A Career Milestone

When I began my first full-time job after college, on January 17, 2000 (I graduated early), I was given a prospectus to introduce me to one of the funds I'd be working on. I had no idea what I was reading, and was really overwhelmed. Until I came to the section listing the portfolio managers and investment professionals, and their biographies.

I worked for a firm that is quite well-known in these parts, and the biographies were impressive. I realized then that this was professional recognition in the investment world, a way of saying "these are the people to trust with your money." I made it a goal to some day be listed in pages like these.

That goal was realized this week, when I wrote my biography and added it to our investor presentation template. There are only five people listed, and I'm thrilled to be a part of it. I know most people probably never even read the thing - you've got to be in a pretty select group of people to even see our presentation to begin with - but it feels like I've accomplished something.

The BusyBee wears pants!

The BusyBee is all girl. She loves princesses, purple and pink, make-up and most of all - dresses. Since last December, or there-abouts, she has worn only dresses and skirts. No pants, no shorts. I attempted a pair of shorts earlier in the summer, and after half an hour of screaming, they had to be removed.

But this past weekend, my mother-in-law purchased a very cute pants and shirt outfit from Hanna Anderson. The BusyBee approved the purchase and swore that she'd wear them. I had my doubts, but seeing as I hadn't even purchased a pair in her current size, I figured we might as well try.

So yesterday, when she woke up in a pretty good mood, I suggested the pants. There was a lot of resistance, but after promising a trip to McDonald's and the book store for that evening, she gave in. The pants were worn all day.

I really wish I could have taken a picture to commemorate the day, but I know the BusyBee would never have tolerated that. I didn't want to push my luck any further. So instead, I'll memorialize it here.

She's wearing a skirt again today, but I don't really want to change her sense of style. She's not going to want dresses forever. Though I did see a group of five 10-year-old girls on the T yesterday, all wearing different denim skirts. Maybe it's something she won't have to grow out of after all.

Story Land

A quick note on the virtues of Story Land, located in Glen, NH. We visited last weekend, and the BusyBee had a fantastic time. The drive from here was almost four hours, including some rough patches of traffic, so we ended up spontaneously renting a hotel room and buying new clothes to stay overnight. We might have benefited from planning that a little better, but it was a fun bit of serendipity, and everything worked out really well.

If you've got little ones and live in the area, I highly recommend it. I'm already looking forward to taking the BusyBee and JellyBelly someday.

A Company "Varganza"

To celebrate a special company milestone, a very fancy party was held last night. You could have called it an "extravaganza" but in three-year-old parlance, that might come out as "varganza" instead. I'd been calling it that in my head (and on my Google Calendar) for weeks, and I can't think of a better word now.

It was quite an event. It began with a Boston Police escort out to the site in Waltham, MA, featured a prominent reggae band (sorry to those of you who actually know reggae music, this was lost on me), and ended in fireworks.

Yes, you read that right, fireworks. It was truly over the top.

Usually, I'm not the biggest fan of company-sponsored get-togethers. I'd personally prefer that they just dole out the cash instead, even if it means less time bonding with co-workers. But seriously, what raises morale higher than more money? Well, my firm answered that question by providing a decently entertaining evening AND telling us we're all getting a surprise bonus check next week.

Now that's a real reason to celebrate.