As good of an update as any

On swimming.

I have been trying to learn how to swim for the past few years, enrolling in classes at local community colleges as my schedule permits. I still have yet to master the whole coming up for air business, which as one might imagine is quite an obstacle in the swimming for distances longer than a few yards game.

In the recent trips to the gym, I decided to use a kick board to keep myself going. I got to a point where I could swim the distance of one lane without stopping, usually struggling to reach the wall while feeling light headed. Twenty minutes into one of these "swimming" sessions, I decided to go without the kick board and discovered that me sans the aid swims much faster, even accounting for the times I stand up for air. It is exactly like my friend the triathlete said, "Using a kick board is like putting a bulldozer in front of a Honda Civic, it slows you down."

Two days ago, I started taking "breaks," where I only use my legs while going down the lane since my upper body fatigues much faster than my lower body. As I calmly glide through the water, I imagine that I am snorkeling in Cancun with colorful fish swimming beneath me. And although the only treasures I really ever see are abandoned hair accessories, this swimming in the pool business is turning out to be quite a relaxing exercise for me.

the Nikkei

I began investing in stocks when I was 16.

This morning, I read that the Nikkei had dropped 1.4% today, bringing the total year's decline to 14%. I did not think much of it until I realized that we are currently seven weeks into the new year.

I have been reading "The Age of Turbulence" by Alan Greenspan. I highly recommend it. This book continuously reminds me why I fell in love with economics as an undergraduate. Strangely enough, it makes me feel hopeful about the future of this country.