Stings a Bit

I joked the other day that the photography session of the MAP convention made me want to liquidate my IRAs to buy cameras and lenses, hang a shingle out and become Mr. Magazine Photographer.

Besides the fact that I'd be starting out behind the fresh-out-of-art-school but way more experienced 22-year olds, the notion was funny for being impossible.

But then the impossibility part got sad: I made the mistake of checking my Vanguard balance, a thing I don't normally do. What I've lost in less than a year, I could outfit a very respectable photo studio for that less a 10% penalty and taxes.

As a friend of mine used to say, Keee-rist Almighty! Now my retirement liquidation would barely buy a professional camera and tripod, never mind the lenses.



Are we at rock bottom yet? I was okay $9,000 ago, when I had only lost enough to buy an economy car. I laughed at a friend who had sold all his stock based holdings and bought gold, because historically, that's stupid. And he's a pretty smart guy, otherwise, maybe even brilliant. I hate it when the stupid people get to gloat about being right this time.

So naturally, I'd sell all my stock based assets now and buy gold or something, right? Not really. I'm only 39, and you don't take the loss until you sell. This is really stretching my capacity for faith, which is small, maybe even pathetic. But I really believe the bull will come again. Probably not while Obama is President, and it wouldn't make a lick of difference if we were talking about President McCain: nobody wanted to take the punch bowl away and now we're all in for a motherfucker of a hangover.

Sean Hannity can talk about how it all started with Clinton and it's a fair cop. But Hannity's buddy W. had eight years to fix it and did little more than play with himself until commercial paper froze up and Armageddon came a knockin'.

Or, as the asshead loved to say, Mistakes Were Made.

Where I'm at, I think the market can go no lower, but I thought that in October. Now I wonder if I wouldn't be the smart little contrarian to sell out and buy some craptastic commodity like gold...