Forget Wall Street. Forget the Asian markets and the European Markets. I've got my own financial crisis to settle out!! (Where is the government when I need a bailout...)
1) My car needed brand spanking new tires. I talked them down to a 20% discount, but it was still $270. (however, it came at a good time as I went off-roading the next day).
2) My laptop broke. More accurately, it fell off the overhead projector in class. Even more accurately, it fell off when I tripped over the cord - in front of my 10A class. Looks of horror as they feared my wrath would be spewed in their direction. Feel my pain when you see the picture of a broken lcd screen below. Its what my screen looked like.
Alison's computer had broken so we sent it back to the states to get fixed a few weeks ago (it was still under warranty). Shipping was less expensive than having it fixed here. Amazing. This means we were computerless. How much we suffered!
$700 for a new laptop.
3) Oh yeah, remember that world financial crisis? Well Alison and I made a few investments this summer. Long term investments for when we retire someday (yeah, thinking ahead). Guess how much we've lost?
30%. See?
Here. And
here. Oh, and
here, too.
I have been a firm believer in the business cycle. "Every 10 years", I say, "something like this happens! The markets will bounce back, and people will be happy until the next crash. Then fears of 'the end' will engross us again."
Hopefully my trust has not been misplaced. Of course, won't be making any more investments until the market bottoms out. Or
Robin, our friend who has been helpful in assisting Alison and I figure out our investments, advises us.
I get dizzy thinking about all of this.
