Empirical Work

I'm working on an empirical project to include in my dissertation. I started this project in June and thought it would be fairly straight forward, but combining data from different sources and performing tons of random analysis is really hard! I've rerun my data-generating code 8 billion times, because I decide I need another variable, or I didn't calculate something just right early on. Ugh!

But I'm working a lot harder that I do when I'm doing theory work (which entails a lot of laying on my bed thinking with my eyes closed) and it's actually a lot of fun to do all the coding. I'm using Stata because (1) Ed has Stata for windows and using the stanford unix servers remotely is a pain in the arse and (2) I have a massive aversion to SAS. Stata was very easy to learn (it helped that I could query Ed when I got stuck) and it's really easy to generate all kinds of stats on your data very quickly. Maybe I never really gave SAS a chance, but I'm going to stick with Stata for now.

I'm nearing the end of most of my projects and I'm teaching this fall, so I'm worried that I'll let myself get caught up in that and not start any new projects until after December. So I would love to start something coauthored to keep me in the research mode. I'm still really interested in the paper on returns and eps numbers that end in 9. It's random, but it seem really interesting. I'm at a loss about what to work on theory-wise right now. I'm so sick of my dissertation that I can hardly stand to think about transfer pricing or intangibles ever again!

Houses vs. Apartments

I'm so excited for you that you're going to have a real house! It seems so much more grown up and settled. I love our apartment, but I still feel a little like a college student living in it. I wouldn't know what to do with a real yard of my very own, but it would be so fun to learn!

Let me know when I can come visit!

Oh yeah, that reminds me. You are officially invited to come visit us (as long as you are not a stranger randomly visiting this blog). :)

Work-wise I am stuck in a major rut - I can't get myself to do anything. More on that later. But I think we need to write that paper together sometime soon! It would be so fun, and I know we'd get it out quickly.

Yay!

I'm so happy that you blogged, Devin. I tried to resurrect my other blog with Heather and Sarah and Erin, but it didn't work out. I put a post up there and emailed them all, and it just sat there all alone for days and days.

We found a house to rent in Albany and I'm getting excited to move (I'm not excited to leave Ed, but it will be fun to decorate the house). The house is really cute - it's yellow and has a cute backyard. It has two bedrooms with wood floors and roomy closets.

In the meantime, I just found a paper that finds totally opposite results to the empirical paper I'm working on, so I've been spending all day yesterday and today trying to replicate his results. Mine are more robust, but I want to be able to at least explain his.

Hi! So it was a bit of a slow year post-wise, huh?

:)

Just over a year later...

Nikki suggested starting up again to keep in touch, and I think that's a fabulous idea, so here I am. Susheem and I just got back from our honeymoon. I love honeymoons. I'm trying to convince him that we need to do them more often, but he says we can only have one! (Although I'm pretty close to getting him to agree on a 25th anniversary honeymoon.)

I'm married!!! The wedding was so fun. I hope other people had fun too. I can't wait to see the picture and video. I don't want to go back to work yet! Now that wedding planning is over I just want to sit around and appreciate how well it went for about... oh... a month or so. :)

I've spent today sitting around and reading the new Harry Potter book and a friend's blog. She (Cathy - BM) started it up about 6 months ago and I never looked at it before! I finally did, and it's hilarious! And she writes so much. I knew she was into it, but I didn't realize just how much. Well, that was today. Yesterday was about 2 hours on the phone with UPS trying to track down a package. Apparently one of their guys didn't know that "THE RECEIVER PICKED UP THE PACKAGE THAT WAS BEING HELD FOR THEM" was UPS code for 'the package is waiting to be picked up and noone has picked it up yet.' So we thought some random person had picked up our package. I don't know whether to be more annoyed at him for not knowing their code or at UPS for having such a ridiculous code! And apparently "THE RECEIVER HAS MOVED. UPS ATTEMPTING TO LOCATE RECEIVER TO COMPLETE DELIVERY, NO DELIVERY WAS MADE;THE ADDRESS HAS BEEN CORRECTED." is code for 'no address change is neccessary and none has been made and no random person at this other address has been told about the package for them to just come in and take.' ... sigh. The more I deal with UPS, the more I appreciate the United States Postal Service. Fast, Cheap, Through rain sleet or snow...

:)

Okay, this is my first post back. I bet you forgot how random I can be on this thing! I'm so excited to start this up again. I can't wait to hear all about what's going on with you two.

Budgets.

Oh!  Now I get it!  The name of the blog is s490.  And our office number was s490!  It all makes sense. 

:)  Yes, I really hadn't made the connection earlier.

So, what would cause me to decide to post?  The realization that weddings are ridiculously expensive, and a little bit of buyer's remorse.  I decided to go with this absolutely wonderfull, but extremely expensive, photographer for my wedding.  The thing is, I didn't realize until today how much I'm going to have to give up to have her.  There won't be nearly as many pretty little details for her to photograph now.  I'm sure there will be plenty of nice stuff, and the bridesmaids are going to look beautifull :)  but I might have to drop my lovely chair covers and/or my damask overlays, or drastically reduce the flowers for the reception, or something like that.  We'll see...  I think I'm going to try to not spend too much for a couple of months.  That might make me feel better.  Plus I still haven't gotten a paycheck, or my sign-on bonus.  I'm sure I will feel *much* better once I get those.

The other wierd money issue that comes with getting married - a sense of responsibility to someone else!  All of a sudden I've started thinking about Susheem when I'm going to spend my money, since the money would otherwise become partly his next summer.  I think I will get over this, but I'm not completely sure...

