Numbers

One financial number, one not.

First, the not financial. The end of the semester is totally miserable, especially if you work at a heavy teaching-load school as I do. Sometimes I think I should resort to scantrons, which are instantaneously and automatically graded by machine.

Anyway, too late for that. You may recall that I reported that I had 240 pieces of work to process. I have now crossed the 100 line: only 98 left. Believe it or not, I find arithmetic very soothing. I love to compute grades and do it on paper, just like I did back in grade school. AHHHHH. (For a different view, see Funny About Money's tale of misery with an on-line convenience method of recording and computing grades. NOT ZEN.)

My other number is financial. A long time ago, I wondered if I should buy Talbots stock, as it was trading at $1.60 a share, but the company had just hired a snazzy new CEO named Trudy. I SHOULD HAVE. And SHOULD HAVE sold it when it reached $16.00 a share.

I received a danger signal when various on-line bargain sites reported that Talbots was having an incredible sale, with items as low as $2.00--less than yard sale prices. I took a look at the site and decided not to spring, since sale items are not returnable and I am trying not to succumb JUST because something is a bargain. (Probably not much left now, since this has been all over the internet for a few days.)

The sale was so extreme that I--unsophisticated about finance and naive as far as the workings of big business go--got a distinct GOING OUT OF BUSINESS vibe. The stock is around $5.00 a share, so I would still have made a profit.

So there you have it: my semester's work is going down, down, down, as it tends towards a welcome end.

As for Talbots, i wonder if that venerable business is nearing its own UNwelcome end.

Back to the papers!