Boulder to London

Sorry for being a little slow on updates and posts.  The past week has been pretty busy with Thanksgiving, Melisse’s birthday and now I’m in Brussels for a training course.

Starting with Thanksgiving, it’s a holiday that is difficult to celebrate abroad.  This is my second international Thanksgiving (2005 in Costa Rica), but at least in ‘05 I was able to celebrate with friends before I left.  This year, Melisse and I had dinner at an Argentinian restaurant.  The food was good, but I was really craving some turkey, stuffing, potatoes, pumpkin pie and football. 

Moving forward a few days to Melisse’s birthday.  She turned 33 on Saturday and we celebrated most of the weekend.  Starting on Friday night, we attended a musical at the Phoenix Theatre titled Blood Brothers.  It was a pretty good show, but don’t expect a happy ending to this tale of twins that were separated at birth and raised on opposite sides of the tracks.  Following the show, we headed to a Spanish restaurant near the theatre for some Tapas and wine before calling it a night. 

On Saturday we continued the celebration.  We started with some coffee and pastries before heading to the Tate Britain for the Francis Bacon exhibit.  Melisse loved it, but Bacon was definitely a twisted dude.  Lesson learned was that I should study my artists before agreeing to go!  We followed up the trip to the museum with some champagne, cheese and olives back at the flat before dinner at Numero Uno.  Dinner was good, we drank plenty and Melisse had a happy b-day although I’m not sure she’s that excited about 33. 

We wrapped up the weekend with a run on Sunday morning before Melisse going into school to work on a project and me hopping a train to Brussels for a training class. 

I’ve attached an aritcle that I stumbled across(no pun intended) while internet surfing this week.  It appears that the government is considering a ban on ‘happy hour’ to curb binge drinking amongst young people in the U.K.  This could certainly help the long term health of a nation, but taking away people’s cheap booze is the last thing you want to do in a time of economic crisis!

London - Britain is considering a ban on “happy hour” discounts at bars and restaurants to curb drinking, a spokesperson said on Saturday, as health advocates warned that a rise in liver-related deaths among young people may signal a future epidemic.

Health officials will decide on whether to ban the happy hours - designated times for discount drinks - once an independent policy review is published in coming weeks, a health department spokesman said on customary condition of anonymity.

The proposal was one of several aimed at stemming a trend in binge drinking in recent years, particularly among teenagers and young adults. The government also plans to spend £10m on a new public awareness campaign, and wants to improve enforcement of laws against underage drinking.

A health advocacy group said some of those young people were now showing signs of liver-related damage usually seen in older people.

Given that it can take 15 to 20 years for liver disease to develop, the British Liver Trust warned that the figures suggested the problem would only get worse.

“We’re seeing a steep increase of deaths in people in their 20s and 30s,” Trust spokesperson Imogen Shillito said. “This indicates a big problem for many years to come.”

National statistics show a steady rise in the number of alcohol-related deaths that typically fell heavy drinkers in their 40s and 50s who have abused alcohol for decades. From 1991 to 2006, the number of such deaths more than doubled to 8 758.

Alcohol-related deaths among people aged 25 to 29 were 40% higher in 2006 than the year before, Shillito said, citing national statistics.

Shillito said low prices for alcohol had helped encourage drinking among British youths, noting “they can buy alcohol with their pocket money.”

The government plans to base its new alcohol policies, including possible new programs to help people reduce consumption, on the upcoming review by the School of Health and Related Research at the University of Sheffield.

Officials say the report should clarify whether retail practices lead to excessive drinking. They are considering a ban on a number of practices, including drinking games and speed-drinking events popular at some British pubs.

- AP

So the decline in the Pound (or strengthening of the Dollar) continues to eat away at my earnings.  It doesn’t really matter today as I make just enough to live off of, but it’s no less depressing…

I guess this makes complete sense when you think about  it, but I’m still totally amazed that the president can not e-mail.  I have honestly never given it any thought, but only assumed that the president would have a blackberry and laptop like every other person that communicates in the modern world.  I guess I was wrong.

NY Times Article:  Lose the BlackBerry? Yes He Can, Maybe

I just read a very interesting piece on our current economic situation.  If you can get past the rant and blame aspects of the article, there is some excellent data on current debt levels, spending habits, housing prices and GDP make up.  The author makes some excellent points, including one that I had not given a lot of thought to.  According to his data, there is tremendous economic disparity amongst retiring baby boomers.  The past 30 years have been very good to some and equally destructive to others.  While this situation is quite alarming, the interesting part is really the impact this will have on future generations.  The author takes a number of shots at baby boomers and their spending habits, but left in their wake are Generations X and Y with  problems of their own to deal with.

