What is in a name?

Agnon is a modification of non-arab-girl, because when I first commented anonymously somebody thought I was just that.

I stopped blogging for a bit and named myself Shale when I came back, because I was really struggling with this guy not accepting my PhD corrections and not giving me a reason, and shale is a kind of flinty rock. Hence, Shale bin Agnon.

Then I got my doctorate. Hence, Dr. Shale bin Agnon. How cheesy is that?

Incidentally, I do not speak Arabic. Insha'allah, I will learn it some day.

Summer Rain

It is the middle of summer, literally. Today is the summer solstice, the longest day of the year. Sunrise is officially at 04:56, and sunset is officially at 21:58, but daylight extends for much more than an hour each way.

It is, however, unfortunately, raining.

Last night a guy told me that he used to go out with a girl who was quite subservient. He said he got a kick out of it and pushed it as far as he could, until he could push it no further, after which he dumped her. What an evil little fuckhead.

Asset Backed Securities.

I spent yesterday trying to figure out the tranching in the waterfall for the collateralised debt obligation. I spent much of today trying to get around the loss of power in the weighted least squares regression of the mortality adjustments due to the fact that the bastard consultant will not cough up the actual observations, and only gives us the ratios of observations to expected.
I spent the rest of the day trying to determine whether party A should be sold put options or call options to make up for the put (or call) futures and who was hedging whom, and for what.

I actually know fuck all about finance. I think I will spend the rest of the evening thinking about breasts.

Hiking

I went hiking on Saturday, with my brother in law and a mutual friend. It took seven hours from Anascal to Dingle, over the mountains. It was nice.

We followed it with a few beers in Tralee. The weather was great. Maybe one day I will live in the country.

The alternative

I met my replacement this evening, in the university. Well, what a fucking nerd. He seems like an alright bloke, but I am hard enough on myself as it is. If I was him, there would be a lot of cutting and general self-harm involved.

It is such a relief to know that there is not a bigger, better, faster, smarter, stronger and better looking version of me out there. I try really hard to be good and do well, and if there was somebody who was just beating me, and I could not understand why, then it would fuck with my philosophy of the world.

I just read his cv. It is pretty impressively written. I might use it as a subsection of mine.

Death

I am going to die, horribly. It might even be slow, taking months, or even years. I might be hit by a double decker bus on O'Conell street on my new bike and disappear in a flash of total pain. Either way, it will not be pleasant.

It is quite liberating to admit that it will happen; to stop denying reality.

Hey

I am a smidgeon fluthered, I must admit. The bacon is cooking on the pan as I type. It is 1:13A.M. on a Monday. I worked until 8:23 this evening, from 8:50. I get paid **** all. Therefore, I felt comfortable and justified having a few beers.

I presented my work today to the company main guys. They were happy with it. Good stuff. I just wish they would stop paying me so little. :)

Is this what it is like to be 'normal people'?

I am not normal people.

This is just a visit.

Nobody mentioned the bike.

Seriously. I love my bicycle.

Birthday

Happy birthday to me. I am 29.

My girlfriend gave me a present of a mountain bike. That is possibly the best present ever. I cycled to work today. I looked ridiculous in a suit on a mountain bike. I am going to the mountains this Sunday on my new bike.

You may or may not know that Ireland's economy has increased vastly in the last 20 years, from shit to one of the best in the world. However, the standard of living is still crap. I have no car. I pay 50% of my wages on rent and electricity. The rest fritters remarkably quickly on food and beer.

Anyway, happy birthday to me.