Thursday, February 28, 2008
I thought I had seen it all...
but this one just takes the cake! And if you look closely - they have a mini pool in the front yard too!
Wednesday, February 27, 2008
Bathroom Etiquette
Yes this is in some ways a typical post for me. But really, you may be a little surprised by what I say. But I have a bone to pick, cause this seems to be happening to me a lot lately. And this is really directed more to women than it is to men. Cause I know men don't care as much. They'll take a dump in a gas station bathroom and not use any toilet paper when sitting on the seat for all they care.
SO you know when you have to go to the bathroom in a public place, you enter and the first thing you think of is - which stall am I going to enter. For small places that have one to three stalls - this really is a no brainer on the selection. And for women a non written rule is that you pick one that allows a separation between you and the next party - at least that is the ideal scenario.
In my office bathroom - there are 10 - stalls. yes ...... I said 10. So you would think this should be a non issue. I mean, there are only like 10 girls on the whole floor. And well I sort of have an issue going poop in a public bathroom - I would rather hold it if I can't go in private - cause really, are any one of us looking to share that kind of moment with another person? I think not. But it is part of nature and we all do it.
So with that said there is an unwritten rule that if you walk into a bathroom with many stalls, you find one that is not right next to someone else. So I ask you now, if you are the second person coming into a bathroom - what on earth would make you think to yourself......hmmm I think I am going to enter the stall RIGHT NEXT TO SOMEONE WHO IS POOPING when there are 7 other better options. Seriously - what is the rationale behind this??? Do people enjoy sitting 2 feet from someone else during a private and disgusting moment separated only by a one inch piece of metal when they are in a space of ohhhhh 600 sq feet?
What on earth could possibly propel someone to either think or not think about this when using the john? And then you have the ridiculous people that do this only to have you realize - oh....I guess we are having a pooping moment together. Are you for real???? I don't want to sit anywhere near someone else doing that - so why on earth would someone want to come sit near you when they can have a much bigger space ALL TO THEMSELVES??? This is not supposed to be a public bonding thing - it is a private matter. If anyone has some insight into this - please let me know. Because I have racked my brain trying to figure it out and yet it just befuddles me.
One Ex: Yesterday, I had a girl come in the bathroom, talking on her cell phone (to a guy cause I could hear his voice through the phone), only to walk down past most of the stalls and try to actually ENTER my stall. And people, it's really easy to tell if someone is in the stall or not by the door being CLOSED. So she picks the stall NEXT TO MINE. Then she proceeds to continue talking and peeing - really loud too. Now she at some point also spoke in a different language so this might be where she was coming from on the toilet etiquette issue (3rd world countries have different standards I know - but who brings their cell phone into a public (corporate) bathroom for a conversation while you are having a moment???
Can you feel my woe here?
SO you know when you have to go to the bathroom in a public place, you enter and the first thing you think of is - which stall am I going to enter. For small places that have one to three stalls - this really is a no brainer on the selection. And for women a non written rule is that you pick one that allows a separation between you and the next party - at least that is the ideal scenario.
In my office bathroom - there are 10 - stalls. yes ...... I said 10. So you would think this should be a non issue. I mean, there are only like 10 girls on the whole floor. And well I sort of have an issue going poop in a public bathroom - I would rather hold it if I can't go in private - cause really, are any one of us looking to share that kind of moment with another person? I think not. But it is part of nature and we all do it.
So with that said there is an unwritten rule that if you walk into a bathroom with many stalls, you find one that is not right next to someone else. So I ask you now, if you are the second person coming into a bathroom - what on earth would make you think to yourself......hmmm I think I am going to enter the stall RIGHT NEXT TO SOMEONE WHO IS POOPING when there are 7 other better options. Seriously - what is the rationale behind this??? Do people enjoy sitting 2 feet from someone else during a private and disgusting moment separated only by a one inch piece of metal when they are in a space of ohhhhh 600 sq feet?
What on earth could possibly propel someone to either think or not think about this when using the john? And then you have the ridiculous people that do this only to have you realize - oh....I guess we are having a pooping moment together. Are you for real???? I don't want to sit anywhere near someone else doing that - so why on earth would someone want to come sit near you when they can have a much bigger space ALL TO THEMSELVES??? This is not supposed to be a public bonding thing - it is a private matter. If anyone has some insight into this - please let me know. Because I have racked my brain trying to figure it out and yet it just befuddles me.
One Ex: Yesterday, I had a girl come in the bathroom, talking on her cell phone (to a guy cause I could hear his voice through the phone), only to walk down past most of the stalls and try to actually ENTER my stall. And people, it's really easy to tell if someone is in the stall or not by the door being CLOSED. So she picks the stall NEXT TO MINE. Then she proceeds to continue talking and peeing - really loud too. Now she at some point also spoke in a different language so this might be where she was coming from on the toilet etiquette issue (3rd world countries have different standards I know - but who brings their cell phone into a public (corporate) bathroom for a conversation while you are having a moment???
Can you feel my woe here?
Wednesday, February 20, 2008
Attitude
As I am cleaning out copious amounts of folders, papers and the like from a multitude of offices around here in this great empty space in anticipation of our move over the next couple of days, I came across this piece of paper with insightful words that I felt was worthy of sharing....
Attitude
The longer I live, the more I realize the impact of attitude on life. Attitude is more important than facts. It is more important than past, than education, than money, than circumstances, than failures, than successes, than what other people think or say or do. It is more important than appearance, gifted ability, or skill. It will make or break a company, a church, a home.
The remarkable thing is we have a choice everyday regarding the attitude we will embrace from that day. We cannot change our past, we cannot change the fact that people will act in a certain way. We cannot change the inevitable. The only thing we can do is play on the one string we have and this string is Attitude. I am convinced that life is 10% what happens and 90% how I react to it. And so it is with you....we are in charge of our Attitudes.
-Charles Swindoll
Attitude
The longer I live, the more I realize the impact of attitude on life. Attitude is more important than facts. It is more important than past, than education, than money, than circumstances, than failures, than successes, than what other people think or say or do. It is more important than appearance, gifted ability, or skill. It will make or break a company, a church, a home.
The remarkable thing is we have a choice everyday regarding the attitude we will embrace from that day. We cannot change our past, we cannot change the fact that people will act in a certain way. We cannot change the inevitable. The only thing we can do is play on the one string we have and this string is Attitude. I am convinced that life is 10% what happens and 90% how I react to it. And so it is with you....we are in charge of our Attitudes.
-Charles Swindoll
Friday, February 15, 2008
Why Valentine's Day is Special to Me
So most people would think this is a no brainer. It's Valentine's Day - you get to spend time with your honey, you get some flowers, a card and dinner. Well yes those are all great things and I do love that aspect. But Valentine's Day holds a trully deeper meaning for me. And I can sum it up with the phrase from my mother's V Card "Its You and Me Day".
10 years ago from yesterday was the first time I spoke with my biological mother Lori. Most of you know I was adopted. It was the first time we were reunited after almost 21 years of separation. I remember coming home from a rugby match to find a message from my mom Susan left by my roommate. It said, your mom called, she got in touch with your biological grandmother. I had gone from telling my mother I needed to know and was ready a month and a half before, to all of a sudden it was close. I called and she told me she just got off the phone with my mother (that was a weird feeling when she said it) and said she would call me after 4:30. The reality that I had gone from - I'm going to have to hire a lawyer to figure this out to oh my god my mother is going to call me was quite the speeding bullet. I couldn't back out now. My mother couldn't wait however and we talked for 4 hours, which was the beginning of a fresh perspective for me.
