It's Spring.

So it looks like I’m going on another vacation. Good thing I still have my first communion money (but not for long) because I’m taking a 2 week cruise from Florida to Barcelona. My brother decided that he is going to live in Europe for the summer and he refuses to fly. Therefore, he had to look into cruise ships, which are actually reasonably priced….as long as you have two people. The total price for two people is actually about the same as for a single person. So I figured I would be a nice guy and save him a thousand dollars by going along. Not exactly the best timing for me with the business starting up but it is a unique opportunity and if I happen to land a client on the trip it would be a bonus. I’ve been putting off writing the stupid policies and procedures for my business (legal requirement) so now I know what I can do while I’m on a boat for 14 days. Especially considering it is a Disney cruise (cheapest provider) and I don’t think there is a casino to spend time (and money) at. I think it might be fun to push Mickey into the pool while he’s entertaining the kids. There are three Spanish ports so I guess I’ll be putting my new Spanish knowledge to the test.

As far as my business goes, still waiting for the IRS but I have selected all my software. I’m testing out the demos for financial planning, portfolio accounting, and mean-variance optimization (asset allocation). If I do buy these three it will be much cheaper than I had originally budgeted. I think most people just go with the big names like Advent and Centerpiece because that’s all they know and they’re too lazy to research other providers. If anyone out there knows of a bank that offers a small business checking account without fees I’m all ears. I haven’t searched too much yet but they’ve all had fees so far. That’s about it. Hope everyone is enjoying Spring. Ciao.

It's all over.

So I had a great time in Florida. The weather was great, the Tigers almost beat the Red Sox, and I went to the Plant City to eat strawberries again after the game. I played some of the worst golf of my life but the weather was great. I got a confirmation on another fee paying client. (So does that mean I can write off the whole trip.) It was nice to spend some time with 4/5ths of the family. Hopefully next time my older brother can make it. I spent the last three days visiting friends in Jacksonville. My old roommate Kristen is getting very pregnant and doing well. And my other roommate Nick survived boot camp in the Army Reserve and is going to filter water in Panama for a month starting next week. But he seems to be doing really well too. I spent the last day with my friend Heather which brings me to my recommendation for this post. If you go on a date with a really hot, nice, and smart girl don’t blow off a second date because your heart tells you to try to get back with your ex-girlfriend who isn’t really too interested in you. Well I think we do have an agreement that she’ll marry me if she is still single at 37. So I got that going for me, which is nice. Anyway, we checked out her new condo, went to the zoo, had dinner at Maggiano’s, and Cheesecake Factory for dessert. I ate way too much and felt sick by the end of the night.

I got back in time to catch a little nap before going to my Spanish class for a test. Not my best effort but I think I passed. Then I almost froze when I went to the grocery store this morning. It was so nice and warm yesterday that I assume it was still warm since it was sunny. I was wrong. At least the temp is supposed to go up over the next couple days.

Waterford is stuck in the red tape of the government right now as I wait for a Taxpayer ID number for the LLC. Then I have to register with the IL Treasury and the City of Chicago. It could be a while still.

Take a vacation!!

I did. You might ask from what. I would answer, the cold weather.

I'll be back in a week and a half.

If you couldn't get the SNL clip to open on my website here's the jist of it. Parnell has a one page book entitled, "Don't Buy It If You Can't Afford It." And Steve Martin playing the average Joe consumer just can't understand the concept.

Also, I got an 89% on my second Spanish exam. I'm cruising so far but I'm already fearing that comprehensive final exam worth 30% of our grade.

Nos vemos!