Soft Retail

We went to Costco for lunch today. I told Biajee that we would see people buying more consumable products this season and fewer luxurious items. This kind of mix shift will bring gross profit down because the margin on consumables is really low compared with apparrels, furniture and other categories.

We sat there having lunch while watching all the people walk out of the door with their shopping carts. Most people got fewer than 10 items and they were all paper towels, drinks, bread, turkey, snacks and other necessities. Obviously the average spending amount per customer this year is a lot lower than previous years. Costco will definitely have a worse year than before. They even start to promote Black Friday, which has never happened before.

I'm really wondering how Wal-mart is doing. Maybe people will start to shop more at Wal-mart for cheap Christmas gifts. During the 30 minutes we sat in Costco, only one person checked out a 37 inch Vizio TV. Everything else people purchased were must-haves. This will be a gloomy season.

婴儿床

上个星期小红打电话给我说要把她儿子的小床给我们的小儿子，黑色星期五那天去她家吃饭，打牌，顺便再运床。真是得来全不费功夫，Biajee和我本打算周末去买床的，看来这几百块钱又省下来了。有朋友真好。所有这些婴儿用品和衣物都是一代一代传下来的，不知将来哪个孩子有福气捡阿诺和他弟弟的衣服。

今年我们一点购物的热情都没有，黑色星期五的早上可能会在家睡懒觉，因为前一天晚上要去朋友家开派队，打牌，喝酒。也许我们应该装饰圣诞树和彩灯了。每年我们家都是左邻右舍中最晚装饰的，因为Biajee总提不起精神来做家务。

这个星期办公室里静悄悄的，大多数人都休假了。感恩节是美国的重大节日，在某种意义上比圣诞节还重要，火鸡的销量将是全年最多的。我们从未在感恩节烤过火鸡，每年都是去别人家吃大鸟，主要是因为我不吃火鸡，所以也不愿意做，不想让《麦兜的故事〉在我们家发生-- 一只只活了45天的火鸡在冰箱里住了8个月。

股市今天暴涨了，联储决定营救花旗银行了，油价也越来越低。昨晚看了巴非特和盖茨答内布拉斯加大学学生问的纪录片，非常有趣，所有要点都是他们多年来一再强调的，可以说毫无新意，但人们往往会忘记这些最基本的东东，故有必要温故而知新。

沃尔玛公司上星期五突然宣布更换首席执行官，大出华尔街的预料。这个季度的零售业将会比往年萧条，各个阶层的人们都在紧缩银根，少花钱或者不花钱。

鼻血

昨晚突然流鼻血了。Biajee说是因为铁片吃多了，果然我最近不怎么怕冷。昨天又从公司收拾了一堆东东回家，抱着纸箱子的时候还摔了一跤。胳膊肘破了皮，腿上也青了一块，好在没有什么大碍。大概剩下的东东再装一个纸箱就够了。离1月2日还有一段时间，可以不必着急了。

昨天被上司逼迫参加明天早上7：30的会议。如此一来，我们全家都得6：30出门，Biajee去送车，我去送孩子。之后车行会将Biajee送至公司，我则要从幼儿园开回北戈兰的公司办公室，7：30还未必到得了呢。让一个怀孕七个月，还有不到45天就被裁员的职工早上7：30到公司开会简直不是明智之举。我坚信有生之年一定能够看到订书器公司破产。零售业没有常青树。70年代的许多零售业巨头现已不复存在。

今天股市又大跌了。道琼斯已经跌到8000点以下。伯克夏的股票也只有7万多块一股了。原因是巴非特卖了价值50亿美元的标普看跌期权。賣出看跌期權意味著看漲，因為出售者在期權到期後將以固定價格購買指數產品。如果股市下跌，看跌期權價值上升，期權的出售者將蒙受損失。

申请失业救济的人数已经达到1982年以来的最高峰。明年经济状况还会恶化，每天从电视和收音机里接受的消息全部令人沮丧。

希望国会不要救济三大汽车公司。他们由于经营不善，理应破产。花旗银行也已经摇摇欲坠了。很快政府便要接济他们了。政府一定会在花旗濒临破产的时候出手，所以大概还要等一段时间。

Car Service

I took our Sienna to the dealership this morning for oil change. It ended up that the car needs the 45,000 mile service. I had the shuttle give me a ride back to my company. Then the dealer called and said that the car needs new brakes, which will be $168. A few places have leaks that'll cost $1,200 to fix, fortunately these will be under warranty. But we'll have to leave the vehicle there for 2 days.

Well, I talked to Biajee on the phone. It looks like that the only day we can drop it off is Friday so that we could pick it up on Saturday evening. It's hard to imagine we have so many problems with a 3 year old car. The good news is that we have 2 people and 2 cars in our family so that we could always car pool.

I'm eagerly waiting for the service department to call me back since I have class tonight. Meanwhile, a few people in my company are trying to load me up with meaningless work when there is less than 2 months left before my last day. I had to exercise the rights to push back today with a feasible time frame. I can't say that I respect a company like Staples that abuses a pregnant woman and then lays her off 2 weeks before her due date.

