Cheers and Jeers

Triathlon training is just not happening. Didn't get in anything but running because of time constraints and general soreness. Managed to pull off 15.5 miles this morning but man, am I tired. I must be getting old. How can I run in the mad Las Vegas heat? I think it's pretty much common knowledge at this point that I am totally insane.

One thing I am not is too skinny. I last weighed in at 155 lbs which is exactly right for my height. I ran the St. George Marathon at 145. While I wouldn't call myself fat, I'm really not that skinny. My body fat % is high and my muscle tone is low. Not only am I not skinny, but my legs are downright bulky. The result of years of running, weightlifting, and a generous contribution from poor genetics. I offer the following photos into evidence. These were taken last week at the rock climbing gym.


Now for this weeks blog, I thought I'd hand out some "Cheers" and some "Jeers" for recent current events and things that have been on my mind.


CHEERS! to Global Warming.



It was 80 degrees when I started run today. In the middle of July. In Las Vegas. If this is global warming, I say, bring it on.


CHEERS! to IndyMac.



I love IndyMac. Love them. This week IndyMac was taken over by the feds, Prompting everyone to wonder, "Why now? Why not 3 years ago?" IndyMac is responsible for who knows how many bad loans and probably helped destabilize the economy. The feds taking over the bank now is kind of like an ambulance showing up to a funeral. So why am I giving them Cheers? Because I can't even count the number of clients we've had because of terrible IndyMac mortgages. If I ever have the money to buy a house, it will be in large part because of the number of clients who lost their houses to IndyMac. Indy can do no wrong in my eyes, so congrats for running your business so poorly that you are now the second biggest bank failure in U.S. history. IndyMac, I heart you.


CHEERS! To Las Vegas Bankruptcy Trustee Yvette Weinstein.



I met Ms. Weinstein for the first time yesterday and she was totally rad. You're all right with me Yvette.


JEERS! To Las Vegas Bankruptcy Trustee William Leonard.



I really needed that file to be dropped off on Friday, but what do you know, Leonard's office is closed on Fridays. Not cool, Biff. Not cool.

CHEERS! to Farmers insurance.



For those who haven't heard, my beloved S-10 is no more. I was miraculously spared from injury, and I do mean miraculously. When last heard from, the other driver as still in the hospital.




Farmer's finally got off its rear end and is giving me enough to pay off the S-10 and hopefully make a down-payment on a new, more fuel-efficient car. The leading contenders right now are an Accord, Altima, or Camry. Really wanted a Mini-Cooper but there's just no way I can afford one. Sadly, IndyMac didn't give out enough bad mortgages. If anybody knows of someone trying to unload a reasonably priced car, let me know.


CHEERS! to the Stock Market.



Dow Jones dipped below 11000 this week. Personally, I'm hoping it dips below 10. It is good to have job security. I think if it gets down to 10000 I can talk my boss into taking us to Disneyland to celebrate. SELL SELL SELL!!!

JEERS! to the Ford Taurus.



My rental while I am between cars is a Ford Taurus. The Ford Taurus is without a doubt the worst car I have ever driven and I hate it. No offense to all of you Taurus drivers out there, but it's not for me.


JEERS! to the iPhone 3G.



By all accounts they released this thing a little too soon. Way to follow the Microsoft example. I still haven't found a phone that would make me willingly sign my soul over for another two year contract. I'll stick with my simple samsung, thank you very much.


CHEERS! to my niece, Emma.



Emma survived her first year of pre-school. You go girl. Don't tell me that this picture of her and the flower isn't the cutest thing you ever saw.



JEERS! to Clients



I love most of our clients, but one or two need to be worked on with pliers and a blowtorch. My least favorite types of clients:

1) Guy who has a six figure income and owes over a hundred thousand dollars and doesn't want to pay a dime. We actually have several variations of this client, and they are instantly recognizable by there high pitched screaming at a lawyer whenever their bankruptcy payments turn out to be anything other than a token repayment.

2) Client who does not understand that they are not rich. Dave Ramsey said it best. "Not everyone can afford to own Real Estate." For some reason, the idea that they cannot declare bankruptcy and still keep expensive houses/cars/jet skis/four-wheelers does not sit well with some people. I'm always amazed at the people who want to declare bankruptcy but not be bankrupt. You can actually keep a surprising amount of things in a bankruptcy, but for some people it just isn't enough. It especially blows my mind when people absolutely refuse to get rid of something they cannot afford. Generally, this thing is a house with a ridiculous mortgage. Even when we run the numbers and show them how the house payments are killing them, how they will never get the money back on the house, there are still a lot of people who would willing take a hammer and pound nails into their eyeballs than give up the house.

3) Girl who wants people to forgive her the tens of thousands of dollars that she owes, but feels no need to be nice to anyone. Oddly enough, this type of client is almost always female. Apparently, the old "catch more flies with honey" saying has not caught on in some circles. It just seems to me that if you want people to overlook your mistakes, a sensible thing would be to try and be nice to the people. I've met one or two people who were so rude and downright intolerable that it is no wonder they are in bankruptcy. If they weren't, it would be hard to believe that any kind of justice existed in the world.


That's all the cheers and jeers for this week. However, I am calling one person out. A certain person who went to South America and stated that he was going to post pictures. He's been back for a while now and still no pictures. I'm starting to think that he didn't really go to South America, but instead went and holed up in some meth lab in Taft. Where's the pictures bro?

That's it til next time.