Holiday!

Apparently the New York Stock Exchange is open a half day on July 3rd and closed for Independence Day. It was not the most pleasant day at work because the market was so thin. I could sit in a queue of 50-100 share orders and still not get filled because there were so few buyers and sellers. When I did get filled it was inevitably from larger participants, such as mutual fund managers or the specialist, swiping the bid or offer.

On the plus side, I hope to do something different for my day off. I want to go up to Grouse Mountain in the afternoon. I mean, really, God knows I see enough nature every morning as I hike 40 minutes along Burnaby Mountain Parkway to the bus stop to catch the first bus of the day. Not only that, I have an irrational fear (irrational because it is extremely unlikely) of getting attacked by coyotes or bears along the road. My biggest annoyance is avoiding stepping on slugs in the dark. That reminds me that I ought to buy a rechargeable flashlight before it gets too dark at 4 AM to see what slimy creature I'm squishing. Another annoyance is the fact that my computer is still in the shop and I haven't changed the music on my iPod for like 2 months. I love Copland and Beethoven, but I can only listen to his 9 symphonies so many times before I start to bore ... but I digress. While I've never had a lot of stamina, I would like to try the Grouse Grind. I don't care how long it takes me. I'm undaunted by a 2.9 km hike. I do that or more every morning (though downhill).

Frankly, one of my biggest problems now is too much free time. When I had my new computer around, I could waste hours playing Civ 4, Gal Civ 2 or AOE3. Instead, I soak up a couple hours of television and maybe play some old Playstation games. I have things I should do, like study for the CSC and finish it, though that's not very pressing. I should read more, since I have so many books, but I can't seem to get into it lately. Then there's net browsing, at which I waste the other time which isn't used watching TV, cooking, eating, commuting and working. I've been spending a startlingly large amount of time read online personals on Craigslist and sending propositionary messages to girls on LavaLife. Really, I would like to meet someone. None of the women I have contacted seem interested in meeting me though. Maybe I'll get lucky yet.

R