It was a reunion that had been long in the making and one that I am so glad I went through with. You can't possibly understand what it is like to grapple with feelings of should I or should I not find this person. What the inherent outcomes you will find, are unknown at the time and you can only hope for the best, and yet prepare yourself for the worst. Most of you have no idea what it truly is like to not know where you come from. Who you look like, why you do certain things - that are uncharacteristic from your adopted family members. The idea that there is another family out there that you almost lived your life with, can be quite the surreal experience. Especially when you do finally meet them.
Growing up I would always look at my friends and their parents and try to see where they got features from or even their attitudes. And if you think that finding your biological family only deals with you and your feelings - you are wrong. You have your existing family and their feelings to think about. I remember my brother feeling scared he was going to lose his sister and the relationship we had. I remember my stepdad yelling at me 10 years ago that this was my family and I need to just leave it be. And that I was only hurting my mother by going this route. I will leave many a choice words towards him about this subject alone, but I am really glad I did not pay attention to him. However, it was an element that I dealt with for a long time - how would my family handle this? How was I going to handle my family with this?
In the end, finding my birth mother has brought me peace and clarity. It has been what I needed in order to feel ok about myself and who I am. I have a greater understanding of the nature vs nurture breakdown within my own being. But in moving forward with my quest to find my mother, it was marred with all sorts of internal torment that one usually never thinks about. You have trepidation, anger, hurt, confusion, sadness, anxiety, remorse, fear. All things that propel you to satisfy a need you feel you must face. But the biggest feeling you must grapple with in this quest...is rejection. Rejection before you have every been rejected and being able to cope with that concept in the event that is what happens. It's a difficult thing to do however. But when I finally got to that point - I knew I was ready.
In the end for me, it was all worth it. But there are many adopted children don't feel that need. I feel that if I had a much more stable and loving environment growing up, I would have not felt this innate desire to find my mystery life. But I am glad that I was strong enough to do it. I have met many adopted people whoes eyes light up when they hear my story but they tell me they are too afraid to do it. It's in these moments I really have felt a desire to write a book. I probably will at some point - the question is when. I actually would like to write several books - a children's book and an adult book - for people to grapple with both sides.
Yesterday was my mom and I's 10th anniversary, and every year we celebrate it like an anniversary. It was our time and our moment. And Valentine's Day will forever hold a special place in my life because of it.
10 years ago from yesterday was the first time I spoke with my biological mother Lori. Most of you know I was adopted. It was the first time we were reunited after almost 21 years of separation. I remember coming home from a rugby match to find a message from my mom Susan left by my roommate. It said, your mom called, she got in touch with your biological grandmother. I had gone from telling my mother I needed to know and was ready a month and a half before, to all of a sudden it was close. I called and she told me she just got off the phone with my mother (that was a weird feeling when she said it) and said she would call me after 4:30. The reality that I had gone from - I'm going to have to hire a lawyer to figure this out to oh my god my mother is going to call me was quite the speeding bullet. I couldn't back out now. My mother couldn't wait however and we talked for 4 hours, which was the beginning of a fresh perspective for me.
It was a reunion that had been long in the making and one that I am so glad I went through with. You can't possibly understand what it is like to grapple with feelings of should I or should I not find this person. What the inherent outcomes you will find, are unknown at the time and you can only hope for the best, and yet prepare yourself for the worst. Most of you have no idea what it truly is like to not know where you come from. Who you look like, why you do certain things - that are uncharacteristic from your adopted family members. The idea that there is another family out there that you almost lived your life with, can be quite the surreal experience. Especially when you do finally meet them.
Growing up I would always look at my friends and their parents and try to see where they got features from or even their attitudes. And if you think that finding your biological family only deals with you and your feelings - you are wrong. You have your existing family and their feelings to think about. I remember my brother feeling scared he was going to lose his sister and the relationship we had. I remember my stepdad yelling at me 10 years ago that this was my family and I need to just leave it be. And that I was only hurting my mother by going this route. I will leave many a choice words towards him about this subject alone, but I am really glad I did not pay attention to him. However, it was an element that I dealt with for a long time - how would my family handle this? How was I going to handle my family with this?
In the end, finding my birth mother has brought me peace and clarity. It has been what I needed in order to feel ok about myself and who I am. I have a greater understanding of the nature vs nurture breakdown within my own being. But in moving forward with my quest to find my mother, it was marred with all sorts of internal torment that one usually never thinks about. You have trepidation, anger, hurt, confusion, sadness, anxiety, remorse, fear. All things that propel you to satisfy a need you feel you must face. But the biggest feeling you must grapple with in this quest...is rejection. Rejection before you have every been rejected and being able to cope with that concept in the event that is what happens. It's a difficult thing to do however. But when I finally got to that point - I knew I was ready.
In the end for me, it was all worth it. But there are many adopted children don't feel that need. I feel that if I had a much more stable and loving environment growing up, I would have not felt this innate desire to find my mystery life. But I am glad that I was strong enough to do it. I have met many adopted people whoes eyes light up when they hear my story but they tell me they are too afraid to do it. It's in these moments I really have felt a desire to write a book. I probably will at some point - the question is when. I actually would like to write several books - a children's book and an adult book - for people to grapple with both sides.
Yesterday was my mom and I's 10th anniversary, and every year we celebrate it like an anniversary. It was our time and our moment. And Valentine's Day will forever hold a special place in my life because of it.
Monday, February 11, 2008
He's only 20 yrs old - I've got 15 more years to drool
Because I just love to share.....here he is back in Heerenveen during training - about the size of my hometown Rolla. Video below is after his flight back to Holland after the US Mexico game and right before his game with PSV - leaders in the Eredivisie and whom Heerenveen tied this last weekend (1-1) with a Michael Bradley goal that pushed them to a 4 way tie for 2nd but int he lead nonetheless.
Dutch Eredivisie Standings - 2007/08
GP W D L GS GA W D L GS GA W D L GS GA GD P
1 PSV Eindhoven 24 16 5 3 51 18 9 2 1 31 10 7 3 2 20 8 33 53
2 Heerenveen 24 13 5 6 64 29 6 3 3 40 16 7 2 3 24 13 35 44
3 Ajax 24 12 8 4 61 33 7 3 2 34 15 5 5 2 27 18 28 44
4 Feyenoord 24 13 5 6 44 24 8 3 1 28 7 5 2 5 16 17 20 44
5 NAC Breda 24 13 5 6 30 26 5 3 4 13 15 8 2 2 17 11 4 44
Dutch Eredivisie Top Scorers - 2007/08
Rank Player Team Goals
1 Klaas-Jan Huntelaar Ajax Amsterdam 23
2 Blaise N'Kufo Twente Enschede 18
3 Robin Nelisse FC Utrecht 14
4 Roy Makaay Feyenoord Rotterdam 13
Michael Bradley Heerenveen 13
HE'S A MIDFIELDER TOO!
Wait - there's more!!!
From two weeks ago..
Hold on - I'm not done yet!!!
As of this weekend I am the proud owner of
- a Heerenveen jersey - with 13 autographs - not sure who they are yet but will see if I can make them out.
