Monday, April 07, 2008

The Recession Is Coming, The Recession Is Coming

For the next X minutes, where X equals the number of minutes you take to finish reading plus the number of minutes of the after effect, you're likely going to hate me. A few people and financial companies believe the US Economy is in a recession. I agree. We are in a recession. A few people think the recession is coming. The government has not official state we are in a recession. I’m looking forward to the recession. Now, you may begin to hate me :-/

Why am I looking forward to the recession? The reason is the economy needs to take a breathier. The economy needs to take a break. The economy has been in a state of uncertainty for a long time. The recession opens the opportunity for the economy and for many people’s lives to stop, to think, and to make new choices when the economy recovers. The recession gives the economy the needed direction sense missing since the dot com era.

Another reason I’m looking forward to the recession is a reality check. It’s the time for people and companies to get out of something they shouldn’t belong. For example, the housing market. If anyone purchased a house and thought they received a great mortgage with subprime interest rates and now can’t afford the monthly payments, then unfortunately, it’s time to move out. Sorry. The recession weeds out homeowners who made a bad choice. The housing bubble is going to burst. Another example is investing in the stock market. Anyone who uses stock trading software which tells the user what to buy, what to sell, when to buy, and when to sell are not stock investors. They are day traders. Day traders have no influence in the stock markets. The major influencers are the money managers and big financial companies with mutual funds.

I work full time. In my company, there are policies and requests to lower costs. My department has been making cuts and plan to make more cuts. I can work 12 hours a day and my smart work ethic have no effect on my job security if a senior executive says my department is now longer needed—the company can’t afford you and your department anymore. If I still have my job, I still have my job. If I get laid off, I get laid off, and it’s an opportunity, a reality check, to think about my current life and to think of new choices and create action for the next economy recovery. Whatever happens, happens.

Now do you still hate me? Control what you can control and don’t control what you can’t control.

Tuesday, April 01, 2008

A Bad March

My last Blog post I was sick and dedicated at least eight hours a night to sleep. My sickness got worse with a sore throat last Wednesday. I visited the doctor on Thursday. The doctor examined me and found no physical problems. He said I was never sick. I had allergies. Allergies? The doctor gave me a sample of Claritin and a sample of Naselnx (sp?) allergy nose spray.

On Friday, I took Claritin. No improvement. Friday evening I felt worse. I thought I could have a sinus infection. The last time I got a sinus infection was in July 2000. I went to Walgreens and purchased Tylenol Cold and Allergy medicine. On Saturday, I purchased Tylenol Cold and Allergy medicine night time to take in the evening and before I sleep.

I have good news. The Tylenol is working. Today, I feel better. I cough less and my runny nose and stuffy nose are minimal. I plan to continue taking Tylenol today and tomorrow. On Thursday, if I feel really good, then I stop taking Tylenol.

I tell everyone my March was bad. It’s true I’m recovering and I was never sick. Good news there. On the other hand, the bad news is I experienced four weeks of suffering a sickness I was never sick. I failed to see with my mind. I saw with my eyes my Dad was sick, people I knew were sick, and news reports stated 2008 was a bad flu season. I never got Respiratory Syncytial Virus or RSV. I failed to ask myself “Do I have any other sickness?” And I failed to see a doctor two weeks into my sickness.

I could say March was a not so bad month because I was never sick and I’m recovering now. I’m kidding myself. March was a bad month because I failed to take appropriate action to battle my sickness. Furthermore, by labeling March a bad month I learn a lesson the next time I’m sick, I visit a doctor if I’m sick more than seven days and I think of all sickness I got in the past and take action to recover my next sickness.

*Side Note: After visiting the doctor last Thursday, I cleaned up my entire room including dusting every wall edge and behind the desk, washed my blankets, and removed dust on the ceiling fan. When I vacuumed the dust behind my desk, there was a clock. The clock was my late grandparents. I forgot about the clock. What I think happened was the clock fell down after an earthquake in October 2007. After I placed the clock on the wall, I wrote a message on the bulletin board where I post my favorite comics which said “Clock there? *arrow points toward the clock to the left of the bulletin board*”

I’m looking forward to April to catch up on reading, going back to the gym, working at full capability, and enjoying life before the bad March month ^__^