Thanksgiving, Theft, and Trading

Have been neglecting this blog lately. The past week and a half has been pretty busy.

So, for the holiday weekend, my girlfriend and I made my way down to Riverside to spend Thanksgiving with my parents. The drive there really sucked. You'd think that most people would have already left to wherever they were headed by Thanksgiving day, but you'd be wrong. So, we left San Jose at around 11 in the morning, and we didn't make it to Riverside until it was almost 7. The traffic was pretty bad. I don't remember the traffic being so bad at that time on Thanksgiving day before. Maybe next year I'll plan a bit better if I intend on making the drive again.

I did take advantage of some of the Black Friday sales the day after Thanksgiving... picked up a few DVDs for $3.99 and also The Sims: The Complete Collection at Best Buy (BBY), and also some nice jeans and a decent shirt over at Aeropostale (ARO). Had I gotten out of the house earlier when the stores opened their doors, I could have had a bunch of good stuff. But, I only started my shopping at 7:30.

Saturday, hung out with the Cam Man and also an old friend, Miss Mt. Fuji, that I haven't seen in years over at a bar/nightclub in Brea called 330. Basically danced a little, chatted a little, and drank all night. We finished off the night drinking some Oban 14 Yrs, which is a nice scotch. But, in that price range, I personally prefer the GlenMorangie 15 Yrs.

Before we headed home on Sunday, we dropped by FatBurger for some fat burgers and some of their skinny fries. I really do like the joint. Too bad they haven't really spread out to this area yet. The drive home pretty much sucked too, but not because of traffic, but because we were exhausted and it was late.

And, let me tell you how awesome Monday was. I get in bright and early to find that my notebook computer is missing from my desk. Then, I learn that I wasn't the only one to have my computer stolen. The thieves even stole a nice wooden pen I had on my desk. Those bastards. Anyway, until my replacement computer arrives, I'll be working on a build machine we have stashed away in a mini-cubicle in the corner of our building. I can't even begin to describe how incredibly frustrating this whole ordeal has been.

And finally, I dumped the "gambling" position, Under Armour (UARM), for just around an 11% loss. Will be keeping my eyes open for an entry into a new position. But, right now, I haven't any serious ideas. I'm definitely still looking.

Maybe some Abercrombie and Fitch (ANF) is in order. Just recently, I learned that the fairly new super-duper popular store, Hollister, is owned by them. Maybe I'll finally grab some of the McDonald's (MCD) I've been eyeing for some time now for Chipotle spinoff reasons. Another stock on my radar is New Jersey based Sun Bancorp (SNBC), which has paid an annual 5% dividend via a 105 for 100 stock distribution. Their earnings have been growing, and the stock has been stagnant for a while now. With the Fed's tightening cycle coming to an end soon, maybe some of these smaller banks are worth a look. Or, maybe I'll choose to actually get some rest and worry about putting cash to work at a later time.