Starting with Generation X, we’re on our own for retirement.  Most company pensions are a thing of the past and I’d be surprised if social security holds up long enough to see the baby boomers through retirement.  The good news is that we were warned and some of us have been diligently saving to take care of ourselves.  We cut our teeth in the working world during a sustained period of economic expansion.  A number of us have made and lost fortunes during the dot com years and later in the housing market and this has given us a new perspective on material items and wealth.  We largely believe that life is to be experienced, not accumulated.  I’d say we are a little more cautious, seasoned and wiser from the ups and downs that we have lived through and have just enough experience to step into larger leadership roles as baby boomers retires.  By now, Gen Xers should have paid off their student loans, bought housing before it peaked, set up 401(k)s, traveled internationally and have enough skills, experience and flexibility to survive the current downturn.  While this certainly isn’t true for everyone in my generation, I feel like we were given a fighting chance.

Unfortunately, Generation Y is a different story.  This generation went to college on the age old belief that investment in education will always pay off.  This belief is still largely valid.  Unfortunately, Generation Y entered college at a time when their parents were highly leveraged, tuition was skyrocketing, and money was as cheap as it gets.  Their education was financed with student loans and many took advantage of the cheap money to spend a few extra years in school to complete a study abroad program, double major or pursue a graduate degree.  Once again, these are all good things, except the impact of bad timing.  With the recent economic downturn and the tightening of credit, this group has the most to lose.  Given that their resumes are light on actual experience, they desire a work-life balance and are saddled with the burden of debt, this generation is likely to experience some tough years.  With layoffs increasing and real salaries declining, I am less optimistic about this group.

Whether you’re a baby boomer trying to figure out how to retire, or a Gen X or Yer trying to figure out how to hold things together during the downturn, it is safe to say that the rules we’ve been playing by are going to have to change.  I’m cautiously optimistic that a new president will bring hope and guidance to all generations of Americans as we navigate through uncharted waters.  Let’s return the favor and provide the same support to him as we look at the trade offs between taxes, social programs, government spending and the deficit.  There will be no easy solution and we all helped dig the hole that we’re standing in today.

Original article:  http://www.financialsense.com/editorials/2008/1103.html

We finally wrapped up our project late last night!  It was a tough road most of the way, but I’m happy with the output.  The client sees it on Monday morning and will hopefully be pleased as well.

Since I haven’t really had any free time lately, I’m behind on what’s going on with the economy and around the world.  My only exercise has been walking to the train station and my web surfing has been limited to research related to the project.  I didn’t even realize that the traditional ‘holiday’ season is coming up fast.  Thanksgiving isn’t celebrated over here, so we really just have Christmas to look forward to.  Melisse and I haven’t decided what we’re going to do yet, but maybe I’ll spend some time this afternoon looking into some vacation options.  I’m sure I’ll need it since it looks like we’re going to be busy over the next 6 weeks.

We are lucky enough to have some of my family traveling over for a few weeks after Christmas.  We’ll definitely enjoy seeing them, but we still have no idea how we’re going to fit everyone into our small apartment.  Maybe we can get some bunk beds between now and then?

Anyway, I’ll get my act together and have something more interesting to say tomorrow.  Hope everyone is having a great weekend!

I finally made it back to London on Friday and have spent the last 40-some hours sleeping in, spending time with Melisse and catching up on the things that don’t get done when one is out of the country (paying bills, laundry, grocery shopping, etc).  The weekend has been great, but it looks like it is back to the office this afternoon to get a jump start on the week.  The project I’m working continues to present challenges, but the nice thing about consulting is that in 1 week, it’s off to something different and I get to try again.

I’ve learned a lot through the course of this project, mostly on how not to do things.  Leadership and management in a consulting setting is quite a bit different than what I experienced in a corporate setting and I definitely will need to adjust my approach and style to be successful.  On the bright side of things, I’ve really come to appreciate the group that I joined.  I’ve had tremendous support, good opportunities to learn, and witnessed a team that is genuinely concerned about each other and willing to step in and help out whenever possible.  I’ve been doing this for almost 4 months and continue to love it.

Last Thursday I got a call from a buddy of mine at GE.  He said he was talking to a guy that had a position open at GE that I’d be good for if I was ready to come back.  I didn’t get a chance to talk to him until later that day, but when I called him back, I was sitting in the back of the stretch limo that Virgin Atlantic had sent to pick me up for my flight.  While it was great to catch up, I realized that there isn’t any job at GE that would be tempting enough to cut short this new chapter of life.