- An autographed pic of Michael Bradley
Now let me tell you something - you have no idea how hard it was just to get ANY Heerenveen jersey. I even looked on foreign shops sites that I had to use Google translation tools to translate to English. And all jerseys either did not exist or were SOLD OUT. So the fact I got one for the price I did, plus it is autographed - I feel like a lottery winner! Now Michael is most likely on his way out to a bigger club at the end of the season - but that is ok.
And as to the picture - you can't find a Michael Bradley autograph ANYWHERE - so another score! And for pretty cheap too. So Michael Bradley will get a place next to Kasey Keller and Paul Scholes in my house.
Dutch Eredivisie Standings - 2007/08
GP W D L GS GA W D L GS GA W D L GS GA GD P
1 PSV Eindhoven 24 16 5 3 51 18 9 2 1 31 10 7 3 2 20 8 33 53
2 Heerenveen 24 13 5 6 64 29 6 3 3 40 16 7 2 3 24 13 35 44
3 Ajax 24 12 8 4 61 33 7 3 2 34 15 5 5 2 27 18 28 44
4 Feyenoord 24 13 5 6 44 24 8 3 1 28 7 5 2 5 16 17 20 44
5 NAC Breda 24 13 5 6 30 26 5 3 4 13 15 8 2 2 17 11 4 44
Dutch Eredivisie Top Scorers - 2007/08
Rank Player Team Goals
1 Klaas-Jan Huntelaar Ajax Amsterdam 23
2 Blaise N'Kufo Twente Enschede 18
3 Robin Nelisse FC Utrecht 14
4 Roy Makaay Feyenoord Rotterdam 13
Michael Bradley Heerenveen 13
HE'S A MIDFIELDER TOO!
Wait - there's more!!!
From two weeks ago..
Hold on - I'm not done yet!!!
As of this weekend I am the proud owner of
- a Heerenveen jersey - with 13 autographs - not sure who they are yet but will see if I can make them out.
- An autographed pic of Michael Bradley
Now let me tell you something - you have no idea how hard it was just to get ANY Heerenveen jersey. I even looked on foreign shops sites that I had to use Google translation tools to translate to English. And all jerseys either did not exist or were SOLD OUT. So the fact I got one for the price I did, plus it is autographed - I feel like a lottery winner! Now Michael is most likely on his way out to a bigger club at the end of the season - but that is ok.
And as to the picture - you can't find a Michael Bradley autograph ANYWHERE - so another score! And for pretty cheap too. So Michael Bradley will get a place next to Kasey Keller and Paul Scholes in my house.
Thursday, February 07, 2008
Monday, February 04, 2008
Quick Follow Up
For anyone who disagreed with me on a previous post relating to a HS girls BB game blowout, here is some extra facts.
The team in question was ranked 3rd in the state for 3A.
The team has been undefeated in both league and post season play this season.
The coach served a two-game suspension for his part in an eye-opening, 112-16 rout of Evergreen on Jan. 8.
I think it is crap that the coach was suspended but whatever. Good luck to his team and I hope they win it all.
The team in question was ranked 3rd in the state for 3A.
The team has been undefeated in both league and post season play this season.
The coach served a two-game suspension for his part in an eye-opening, 112-16 rout of Evergreen on Jan. 8.
I think it is crap that the coach was suspended but whatever. Good luck to his team and I hope they win it all.
Tuesday, January 29, 2008
I mean, he just keeps scoring!
Bradley on fire......
Again he scores?????
Michael Bradley extended his rich vein of goalscoring form with two goals in Heerenveen’s 3-0 win over De Graafschap on Saturday. With the victory Heerenveen move up to second place in the Eredivisie table.
Of Note: Undoubtedly inspired by his excellent podcast performance yesterday, Michael scored in the 20th minute before adding an insurance goal for his team late in the second half. The two goals give Michael 15 in all competitions, and five in his last four games. Meanwhile, Heerenveen jumps three spots in the table, though most teams around them play tomorrow.
Michael's goals today put him second all time for most goals by a U.S. international in a European first division domestic league season. With eleven tallies, Bradley passes former MNT players Eric Wynalda and Brian McBride who each scored nine times. Wynalda achieved that mark with Saarbruecken in the Bundesliga during the 1992/93 season, while McBride was Fulham’s leading scorer last year in the Premier League. Earnie Stewart, who scored 17 times in his debut season at Dutch club Willem II in 1990/91, currently holds the record.
Again he scores?????
Michael Bradley extended his rich vein of goalscoring form with two goals in Heerenveen’s 3-0 win over De Graafschap on Saturday. With the victory Heerenveen move up to second place in the Eredivisie table.
Of Note: Undoubtedly inspired by his excellent podcast performance yesterday, Michael scored in the 20th minute before adding an insurance goal for his team late in the second half. The two goals give Michael 15 in all competitions, and five in his last four games. Meanwhile, Heerenveen jumps three spots in the table, though most teams around them play tomorrow.
Michael's goals today put him second all time for most goals by a U.S. international in a European first division domestic league season. With eleven tallies, Bradley passes former MNT players Eric Wynalda and Brian McBride who each scored nine times. Wynalda achieved that mark with Saarbruecken in the Bundesliga during the 1992/93 season, while McBride was Fulham’s leading scorer last year in the Premier League. Earnie Stewart, who scored 17 times in his debut season at Dutch club Willem II in 1990/91, currently holds the record.
Sunday, January 27, 2008
This one is for Staci
New Kids On The Block Stage Comeback
After months of speculation and rumor, the Kids are coming back. A well-placed source tells PEOPLE exclusively that New Kids On The Block are indeed getting back together.
The band's Web site, www.nkotb.com, which had been dormant, is now back up and running in anticipation of the official announcement, which the source says will be made in the next few weeks.
The site currently features a television graphic with a fuzzy, flickering photos of NKOTB in their heyday, and a link inviting fans to sign up for info.
The boy band, which made legions of tweens swoon in the early '90s, selling more than 50 million albums, became a worldwide phenomenon before calling it quits in 1994.
Eighteen years later, they're still "Hangin' Tough." The oldest "Kid," Jonathan Knight, now a real estate developer, will turn 40 later this year. Since the band's demise, former members Donnie Wahlberg, 38, and Joey McIntyre, 35, have seen acting success, while Danny Wood, 38, has worked as a music producer and Knight's brother, Jordan, 37, has continued to record.
After months of speculation and rumor, the Kids are coming back. A well-placed source tells PEOPLE exclusively that New Kids On The Block are indeed getting back together.
The band's Web site, www.nkotb.com, which had been dormant, is now back up and running in anticipation of the official announcement, which the source says will be made in the next few weeks.
The site currently features a television graphic with a fuzzy, flickering photos of NKOTB in their heyday, and a link inviting fans to sign up for info.
The boy band, which made legions of tweens swoon in the early '90s, selling more than 50 million albums, became a worldwide phenomenon before calling it quits in 1994.
Eighteen years later, they're still "Hangin' Tough." The oldest "Kid," Jonathan Knight, now a real estate developer, will turn 40 later this year. Since the band's demise, former members Donnie Wahlberg, 38, and Joey McIntyre, 35, have seen acting success, while Danny Wood, 38, has worked as a music producer and Knight's brother, Jordan, 37, has continued to record.
Wednesday, January 23, 2008
Baking Part II
Here is a pic of all the women for baking. Aunts, cousins, mom (taking the picture) and gram. This is the family I was almost raised with.
