UPDATE: I am so sorry that this video will no longer play here, but you HAVE to see it, so head over to youtube.com, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Pqg1lDvfNA.

This commercial has kept me laughing and laughing, possibly ALOT longer then it should, and not just the first time I saw it, but EVERY single time I see it. I don't know what it is that I find so unbelievably amusing, but kudos to the marketing people as I for one, think it is brilliant.

This conversation came to me this morning at 4:45am. A little odd, as I have never had a conversation with the Internet before, much less alone, while in bed. So I thought I would share, just in the off chance that someone who majored in Dream Analysis and Interpretation would want to share back.....

Internet: "Hey Sadie, how are you today?"

Me: "I am well, thank you for asking. And how are you today, Internet?"

Internet: "We are well, thank you."

Me: "Hey Internet, did you see what happened yesterday? Did you see that the Dow plunged more than 700 points in 20 minutes? Did you catch that one, Internet?"

Internet: "Yes Sadie, we did see something was going on yesterday that wasn't very good for our economy."

Me: "Did you also see that the house nixed the bailout plan and that the economy is on the brink of disaster?"

Internet: "Why yes Sadie, we also saw that bit of news."

Me: "Ok (sigh) good, I am just glad everyone is paying attention, especially those guys on Wall Street."

Just like the title of this posts says, you would have to be living under a giant, heavy rock to not know what is going on with the US financial markets these days. I am not going to go on and on here because there are just way too many things to say and I don't want to torture you nice people, so I am going to limit myself to the following thoughts.

Update: As I was proofing this post, I see that I did go on and on a bit, so sorry.

How could it be that brilliant (well, maybe not so much after all...), talented and very well educated people running these Wall Street financial giants could allow something of this magnitude to play out the way that it has. How could they be so stupid and apparently so motivated by greed and money, as to NOT see this would be the outcome. If little old me could know that sub-prime lending and housing prices that continue to climb at an unnatural rate, was a bubble that was eventually going to burst, how did they not know that putting these mortgages in a pretty package and selling them on Wall Street, was going to blow up in their faces? Is it greed, did they just think in the immediate and not think the whole process through to this point that we are currently facing? That when the mortgage terms changed, people were not going to be able to afford their payments. Not rocket science, people.

I hardly think that anyone could have ever imagined the collapse of major investments banks, back when this whole sub-prime was started. I certainly could not have imagined a world in which there was not one stand alone investment bank in the United States. What has happened is so disturbing and sad on so many levels.

I have a friend who told me about one of her friends that worked at Lehman for twenty-six years as an administrative assistant. She is single and has no one else to depend on. Hopefully her 401k was diversified, but what about her pension? That is money that she was planning to live on, what happens now? What about honest, hard working executives who had their bonuses given to them in stock, like a friend of mine at Bear Stearns. What happens now after amassing ten years of stock, is it worthless, I don't know and certainly would never ask. Hopefully, he sold some as he was allowed to, after a certain period of time.

Now here is the hot spot for Drew and I. The housing market, the ridiculousness of the housing market. Predatory lending, predatory borrowing, who is worse, which is worse? The people lending the money, or the people borrowing the money who should have known full well that ultimately they could not afford a house at the price.

Anybody that is going through the process of buying a house, especially a house that they are using ARMS for, better know what the hell they are doing. It is a tricky business, but a home buyer should do their homework and know what the facts are. I have had conversations with sheisty people and I know enough to go and do my homework and facts are not facts merely because they came out of someone's mouth.

Housing prices became so outrageous that people who were trying to buy a first time home, at least in my area, had to spend at least 700k (shit hole) to 1.1 million (nice, but no backyard). I recall talking to people who were going on and on saying, "oh no, this area is really hot, home prices are not going to go down." Hello, nothing that goes up that fast and is so outrageous based on past comparables, is going to stay at that elevated level forever.

So what happens now, everyone that should not have been in a million dollar home and had to take a loan for the down payment, PLUS a mortgage with an ARM so that they could afford to be in a house that they REALLY couldn't afford, is now faced with either selling their house at a loss, or facing foreclosure. Whatever the outcome, it is sad, but people were not thinking clearly and now they are in quite a predicament.

Then there are people like Drew and I (and MANY others that I know) who sat back and watched this whole thing grow legs and watched prices hit a level that was becoming unaffordable for most, even those making a very healthy income. Could I have put myself into a 1.5 million dollar house with some tricky financing, sure. Was I one hundred percent sure that would have been the right thing to do, or would I have been putting myself and my family's finances at risk?