Today marks the start to my third week back in the States.  The project has not gone near as well as I hoped, but many people back in the office in London, feel that it will actually turn out OK and that I’m being a little hard on myself.  Either way, I have a ton to get done this week and will likely be pulling some long days.

On my way back to Chicago from Houston, I decided to spend the weekend in Colorado to see some friends.  The weekend has been great.  I landed Friday night and went to the CU joint MBA and Law School Halloween party.  If there is anyone that has actually been following me for the past year, you may remember my post from a year ago on my troubles finding a costume.  This year was no better, but rather than race around town, I showed up without costume.  This was actually good since many people probably weren’t expecting to see me there, but posed a bit of a problem since I was easily recognizable and it often took me several minutes to figure out who was who.  The costumes were good, the beer was cold, and everyone had a good time.

The rest of my time in Colorado has been spent catching up with friends.  For those that I got to see, thank you so much for taking the time to catch up.  For those that I didn’t get to see, I’m very sorry to have missed you on this trip.  The days seemed to fill up very quickly and I spent most of the weekend going from place to place (usually eating and drinking) to see someone else and catch up for an hour or two.  It was great to see everyone and being back in Colorado brings back a lot of good memories. 

A funny thing happened to me in the Houston airport on Friday.   I had sat down to have something to eat before heading out to the gate.  As I got up to leave, a group of hostesses/waitresses were all standing near the door looking my way.  I didn’t really think anything of it and assumed it was some sort of shift change, training or an impromptu meeting.  As I approached, I noticed that they were all sort of looking at me.  I tried to get by and one of them stopped me and said…”Are you that TV anchor from NBC?”  I replied, “no”, not really knowing who they were talking about since I didn’t watch too much TV when I was in the states, and we don’t get NBC in London.  They went on to say, you look exactly like Matt Lauer.  I honestly didn’t really know who that was, but I’ve since googled him and it seems there may be some resemblance?  What do you think?

I woke up this morning to a pleasant surprise…there was not a cloud in the sky!  What I thought was going to be a cold and wet day sitting inside watching football, was suddenly full of possibility.  Since it was still early, I went down to the gym and got a quick work out in.  It wasn’t that great of a workout, but it made me feel better about the deep dish pizza last night.  I wish I had waited to run until this morning, but oh well. 

From the gym, I hit the hotel Starbucks and returned to my room to search the Internet for things to do.  I came across the river architecture tour and decided that it would be a great way to spend a few hours before the weather decided to change.  According to the website, the first tour departed at 11 which gave me plenty of time.  I did a few things around here, went down to the river and got my ticket for the boat.  I was a little early, but it was a nice day to be outside. 

The tour itself was good, however it was very fast.  As we floated by each building, we were given the year it was built, the architect, what it housed today and maybe a bit or two about the history of the area.  There were so many buildings that this cycle repeated itself about every 15 seconds.  Most of Chicago was rebuilt after the fire in 1871 and many of the new buildings were built in the last 30 years.  While there is still some construction going on in Chicago, my informal real estate vitality index (number of construction cranes that litter a downtown skyline) shows that it lags London by at least a factor of 10.  One interesting aspect of the tour was that over one stretch of the river, you could smell the most intense chocolate smell imaginable.  The tour guide didn’t comment on it, which I thought was strange since the entire audience was somewhat distracted by it.  It turns out that there is a chocolate factory in the area that emits a quite pleasant aroma.  Sure beats the smell of paper factories and feed lots that pollute some of the towns I’ve lived in. 

After the tour, I walked along the river and up Michigan Ave.  I stumbled across this really great sports bar called Mother Hubbard’s. The place was full of TVs, had a local feel, served good wings and offered up a few beers that I hadn’t tried.  I highly recommend it and may get back over there to try out one of their famous burgers over the next few weeks. 

My schedule has changed up a little bit.  I’m going to leave Chicago for Houston later this week, spend next weekend in Colorado, and then head back to Chicago next Sunday.  I look forward to seeing everyone in Colorado and a few days in Houston will give me some temporary reprieve from the cold.

This is an interesting documentary on the current credit card and debt situation in America.  If you saw “Fast Food Nation”, this is a similar sort of view on consumer debt in the US.  I’ve only seen the first half an hour or so, but it looks very informative and educational.

View it here: In Debt We Trust