I need to make a normal budget for myself.

 

Devin, it is good to hear from you and about Boston (although I think you may be here this week and I will have to look for you). anyhow, driving in Italy is exactly the same (I was just glad that i didn't have to do it) so I feel for you.

Meinwhile I have learned to lay tile. Yes, tileing was just one of the things that I got to do this past weekend. We went to Utah to see Chris' family and to help work on his Brother's house. I'll tell you all about it later, but it was quite the project.

Anyhow, here I am in S490 alone, but I am hoping that you and Nikki might stop by?

HiHi!

I think we can give up on the dream of having devin@google.com type email addresses. Oh well. :)

Hi! I have moved into my wonderful new (old old) apartment. I hope I haven't upset the managers by asking that it be cleaned to the standards I am used to (California standards). I am starting to think people just don't do that here. But I really don't want to have to clean the blinds and the outsides of the windows myself. And I am wierd enough that I will end up doing it myself if they don't have it done.

Yup. Pretty wierd.

I can't believe how different Boston is from the Bay Area. I feel like I am in a completely different country. In fact, the driving reminds me very much of Sri Lanka or India, except with slightly better pavement. In all three places, lane lines either do not exist or are ignored when they do exist. I like lanes.

What I noticed this morning...

I noticed this morning that some people have flat butts. I mean really flat. These people gain width as they get older, or fatter, or at least seem to, but there just isn't much volume back there. Why is that? It makes me wonder how they walk, or climb stairs...I really think that is what the muscle back there does... Anyhow, that is my quandary for today. How is it that some people--notably some women--have flat butts?

I turned it in!

I submitted my dissertation to the University! I even took the extra copies to the book-binding company to be bound. I am really truly done with my dissertation. It's pretty hard to believe.

Right now I am torn between continuing to work (finish up the papers which make up my dissertation, and start a couple of new ones) and taking a nice long holiday. I imagine I will do something in between.

...

so it turns out it was my phone. I guess that is not supprising since I was then only one here, but I had just put it on the charger to power up the night before. it should have been fully charged...i guess that it is kindof on the blink...

No one here

I was in the office alone all day today (which actually was quite productive i think), mostly it was leading up to a meeting that I was to have with Ulrike at 3:30...

As I'm sure come of you can guess, the meeting got cancled at 3:30 (when I showed up to go to it). I really don't mind (it will be tomarrow morning instead) and it wasn't her fault at all (evil and demanding MBA students...) But I did think it a bit amusing...

anyhow, as stated no one else is here, but I swear that a few hours ago I heard what sounded like the last beep of a cell phone running out of power...Anyone missing theirs?

anyhow, I hope that both of you are having wonderful days!!!

The Swan...

So while I was running this morning I was listening to the radio, and the problem of course with morning radio is that the djs tend to talk rather than play music, but interesingly enough one station was talking about the swan finale...the pagent, and the show in general. Their main comment, the show took these women from looking like ordinary women to looking like drag queens. Of course this got me intreaged, so I had to look at the before and after pictures on their websight, and I had to admit it is true. With the too heavy makeup, fake looking breasts and tight attempting to be sexy but often failing clothes, they did indeed appear to be female impersonaters. Even the ones who were, to me, pretty before. Its not really a good look. (look devin, I was paying attention last night, and have even figured out how to bold, now if only I could underline and write in diffrent colors...)

Well, I should really consider working now, but as a last bit on the subject, does anyone want to see connie and carla?

Nikki called me on her cell phone! It was so exciting! (Should I start doing longer and more substantive posts, or are these okay?)

Hi?

Noone is here! Wow, I just realized that all I wanted to say was "Noone is here!" I guess that means I'm done now.

:)

It was too late for me to vote, but it turned out the way I wanted anyway.

Reupert won!!!

In case you havn't heard I just thought that I would let you know that Reupert won the "america votes" part. It is not supprising. I figured that only he and boston rob really had any chance. anyhow, I bet it was a bit of a landslide...they didn't tell us of course, but I would guess that reupert won by a whole lot....

anyhow, yea! We all really have thought that reupert should have won last timw, so it is really good to have him win in the end!!!

Reupert

:(
he didn't win, however, there is still the possibility that we could give him the 1 mill this thursday. Just go to CBS.com and vote for him!!! I am really hoping to see him get it this tursday!!!!

Yay Rupert!

I have only watched about 2 1/2 episodes of this season's Survivor, but I just remember loving Rupert from last Season (the only one I ever really watched.) I'm glad he's still in it. :) It would be cool if someone nice could manage to win!

:) (I seem to be in a smiley mood today.)

Empty Office

It's 11 and the office is empty, of other people at least. I do see various belongings of Devin's (a belt and backpack) that make me suspicious that she has been here (have you?) where are you????

With respect to Survivor last night which I watched, What was Tom thinking? Also I'm really not sure how voting Tom off was in the best interest of rob and his girl? If they stuck with him they could have been confident of getting to three...That is unless they thought that he would side with Rupert...

Tired

I'm so tired. I've been overly tired all week. I think that not exercising has gotten the better of me. I've come to the conclusion that exercising only makes me tired for the first few times in a row that I do it, but not exercising just drains me! I'm not entirely sure that this conclusion makes sense, but it seems anecdotally true. When I've been exercising I just pop out of bed the next morning, but all this week it has been all I can do to drag myself out of the sheets at all...

I think that I had better get dressed and force myself to go running now. I'll let you know how it goes.