the Autistic children’s classroom. I raised $400, of which $350 went to provide Animal Farm books to a classroom so they could learn the evils of socialism (totalitarianism), with the remainder going to classrooms for autistic children. We had 80 people participate in the month-long program and rose over $50,000 for kids in school around central and western North Carolina. It was great being a part of something that could touch so many children, although the growing a mustache part was weird, considering many looked like child molesters instead of child supporters.

The Day After

The final event of the Mustache Charity was crazy. I was finally able to introduce my girlfriend to Suz, who is a local television anchor I met through this mustache charity thing. The Charity was extremely successful and the party itself was a blast. It was hilarious seeing all of the bankers and city dwellers dressed as humorous characters. One of the guys, Mike, was dressed as Borat and kept on saying “hello” and “I like you” to the point of obnoxiousness and later I found out he rose the most money… some $7,000. That is impressive. Kevin, who works on my desk dressed as lieutenant Dangle from Reno 911 and won best costume… wearing cutoff khaki shorts and leather finger-less gloves. We stayed for a while and danced around, with a short break for some Italian dish at Coco Osteria downstairs before calling it a night around 12:00.

Mustaches & Cleaning

I came back to my condo and began a cleaning rampage. Perhaps it was the Robert Palmer - "Addicted to Love" pumping into my head from the iPhone in my pocket or perhaps it was just that my place was utterly disgusting. Either way, I cracked open a Miller Lite (the better of the PBR or Busch my fridge was offering) and had a swig before beginning. I eventually managed to hand clean my dark hardwood floors and all the baseboards and - four hours later, rearrange the entire living space leaving me now very tired and ready for a solid night of sleep before another 10 hour day and the final and closing event of the charity I have been supporting for the past month... growing a mustache for kids via the DonorsCoose.org cause. I have raised $400 and the charity has raised over $30,000 in under a month from a mere 90 participants. More to come on the create-your-own costume to match your mustache night tomorrow.

Ramblings of a Modern Southern Yuppie

I do not propose to be anything I am not. I am simply a man trying to make his way in the world. This is not to say that I do not care about others. The fact is quite to the contrary; I am a man of the people (this is how I would think of myself). This thought or feeling may be outdated but I am far from it. I am a 23 year old male living in an American city and wish to make my views known to the world...