Monday, January 21, 2008
Better Late Than Never Part II
11 months after the wedding - I finally will have my honeymoon - so we decided to do it right and well with A LOT of assistance from our families and my boss (he's paying for airfare so we are going FIRST CLASS BABY!!!) Yes that was bragging, but really - if you are going to be in a plane for 12 hours, and someone else is paying and that someone uses his private jet to travel - wouldn't you think to yourself, self what would Athena do when presented with this generous offer from someone so wealthy......
Anywho with help this past year we are able to afford a vacation. And it just so happens that the place is having a sale at the time of booking!!! It also is all inclusive - including golf, scuba, drinks and more. We were going to do Hawaii - but the all inclusive was hard to find and well.....this just seemed better.
This will also be my first vacation in 4 years, 2nd vaca since college spring breaks. And I live in Seattle - so yes I need some sun.
Sandals Regency St Lucia
If I was cool - I would have scarfed some pics but their site is just much better.
Anywho with help this past year we are able to afford a vacation. And it just so happens that the place is having a sale at the time of booking!!! It also is all inclusive - including golf, scuba, drinks and more. We were going to do Hawaii - but the all inclusive was hard to find and well.....this just seemed better.
This will also be my first vacation in 4 years, 2nd vaca since college spring breaks. And I live in Seattle - so yes I need some sun.
Sandals Regency St Lucia
If I was cool - I would have scarfed some pics but their site is just much better.
Better late than never....
Ok so I finally got a couple pics that I can put up from the holidays. No they are nothing exciting and don't have my smiling face in them. :)
The first is the baking that I did while in Ohio the first week of December. Now mind you - I did not personally do all that baking - about 12 of us did. But yes - we had like 13 different recipes and the baking was all day long. That is my cousin Jesse in the back - she is two years younger than me (i'm the oldest grandchild). I still haven't figured out how to right the picture - sorry!
The second is my Xmas village - I do one every year and I love the village. Next year however I have a problem cause I won't have space and I don't want to put it on my table again - makes eating Xmas dinner a little tricky.
The third is - Look it does snow in Seattle! That would be my house with snow all around it. I believe this was Xmas day as well.
The first is the baking that I did while in Ohio the first week of December. Now mind you - I did not personally do all that baking - about 12 of us did. But yes - we had like 13 different recipes and the baking was all day long. That is my cousin Jesse in the back - she is two years younger than me (i'm the oldest grandchild). I still haven't figured out how to right the picture - sorry!
The second is my Xmas village - I do one every year and I love the village. Next year however I have a problem cause I won't have space and I don't want to put it on my table again - makes eating Xmas dinner a little tricky.
The third is - Look it does snow in Seattle! That would be my house with snow all around it. I believe this was Xmas day as well.
Tuesday, January 15, 2008
Boys vs Girls
So last Friday I had a new experience. It was a great experience however. On Fridays for 8 weeks Tony and I run Academy sessions for little kids (3 hours). I have 8 year olds. The first session is boys - I have 12 and the second session is girls - i have 10. It is in this scenario that I have 1) gotten to coach boys for the first time and 2) gotten to see the dynamics of boys vs girls in an even clearer light.
Let's just say it was fun and interesting and next week I will have a little better perspective on how to handle my groups. Out of both groups I have - half of the kids I think are fabulous - not necessarily because they are great little players though - and half that well would be good to push them off to another group. LOL
The biggest thing with kids is keeping them moving and interested. Keeping them interested takes some creativity however. It also kind of doesn't jive with how I "want" to coach (red light green light, sharks and minnows, cats and bulldogs, etc) - but, I don't coach young kids normally so it doesn't bother me much in these settings. But it is a good learning lesson for me. Starting any session with kids - my most frustrating thing is knowing their name. It is hard to give praise - if you don't know their name. It is hard to correct a problem or reprimand - if you don't know their name. In my boys group - half of them start with a C or Q - that whole "cuh" sound. So a little tricky. And next week they won't be wearing the same jersey or hats that helped me identify them like this last week - but luckily I can get names down pretty quickly.
As such I wanted to impart some noted differences between the sexes - cause I think it is an interesting dynamic. These are not listed in order of importance however.
Boy Vs Girl
#1 Asking them their name - Little girls will readily offer up their name and most of the time do it via one of two ways - they either are very proud of their name and bubbly and offer it up willing as in "you WANT to know MY name." Or they cock their head sideways and shyly look around and mutter their name - barely audible enough and since it isn't Amy - you usually have to ask twice. Boys - you ask them their name and all of a sudden they get quiet, pause for a moment and are pondering whether to tell you their name lest they be in trouble. It's like - what does she want to know my name for? What did I do? Is she going to tell my mom? but regardless - each group doesn't like it when you ask their name more than twice. And unfortuantely I have to in order to remember their names.
#2 Practical Application - boys may not 100% get what you asked them to do, but they got enough of a variation of it to try something out. So when teaching them how to do a scissor - which requires a step over and a cut - well, most did not execute properly - but they sure tried to pull something off that resembled what I showed them. So for example -the scissor is an inside out step over with one foot and a cut using the outside of your foot with the other foot. Half of my boys struggled with the cut - mainly because of the faint and most probably haven't been taught how to use the outside of their foot but so be it. On the step over - over half of them do an outside in step over or do some half flying concoction over the ball with a spin. It's in these instances that I just try to guide and correct some of them (while suppressing my laughter) and let the others just fly. After all - they are 8 and really, as long as they are trying that is good enough. With the girls - I don't think I got even one to try a step over. And cuts were tricky.
#3 Instructions - When giving instructions - boys want short instructions. After that, they take what you tell them and if they didn't quite understand - well who cares, I'll just improvise and pull something out of my 8 year old butt that seems good. This of course continues over time as they age. Girls - want to be told every last detail about the activity - lest they screw it up. Fear of failure or messing up is such a deterrent to little girls and their development. And even if you give them instructions - I gave them the same instructions as the boys - they struggled to even get the activity going. And of course because half of them like to be little chatty kathy things - they were talking while I was giving instructions and therefore continuously messed up the exercise and then got frustrated when I tried to correct them - because they didn't understand. (Talking while I am talking is a big pet peeve when I coach) And yes people, mean Coach Athena threatened kids in both of her groups with timeouts if they did not behave - Reece that would be you continuously kicking the ball against the backstop when I told you to stop - 12 times.
#4 Game time - little boys want to get the game on. It is where their competitive nature is able to come to the forefront and thrive. So as a consequence you always get asked are we going to scrimmage or when are we going to scrimmage or is it time to scrimmage yet. Little girls ask usually once - in the beginning. When game time does come around - different ball game. Boys are ready to play and play and play. There isn't any - I'm tired and bored with this now - when is it time to go home. With girls - half way through the scrimmage half of them are done and want to talk about Barbie. This is when the - how much longer do we have questions start.
#5 The push and pull - last night as I was falling asleep I was thinking about the dynamic of a group with young kids and this is how I felt. With boys - they have this unbridled energy that as long as you can harness and steer the ponies - you will get them to do what you want to do. There is that sort of let the wild pony be wild, but breaking them back in and then just kind of guiding them in the right directions. With girls - you have to push them to work. You have to push them to be motivated. You have to push them to try. You have to push them so they don't give up. You have too push them to have passion and motivation. You have to push them to be in shape. Boys - they will get in shape on their own by self motivating on a field of play.
