First Week Complete

My first week in the office flew by, like most first weeks do. My hours are basically 9 to 6, but most days I got there early and left late. What else do I have to do with my life right now, except work. I've done most everything else I've wanted to do over the past five years. I'm back in work mode, clearly. Going forward in my spare time, I plan to continue updating my risk management and statistics skills. To date, I've read the Base SAS manual twice and I'm half way through the Advanced manual twice. I need to finish it.

Plus, I've also read a lot on Basel II, economic capital and credit risk, since January, and this past week I've spent a lot of time learning the internal databases, methodologies and procedures at my new job. While doing so, I've identified a number of areas my where my skills will come in handy. And to underscore how boring my life really is, right now, this past week I was in bed by 9 pm and up at 5 am, fully rested. Before work, I'd either go for a run (about 5 miles, fending off the office excess) or study or surf the web, mostly economic sites.

My housemates in Stamford are great. In the past, I lived in group houses. And generally, I tend to do well in them. Granted not all group houses were great experiences, but many were. The good experience do out weighted the bad, however. This time I see a positive experience transpiring. What I like most about group houses is the potential of meeting and getting to know people from different backgrounds and/or have a different view of the world. I don't need to live with people who mimic my views, I prefer someone to challenge my views.

I stumbled on this group house after three potentially disastrous apartment shares. One apartment was located in the hood, which I don't have a problem with, expect that I would have been sharing the apartment with the female owner and her boyfriend, which again is fine, but there wasn't any furniture in the living room and they lived in the apartment for four years. Who lives in an apartment for four years and doesn't buy living room furniture? And I'm not talking sparely furnished. I'm talking nothing. Another apartment share that I looked at was a very, very tiny apartment and I would have had to share it with a 300 lb. lady. There was two small bedrooms and a shared bath. The bell near the toilet was not a good sign. Plus the apartment was filled with clutter. The kind of clutter one purchases at those curio store filled with scented candle in the mall. Every mall has one.

The third apartment I checked out had some potential. It was only a ten minute walk to my work. However, when the landlord opened the front door of the apartment and a cloud of smoke poured out. The other tenant that I'd be sharing with was within the apartment at 3 pm on a Tuesday afternoon lounging about, watching TV. The floor populated with empty beer cans and trash everywhere. Apparently the landlord didn't give the tenant a heads up. He seemed a bit surprised. However, the guy seemed okay, but the mess and the drug paraphernalia scattered about. Suits smelling like weed generally aren't great comments on performance reviews.

Anyway, I rented the master bedroom on the second floor of a condo with my own bath. With me on the floor are two twenty-somethings, who both seem really cool. They share the hall bath. A third condomate lives in the lower-level basement bedroom. The condo is exceptionally clean and nicely furnished. It seems perfect for me, since I'll only be staying there during the week. Plus it's only a twenty minute walk from my office. Weekends I'll be in Newark, my vacation apartment.