First Tracks

I did my first Long Island ride today and I have to say that I was pleasantly surprised.

I live on the South Shore of Long Island, where riding is virtually impossible. I joined the LIBC, which does rides on the North Shore each Saturday and Sunday from the Westbury High School parking lot. Westbury High School is a 15-20 minute drive from my house -- a bit of a bummer to have to drive your car to go ride your bike but at least I finally get some use out of the bike rack I purchased.

LIBC has cue sheets listed on the site. I polled a few members and asked for a good mid-week training ride and they suggested two. I picked the shorter one.

I arrived a Westbury High School and was immediately a bit intimidated by the looks of the student body. I pulled into the faculty lot and asked a teacher if she thought they'd mind if they park there. She said it should be okay. As I was preparing my bike I saw a security guard approaching me. He said "great day for a ride -- great idea" and kept walking. I rode up to his car and confirmed it was okay for me to park there. He gave me the thumbs up.

The ride was supposed to be 32 miles but I had to cut it short bc I understimated what time it gets dark -- I did a total of 21 miles. Even with cruddy winter conditions I could see the beauty of the ride. Some of the houses I passed were unbelievable. The car traffic wasn't too bad either. Similar to some spots in NJ it seemed like the cars were used to seeing cyclists in the area so they were rather patient.

I probably won't be able to ride again for a while bc the weather is looking cold and I have a bunch of trips coming up. However, the outlook for riding on LI just took a big turn up.

Road Resistance

The South Shore of Long Island is a difficult place to ride your bike. The roads are narrow and the traffic is pretty fierce. Additionally, drivers aren't what I'd call accomodating. The North Shore is much easier from what I hear, and this is where most of the action is. I joined a cycle club that does rides each Saturday and Sunday from Westbury High School, which is about a 20 minute drive from my house. It'd be nice if I could find a rideable bike route there as it's only 9 miles away. I'm going to work on this.

So living on the South Shore of Long Island, the problem I'm going to have is mid-week training rides. I'd love to find a nice 20 mile route in the area but just looking around as I drive leads me to believe it's a pipe dream.

The solution appears to be spin class. I've never been a big fan of spinning. Probably equal parts because it's indoors and it just seems cheesy. However, after taking a few classes, I have a new found respect for it. I took some measurements from my road bike and positioned the spin bike to replicate the fit. I actually enjoy the class, instructor and the techno music. The only drawback to spinning is no matter how hard you try, you just can't replicate the feeling of riding outdoors. I don't mean the scenery, etc... I mean the road resistance -- the deep burn you feel in your thighs as you grind on pavement.

I think about riding outside while I'm spinning - it's providing good motivation and fuel to ride oustide in the spring. It's definitely much better than riding the trainer with Coach Troy yelling at you.

My New Life

Single, unemployed and living at home with my parents. Just call me George Costanza.

Actually, life at home isn't all that bad.

Here's my routine:

Get up 8-9am, eat breakfast, do some reading, put on some stock positions/do some trading, head to the gym, grab some lunch, head back home to do some more trading/investing/reading, watch some DVR'd tv shows, have a great home cooked meal, head out for drinks with friends or watch some more TV/DVR, go to sleep.

REPEAT.

I also squeeze in some travel planning and thoughts on what's next for me. I definitely have some more clarity on the latter, which will more than likely affect the former.

Stay tuned.

NEWMAN!

Before losing my job , I was planning on moving to Brooklyn. The main reason was the city was grinding down on me. It seems as crowded as ever and the sensory overload had taken its toll. Additionally, the cache of my building was beginning to wear off as they cut costs and amenities. But there was really one final straw that made me want to move.

About nine months ago, I heard a pitter-patter of footsteps running across my ceiling. It sounded like a huge centipede. Once it started it wouldn't stop for 30 mins to an hour. I assumed someone was doing some sort of exercising. I asked what the situation was at the front desk and one of the doorman said coyly that sometimes the apt above me (#22C) has visitors and that may be the noise (didn't make much sense to me at the time but I figured I'd go with it). He said the next time I hear the noise to call him. Two nights later I hear the noise and I called him -- it stopped immediately. Great, I thought. Two nights later, same thing. I call the front desk and this time it doesn't stop. When I saw the doorman a day later I asked him what happened. He said the people said it wasn't them.

The footsteps haven't stopped but I finally figured out what it is. Some of my other neighbors have had issues with nightclub music from across the street (I don't really hear it because I don't face the street). My neighbor approached me one day as I left my apartment to find out if I had an issue with the music and wanted to join their fight. I told him I didn't have a problem with the music but told him the damn footsteps above were killing me. "You mean from the kid?" he asked as if I was a total d-bag for getting upset with a kid's footsteps. I kind of joked it off but knowing it's a kid certainly hasn't softened the annoyance factor for me.

As I was getting off the elevator today I passed a mother and kid in a stroller that were getting on. The kid looked up at me, smiled and said "BYE BYE". As I turned to say hello, the doors started closing and I noticed a cardboard box on the kid's lap with a big #22C written in magic marker.

NEWMAN!

$2 Italian

I haven't posted much about my semi-retirement plans because they have been a bit in flux. But thanks to some guidance from firSSt, I've narrowed my focus to one main goal: living in Italy for an extended period of time. I was originally planning to ride my bike in Asia in the spring but decided it was consuming too much planning time and would require intensive travel logistics.

So now I'm planning on doing some lighter trips in the winter/spring (heading to the Caribbean on vacation, visiting firSSt in Idaho, a buddy in LA, my parents in Fla, etc...) while I focus on the Italy move. The two biggest hurdles to living in Italy are learning Italian and getting a resident's visa (which would allow me to stay for more than 3 months). Getting the visa seems like more a paperwork issue than anything else. Learning Italian will be the biggest challenge.

I'm kicking around spending a month in Rome in April to do an "immersion" language program. I have some time before I need to commit to the language program so I'm going to give something else a try beforehand. I bought a used, older edition of the textbook they use in Italian level 1 at NYU. It cost me $2. It may be optimistic to think I can learn Italian on my own for $2, but at the very least, it will give me some foundation if I do the course in Rome.

I'll keep you updated on my progress.

Last Days of Disco

I'm winding down my last days in NYC and I'm having a blast. Wine, women and song. Well, not much song but plenty of wine and women.

People talk about how they feel like they'd always need to work. I used to feel the same way. But strangely enough, I think I can get used to this semi-retired lifestyle. People ask me what I do during the day. I'm not sure exactly what I do but I know it takes me all day to do it. I meandor a lot. A little of this, a little of that. I exist with as little purpose as possible, yet just enough to matter.

This post pretty much sums up the semi-retired lifestyle. There's lots of words but it says nothing.

End of An Era

For all intents and purposes, on November 13, 2008, my Wall St. career came to an end. I'll post more later with reflections on my career, but I wanted to mark this moment in time.

I do think I'll continue to actively manage a portion of my own money to take advantage of my unique insights and the skill set I have built over time. However, I don't see myself returning in a professional capacity for three reasons: 1) I believe the Wall St./wealth creation game is dead for many years; 2) I recognize and am no longer willing to make the quality of life sacrifices required to succeed in the business; and 3) I want to put my money where my mouth is and do something more beneficial for society.

Of course you can never say never, but I feel like I am ready for the next phase of my life.

Stay tuned.