T Minus 2 Days

Ok - we are in all-out packing mode. R was scaring me there for a few days since she did not start packing until last night. But she has her approach. She first goes into PURCHASE MODE -- including at least one massive CVS run in which she buys the entire row of the store that sells Advil, Pepto Bismo, Tums, Sudafed, and a bunch of other items that could enable us to open a small pharmacy here in Georgetown. Then she goes in search of the perfect purse or backpack. This include a review of online sites as well as stores. She settled on a really cool backpack that is decorated in what looks like leopard skin-spots -- very stylish, but what would you expect! Then she moves into massive LAUNDRY MODE. Everything gets washed. And I lose about 10,000 calories going up and down the stars from the laundry room to our bedroom as R does more and more laundry! Then she goes into IRONING MODE. This is a step this is not familiar to most guys -- ironing something before you put it in the suitcase!? Then and only then does she get into PACKING MODE. It appears that she has just made the transition from ironing mode to packing mode.

The other new mode that we have both gotten into is the DOWNLOADING MUSIC MODE. R went to I-tunes last night and downloaded "Jet Airliner" (Steve Miller Band) and she got a bunch of her other favorites that she has been cranking as we pack. Meanwhile, I'm up in the office typing on the computer we'll be taking to China and I'm listening to -- you guessed it -- Bruce Springsteen. R surprised me by downloading a Bruce tune last night from I-tunes -- the one with the lyrics that go "when I'm out in the street....I walk the way I wanna walk...". Meanwhile, I'm listening to the darker Bruce stuff (like the soundtrack from the movie "Philadelphia" or anything off of Nebraska or Ghost of Tom Joad).

One other random observation before I get out of the house to do some final errands. Anyone who reads this blog knows that I love sports metaphors. Hidden secret: I also like finance metaphors. Kind of embarrassing to admit. But sometimes, finance does a good job of describing philosophy. So here's the thought (humor me here, eh?): so much of life seems to be about what stuff you have achieved or collected. Kind of like a balance sheet on a company's financial statements. On a balance sheet, it lists all of the assets and liabilities at a point in time (usually the end of the calendar year) and if a company has built up a lot of assets relative to their liabilities, then they have a big net asset base. That's impressive. By contrast, the income and expense statement measures the company's revenue and expenses not at a point in time but over the course of a time increment (usually a year). So what does this have to do with life? It's that rather than always focusing on balance sheet measures (what you have achieved, how much you have accumulated), it's also important to look at the income and expense measures in life -- what you have done in a particular year regardless of whether the activity generates an increase in net assets. Ok - maybe the analogy doesn't work so well. :).

Then I started thinking about what the accounting treatment should be on things like incredible experiences. Can you monetize it just like a company can associate a value to their brand or to "goodwill"? This last few months in going through the adoption process has been priceless even though it has actually resulted in a drop in net assets on the balance sheet. Ok - I'm going to end this one before I beat it to death. Bottom line - we're feeling good. R is finally packing. I've got my pile of stuff on the couch that is ready to go in the suitcase. Or as I told my NY cousin Dan Margulies when we spoke earlier today, our packing staging areas are like the space shuttle: once you are ready for launch, the shuttle has to be moved from the hangar to the launch pad. Similarly, tonight I'll slowly move all of my packing stuff from the assembly staging area to the launch pad (suitcase). Ok - I got to stop with these metaphors. I'm off to the bank and then to get my haircut. More later.
J.