Weekend warrior

I got to sleep in this morning after a long week. I meandered through it comfortably and even found time to get a haircut.

I tooled around for the rest of the morning and watched the markets waddle into the weekend. I had good success on the charts this week with the British pound: 1 for 1 against the Swiss franc and 2 for 3 against the yen. The dollar generally moves inversely with the States' equity markets. The markets did well this week. When the US bailed out the Japanese banks in the 90's, the yen became closely tied to the dollar and it's been used as a commodity trade ever since (not so much in the last year, but in general). Weekly MA divergence has taken gbpjpy right down to the 200 daily MA and it'll probably press right on through the weekend. The 200 will be tested Monday and probably again on Tuesday. Hopefully the euro will break down against the dollar and let gbpjpy run down to about 140.

The mice in the house had a field day with the popcorn in the kitchen. There were kernels strewn all over the countertops and floor yesterday morning. I'm strangely alright with it. I'm just disappointed Johnny's dog isn't active enough to do anything about it. Traps are set. All I can do is wait.

I played the classical for a little while before getting restless and heading out to the front yard.

Johnny let the yards and the majority of the house fall into a state of general disrepair while he was living here alone. I know he's a smart person. He's just in a different place mentally. He wants Mark to repair things from Florida when they can be fixed with a little effort. And that's one of several reasons why Mark wants him out. Mark effectively wants to rebuild the house early next year and Johnny's response to the idea was less than encouraging. I'm not opposed to it in the least.

Anyway, I dug in and tackled a few plants out front. The neighbors' ivy had rolled both over and under the fence and blanketed most of the plants in the front corner of the yard. It felt good to get out in the dirt again. I even got to battle some old shrubs' stumps with a hatchet. I was victorious. It's a welcomed change not having to brush hair out of my face all the time now. Next week, I'll clean up the flower beds and.... everything else.

My dad's coming into town tomorrow on his way back to Houston. He and my sister and I are going to meet for food somewhere around town and enjoy the weather. It should be what most Americans would consider one of the few fine days we see here, neither hot nor cold. We get three or four in the early part of the year and usually about as many in the Fall. We still need more rain but I don't think any amount would get the water flowing before the cold hits. We'll see.

I'm getting tired of being in the city. I've been in it for a couple years now, working nonstop. I'm trying to think of things I can do to keep it changing. Maybe I'll start going up to the campus more often. I can't say I'm going to ride my bike any more often in the cold because... I prefer the heat. I should, however, have my tablet back shortly and will be able to read my ebooks again... yeah Google books :)

By the way, if you haven't seen Fast Flip, google it and... check it out.