thanks.

i'm in rare form today.

anyone who knows me at least semi-well can attest to the fact that i'm usually grumpy and don't like to smile a lot (someone at work just said to me, "hey it's david, the guy who i haven't seen smile in months.") to which i replied, "it's b/c there's nothing to smile about." and then i proceeded to beat the living hell out of him. he no longer works here.

but anyway, i really am one of the biggest complainers out there. not in the whiny crying, 'oh woe is me' sense (although some might dispute that claim) but in the OMG I NEED TO VENT ABOUT THIS SO I CAN SCREAM and then move on kind of sense. most of the times, it's purely for effect anyway, so people can laugh at me. and at the end of these verbal tirades where i rant against the injustice in the world because they only gave me 1 and a half scoops of chocolate when i distinctly asked for 2, i end with a quote that makes some of my friends laugh: "my life is so hard."

they laugh because, hey, i'm a funny guy (as attested by my numerous comments... moving right along) but they also laugh b/c it's clearly not true. my life is not hard. there are difficult times in my life, just like everyone else, but my life is definitely not hard.

but it is hard to remember that sometimes, isn't it? it's hard to remember what you have in your life (and if you're reading this, you have a lot: a computer, internet, or at the least, a job that's dumb enough to give you these things so you can waste the company's money by reading my blog. or writing one i guess. hehe.) i've got a lot to be grateful for. in addition to financial means provided by my family and now, myself, i've got a group of friends envied by many across the tri-state area, a family that stands by anything i do, and a girlfriend who loves me unconditionally (except when i piss her off. which is quite often. so, maybe i should change unconditionally to "every other week"). in addition, i've got my health, my incredible athletic ability, my epic good looks, my all-consuming intelligence. i could go on and on.

the bottom line is, i sure have a whole lot to be thankful for. and most of these things, actually, all of these things, i'm pretty sure i've done nothing to earn them. in fact, mina still asks me how we ended up dating. (i interpret "how the hell did i ever end up with an idiot like you" to mean that. just kidding, she's really nice. don't hit me now, ok?) i've basically won the lottery with my life. and i'm sure many of you can echo these same sentiments. no matter what problems you've got or areas in your life you wish were different, hey, it could be a lot worse. you could be the guy who has to use the toilet after fat joe.

i guess what i'm saying is, sometimes, you have to stop the complaining, stop the what if-ing, stop the moaning, look around and say, "i've got it pretty good." i know i do. so to everyone who makes my life that great... thanks.

work stories.

the other day, i was doing what i usually do every midafternoon, which is walk around the halls at work passing gas, when i noticed something: senior people do some strange things in the privacy of their own offices. i'm not sure if they mistakenly believe their doors are composed of 1-way glass or not but i've seen them engage in some pretty odd activities.

for example, one guy was leaning back in his chair with his hand in his pants at around 3 PM. ummm... ok let me break it out for you, "star". on your couch, acceptable. at work, unacceptable. after a meal, acceptable. after a conference call, unacceptable. in view of loved ones or friends, acceptable. in view of your secretary and the guy shining your shoes, unacceptable. you get the picture here?

here's another one. i had this book going out for a project i was working on and it was getting close to crunch time. the meeting was in 15 minutes and i was running around trying to get edits to the book made, making changes to the analysis, basically doing what i do everyday which is run the damn show. ya heard? and i was really running. i'm talking sweat pouring adrenaline pumping booty shaking running. and as i run by the MD's (managing director, basically, the guy making millions off of your 100 hour weeks who doesn't even know your name. or possibly that you even exist at all.) office, i see him sitting there, calmly paging through a brochure. and as i look closer, i realize it's a freakin car catalogue! he was picking out which new acura he wanted after he makes a whole lotta money from this deal that i've been slaving over. btw, for anyone who wants to know what investment banking is, this story is it. sigh... my life is so hard.

one last one: so this guy at work who's not only obnoxiously loud but just plain obnoxious was on the phone when i hear him shout out, "that guy's an idiot! he doesn't know the difference between common stock and... and... livestock!" to which i stood up and said, "that's a good one." but the best part is, after i said that, the secretary who sits next to that guy, and who's had to put up with his annoying phone calls all year, started cracking up. fantastic. (and for those who don't know what common stock is because you don't know anything about finance... i envy you. learning finance was one of the worst decisions in my life. and this is coming from the guy that used to have a perm. but that's a story for another entry.)

ok that's it for now. i'm a busy guy, you know? besides it's getting close to my walk and fart time.

update.

i've been getting complaints about never updating so i just want everyone to be patient, i've been busy. i understand that everyone is getting a little anxious for their dunce fix, but relax, i need time to think of good, quality entries for my adoring fans. to steal a paraphrased line from one of my favorite sports writers, "when you're this good-looking, you can't expect me to be smart too."

anyway, i didn't make it as a finalist in the FoxSports Blogging Competition. so sad. oh, well. back to investment banking, my first true love.

also, i don't normally do these kinds of things, and i don't want this blog to become a personal shout-out, ranting, raving disaster but this is special: tomorrow is my 1 year anniversary with my girlfriend, mina. how you've put up with me for 1 year is a question i'm sure a lot of people reading this are asking themselves. to which i reply, "haha very funny." that's all. i can't think of a better comeback.

but anyway, happy 1 year, baby. you know how much you mean to me and i hope you know how grateful i am for you and to you.

"on a beach somewhere far away, your name is written in the sand"