From the infamous indexed blog:
Fitting in.
and:
Calling in sick.
and, finally:
Quite the showcase.
I came across almost 150 shares of IBM stock today that I’d forgotten I even owned. Some of it’s two years old and some of it’s three years old—all of it old enough to be considered long term gains.
It’s all stock that I bought as part of IBM’s Employees Stock Purchase Plan, which means I bought it at 15% off the then market price. And most of it, I bought in 2004 between $70 and $80 per share. I sold the hell out of it today at $107 per share. Woohoo!
That gave me about a 50% return on my investment, which averages out to between a 16-18% a year gain for three years. I’ll take it.
Just in time to finance my 50th birthday trip in October, which will now be to Sydney instead of Tahiti-Moorea-Bora Bora.
I went to Carmichael to pay my “stop out” membership, which is what they call the fee they charge ($30, up from $25 last year) to use the gym over the summer break if you’re not enrolled in summer school. Small price to pay to work out beside a bunch of hot college guys, but I digress…
I’m not even going to get into the ridiculous line there, with people waiting to purchase these stop out memberships. I can’t imagine a single reason why this can’t be automated online.
I did the elliptical machine for 35 minutes and burned off 501 calories. Who’s counting?
I stopped by the Cameron Village Library, because when I put a book on hold this morning, though it said I was Number 2 on the wait list, it also said there were three copies “checked in.”
They had two copies on the shelf, so I checked out one of them, which automatically canceled my hold request. I love technology when it actually makes things easier.
I’m now reading Lucky in the Corner by Carol Anshaw, and I’m hoping that it’s only not as great as the review I heard of it said it was because of its juxtaposition to My Sister’s Keeper, which was so excellent.
I’m going to carry on reading with an open mind. The problem with an open mind is that people are always trying to put things in it.
I stopped for dinner at the K&W in Cameron Village, so as not to go to the grocery store hungry. As of May 1, 2007, this establishment is all non-smoking. Yay!
I had a salad, oven-roasted chicken, stewed cabbage, and steamed mushrooms. It was all good.
I stopped at the Harris Teeter at Cameron Village specifically hoping to find Gorton’s Grilled Fish Fillets on sale, and I hit the jackpot—a veritable savings bonanza, if you will.
| Item | Discount |
|---|---|
| VIC RED SDLS GRAPE |
$.30-B |
| VIC COOKED SHRIMP |
$2.00-B |
| VIC HT EXTRA SHARP |
$2.20-B |
| VIC COCKTAIL SAUCE |
$.30-B |
| VIC CANTALOUPE |
$3.99-B |
| VIC BREYERS CARAME |
$5.29-B |
| VIC GORTON FILLETS |
$14.76-B |
| VIC BP BEEF FRAN |
$3.99-B |
These discounts brought my $100.09 order down to $67.26, a $32.83—or 32%— savings. My kind of numbers.
I didn’t bring my phone into the grocery store, and when I got back in my car, its beep was letting me know that I had a voice mail message.
My sister had called, and she’ll be in town tomorrow, staying at the Sheraton downtown.
After work, I’m going to meet her at Crossroads, where we’re going to make a run into Dick’s Sporting Goods for her, and then we’re going to have dinner at the Red Lobster there.
Depending on how prepared she feels for the panel she has to be on at 8:00 in the morning on Wednesday, we may or may not stop by Flex for an hour or so of scareyoke. I’ll let her decide.
Once home, I finished this blog entry, and made myself lucky in the bed to read Lucky in the Corner.