My whole life anytime I have played or watched a guys team warm up - the boys always self motivate for warm up. They are out kicking a ball around, passing, juggling, moving. I saw a boys high school age team warm up a couple months ago and I loved it. The coach didn't have to interfere and structure a warm up - the boys just knew what needed to be done and went out and did it. They had balls flying all over the pitch to people all over the pitch - simply improvising with short passes and long balls to people. Girls - man I had rules with my girls teams and they still ignored them. The rule was you had to be juggling once you got your gear on. You could still talk - but you had to talk and juggle. Could be individual juggling or group juggling - i didn't care. Work on your first touch chickas. Well the majority of those times those slackers would be sitting on their butts when i drove up. Then comes the - oh no coach is here start juggling.
#6 Substitutions - I am going to use our girls team to illustrate this example best. Boys are much more win driven when it comes to sports. Girls turn into more it's all about me and my needs in sports. With boys - they have their own pecking order and their own pressure cooker. You can have a U14 boys team go out and play a game and do their own substituting. More so with indoor but still. If someone isn't pulling their weight or is too slow - out come the calls to get your ass off the field - you are now the last contributing member and you need to step off the pitch. And boys will do it. Girls - OMG - it's all about the amount of playing time and the quality of their time vs the team as a whole. I can't even tell you how many talks I had to have with my teams about the TEAM sport aspect. I once had a player come off after 20 minutes (I was just subbing so others could get playing time) and she got all pissy cause she didn't get to touch the ball once and she thought she should be in longer because of it. Our current girls team - Tony has trie the self subbing thing - doesn't really work with them. That whole - I didn't get as much playing time as so and so or why are you telling me to come off or I want to have more playing time. All about me me me me me me. This where that whole parity thing comes to bite us in the butt - as it relates to girls. Ok so i digress a little...........
So now you want to know who my favorites are of my 8 year olds don't you? Well that is easy. M two favorite boys. One is Ian and the other is Spencer. Ian reminds me of the child I may have and the boy I would probably pick if I could pick my kid. He is spunky and energetic. He gives a lot of effort - even if he doesn't execute great. He is one of the ponies I will have to bridle. he is a cutie pie with blond curly hair that is a little unruly. And Ian thinks I am great of course. Next would probably be Spencer. Spencer may not grow up to be a soccer play or an athlete. On the other hand - he just might. He is the kid that is a little stocky, doesn't seem to be quite a soccer player - but maybe he just needs coaching. Plain face with brown hair. But he has the most perfect disposition. This kid I think only said two words to me the whole time. he paid attention and was polite. he tried to execute what was taught and I didn't have to do anything to get this kid in line. He also picked up all my discs at the end and brought them to me without me asking. Now - I didn't ask cause I needed them for the girls sessions - but it was a very sweet 8 year old boy thing to do.
The girls - Lizzie is #1. Lizzie is going to grow up and be a fantastic soccer player. She is cute, smart, funny, motivated and determined. She also a a great 8 year old little player. Very coachable. I also dig how her mom does her bangs - does a little flip thing - so I kept looking at her hair trying to figure it out. Alex or Ace as I am supposed to call her is probably #2. Ace is Lizzie's friend. Both girls pay attention, are coachable and very bright. Ace is going to be a handful for somebody at some point however is my guess.
Let's just say it was fun and interesting and next week I will have a little better perspective on how to handle my groups. Out of both groups I have - half of the kids I think are fabulous - not necessarily because they are great little players though - and half that well would be good to push them off to another group. LOL
The biggest thing with kids is keeping them moving and interested. Keeping them interested takes some creativity however. It also kind of doesn't jive with how I "want" to coach (red light green light, sharks and minnows, cats and bulldogs, etc) - but, I don't coach young kids normally so it doesn't bother me much in these settings. But it is a good learning lesson for me. Starting any session with kids - my most frustrating thing is knowing their name. It is hard to give praise - if you don't know their name. It is hard to correct a problem or reprimand - if you don't know their name. In my boys group - half of them start with a C or Q - that whole "cuh" sound. So a little tricky. And next week they won't be wearing the same jersey or hats that helped me identify them like this last week - but luckily I can get names down pretty quickly.
As such I wanted to impart some noted differences between the sexes - cause I think it is an interesting dynamic. These are not listed in order of importance however.
Boy Vs Girl
#1 Asking them their name - Little girls will readily offer up their name and most of the time do it via one of two ways - they either are very proud of their name and bubbly and offer it up willing as in "you WANT to know MY name." Or they cock their head sideways and shyly look around and mutter their name - barely audible enough and since it isn't Amy - you usually have to ask twice. Boys - you ask them their name and all of a sudden they get quiet, pause for a moment and are pondering whether to tell you their name lest they be in trouble. It's like - what does she want to know my name for? What did I do? Is she going to tell my mom? but regardless - each group doesn't like it when you ask their name more than twice. And unfortuantely I have to in order to remember their names.
#2 Practical Application - boys may not 100% get what you asked them to do, but they got enough of a variation of it to try something out. So when teaching them how to do a scissor - which requires a step over and a cut - well, most did not execute properly - but they sure tried to pull something off that resembled what I showed them. So for example -the scissor is an inside out step over with one foot and a cut using the outside of your foot with the other foot. Half of my boys struggled with the cut - mainly because of the faint and most probably haven't been taught how to use the outside of their foot but so be it. On the step over - over half of them do an outside in step over or do some half flying concoction over the ball with a spin. It's in these instances that I just try to guide and correct some of them (while suppressing my laughter) and let the others just fly. After all - they are 8 and really, as long as they are trying that is good enough. With the girls - I don't think I got even one to try a step over. And cuts were tricky.
#3 Instructions - When giving instructions - boys want short instructions. After that, they take what you tell them and if they didn't quite understand - well who cares, I'll just improvise and pull something out of my 8 year old butt that seems good. This of course continues over time as they age. Girls - want to be told every last detail about the activity - lest they screw it up. Fear of failure or messing up is such a deterrent to little girls and their development. And even if you give them instructions - I gave them the same instructions as the boys - they struggled to even get the activity going. And of course because half of them like to be little chatty kathy things - they were talking while I was giving instructions and therefore continuously messed up the exercise and then got frustrated when I tried to correct them - because they didn't understand. (Talking while I am talking is a big pet peeve when I coach) And yes people, mean Coach Athena threatened kids in both of her groups with timeouts if they did not behave - Reece that would be you continuously kicking the ball against the backstop when I told you to stop - 12 times.
#4 Game time - little boys want to get the game on. It is where their competitive nature is able to come to the forefront and thrive. So as a consequence you always get asked are we going to scrimmage or when are we going to scrimmage or is it time to scrimmage yet. Little girls ask usually once - in the beginning. When game time does come around - different ball game. Boys are ready to play and play and play. There isn't any - I'm tired and bored with this now - when is it time to go home. With girls - half way through the scrimmage half of them are done and want to talk about Barbie. This is when the - how much longer do we have questions start.
#5 The push and pull - last night as I was falling asleep I was thinking about the dynamic of a group with young kids and this is how I felt. With boys - they have this unbridled energy that as long as you can harness and steer the ponies - you will get them to do what you want to do. There is that sort of let the wild pony be wild, but breaking them back in and then just kind of guiding them in the right directions. With girls - you have to push them to work. You have to push them to be motivated. You have to push them to try. You have to push them so they don't give up. You have too push them to have passion and motivation. You have to push them to be in shape. Boys - they will get in shape on their own by self motivating on a field of play.