换护照

星期六才深刻体会到作为中国公民的不易和艰辛。我们早上7：30准时从家里出发来到丹佛市南的一处建筑。路上Biajee天真地问我：“我们不会是头一个到吧?8:30才开始办嘛。”“肯定不会”，我说。“我想早点去只不过是想少排会儿队。”

老远就看到黑压压的人群攒动。我急忙下车去排队，让Biajee带着儿子慢慢停车去。好像有人早上4：30就来排队了。真是太恐怖了。如果不是因为怀孕生孩子，我宁愿飞一趟芝加哥换护照。早上寒风清冽，因为前一天刚下过雪，气温只有20多度。我站了快两个小时以后实在受不了了，就对Biajee说我要去找厕所，让他带着阿诺替我站一会儿。

圣塔非街是一个前不着村儿，后不着店的地方。我盲目地向前走，远远看见飞利浦66的招牌，终于有了一线希望。到了加油站之后，发现店里空无一人，只有洗手间的门反锁着。店主一定是在方便。不知等了多久，总之我都快站不住了，店主才出来，是个很帅的墨西哥小伙，还一个劲向我道歉。

回到队伍之后，我问Biajee要不要去，他说等一会儿，不急。此时队伍大概只移动了两米左右，据说前面有很多人加塞，大概已经加了100多号人了。不由感叹中国人的素质真低呀。几经周折，我终于在中午11：30分拿到了210号，在12：30左右进入这栋建筑。先得给主办单位中美交流协会交25美元的手续费，再上楼核对表格，现金支票。1：30左右才正式向领事交表。出来已经快2点了。办理我的申请时已经发到702号了，想不到丹佛有这么多华人。

第二天是星期天，我们全家都生病了，躺在床上过了一天，连门都没出。换护照的代价实在是太大了。

Blackberry

It is announced that we could keep both the phone number and the blackberry itself when we leave the company. We only need to sign our own contract with AT&T for 2 years. This is such a relief. At least I don't have to worry about getting a new cell phone at the end of the year.

I'm going to attend Arnold's parents conference today at 11 am. Although it is snowing outside, I still plan to walk there to get some fresh air. It's about 26 degrees outside.

I realized that I should start to pack up things at work every day now that I'm close to my last working day. I should have time to read novels and watch cartoons every day after the layoff. Of course, I'll take some exams for some certificates as well while I'm job searching. My days should be filled up with the baby and all the physical labor I'll be doing.

The retail data looks really pathetic today, causing the stock market to plunge again. We haven't heard any good news lately.

铁片

血糖检查正常，不过我被告知缺铁，所以昨天买了一瓶铁片，每天晚饭后吃一片。Biajee很慷慨地说家里的铁锅，铁勺，铁钉等物都可供我咀嚼。

随着经济的每况愈下，我们对大萧条的来临简直有些企盼了。沃尔玛公司因为担心第四季度的销售，已经冻结了所有的招聘事宜。今天下午我们组会在高吨啤酒举行快乐时光欢送会，与被裁的人员告别。大概有三个人今天是上班的最后一天。可惜我不能喝酒，晚上还要去上课，但至少可以名正言顺地少上班了。

听说三大汽车工厂的工人被裁之后每天按时去公司报到，喝咖啡，看报纸，打游戏，照拿工资和医疗保险。这完全是工会签的好协议造成的，难怪他们会破产。可笑的是政府还打算救济他们。这种问题就是无底洞，借钱和给钱都解决不了。政府真应该让这些公司全都破产，一切重新来过。公司大到一定程度，运营就会没有效率，就会自然而然地走下坡路，直至完蛋。公司的生命周期就像产品的生命周期和人的生命周期一样，绝不可能有常青树存在。政府的宏观干预也无济于事，最终只会越搞越烂。

我总觉得政府的各种干预会造成经济萧条的延长，长痛不如短痛，原本三年的危机没准儿会搞成五年，这样反而更糟。最好能够将各大公司首席执行官的金降落伞扯烂，这样可以为社会节省很多钱。

今天大风降温了，最寒冷的冬天就要到了。

Headhunter

I decided to stop by a headhunter's office yesterday before class. They had an open house for the whole day so I figured it might not hurt to just drop my resume. However, it just added more aghast to the job search process.

Most headhunters I've met so far are saying I'm making too much money. I think this shows their incapability of landing good job offers for people. Headhunters are just like the investment banking firms in Wall Street, who are not adding any value to the market at all. Realtors provide some value to house hunters or house owners by signing legal documents, showing the properties, providing suggestions, etc. Headhunters are just a brick wall between talented people and large organizations. Nobody can reach to a company without a headhunter these days.