So now, here we are waiting for prices to correct. Not able to get a mortgage at a competitive rate, needing six months of expenses in the bank before I can qualify for a mortgage, and this is being responsible. This is what responsibility looks like, while the people who were irresponsible for whatever reason, they were coerced, didn't understand what they were doing, didn't pay enough attention to the fine print, are potentially going to be bailed out, which translates to home prices possibly staying at the current levels, which is still inflated.

Let's talk about the government wanting to bail these people out, in addition to bailing out the financial institutions that made equally stupid decisions. Wall Street has to be bailed out to some extent because of all of the other businesses that feed off of what Wall Street generates. The domino effect of damage would be too great if all of theses troubled institutions were to fail, although many of them should, therefore allowing markets and the economy to correct organically. But of course, with a bailout, the tax payer, us, is going to suffer while these CEO's walk away with millions and millions of dollars.

Unbelievable what has happened, just unbelievable.

To add a little humor to a very bad situation, put this link in your browser and see how all of the madness started.

http://docs.google.com/teampresent?docid=ddp4zq7n_0cdjsr4fn&skipauth=true&pli=1

It has been seven years since the day the world and countless people's lives changed in an instant. My reaction to seeing coverage on the news, observing the moments of silence, or listening to the bells ring, is still sadness and outrage which results simply in a broken heart and makes me cry with the same sadness that I felt on that day, seven years ago.

September 11, 2001 began as a beautiful day, not a cloud in the sky and a temperature that was so perfect you didn't feel anything, neither hot nor cold. Every single New Yorker, along with the rest of the world, wondered how something like this could even happen. How someone could even think to do what they did. How evil could even exist on that level.

I left my office early this morning to head home as I am not feeling well. I lay in bed watching the news coverage of the memorial service taking place at Ground Zero. I am thankful that I can watch from the comfort and privacy of my own home, rather than having to watch at work while desperately trying to hold back my emotions.

During the toughest part of the broadcast I was at work though, which happens to be on a trading desk with hundreds of other people. Not the easiest place to let emotions out, although I am quite sure that every person sitting at their desk would be right there feeling the very same thing I was. So I am grateful to be sick today, so that I can give the proper attention to this historic day as I would like, the day our entire world changed.

The memorial service at the Pentagon was done very well and was quite beautiful. Benches were built in honor of the people who lost their lives and a bagpipe player played Amazing Grace as he walked through the area. It was peaceful and serene, the total antithesis of the events that unfolded that day.

I will never forget that day as I held Belle, then 9 months old, in the baby Bjorn the entire day until Drew was safely back with us. Cell phone service was not working at times, due to the massive amounts of calls that were flooding the networks, but I was lucky enough to make contact with Drew and he was lucky enough to not be working at 110 Wall Street anymore. We were able to talk on the phone while we watched the events of that morning unfold. My heart still breaks for the hours and days that followed the attacks, and the absolute unimaginable horror those people that couldn't find their lost loved ones experienced, some of them I know personally.

That is all I am going to say about what today is and what today means, as it is far too sacred to many people and feels intrusive to even write about, although it certainly doesn't feel right not to write about it. So the last thing I will say here is, to all the people that I knew personally, who touched my life in some way, may you rest in peace and know that your families will keep you alive in their hearts forever.

Oh my god, what a whirl wind! Fashion week is finally over. The whole experience was so exciting. I saw Luella, Paul Smith and Adidas by Stella McCartney. I have never been to a real high-fashion, fashion show. I mean my girl's school puts on a fashion show every year that features catholic school moms and even the principal struts her stuff on the runway, but that wouldn't be considered high- fashion, right?

Being a New Yorker and all, I thought it was high time to get in on the frenzy of fashion week and get myself into some shows. Fashion does run in my family as two of my cousin's resumes include major roles at Versace, Calvin Klein and BCBG Max Azria.

Anyway, the show's were totally wild. I saw LaLo (Linds) and her gal pal Sam. I saw LC (Lauren Conrad), Leighton Meester and some local New York socialites. I saw lots of designers and the energy and attitudes were fierce.

Actually, I am just kidding. I didn't go to any New York fashion shows. My office is across from Bryant Park and I took this picture when I went out to pick up my lunch.

How very un-glamorous of me.......