My whole life anytime I have played or watched a guys team warm up - the boys always self motivate for warm up. They are out kicking a ball around, passing, juggling, moving. I saw a boys high school age team warm up a couple months ago and I loved it. The coach didn't have to interfere and structure a warm up - the boys just knew what needed to be done and went out and did it. They had balls flying all over the pitch to people all over the pitch - simply improvising with short passes and long balls to people. Girls - man I had rules with my girls teams and they still ignored them. The rule was you had to be juggling once you got your gear on. You could still talk - but you had to talk and juggle. Could be individual juggling or group juggling - i didn't care. Work on your first touch chickas. Well the majority of those times those slackers would be sitting on their butts when i drove up. Then comes the - oh no coach is here start juggling.
#6 Substitutions - I am going to use our girls team to illustrate this example best. Boys are much more win driven when it comes to sports. Girls turn into more it's all about me and my needs in sports. With boys - they have their own pecking order and their own pressure cooker. You can have a U14 boys team go out and play a game and do their own substituting. More so with indoor but still. If someone isn't pulling their weight or is too slow - out come the calls to get your ass off the field - you are now the last contributing member and you need to step off the pitch. And boys will do it. Girls - OMG - it's all about the amount of playing time and the quality of their time vs the team as a whole. I can't even tell you how many talks I had to have with my teams about the TEAM sport aspect. I once had a player come off after 20 minutes (I was just subbing so others could get playing time) and she got all pissy cause she didn't get to touch the ball once and she thought she should be in longer because of it. Our current girls team - Tony has trie the self subbing thing - doesn't really work with them. That whole - I didn't get as much playing time as so and so or why are you telling me to come off or I want to have more playing time. All about me me me me me me. This where that whole parity thing comes to bite us in the butt - as it relates to girls. Ok so i digress a little...........
So now you want to know who my favorites are of my 8 year olds don't you? Well that is easy. M two favorite boys. One is Ian and the other is Spencer. Ian reminds me of the child I may have and the boy I would probably pick if I could pick my kid. He is spunky and energetic. He gives a lot of effort - even if he doesn't execute great. He is one of the ponies I will have to bridle. he is a cutie pie with blond curly hair that is a little unruly. And Ian thinks I am great of course. Next would probably be Spencer. Spencer may not grow up to be a soccer play or an athlete. On the other hand - he just might. He is the kid that is a little stocky, doesn't seem to be quite a soccer player - but maybe he just needs coaching. Plain face with brown hair. But he has the most perfect disposition. This kid I think only said two words to me the whole time. he paid attention and was polite. he tried to execute what was taught and I didn't have to do anything to get this kid in line. He also picked up all my discs at the end and brought them to me without me asking. Now - I didn't ask cause I needed them for the girls sessions - but it was a very sweet 8 year old boy thing to do.
The girls - Lizzie is #1. Lizzie is going to grow up and be a fantastic soccer player. She is cute, smart, funny, motivated and determined. She also a a great 8 year old little player. Very coachable. I also dig how her mom does her bangs - does a little flip thing - so I kept looking at her hair trying to figure it out. Alex or Ace as I am supposed to call her is probably #2. Ace is Lizzie's friend. Both girls pay attention, are coachable and very bright. Ace is going to be a handful for somebody at some point however is my guess.
Friday, January 11, 2008
I've neglected the blog
I'm sorry. I actually have pictures from before Christmas that I want to share - but between my computer crashing and the holidays - I have just not gotten these things done. So until then, I want to harp on something else.
I think this is crap.....
Sports score blowout
I mean really, have we all gotten so soft in this country that we have forgotten that:
1. Sports are "meant" to be competitive - meaning somebody is going to win and someone is going to lose and you are supposed to give your best effort in the attempts of winning.
2. Not everything in life is fair and there is too much idealistic view that parity needs to happen at every turn when we deal with children (gee I can't imagine how that transcends to their adult life and implications stemming from that)
3. American sports are setup to always have a winner and a loser and have HIGH SCORING TYPES OF SPORTS COMPETITIONS. And people bitch about the low score of soccer .... "whatever"
Personally - I think it's good for teams from time to time to get their asses kicked. It's a good lesson in humility. it's a lesson that you aren't the best and if you want to be you have to work harder. It's a reminder of who is the best and what you need to aspire to. It's a reminder that sports is about winning. It's what fuels rivalries - which is a good fun positive aspect to sport.
Respect????? Honestly, there hasn't been a whole lot of people I respect when I have played against them. Heck there are people I have played with on my teams (and still do) that I don't respect. I tell my girls that I don't care if they respect even their teammates - as long as they get along. Respect is something that is earned. It isn't a birthright or automatic just because you are old or because you do something like play a game. Respect brings with it your character. And if everyone is going to be a big crybaby about getting humiliated in a game - that is poor sportsmanship IMO. That's when I cease to have respect. Hold your chin up high and do your best. Those are the people I have respect for.
Maybe I am too extreme you say. But you know what? I coach for the best club in the country - and we are hated. Hated because we are the best. Hated because we win. Hated because we basically have a FU attitude if you don't like how we approach the game. Hated because the ploayer contract states there is no guarantee of playing time. And at the end of the day it is OUR club that is sending kids to college on scholarships. It is OUR club that is sending kids to play on national teams for our country. It is OUR club that is teaching our kids how to play the game at the highest level and what will be required of them if they go to the next level. It is OUR club that is teaching kids how to deal with adversity in sports competitions. People hate the best - when THEY aren't the best.
Basketball wasn't designed to be a game where you can take the ball to the corner and play possession to run out the clock like you can with soccer. It's a game that encourages you to score within 30 seconds or less. Run down and score, run to the other end and score.
And the worst part of this that people seem to forget. It's the coach's ass that's on the line when the team FAILS and LOSES. It's the coach that gets FIRED when the team fails to perform or perform well. It's the coach that gets BLAMED for all the problems with a team. This guy even offered some solutions to help run out the clock - which the other coach turned down. The coach had every right to start whoever he wanted and play them for however long he wanted. He has season goals and he is coming up on state playoff implications.
And honestly - if you have ever been on the losing side like that and the team decides to not even play because the competition sucks so bad so they dilly dally and don't take it serious and are laughing half the time and all it does is become one big game of keep away at their 50% best. THAT is more humiliating than truly getting your ass handed to you matching your best against their best. THAT's when I actually have respect for the other team. Otherwise respect turns to hate in those scenarios and that is worse IMO.
I think this is crap.....
Sports score blowout
I mean really, have we all gotten so soft in this country that we have forgotten that:
1. Sports are "meant" to be competitive - meaning somebody is going to win and someone is going to lose and you are supposed to give your best effort in the attempts of winning.
2. Not everything in life is fair and there is too much idealistic view that parity needs to happen at every turn when we deal with children (gee I can't imagine how that transcends to their adult life and implications stemming from that)
3. American sports are setup to always have a winner and a loser and have HIGH SCORING TYPES OF SPORTS COMPETITIONS. And people bitch about the low score of soccer .... "whatever"
Personally - I think it's good for teams from time to time to get their asses kicked. It's a good lesson in humility. it's a lesson that you aren't the best and if you want to be you have to work harder. It's a reminder of who is the best and what you need to aspire to. It's a reminder that sports is about winning. It's what fuels rivalries - which is a good fun positive aspect to sport.