Anyway, my trip didn't give me any positive result except that this lady will call all my references today while she doesn't even have a suitable job for me on hand. Another headhunter has done that before and he hasn't contacted me since. I start to miss the days when I was still holding H-1B visa. Most headhunters won't even work with me then because they can't deal with the fact that I needed sponsorship.

罐头食品

我们终于堕落到吃罐头食品的地步了。昨天一起买了六罐土豆烧牛肉。我们一致认为这些罐头做得比Biajee做得好吃。昨天晚上就开了三罐，很受阿诺的青睐。想不到他今天早上还要吃。通常情况下他喜欢的食物最多吃一顿，下一餐就得换花样了。这些罐头的惊人效果实在不敢小觑。

Biajee把阿诺在万圣节讨来的糖都藏起来了。我每周末抓出一把放在大盘子里，作为他本周的糖果摄入标准。如果不加以限制，阿诺就会以糖为饭，造成营养不均。

阿诺的游泳课已经结束了。各大节日即将来临，我又快生了，所以我们没有再给他注册别的课程。明年二宝贝儿来了以后，他们两个可能会一起去上Gymboree.

这个周末芝加哥领馆的人就要来丹佛办理公务了。我准备星期六一大早就去换护照。光阴荏苒，护照又快过期了。幸亏领馆官员喜欢到丹佛来巡视，否则我就得飞一趟芝加哥。表格和现金支票都已经准备好了，只等当天去排队了。这种活动我们以前去过一次，简直是人山人海，所以一定得早到才能办成。

上周五的超声波没有异常，婴儿肾中没有积水，不过好像右肾的液体量比上次多了一毫米。医生说这完全有可能是误差，他会告诉我们还需不需要做超声波。也许只需等生出来再检查一下就可以了。医生还说我脸色有些苍白，可以适当补铁。我想还是等血糖测试结果出来再说吧。吃铁会令人恶心的。

Sea Monster

I made a reservation for all of us to go to the Denver Museum of Nature and Science tomorrow morning. They are showing a free IMAX movie to members about Sea Monsters. This is a preview for members. If we decide we like it, they may purchase it and put it on the show schedule. Finally we're getting some benefit for the membership fee we pay. On the hind sight, if we already watched this movie, why would we recommend it to be put up for everyone else to watch? We would want new movies that we haven't seen before.

Anyway, to make it to the movie. Biajee and Arnold would have to get up as early as week days because no late seating is admitted. The movie will start at 9 am sharp and they'll open the east side doors for admission at 8:30 am. We can do other fun things after the movie.

Today I'm going to do the sugar test again and the ultrasound. Biajee will go with me to the hospital. We'll have to remember that I can not eat anything before they draw my blood.

泡泡轮胎

大前天发现本田车的左后轮胎有一个泡泡，就赶快给火石轮胎修理中心打电话。这四个轮胎是我们在2004年8月从加拿大回科罗拉多州的路上在怀俄明州买的。当时我们也是在怀俄明州的火石轮胎修理中心买的轮胎，是四个桥石牌轮胎，还有65，000迈的保修。这次Biajee发现轮胎坏了，就说要给他们打电话呀，不是保修么？我查了一下，从2004年到现在这四个轮胎只跑了4万多迈，在保修范围之内。

果然打过电话之后他们还在电脑系统里找到了我们买轮胎时的信息。下午我将车子开过去，检查之后决定立刻换一个轮胎，只需付9块多的劳工费即可。不过一般轮胎都是一对一对换的，或者是四个一齐换。但这既然是免费的，我也就不好抱怨了。白吃烧饼就不能嫌面儿黑啦。

今天去参加了一个公司的招聘会。有趣的是人事部的人还教了我们如何面试。她每星期看200-300分简历，所以在每份简历上花的时间平均为20秒。如果对某份简历感兴趣，她会再多花一分钟仔细通读。所以求职者并无太多时间表现自己。公司还提供了三明治午餐，真是出乎意料。再想起上个星期鬼节那天带阿诺在公司讨糖的情景，不由有些留恋起来，不过只有两分钟。

晚上还有课，大选那天教授临时将课取消，早上7：25发了一封电子邮件。我当然没有收到，所以白跑了一趟，非常气愤。以后每次去上课前一定要查学校的电子邮件。

Election Day

Today is Election Day. We'll know the result by midnight if it's not a tight race. Arnold came home last night saying "I voted" - the school surely taught him well. We made sure he knows how to say Obama this morning. They'll definitely play more voting game at school today.

There is news about false messages saying that democrats start voting on Wednesday trying to trap people out of voting. Colorado originially was a red state. We'll see whether it'll change to blue this time.

Obama definitely raised twice as much money as McCain for election and spent twice as much too. I've receive 2 phone calls from his campaign group, one voice mail from Obama and another from Mitchell. I've only received one phone call from McCain's campaign group. Unfortunately I had to say that I didn't have the right to vote yet.

Candidates for presidency should never express their political standpoint too strongly, otherwise they'll scare a lot of people away. They have to be blur on everything because nobody will check their promises after they get elected.