Springtime in Sacramento

OK, so the sun finally decided to show itself in CA. After only a couple (seriously, only a couple) days without rain in March, we're finally getting the normal springtime weather. By normal, I mean sunny and around 80. Ahhhh... So, I decided that I would finally get a haircut. I hadn't cut my hair since December since I had a job and all. I posted a before and after photo with Devon.

Speaking of Devon... She has a herniated disc in her back and is on drugs. Just say no to herniated discs. But the drugs aren't so bad. I told her even Bret Favre was addicted to Vicadin (sp?). Anyway, we're just trying to get her healed so she can resume normal movement and such. While I have never had back problems, I can SEE how painful it is. I'm sure Lincoln will confirm.

Other than that, all else is cool. We're trying to plan out our two weeks in Switzerland after graduation in June. Anyone else want to come? Dan, I think fun ball wants a return visit and more pictures...

Congrats to Hursty - his safety from OSU was indeed taken in the first round! SHOW HIM THE MONEY!!!!!!!!! Sorry, I couldn't help it. Hursty had me at "NFL Draft".

Mazzuccos

Sorry I've been unavailable of late.

A lot has happened with us. We've been busy even though we still don't have any friends.
The boys are a good time. The Flyers are winning. And Lincoln is engaged.

Of other interest, I'm studying to take the patent bar so that I can help Kristin write a patent on a clever idea she's hopefully working on. When I pass the bar, I'm likely to quit my job and start doing consulting on my own. The consulting will be different from what I'm doing now in that I'll be helping society in some way instead of helping people argue about money. For more on this topic, I quote The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy:

"This planet has - or rather had - a problem, which was this: most of the people living on it were unhappy for pretty much most of the time. Many solutions were suggested for this problem, but most of these were largely concerned with the movements of small green pieces of paper, which is odd because on the whole it wasn't the small green pieces of paper that were unhappy."

In any case, when/if I do leave my job, I'll let you know. Also, I'll need people to hire me to do stuff. So if you could each come up with a medical device invention, I can help you patent it, raise money, develop it, get it approved by FDA, and market it.

And it's a long way until NYE, we'll see if anyone else wants to host so bad that they'll make a Christmas baby.

Big Weekend

Well after a so-so performance in free agency (some good deals balanced with getting fired by adam vinatieri), I head into the NFL Draft weekend. If any of you have nothing to do on Saturday, check out the first round. I am hoping my client Donte Whitner (safety out of Ohio State) goes in the first round. It should be a blast if he does.

Josh, if golf-ball sized hail can do $5,000 damage to a car, what would it do to your head? That sounds pretty dangerous to me. It doesn't hail all that much in Cleveland. It just stays cold until July. I froze my behind off at the Indians game last night, but at least we killed the Red Sox (15-3).

Also, I am now 26 beers in to my 100-beer World Tour of Beers. I can't remember if I posted about that already or not, but here's the link:

http://www.winkinglizard.com/beertour.asp

Golfball Sized Hail + Car = Bad

So one of the things I've always said I missed about Kansas was the thunderstorms. I'm not so sure about that now. Turns out that 10 minutes of golfball sized hail can do about $5000 worth of damage to a car.

In slightly better news, it turns out that insurance is a good ideas, since they're going to pay for all but $250. A word of advice though, if any of you out there are like me and never had serious bodywork done on your car before, you should know that it can take 2-3 weeks in the shop. So... if like me you think you'll save a few bucks by foregoing the rental car reimbursement coverage on your insurance policy, don't. Now we get to bum rides off my parents for the better part of a month. Sweet...

That's the latest from the heartland; hope you all are having better April's. (I guess we know Lincoln is.)

P.S. Regarding Rob's yoga, (insert Nelson Muntz "Ha, Ha" here).

B-School Update

OK, so I highly recommend that you never take Derivative Securities. Comparing the cash flows for a forward contract vs. a synthetic forward (long on the underlying asset, short a zero coupon bond - I think) is not a great way to spend your day. Despite my professor's vast accumulated wealth from managing Merrill Lynch's weather derivatives desk in London, I think I'll stick to index funds...

Forwards, futures, options, etc. are not my friends. The members of the BLD are though! hehe..

Kudos

I must say, Rob, you have really stepped up your game on this Blog. Back in the day, it used to consist almost entirely of me, Kristin, and Jill. At least we have a little more action nowadays.

I had a pretty chill weekend. Got to leave the office at noon and then went to Good Friday mass with my mom that afternoon. Stayed in Friday night helping Hillary because she had to test out of a computer exam early Saturday morning. Then I spent all day Saturday painting. Although it doesn't sound like much fun, I actually enjoyed myself. Painting is one of those activities I don't mind doing because you can see things progressing toward a finished product. It's kind of rewarding.

Sunday was great. After church, Hillary and I went back to my parents' house for a grand Easter celebration. We did away with the traditional (at least in our household) Easter ham for a smorgasbord of goodies, including steak, shrimp, varieties of chicken sausages, and several side dishes. I am still full. It was awesome.

Hope everyone had similarly good weekends. Post your updates, even if they're boring (like this one).

P.S. the Indians are 0-2 so far in games I attend. I may not go again this season. :(

Happy Easter!

I hope you all had a great Easter Sunday! Devon and I went to my parents with Rick, Randy & Monica. We took some of the wine we bought yesterday while wine tasting in the Sacramento area (Bogle is probably the most well known from here). I highly recommend the 2003 Phantom from Bogle. It's a really great blend and isn't too bad on the price (~$16).

Anyway, Happy Easter to you all. Even Lincoln.

BTW

Thank you, Rob, for writing. I had an exam today and have been checking for entertainment all week, but alas, only my most recent post. Write more. What is everyone doing over the summer--anyone doing anything different???
How are the BLD GEN 2s? I hope well.
I'm headed to Savannah for the weekend. I've never been, but I think it will be nice. I hope that everyone has a great Passover/Easter!!
MISS YOU,
Kristin

ps. I wrote this in font Georgia, keeping with my weekend theme...I may even put in another picture because I think it's fun to do so. Can other people see my pictures or am I just entertaining myself? Also, do they slow the blog down? Wouldn't want to do that!

Yoga

So Devon and I did a pilates and yoga class Tuesday and another yoga class tonight. Let's just say I'm not very limber at this time in my life... With the music on, I feel like I'm stretching in a massage parlor (relaaaaaaaaaax). Just thought I'd share since there hasn't been anything new for a while.

So, it seems that instead of "snow days" in the South, they have "tornado days". Supposedly we are expecting inclement weather--the schools are closed, the courthouse is closed. Anyway, I'm going to try to post a picture of this scary scene (taken from my front porch). Let's just say, I like the Southern version best...so far. I hope that you all are doing well. Kristin

haha

well i think we'll probably do pong in my garage, if this thing actually happens at my house. i've got enough space heaters in case it's cold, and there's plenty of room in there. if this ends up being a go, i'll need lincoln's super top secret building specifications for his pong table so that i can construct my own. lincoln, i promise i will protect them with my life.

What?

No one wants to visit beautiful Modesto, CA? Dang... Well, seeing as how Devon ISN'T pregnant yet, I suppose we can travel. It's a lot easier to fly half way across the country rather than all the way. As long as we get to play pong in a carpeted basement with a 5' high ceiling again (with a drumset to bang on for dramatic effect), we're in.

The real question is:
When is Willis going to get around to hosting another Buffett party?