Respect????? Honestly, there hasn't been a whole lot of people I respect when I have played against them. Heck there are people I have played with on my teams (and still do) that I don't respect. I tell my girls that I don't care if they respect even their teammates - as long as they get along. Respect is something that is earned. It isn't a birthright or automatic just because you are old or because you do something like play a game. Respect brings with it your character. And if everyone is going to be a big crybaby about getting humiliated in a game - that is poor sportsmanship IMO. That's when I cease to have respect. Hold your chin up high and do your best. Those are the people I have respect for.
Maybe I am too extreme you say. But you know what? I coach for the best club in the country - and we are hated. Hated because we are the best. Hated because we win. Hated because we basically have a FU attitude if you don't like how we approach the game. Hated because the ploayer contract states there is no guarantee of playing time. And at the end of the day it is OUR club that is sending kids to college on scholarships. It is OUR club that is sending kids to play on national teams for our country. It is OUR club that is teaching our kids how to play the game at the highest level and what will be required of them if they go to the next level. It is OUR club that is teaching kids how to deal with adversity in sports competitions. People hate the best - when THEY aren't the best.
Basketball wasn't designed to be a game where you can take the ball to the corner and play possession to run out the clock like you can with soccer. It's a game that encourages you to score within 30 seconds or less. Run down and score, run to the other end and score.
And the worst part of this that people seem to forget. It's the coach's ass that's on the line when the team FAILS and LOSES. It's the coach that gets FIRED when the team fails to perform or perform well. It's the coach that gets BLAMED for all the problems with a team. This guy even offered some solutions to help run out the clock - which the other coach turned down. The coach had every right to start whoever he wanted and play them for however long he wanted. He has season goals and he is coming up on state playoff implications.
And honestly - if you have ever been on the losing side like that and the team decides to not even play because the competition sucks so bad so they dilly dally and don't take it serious and are laughing half the time and all it does is become one big game of keep away at their 50% best. THAT is more humiliating than truly getting your ass handed to you matching your best against their best. THAT's when I actually have respect for the other team. Otherwise respect turns to hate in those scenarios and that is worse IMO.
Thursday, December 20, 2007
Our first wedding since our wedding
This was taken by a friend at a coworker's wedding a few weeks ago. It was the first wedding Tony and I had been to since our wedding. She had a snowflake theme and imagine how happy she was when it snowed on her wedding day - it doesn't snow here.
Wednesday, December 19, 2007
Nederlandse iedereen?
I mean really, you don't even have to understand Dutch...
And just why was My Michael Bradley being interviewed?
That's because he got a hat trick! (3 goals in a game for those that don't know)
I know - he's amazing isn't he.........
And just why was My Michael Bradley being interviewed?
That's because he got a hat trick! (3 goals in a game for those that don't know)
I know - he's amazing isn't he.........
Tuesday, December 18, 2007
Continuation
To help back up my previous post......
The Fed makes lending changes
And in case I wasn't clear earlier this is how I assess the blame:
The government
Pres Bush stood up on a campaign of home ownership about 7 years ago and mandated that everyone should be able to enjoy in the freedom of owning a home. As a result, they gave an open pass to wall street to be as capitalistic as they wish (remember as you read all this I am a capitalist at heart). As more and more people started getting in homes it worked well for the economy as they also had a push to get more minority home borrowers in homes. The irony is they let Wall Street dictate the money boom with no restrictions, regulations or foresight. In the end, foreclosures are at the highest point in a long time and minority home ownership failed to grow. I believe it is still hovering somewhere in the 9% range. When banks started going kaput earlier this year - the government failed to react in a timely manner until the realized just how bad it was going to ripple the economy. One would have thought we learned this lesson once before.....
MBS/Wall Street
In a capitalist society where the leader is a capitalist beacon, if you let the inmates run the asylum - they will - and without a conscious. Wall street with its go ahead pass allowed mid tier (mid tier only in classification between brokers and Wall Street - not size of portfolio) lenders to create creative loan packages that allowed homeowners to get in homes. One of the more famous loan programs were Stated Income and Pay Option arms. Stated Income as defined in the article is where you basically are self employed and you tell the broker I make X - without providing documentation to back it up. Pay Option is where you have 4 types of payments you can make. One being a minimum payment which is below the principal and interest one can afford in a month - resulting in negative amortization. Reason Wall Street allowed these loans??? Higher payments off risk loans due to subprime originations. Allows for greater money to be made in the stock market trading mortgage bonds and portfolios.
Mid tier-lenders
30 fixed mortgage - what's that? A loan program that was the staple of the past, now pushed to the back seat - cause it is actually more expensive....ahem... I mean less affordable.Mid-tier lenders trying to make sure they keep up or out pace the competition pushed various loan programs off to brokers to get people in homes. And since they sell the loan usually within 60 days of funding - let's pump those mortgage loans through like a checker at a grocery store. Who cares if the borrower can't really pay - we have to have X amount of millions originated in loans this year.
Brokers
Acting like junkies needing a fix - who cares about the borrower - these no licensed (now they are in the past year) walk off the street from any other job such as a school janitor were funding your loans. If the loan funds they get paid their $2500 (approx)and the liability falls back to the lender that funded the loan. And to brokers - who really cares about referrals anyway - they had so much low lying fruit they didn't even have to understand how to run a business to be profitable. I could talk for years about this group - but will spare you.......
Consumers
Some of this is their fault - the eyes too big for the pocket book got some of these borrowers in trouble. Others - well they just didn't understand the booklet of crap to sign or that 1.5% interest meant for 6 months then it jacks up to 9% after that with a prepayment penalty lasting up to 2 years before you can refi.
And FYI - I was one of those borrowers on my first loan that had a bad broker. He told me 2 weeks before closing I would pay $500 LESS a MONTH than what came down at closing. AND he failed to tell me that my property taxes were NOT included in the loan. You say - well why did you do the loan then? Hmmmm well I had my cats, plants and now husband in a car after a two day road trip half way across the country to a house we had the movers already lined up to show in a few hours...........luckily, I refied before my lock went up and right before this bust became so bad. Otherwise I might be in the same situation as millions of other people.
The Fed makes lending changes
And in case I wasn't clear earlier this is how I assess the blame:
The government
Pres Bush stood up on a campaign of home ownership about 7 years ago and mandated that everyone should be able to enjoy in the freedom of owning a home. As a result, they gave an open pass to wall street to be as capitalistic as they wish (remember as you read all this I am a capitalist at heart). As more and more people started getting in homes it worked well for the economy as they also had a push to get more minority home borrowers in homes. The irony is they let Wall Street dictate the money boom with no restrictions, regulations or foresight. In the end, foreclosures are at the highest point in a long time and minority home ownership failed to grow. I believe it is still hovering somewhere in the 9% range. When banks started going kaput earlier this year - the government failed to react in a timely manner until the realized just how bad it was going to ripple the economy. One would have thought we learned this lesson once before.....
