Mystery solved...

Now I know
Not the best of news for sure
What can one do
But try the best that they can

Life is precious - treasure every minute...

Mini me...

Too little to be alone,
who will be there to see?
Things like this
shouldn't happen so soon..

Discovery...

Time will tell,
the tension of the wait,
it may be nothing but,
can't wait to see..

-SD

Down Under....

A beautiful place,
the subject of a primary school project,
Happy times for some,
but not exactly my cup of tea ....

-SD

"Something is in the Air"

Okay folks, remember my prior post on Merrill Lynch's huge loss - well it looks like it must be in fashion because Citigroup seems to be following the same trend. Charles Prince - Citigroup CEO, will be nicely skipping down the same path as Stan O'Neal after they just both jumped off the cliff and landed safely with their golden parachutes...

Any ideas who might be next??

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=akNQ.4gPnsXA&refer=home

-SD

Friendship

How lucky we are
to know so many,
so dear,
so real and so true.

We just spent a great evening with some wonderful and dear friends - I feel blessed to have them in our life. In todays life of quick and impersonal interactions it is food for the soul to be able to connect and nurture those bonds. Take time to smell the roses...

About Time...

It doesn't make sense why a screening mechanism for Autism was not introduced years ago. This is a pediatric problem that didn't develop yesterday and has been growing ever since. I realise some of the objections to having screening for such a difficult condition to diagnose, is the fear of false positives. But rather be over cautious than let time pass and not capitalise on the precious advantage of early detection. It's about time AAP got their act together!

http://health.usnews.com/articles/health/2007/10/29/guidance-for-parents-from-an-expert-on-autism.html

-SD

Pirates of the Balance Sheet

I really want to believe that stewards of shareholders investments are always doing what's in the best interest of the investor. How does one make such bad decisions that there can be an $8 billion write down ($2.3 billion net loss) - not million folks - and in one quarter? Unbelievable!

One would have thought after Enron and with the institution of Sarbanes Oxley that there would be checks and balances to limit exposure to such huge losses. Wasn't the head of Risk Management for Merrill offering some advise here - or was dear Stan doing whatever the heck he wanted - absolutely incredulous...

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601103&sid=a3Oqep8S.npk&refer=news

-SD

The Dip

I just read Seth Gordin's book "The Dip". I used to enjoy reading his articles in the magazine "Fast Company". What a smart little book - great way to learn how to know when to quit. Take a peek at the book if you get a chance. Are you "in the cul-de-sac" or "the dip"??

-SD

"Black Book"

I watched the "Black Book" last night. Carice Van Houten was spellbinding and enigmatic - what an actress. I certainly want to see more of her films.

What are they?

I had a short conversation with a person today whilst waiting in line. I was dressed quite casually, the exchange went something like this:

Her: "I really like your shoes - they are so cute"
Me: "Thank you - they're so comfortable"
Her: "What are they?" With an earnest expression on her face
Me: A little perplexed by the question. I had some idea of what she was asking - but thought it was ridiculous and honestly hadn't looked at who the shoe designer was ...and without thinking about it said "Shoes" ..with giggles coming from the other ladies standing around - although, I didn't mean to be smart.
Her: little nervous laugh, "oh, I was just wandering who they are by"
Me: wondering what the heck is this... the red carpet/spanish inquisition, with a little laugh myself, I said "I don't know - I really don't pay much attention to that stuff"
Her: "Oh, it's just your whole outfit looks so J.Crewish.."
Me: thinking ...oh, really ... I wasn't sure what to say but politely said "Thank you"

This particular crowd is quite pretentious. Maybe next time she'll ask per Joan Rivers "Who are you wearing", to which I'll innocently have to answer
"Mr. Clothes" :)

Surely, there are other ways to break the ice..

"Hippocritic" Oath

They take the oath to protect life. How then does a patient die in a hospital ER (Martin Luther King Junior-Harbor Hospital)? Medicine is not what it should be. Unfortunately the medical profession has gone to the dogs. I'm sure there are many who are committed to their cause, but there are so many more that are in it for totally the wrong reasons. Maybe Michael Moore has a point with the movie "sicko". If money were not the driving factor in patient care - both in terms of the medical staff and the insurance company, care would truly be for and only in the best interests of the patient.

-SD

Uniforms

I had an interesting discussion with some friends about making uniforms mandatory in all schools. All but one of us agreed that it would put all the focus on learning versus who looks hip or not. One person disagreed because they thought that uniforms were too expensive and not as durable as jeans. Then, I suppose the $150/pair of Nike's is a bargain, the humiliation and teasing some kids face because they aren't "cool" enough is worth it????

Facade

There is this person I know who is quite neurotic to say the least. They seemed like the most normal of people - yet I always felt there was something missing .. you know what I mean, that little comment, or that little look, or that something you can't quite put your finger on - but you know it's there and it's a taste of what's to come. Don't they say always trust your inner voice ... I really should have, because that "taste of what was to come" came in a big and very unnerving way....it invoked the following questions:

Do we all in some way or another put up facades? Is it possible to be completely authentic??

First Impressions...

I am an ever changing landscape, quite dynamic you'll see. However, there is a fundamental core that is quite intact that you'll soon come to know.....