MBS/Wall Street
In a capitalist society where the leader is a capitalist beacon, if you let the inmates run the asylum - they will - and without a conscious. Wall street with its go ahead pass allowed mid tier (mid tier only in classification between brokers and Wall Street - not size of portfolio) lenders to create creative loan packages that allowed homeowners to get in homes. One of the more famous loan programs were Stated Income and Pay Option arms. Stated Income as defined in the article is where you basically are self employed and you tell the broker I make X - without providing documentation to back it up. Pay Option is where you have 4 types of payments you can make. One being a minimum payment which is below the principal and interest one can afford in a month - resulting in negative amortization. Reason Wall Street allowed these loans??? Higher payments off risk loans due to subprime originations. Allows for greater money to be made in the stock market trading mortgage bonds and portfolios.
Mid tier-lenders
30 fixed mortgage - what's that? A loan program that was the staple of the past, now pushed to the back seat - cause it is actually more expensive....ahem... I mean less affordable.Mid-tier lenders trying to make sure they keep up or out pace the competition pushed various loan programs off to brokers to get people in homes. And since they sell the loan usually within 60 days of funding - let's pump those mortgage loans through like a checker at a grocery store. Who cares if the borrower can't really pay - we have to have X amount of millions originated in loans this year.
Brokers
Acting like junkies needing a fix - who cares about the borrower - these no licensed (now they are in the past year) walk off the street from any other job such as a school janitor were funding your loans. If the loan funds they get paid their $2500 (approx)and the liability falls back to the lender that funded the loan. And to brokers - who really cares about referrals anyway - they had so much low lying fruit they didn't even have to understand how to run a business to be profitable. I could talk for years about this group - but will spare you.......
Consumers
Some of this is their fault - the eyes too big for the pocket book got some of these borrowers in trouble. Others - well they just didn't understand the booklet of crap to sign or that 1.5% interest meant for 6 months then it jacks up to 9% after that with a prepayment penalty lasting up to 2 years before you can refi.
And FYI - I was one of those borrowers on my first loan that had a bad broker. He told me 2 weeks before closing I would pay $500 LESS a MONTH than what came down at closing. AND he failed to tell me that my property taxes were NOT included in the loan. You say - well why did you do the loan then? Hmmmm well I had my cats, plants and now husband in a car after a two day road trip half way across the country to a house we had the movers already lined up to show in a few hours...........luckily, I refied before my lock went up and right before this bust became so bad. Otherwise I might be in the same situation as millions of other people.
Thursday, December 13, 2007
Foreclosures on the rise
A report came out today that said foreclosures were up 93% over last year. 93%!!! That's scary. Now I have a beef of this on both accounts. Many people will take the old school approach and say - well it is the borrower's fault - they should have known what they got themselves into before they signed anything.
Well being someone who is in this industry, I can tell you with certainly that that is a load of crap. Have you ever seen the documentation a loan officer puts in front of you to sign - not only for closing but prior to? Do you know how long it would take one to read and understand all the legalese?
Does a borrower understand what basis points are, how much the interest rate truly is for and what it means to have 2% plus prime? What is the prime rate? How can one find that number? What fees are paid to the broker, the lender, why does the appraisal have to be paid for up front and outside of the loan if in fact the rest of the settlement services can be included in the price of the loan? When will the loan reset? How much really does that equate to when it adjusts? Why would I have a prepayment penalty and how much is it? What does negative amortization mean? What is escrow? Impounds? How does Mortgage Insurance benefit me, do I need it and can I get out of it? What is RESPA? What is a kickback? Why is there 200 pages of crap I have to sign?
Is anyone lost yet? And that was basically the layman's terms I used. And really, what happens if a borrower objects to something in the document? It's not as if the bank is going to alter the language for the consumer to satisfy them, more like - if you don't like it then go somewhere else. meanwhile the borrower just wants the house.
SO I don't feel the issue is primarily on the side of the buyer and it is "buyer beware". How the heck is a buyer supposed to beware when the system is setup against the buyer in the first place......
And no the government should not be bailing out all these lenders either. Part of the irresponsiblity that the lender had getting wrapped up in too much greed and not enough fiscal responsibility. They should not be rewarded for bad management.
Well being someone who is in this industry, I can tell you with certainly that that is a load of crap. Have you ever seen the documentation a loan officer puts in front of you to sign - not only for closing but prior to? Do you know how long it would take one to read and understand all the legalese?
Does a borrower understand what basis points are, how much the interest rate truly is for and what it means to have 2% plus prime? What is the prime rate? How can one find that number? What fees are paid to the broker, the lender, why does the appraisal have to be paid for up front and outside of the loan if in fact the rest of the settlement services can be included in the price of the loan? When will the loan reset? How much really does that equate to when it adjusts? Why would I have a prepayment penalty and how much is it? What does negative amortization mean? What is escrow? Impounds? How does Mortgage Insurance benefit me, do I need it and can I get out of it? What is RESPA? What is a kickback? Why is there 200 pages of crap I have to sign?
Is anyone lost yet? And that was basically the layman's terms I used. And really, what happens if a borrower objects to something in the document? It's not as if the bank is going to alter the language for the consumer to satisfy them, more like - if you don't like it then go somewhere else. meanwhile the borrower just wants the house.
SO I don't feel the issue is primarily on the side of the buyer and it is "buyer beware". How the heck is a buyer supposed to beware when the system is setup against the buyer in the first place......
And no the government should not be bailing out all these lenders either. Part of the irresponsiblity that the lender had getting wrapped up in too much greed and not enough fiscal responsibility. They should not be rewarded for bad management.
Friday, November 30, 2007
A step up
There are times in every one's life where they get a leg up in life and feel the climb on the ladder. Today is one of those days. I recently got a title change at work. Now the reality is I didn't get promoted, receive a pay raise, change my job responsibilities or get in charge of actually managing people - although I sort of am by default already. And I really got the title change because my current title and that of the sales guy was the same and the CEO wanted to change mine - fine by me! I'm just being honest here. And there are only 6 people in my company now - so it's not like this is really a big deal.
But it is a big deal to me.
Because once you get a title bump - you get to then try applying for jobs with those kinds of titles. Not that I am going to - but just in case I will need to in the future - I can. It will look much better having that kind of title on my resume attached to the good work I have done - something I think has actually hurt me in my previous job pursuits is my title has not been reflective of all the responsibilities and accomplishments I have done. So what is my new title you ask? now that I have strung you along......
Director of Operations
Yes - Director baby! That's one step below a VP!!!!
:)
But it is a big deal to me.
Because once you get a title bump - you get to then try applying for jobs with those kinds of titles. Not that I am going to - but just in case I will need to in the future - I can. It will look much better having that kind of title on my resume attached to the good work I have done - something I think has actually hurt me in my previous job pursuits is my title has not been reflective of all the responsibilities and accomplishments I have done. So what is my new title you ask? now that I have strung you along......
Director of Operations
Yes - Director baby! That's one step below a VP!!!!
:)
Wednesday, November 21, 2007
Because I just can't let it go......
Sooo you've read my gripe posts about the Women's National Team and the WC from this fall. I wanted to share one more thing with you because well, there just is too much irony in it for me. They were selling this and a hoody to fans as one of their promo pieces during the WC. And really.....I couldn't help feeling the need to send this to the WNT members (especially Lilly and Wambach) with a forged signature of Hope Solo on the back. But that would be a little too mean on my part.
BTW - they did hire a new coach Pia Sundhage from Sweden. Her contract goes through this summer's Olympics since there is no major competition until 2011.
BTW - they did hire a new coach Pia Sundhage from Sweden. Her contract goes through this summer's Olympics since there is no major competition until 2011.
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